MLB Opening Day picks - March 27

After a long and eventful offseason, it's finally time for baseball once again. The 2025 MLB season gets underway in earnest with Opening Day on Thursday, March 27, with 14 games taking place across the league. There are plenty of compelling matchups for baseball fans across the globe to enjoy, so let’s get into our predictions and best bets for the first day of MLB action.

MLB Opening Day Predictions

Pick #1: Boston Red Sox ML over Texas Rangers (-120)

Pick #2: New York Yankees ML over Milwaukee Brewers (-155)

Pick #3: Los Angeles Dodgers ML over Detroit Tigers (-150)

PICK #1: Red Sox ML over Rangers (-120)

Both of these teams should be in the mix in the American League all season long, but on Opening Day, our expert will take the Red Sox to start off the season on the right foot.

The pitching matchup for this one skews in the Red Sox’s favor, as we’ll see Garrett Crochet take the mound for Boston against Nathan Eovaldi for Texas. Given Texas’ major questions in its rotation this season, the Rangers are putting a lot of pressure on Eovaldi to stay healthy and steady this volatile group. 

On the other side, Crochet should be plenty motivated to make a statement in the first start for his new team. Our expert is partial to Boston in all three phases of the game in this matchup, especially with the edge the Red Sox have on the mound. 

Crochet is the more dominant pitcher between the two, Boston has the steadier bullpen (albeit not by much), and we much prefer the Boston lineup in this game. With Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman at the top, plus a healthy Trevor Story at the moment, this lineup has plenty of ways to win if this turns into a higher-scoring affair. 

Ultimately, Boston has multiple ways to win this game, so we’ll take the Red Sox on the money line.

PICK #2: Yankees ML over Brewers (-155)

The Yankees are in a strange spot entering Opening Day. New York is coming off an offseason where it lost Juan Soto to the Mets and Nestor Cortes to the Brewers (in exchange for Devin Williams), while the Yankees signed Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt to strengthen their lineup following Soto’s departure. 

New York appeared to be in good shape to win the AL East once again heading into the 2025 campaign, but injuries have been piling up in spring training, including the loss of Gerrit Cole for the season. Therefore, with their ace sidelined due to Tommy John surgery, Carlos Rodon will get the nod to start for the Yankees in this one.

Opposing Rodon will be Freddy Peralta, who had a rough spring training, finishing 1-2 with an 8.56 ERA in just 13.2 innings pitched. Our expert gives the Yankees an edge on the mound in this game, and Peralta’s struggles could continue in the Bronx against a New York lineup that is still pretty formidable, even without Giancarlo Stanton in the middle. 

Rodon pitching at home could be the difference-maker in this matchup, and the Yankees certainly have a stronger bullpen, which can shut things down if New York is holding a late lead. All things considered, we’ll be backing the Yankees on the money line to open the season with a victory. 

PICK #3: Dodgers ML over Tigers (-150)

Even without Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the defending World Series champions have already won their first two games of the season in Tokyo last week, proving that the lofty preseason hype was certainly justified. 

On Thursday, the Dodgers will face off against the upstart Detroit Tigers, who will send ace Tarik Skubal to the mound following a tremendous 2024 campaign. Los Angeles will counter with newly acquired Blake Snell, who was terrific in the second half of the season with San Francisco a year ago.

In 2024, the Dodgers’ lineup was tops in all of baseball in OPS (.795) against left-handed pitching, which is something Skubal should keep in mind when facing hitters like Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Max Muncy if they all get the nod to start on Thursday. 

While Mookie Betts will likely miss this contest as well due to a battle with an ongoing illness, the Dodgers should still hold a significant advantage at the plate in Thursday’s matchup. Don’t expect Detroit’s bats to start off hot against Snell and a well-rested Dodgers bullpen that is probably the deepest unit in the sport. 

Overall, Los Angeles should have just a bit too much for the Tigers in this game, so we’ll back the Dodgers on the money line.