MLB Betting Lines, Schedule and Starting Pitchers in the 2024 Opening Day

The L.A. Dodgers and the San Diego Padres officially opened regular-season action for the 2024 MLB season with a two-game set in Seoul, South Korea. The National League West foes split the series, meaning that everyone in the division is still tied for first, at .500. All 30 teams will take the field on Thursday, March 28, the first day of the regular season for everyone else. Let’s break down the schedule and the betting MLB picks of the Opening Day

2024 MLB Betting Analysis: Opening Day Preview and Game Schedule

• Milwaukee Brewers at N.Y. Mets – 1:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Freddy Peralta (MIL) vs Jose Quintana (NY)
• L.A. Angels at Baltimore Orioles 3:05 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Patrick Sandoval (LA) vs Corbin Burnes (BAL)
• Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies – 3:05 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Spencer Strider (ATL) vs Zack Wheeler (PHI)
• Detroit Tigers at Chicago White Sox – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Tarik Skubal (DET) vs Garrett Crochet (CHI)
• Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Pablo Lopez (MIN) vs Cole Ragans (KC)
• N.Y. Yankees at Houston Astros – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Nestor Cortes (NY) vs Framber Valdez (HOU)
• Pittsburgh Pirates at Miami Marlins – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Mitch Keller (PIT) vs Jesus Luzardo (MIA)
• San Francisco Giants at San Diego Padres – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Logan Webb (SF) vs Yu Darvish (SD)
• St. Louis Cardinals at L.A. Dodgers – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Miles Mikolas (STL) vs Tyler Glasnow (LA)
• Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Jose Berrios (TOR) vs Zach Eflin (TB)
• Washington Nationals at Cincinnati Reds – 4:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Josiah Gray (WAS) vs Frankie Montas (CIN)
• Chicago Cubs at Texas Rangers – 7:35 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Justin Steele (CHI) vs Nathan Eovaldi (TEX)
• Cleveland Guardians at Oakland A’s – 10:07 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Shane Bieber (CLE) vs Alex Wood (OAK)
• Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners – 10:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Brayan Bello (BOS) vs Luis Castillo (SEA)
• Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks – 10:10 pm ET – Starting Pitchers: Kyle Freeland (COL) vs Zac Gallen (ARI)

Houston Astros

The Houston Astros made it to Game 7 of the ALCS last year, and their bullpen was already pretty solid with Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly lurking at the back end. However, the team still went out and added closer Josh Hader via free agency, giving the team the best free-agent option to add saves. With Abreu and Pressly ready to throw the seventh and eighth innings, the rotation should have less stress. That’s a good thing, because the Houston rotation isn’t all that deep. Justin Verlander (shoulder) and Jose Urquidy (forearm) open 2024 on the shelf, and Framber Valdez turned into an extremely hittable pitcher starting in September 2023. Cristian Javier and Hunter Brown can’t keep this team at the top of the AL West by themselves.

MLB Astros Betting Lines to Win Today

Texas Rangers

The Rangers are another elite team that has questions in their starting rotation. Jordan Montgomery, one of the Rangers’ postseason heroes, waited around for his former team to figure out their revenue situation and offer him a deal, but Texas squandered the opportunity, watching Montgomery sign a 1-year, $25 million deal with the team that Texas beat in the World Series – the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nathan Eovaldi and Jon Gray are a decent 1-2 punch to start the year, assuming that Gray is healthy, but the next three names are Andrew Heaney, Dane Dunning, and Cody Bradford or Michael Lorenzen. That’s not a division-winning rotation, so the team is waiting for Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom to show up around the All-Star break to provide reinforcements. Between now and then, the offense will need to step up. The team added Wyatt Langford to the major-league roster as the sound of his bat echoing throughout spring training made sending him down impossible. Langford is a top pick for AL Rookie of the Year, and he could crack 30 home runs. Adolis Garcia is back and healthy, and rookie Evan Carter, who shined in the 2023 postseason, is ready to contribute for his first full season.

MLB Rangers Betting Lines to Win Today

N.Y. Yankees

The Yankees already had some questions coming into 2024 as far as depth, and then starting pitcher Gerrit Cole went from Opening Day starter to the injured list. His elbow won’t need Tommy John surgery, but he won’t be available until early May. Now Nestor Cortes will start Opening Day, and Carlos Rodon will also feel the heat when it comes to producing in one of the top two rotation slots. Adding Juan Soto to a scary batting order that already had a healthy Aaron Judge gives the Yankees a boost in the division, but having to play along with Baltimore, Toronto and Tampa Bay in the AL East means less room for error.

MLB Yankees Betting Lines to Win Today

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks are suddenly a scary team in the National League. They already had Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly atop their starting rotation, and adding Eduardo Rodriguez and Jordan Montgomery makes that unit competitive with every other rotation in the National League. They also added Joc Pederson and Eugenio Suarez, but the surprising run they made through the National League in the playoffs has put them onto the national radar in terms fo expectation. Gallen is a smart pick for the NL Cy Young this year due to his consistency in chewing up innings and posting superior walk and strikeout rates. He threw 210 innings in 2023; in 2022 his home run rate was 2.1%. If he can combine those numbers in some way, he would definitely be hard to keep off the top offf the Cy Young ballot. Expect Alek Thomas, Geraldo Perdomo, Brandon Pfaadt, and Corbin Carroll to keep improving as well.

MLB Diamondbacks Betting Lines to Win Today

Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays were on top of the world for one day near the start of December, when the rumors swirled that Shohei Ohtani was headed to Canada. However, those rumors vanished, and Ohtani ended up signing with the Dodgers instead. The Blue Jays had to settle for Justin Turner, who is now 39, righty Yariel Rodriguez who comes from Cuba to make his MLB debut, DH Daniel Vogelbach, and Swiss Army knife-style utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who has a career .660 OPS. If Bo Bichette keeps pounding opposing pitching and Vladimir Guerrero Jr can have a throwback year to his MVP-level play (he hit 48 home runs and came in second in the MVP voting in 2021, when he was just 22), then the Blue Jays become interesting in the AL East. Kevin Gausman came in third in the AL Cy Young balloting last year and could make that next step toward the trophy. Daulton Varsho needs to improve from that .674 OPS he posted last year, and Alejandro Kirk, whose batting average dropped from .285 in 2022 to .250 in 2023, needs to find that bad again. Remember when George Springer was raking in Houston? He’s 34 now, and his adjusted OPS in 2023 was just two points above the MLB average. Improvements are due up and down this lineup.

MLB Blue Jays Betting Lines to Win Today

San Diego Padres

The Padres have lost a ton of talent. Juan Soto, perhaps the world’s best hitter, got shipped to the Bronx. Closer Josh Hader is in Houston. Starting pitcher Blake Snell is now up the coast in San Francisco. Nick Martinez, Trent Grishman, Drew Pomeranz, and Seth Lugo are all gone. The biggest addition is Dylan Cease. So why would you think the Padres can improve from last season’s disappointment to snag a wild-card berth in the playoffs this year? They still have Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Xander Bogaerts, Joe Musgrove, and Fernando Tatis Jr. There’s still plenty of star power at Petco Park, but it’s time for the team to play like it.

MLB Padres Betting Lines to Win Today

MLB Conferences Winners

Bet World Series Today
Xbet Betting Lines for the Game

MLB Odds Opening Day

Love betting on baseball like in the MLB? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date MLB betting Odds for all Regular Season, Playoffs, and World Series games.