Top MLB Betting Odds & Picks for Thursday, April 7th (2022)
Today is a fantastic day in sports, as the opening round of the Masters coincides with Major League Baseball's Opening Day. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate in a couple of cities, as the Red Sox-Yankees and Mariners-Twins openers have already been pushed back to Friday. However, there is a fascinating seven-game slate on tap for today, with six of those games involving tilts between division rivals. The Braves begin their World Series defense at home against Cincinnati in the most high-profile game (and the only nationally televised game) of the day.
This season, I will be writing daily MLB best bets articles from Monday through Thursday, so be sure to check in and follow those. Last year we endured many ebbs and flows but were happy to end the season with over 15 units in profit, and we look for similar success this year.
Here are our best bets for Thursday's Opening Day MLB action. (Odds courtesy of DraftKings)
View the best player prop bets for tonight’s slate with our MLB Prop Bet Cheat Sheet >>
Cleveland Guardians ML (-125) vs. Kansas City Royals
The Cleveland Guardians hope their first year with a new team name will help them rebound from an unusually poor season. Though the Guardians finished second in the AL Central, they were two games under .500 (80-82), their first season finishing under .500 since 2012.
From a projected win total perspective, the Guardians do not come into this season with much higher optimism than the Royals. Cleveland and Kansas City are projected for 76.5 and 74.5 wins, respectively. However, the Guardians have the decisive edge on the mound today, and their short moneyline odds have us intrigued.
Shane Bieber had an injury-plagued 2021 season which followed his 2020 Cy Young campaign. Bieber went 7-4 with a 3.17 ERA in 16 starts last year but only threw six innings after June 13 while missing most of the season with a shoulder injury.
Bieber has had dominating stuff in his previous two Opening Day starts, striking out 14 in a win over Kansas City in 2020 and fanning 12 Tigers in a loss to Detroit last year. All indications are that Bieber has completely recovered from a shoulder strain that cost him three months on the IL last year, and we look for him to lead his team to victory.
Bet: Cleveland Guardians ML (-125 at DraftKings)
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals O/U 8 (-110)
Forty-year-old Adam Wainwright is showing no signs of declining with age, as his 17 wins and 3.05 ERA last year made for his most successful season since 2014 when he finished third in the Cy Young voting.
Wainwright has owned the Pirates in his career, as his .750 winning percentage (21-7 record) is the best against any division rival. Additionally, Pirates starter JT Brubaker's career ERA is over three runs better in the first half of the season as opposed to the second half (4.47 compared to 7.57), and his 2.63 ERA in March/April is by far his lowest compared to other months. Thus, we trust each pitcher's ability to keep the scoring down in this game.
The head-to-head trends support the under as well. The under is 3-0-3 in the last six meetings in St. Louis between these teams and is 7-3-3 in their previous 13 meetings overall.
Bet: UNDER 8 runs (-110 at DraftKings)
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Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.