The Houston Astros won the World Series in 2017 after going 101-61 during the regular season including an impressive 53-28 record on the road. The Astros will kick off their title defense on the road against the Texas Rangers on Thursday night.
MLB Opening Day 2018 odds: Astros, Yankees, Dodgers all betting favorites for Thursday
The Astros visit the Rangers in one of many intriguing Opening Day matchups on Thursday, with Houston just one of the betting favorites at the sportsbooks.
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Houston is going off as a -158 road favorite at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Justin Verlander will take the mound for the defending champions facing Cole Hamels and the Rangers (+148). Verlander was nothing short of sensational for the Astros last season as a trade acquisition posting a 5-0 record with a 1.06 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP in five regular season starts and a 4-1 record with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP in six postseason starts.
Three of the teams looking to dethrone Houston for the top spot in the American League also start their season on the road on Opening Day. The New York Yankees (-146) visit the Toronto Blue Jays (+136), the Boston Red Sox (-165) head to Tampa Bay to face the Rays (+155) and the Cleveland Indians (-163) clash with the Seattle Mariners (+153).
Baseball fans around the country are excited to see the new-look Yankees in action. Aaron Judge had a breakout campaign in 2017 smashing 52 home runs with 128 runs and 114 RBI, and he’ll be joined this year in the lineup by offseason acquisition Giancarlo Stanton. Stanton racked up 59 home runs with 123 runs and 132 RBI in 2017 and could do even more damage in Yankee pinstripes. New York is 15-4 in Luis Severino’s last 19 starts per the OddsShark MLB Database.
Boston’s Chris Sale squaring off against Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer should be one of the best pitching matchups of Opening Day. The total for this game is set at just seven runs, matching the lowest total on the board shared with St. Louis (+131) at the New York Mets (-141) and San Francisco (+252) at the Los Angeles Dodgers (-282). It should be a great pitching duel between Carlos Martinez and Noah Syndergaard in New York, while in Los Angeles the Dodgers are far and away the biggest Opening Day favorite with Clayton Kershaw taking the hill.
MLB Thursday Betting Lines
San Francisco Giants (+252) at Los Angeles Dodgers (-282)
Boston Red Sox (-165) at Tampa Bay Rays (+155)
Cleveland Indians (-163) at Seattle Mariners (+153)
Houston Astros (-158) at Texas Rangers (+148)
New York Yankees (-146) at Toronto Blue Jays (+136)
St. Louis Cardinals (+131) at New York Mets (-141)
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
