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MLB Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions: Thursday (3/28)

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After watching the first regular-season games of the year in South Korea, the rest of the league will begin their campaigns today, Thursday, March 28. It’s not your typical Opening Day, but we have a full slate, and the MLB is finally back.

With a lot of players in new places, let’s sort everything out with our first Same Game Parlays (SGPs) of the 2024 MLB season.

Thursday's MLB Best Same Game Parlay Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Cleveland Guardians @ Oakland Athletics

The Guardians will face off against the A’s tonight to begin their 2024 campaign. Shane Bieber will start the season for the Guardians, with Alex Wood getting the nod for the A’s. This won’t be a dazzling offensive game by any means, but we’ll look to cash in on this parlay nonetheless. I expect Bieber to keep this average A’s lineup off balance and have a good day for the Guardians with a quality start to begin his season.

Josh Naylor had a fantastic 2023 season, batting .308 with 97 RBIs. I expect him to pick up where he left off and get to Alex Wood early in this game, with a potential RBI from batting in the heart of this lineup.

On the other side, I like JJ Bleday to cash in on his red-hot Spring Training with a single at this price. Bleday was batting .353 this Spring and appears poised to break out this season after a tough start to begin his career in the Big Leagues. We’re looking for a nice +800 hit to begin our season, and I think these hitters can pull through for us.

Parlay Odds: +800

Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals 

The Twins will visit Kansas City to open their season in a series against their AL Central foe, the Royals. Pablo Lopez will be on the hill for the Twins, while Cole Ragans will get the Opening Day nod for the Royals.

I think the Twins will come out strong to start the season despite losing some key players from last year, including Jorge Polanco, Sonny Gray, Michael Taylor and Donovan Solano. On the other hand, Byron Buxton is back, and they hope he can stay healthy for the season. I like Carlos Correa to have a good night at the plate with a plus-matchup against the lefty. The Twins will probably plug Buxton into the two-hole, so look for Correa to be in a nice spot, batting third for many games this year. In two plate appearances against Ragans, Correa has a walk and a triple. I expect him to have a hit or two batting in the middle of this Twins lineup, with the potential to drive in runs with Edouard Julien and Buxton batting ahead of him.

The Twins are still the class of this division and the favorites to win the AL Central title in 2024. Look for Correa and company to get off to a strong start against an upstart Royals team with some young players.

Parlay Odds: +500

St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers 

The Cardinals will visit Los Angeles to start their season against the Dodgers. Miles Mikolas will pitch for the Cardinals, while the newly acquired Tyler Glasnow will pitch for the Dodgers. This will be Glasnow’s second start in Dodger blue. He recorded an ND in South Korea against the Padres, but it was a bit rocky, as he ended up with four walks and 2.0 ER in 5.0 innings pitched.

Regarding hitting, look for Mookie Betts to continue his great month of March with a single today. He batted .309 against righties in 2023. His slugging percentage and OPS are down compared to lefty pitchers, which supports the lean toward base hits.

For the Cardinals, I like Jordan Walker to also get on base with a single today. Walker actually prefers right-handed pitchers despite batting righty, as he batted .292 in 2023 vs. righties compared to .231 vs. lefties. Hopefully, he’ll get a few cracks at Glasnow and a righty reliever out of the bullpen.

Overall, I think Glasnow tightens things up after his first sloppy start and that Mikolas will be motivated to be a better ace this year after having his worst season since 2019. Look for about 6-7 total runs in this one with some hits scattered in from Betts and Walker to see this parlay come home.

Parlay Odds: +750

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:

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