MLB Opening Day picks 2022: Best bets, odds, parlays for first day of baseball season

April 7 marks the start of the MLB's new season. The lockout was ongoing for a few weeks. Now, gamblers can bet on the sport almost every day for the duration of summer and through September. It's difficult to bet early in the season, because of unpredictable nature of baseball. However, once bettors gather data on early-season performance of teams, it becomes easier to spot undervalued spreads and over/unders.

The odds for each of MLB's seven Opening Day games are listed below.

St. Louis Cardinals are the favorite to win on Opening Day. They are taking on the Pirates, who have the third-lowest payroll in baseball at $37.9 million. Adam Wainwright is the Cardinals' ace and he has a history of success against Pittsburgh's hitters. Albert Pujols will play his first game since rejoining the team.

Guardians and Royals are playing a game. Shane Bieber made 16 starts for Cleveland last year. Zack Greinke will start for Kansas City for the first time since he was traded there in 2012. Greinske had some rough outings last season, but he allowed three or fewer runs in 21 of his 30 starts.

Cubs are betting on their team to beat the Brewers on Opening Day. Kyle Hendricks has started six games against the Milwaukee in the last two seasons and has pitched at least six innings while allowing two or fewer runs in four of them. The team with the better lineup is betting against Chicago. The game will be played at Wrigley Field.

The Cardinals are a good bet to beat the Pirates. The Angels are playing the Astros, who are weaker without Carlos Correa. Los Angeles batters have a slash line of .306/.381/.446 against Framber Valdez. The payout for a bet at that margin is +150.

Padres at Diamondbacks is a game to watch on Opening Day. The over/under is 9. Padres and Diamondback's starters have struggled against each other. It's never fun to bet the under. Guardians at Royals is also a good bet. Guardians and Royals will finish off MLB's Opening day.

There are seven MLB Opening Day games scheduled to take place on Thursday.

Brewers play at Wrigley Field on the first day of the baseball season. The game is a pitcher's duel between Corbin Burnes and Kyle Hendricks.

Cubs will beat the Brewers on Opening Day 2022.

Mets are going to start their bullpen with Tylor Megill instead of Jacob deGrom. The Nationals will start Patrick Corbin. New York has a better lineup and a well-rested bullpen.

Mets will beat the Nationals 6-3 on Opening Day 2022.

Guardians at Royals is the first game of the new baseball season. Shane Bieber is expected to start for the Guardians. Zack Greinke is starting for Royals.

Guardians will beat Royals on opening day of baseball season 2022.

JT Brubaker and Adam Wainwright are the projected pitchers for the Cardinals. The Cardinals should be able to earn a big win over the Pirates.

The Cardinals are predicted to beat the Pirates 9-2 on Opening Day 2022.

Reds and Braves are playing on the opening day of the baseball season. Tyler Mahle and Max Fried are the starting pitchers for the Reds. The Braves have lost their Opening Day games since the year following their World Series victory.

The Braves will beat the Reds on Opening Day 2022.

Framber Valdez is the projected pitcher for the Astros. He has struggled against the Angels. The Angels have a lineup featuring Ohtani, Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.

Angels will beat the Astros on opening day of the 2022 MLB season.

Yu Darvish and Madison Bumgarner are the projected pitching matchup for the opening day of the baseball season.

Padres will beat Diamondbacks 10-7 on Opening Day 2022.