Best MLB Bets Today: Max Fried Makes Yankees Debut

The season's first week has brought us our first glimpse of stars with their new teams. We’ll get that tonight as Max Fried takes the mound for the first time as a Yankee. We will share our pick for this game below and two of our other favorite bets for today.

Our odds are taken from Caesars Sportsbook. If you want to create a new Caesars account to bet on MLB games this season, use promo code WSNDYW to claim a “Bet $1, Get Ten 100% Profit Boost Tokens” offer.

Milwaukee Brewers vs. New York Yankees (1:05 PM, EST)

Brewers ML (+130) at Caesars Sportsbook

Milwaukee made a great move by adding Nestor Cortes. The veteran had a solid season for the Yankees last year, bouncing back after an injury-plagued 2023 campaign. Cortes will face his former team at the first start with the Brew Crew, giving him extra motivation to show New York what they lost.

Cortes has the unique advantage of making his first start in his former home park. The 30-year-old was fantastic at Yankee Stadium last season, posting a 3.11 ERA while opponents hit a lowly batting average of .229. Combine that with the Yankees lineup having had just six career games against Cortes, and you can see why we like him to deliver a gem tonight.

We also expect Max Fried to shine in his Yankee debut, which means this game will come down to bullpens. Milwaukee lost Devin Williams to New York in the offseason, but still has the superior set of relievers. That will play a significant role against a Yankee lineup that relied on some wind-aided home runs to get the win in the season opener. 

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Philadelphia Phillies vs. Washington Nationals (4:05 PM, EST)

Over 8.5 (-115) at Caesars Sportsbook

This game has all the makings of a high-scoring battle. While Washington can’t match the Phillies' offense talent, they won’t need to with Jesus Lazardo on the mound for Philadelphia. 

The former Marlin has nasty stuff, but he was horrible last season. Injuries limited him to just 12 starts, during which time he went 3-6 with a 5.00 ERA. His last start came against the Nats in Washington, where he allowed five hits and two ER over five innings. He may be healthy now, but it will take time to get back into the groove after missing the final three months of the 2024 season.

Jake Irvin will be taking the mound for the Nationals tonight. The 28-year-old hasn’t been outstanding in his career and was especially bad at home last season. He went 3-9 with a 5.01 ERA over 13 starts. Those are concerning stats as he prepares to face a Phillies team he went 0-3 with a 7.59 ERA against in 2024.

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San Francisco Giants vs. Cincinnati Reds (4:10 PM, EST)

Reds ML (-125) at Caesars Sportsbook 

It looked like Justin Verlander was washed last season, but that didn’t stop the Giants from signing him in the offseason. The 42-year-old went 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA with the Astros last season. He showed no signs of turning things around, posting a 9.26 ERA in September. That has us betting heavily against him this season.

The Giants' lineup has more prominent names, but the Reds’ will be dangerous at the plate this season. Their success will be driven by 23-year-old Elly De La Cruz, who is quickly approaching superstardom. Expect him to show why against the aging Verlander tonight.

We are concerned about Reds’ starter, Nick Lodolo, but we have far more faith in him than Verlander tonight.

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