Despite gloomy April showers coming down across the nation, baseball does not wait for May flowers. The 2024 season is getting underway as we wrap up the first week of April, and Friday’s slate features 13 games. From those games, we’ve selected our favorite bets of the day. All odds are courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Grace McDermott’s 2024 MLB Best Bets record: 3-0
MLB bets: Friday, April 5
Reds -1.5 vs. Mets (+160)
The Mets’ season is off to a rough start. The Brewers swept them at Citi Field, and the Tigers took the first two of a three-game home series for the Mets. The team just earned their first win of the season on Thursday. A road trip to Cincinnati begins on Friday, and the Reds’ offense has been much more potent than the Mets’ to start the season. New York has scored more than two runs in just two games this season, while the Reds have scored four or more runs in every game thus far.
Phillies vs. Nationals O8 runs (-112)
The Phillies and the Nationals are each off to a 2-4 start to the 2024 season, but their matchups have been fairly high-scoring thus far. Today’s pitching matchup features Patrick Corbin for Washington and Aaron Nola for Philly. Corbin let up four runs in 4.1 innings in his first start and Nola allowed seven in 4.1 innings. Both teams are 5-1 on the over through six games.
Rangers ML vs. Astros (+114)
The Astros have had an interesting start to the year, going 2-4 but putting together 10-0 and 8-0 shutouts in their two wins. They enter as road favorites against the Rangers on Friday evening, with Cody Bradford on the mound for Texas and Hunter Brown on the mound for Houston. With the Astros’ wild inconsistencies to begin the season, I like the Rangers to take the first game of the series at home after they took two of three games in each of their first two series.