Happy Friday, sports betting friends! I hope your Thursday treated you with lots of winners. Welcome to Rivalry Weekend in Major League Baseball. We'll be treated to some intense matchups like the Subway Series between the Mets and Yankees and the Ohio Cup between the Reds and Guardians.
I love jumping on the opening odds for the next day's games as soon as they are posted, which is at about 2 PM Eastern Time the day prior. Other intriguing series that are going down this weekend include the White Sox at Cubs, Nationals at Orioles, and Cardinals at Royals.
Check out our 3 MLB openers for Friday, May 16th below. Let's cash these, mi amigos. As always, make sure to select listed pitchers at whichever sportsbook you're playing these at. Best of luck!
DET at TOR - 7:07 PM EDT (Flaherty vs. Francis)
I get that Jack Flaherty has been struggling lately, but my goodness, this price is just way too cheap on a savvy veteran like him. "Jack Black" has owned this Blue Jays lineup in his career, as he's held them to an expected batting average of just .182. He's also posted an impressive K-rate of 32.3%.
Bowden Francis had a decent 2024, but he's been struggling early and often to start his 2025 campaign. The 29-year-old righty has been leaving his breaking pitches up in the zone, and these big-league hitters have been making him pay. The Tigers have an uncanny ability to punish opposing pitchers for mistakes, so this could be an ugly outing for Mr. Francis.
No team has been hotter at the plate than the Tigers, and no player has been hotter at the plate than Javy Baez. Detroit leads MLB in WRC+ over the last 2 weeks. Don't overthink this one. Play the Motor City Kitties!
ATL at BOS - 7:10 PM EDT (Sale vs. Crochet)
It kills me to bet against my favorite team, but my allegiance is always to our respective bankrolls. Atlanta has sucked all year long against lefties and now they have to face one of the best in the business in Garrett Crochet. The former White Sox hurler is off to another dominant start this season, as he's 4-2 with a 1.93 ERA through 9 starts.
The Bravos offense has looked better lately, but I don't think they'll get much done against Crochet. Atlanta is just 26th in WRC+ against southpaws, so it could be a long Friday night at the dish for them against Crochet's filthy breaking pitches.
Boston may have a hard time scoring on Chris Sale, but I trust the BoSox bullpen and their offense much more than I do Atlanta's. The Red Sox are the 7th-best team in baseball when facing lefties. Let's lay the very reasonable number with Boston.
MIN at MIL - 8:10 PM EDT (Ryan vs. Patrick)
I'm still scratching my head at this line. We're getting the hottest team in baseball (Minnesota) with their ace on the hill (Joe Ryan) at almost a pick'em price. It seems too good to be true, but I'll bite.
Just how hot have the Twinkies been? They've won 11 in a row, and their bullpen just got a lot of rest thanks to a dominant performance from Chris Paddack against the Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
Speaking of that Twins bullpen, I have them rated as the 2nd best in baseball. They rank 2nd in K minus BB rate, while the Brew Crew ranks just 20th. Give me Minnesota to take Game 1 against Milwaukee.