Andrew Ortenberg
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The MLB season is officially underway and we have a solid slate on Friday with a bunch of interesting games to pore over. And what better way to celebrate the second day of the new campaign than by going for a big payday? That’s right; we’re back with another mega parlay.
We’re going big and bold again, so let’s not waste any more time. But before we dive in, don’t forget to check out our free picks on the side and total for every MLB game today.
Rockies ML (+176)
Giants -1.5 (+152)
Reds ML (+160)
Parlay odds: +1708
Let’s break down each of the legs one by one.
Colorado Rockies ML (+176) over Los Angeles Dodgers
I’m a bit more bullish on this Rockies team than most others. They already beat expectations last year, and then they went out and added Kris Bryant on a huge deal this offseason. Perhaps most importantly for this wager, they were excellent at home last season. They struggled on the road, but went 48-33 at home.
Colorado will start Kyle Freeland here, and he fared pretty well against Los Angeles’ admittedly impressive lineup last season. In four 2021 starts against the Dodgers, Freeland had an ERA of 3.24. Los Angeles has been so hyped this offseason that it’s only fitting they’d lose their opener. This line has been inflated by all the Dodgers superteam talk. Walker Buehler will start for Los Angeles, and the last time he pitched at Coors Field he lasted less than four innings while giving up seven hits and five earned runs.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Los Angeles Dodgers vs Colorado Rockies
San Francisco Giants -1.5 (+152) over Miami Marlins
We’re sticking in the NL West for the next leg of our mega parlay. The Giants won a league-best 107 games last year, but still can’t get much respect. San Francisco has heard all the talk about how their 2021 season was a complete fluke, so they’ll be extra motivated to come out and make a statement here in their first game. And what better team to make a statement against than the Marlins?
Miami was just 67-95 overall last season, and they were a pitiful 25-56 on the road. Giants starter Logan Webb has to be licking his chops to go against an anemic Marlins lineup that scored the second-fewest runs in all of baseball last year. Webb is coming off a breakout season where he had a 3.03 ERA, and he completely shut down the Dodgers twice in the playoffs last year. The Giants might not need too many runs to cover this -1.5.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Miami Marlins vs San Francisco Giants
Cincinnati Reds ML (+160) over Atlanta Braves
I leaned toward the Braves on Opening Day, and boy was I wrong. It’s true that Cincy traded away Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez this offseason, but they’ve still got plenty of pop on offense. They still have Jonathan India, Tommy Pham, Joey Votto, Mike Moustakas and others. The Reds believe that Aristides Aquino can get back to the tantalizing potential he showed a couple of years ago. Cincinnati was able to smack around Max Fried for five earned runs on Thursday, and they’ll have an easier matchup here against a 38-year-old Charlie Morton.
The Braves are still going to be without Ronald Acuna, who isn’t quite ready to return from his knee injury yet. That’s music to the ears of Reds starter Reiver Sanmartin. The young lefty looked great in his only two career big league starts last year, giving up just two runs in 11 and 2/3 innings.
Be sure to check out our full game preview for Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves
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