Major League Baseball returns Thursday, July 23, with two games. The New York Yankees visit the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants face the rival Los Angeles Dodgers. The rest of MLB will throw their first pitches on the official Opening Day of Friday, July 24. Let’s get some action in on MLB’s Opening Day slate with a can’t miss four-team parlay.
MLB Opening Day Parlay: Picks
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday, July 21 at 3:15 p.m. ET.
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: UNDER 8 (-110)
SP Clayton Kershaw takes the mound on Opening Day for the ninth time in the past 10 seasons for the Dodgers. He has owned the Giants over his career with a 1.74 ERA and 350 strikeouts in 342 1/31 career innings. He has given up two or fewer runs in eight of his last 13 starts against the Giants from 2017 to 2019. In his last five Opening Day starts, Kershaw is 3-1 over 30 2/3 innings pitched, striking out 40 batters and allowing only six earned runs.
While Giants SP Johnny Cueto doesn’t have the Hall of Fame resume of Kershaw, he has pitched well in his career against the Dodgers. His record is only 4-5 in Los Angeles, but he has a 2.36 ERA and 1.066 WHIP at Dodgers Stadium.
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Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs: CHC moneyline (-129)
It wouldn’t be a bad idea if the Brewers went with an opener in their first game. Instead, SP Brandon Woodruff will take the mound. He’s 0-0 in five appearances against the Cubs with a 6.75 ERA.
Chicago sends out SP Kyle Hendricks who was dominant at home last season with a 6-2 record in 14 starts with a 2.04 ERA and a 0.874 WHIP. He has pitched well against Milwaukee in his career as well, going 8-6 with a 3.08 ERA all-time against the Brewers. Neither team lost key contributors to their lineups and the Cubs had more production in the box in 2019.
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Arizona Diamondbacks vs. San Diego Padres: SDP moneyline (-129)
The Diamondbacks signed SP Madison Bumgarner this offseason to replace the loss of former ace Zack Greinke and he gets the start on Opening Day. He has been pretty average, by his standards, in San Diego. Bumgarner is 5-7 with a 3.75 ERA in his career at Petco Park.
Arizona beat up on San Diego in 2019. They were 8-2 in their last 10 games versus the Padres and finished 15 games better than them in the NL West last season. Diego’s promising 24-year-old SP Chris Paddack pitched well in his three starts against Arizona. Paddack was 1-0 with a 1.08 ERA and struck out 20 batters over 16 2/3 innings pitched.
Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros: HOU -1.5 run line (-139)
This is probably the chalkiest bet of the whole parlay but there’s a reason why Houston is heavily favored. The Astros had the best winning percentage against division opponents in 2019, the Mariners had the fourth-lowest. Houston has beaten Seattle in 13 straight games and won 18 of 19 meetings last season.
Seattle’s Opening Day starter is Marco Gonzales, who’s 0-4 with a 7.36 ERA in his career against Houston. Expect 2019 AL Cy Young Award winner SP Justin Verlander to be in mid-season form after spending the offseason dealing with the Astros’ sign-stealing controversy and a groin injury which had him set to miss the original Opening Day.
MLB Opening Day Parlay: Payout
A $100 wager at +940 odds for this four-leg parlay would bank a profit of $940 if all four bets win.
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