Happy Friday, sports betting friends! I hope your Thursday treated you with lots of winners. Now that we have several weeks' worth of data to digest, I've decided to take a stab at some openers from time to time.
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. Some of the more intriguing weekend series include the Cubs at Mets, Phillies at Guardians, and Dodgers at D'Backs.
Check out our 3 MLB openers for Friday, May 9th 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!
CHC at NYM - 7:10 PM EDT
Clay Holmes looks a lot more comfortable than I thought he would as a starter. The former Yankees closer has been lights out since moving to the Mets' starting rotation. The 32-year-old is 4-1 with a nice ERA of just 2.95.
Holmes misses a lot of barrels with his 94-mph sinker, and his five other pitches aren't too bad either. He should be able to keep this very good Cubs offense at bay for the first half of this game at home.
I've never been a big believer in Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. He doesn't throw very hard, and he's been hanging his breaking balls too often. I also think that the Mets have a much better bullpen in this matchup.
PHI at CLE - 7:10 PM EDT
I'm taking a gamble by jumping on this line early. Philly hasn't announced an official starter but I'm banking on it being Aaron Nola. If that's the case, I think Philly should be closer to a -160 favorite, even on the road.
We've ridden the Fightin' Phils all week long, and there's really no reason to jump off the train at this point. I love how stacked this Phillies lineup is. They have 6 players with expected batting averages above .262, and Kyle Schwarber has been mashing the ball all season long.
Cleveland definitely has the better bullpen, but that's about the only edge I see for them on Friday night. Nola hasn't gotten off to a great start this year, but I still trust him a whole lot more than Gavin Williams. Let's lay it with the Phillies!
NYY at ATH - 10:05 PM EDT
Why in the world isn't this line closer to -165 or so? Yes, I know the A's are much better than people expected, but the books are giving them too much respect with this cheap price on the Yanks.
Will Warren hasn't looked all that great for New York, but I'll take him over A's starter Osvaldo Bido, who has a K-rate of just 13.1% this season. I actually have Bido listed as one of the worst starters in MLB so far, so the Yanks lineup should feast against him.
Speaking of that Yanks lineup, they're pretty dangerous even without Jazz Chisholm. They rank 3rd in WRC+ against right-handers and 5th over the last 14 days. Give me the Boys in Pinstripes to take Game 1 against the A's.