Giants vs. Yankees Opening Day 2023: MLB Odds and Betting Lines

The San Francisco Giants tried everything they could to lure New York Yankees slugger and 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge in free agency but couldn’t close the deal. Perhaps it’s fitting, then, that the Giants open the 2023 regular season – with the new pitch clock, bigger bases and no infield shifts – at the Yankees on Thursday afternoon.

Play Ball: Giants vs. Yankees Begins New Season Thursday: 2023 MLB Expert Analysis | MLB Betting Review by MyBookie

How to Bet Giants at Yankees MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 1:05 PM ET
Where: Yankee Stadium
Probable pitchers (away/home): Logan Webb/Gerrit Cole
TV: MLB Network
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -170, Giants +160

Why Bet on San Francisco?

The Giants won 107 games and the NL West in 2021 but slipped to 81-81 last year and missed the playoffs, and they aren’t very likely to make it this year, either, after losing out on Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa in free agency, although losing Correa was the Giants’ choice.

Outfielders Mitch Haniger (Grade 1 left oblique strain) and Austin Slater (left hamstring strain) will begin the season on the injured list. Haniger was the team’s main fallback free agent this winter, signing a three-year deal. The 32-year-old grew up in the Bay Area and spent the first seven seasons of his big league career with the Seattle Mariners. He slashed .246/.308/.429 with 11 home runs in 57 games around injuries in 2022. Injuries have been the story of Haniger’s career; since his 2017, his first full MLB season, he has played only 530 of 870 possible regular season games.

The strength of the Giants is expected to be a deep starting rotation, which is led by homegrown ace Logan Webb and veterans Alex Cobb, Anthony DeSclafani, Alex Wood, Stripling and Manaea. San Francisco’s starters led the Majors with a 3.10 FIP in 2022, and they will once again be counted on to set the tone throughout the regular season.

“Probably the most encouraging thing is we’re seemingly headed into the last couple of days of camp with a pretty healthy pitching staff,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “I don’t think there are many teams that can say that they have the pitching depth that we have.”

Webb gets the call Thursday. At 26, Webb is the youngest member of San Francisco’s starting rotation, but he’ll be tasked with setting the tone for a deep staff that has the potential to be among the best in MLB, even without All-Star left-hander Carlos Rodón, who also left to join the Yanks on a six-year, $162 million deal. Webb is coming off a sensational 2022 campaign that saw him set career bests in games started (32), innings pitched (192 1/3), ERA (2.90) and wins (15).

A major focus for him this spring was regaining his feel for his slider, which held opposing batters to a .202 average and induced 60 strikeouts in ‘22. That was a slight dip from the .156 opponents’ batting average and 88 strikeouts he recorded with the pitch in ‘21.

“It’s an honor to be able to say I started on Opening Day, especially because we’ll be at Yankee Stadium,” Webb said. “My family’s pretty excited about it. I think there’s like 50 people coming, so it’s going to be just like pitching at home. I’m excited.”

It’s the second straight year that Webb has been given the ball for Game 1, making him the first Giants pitcher to start Opening Day in consecutive years since Madison Bumgarner did it four times from 2014 through 2017. Webb was good in last year’s game, giving up six baserunners and one run in six innings of work, as the Giants beat the Miami Marlins in extra innings.

Why Bet on New York?

The Yankees open the season without starting center fielder Harrison Bader, who could miss the firs month with a strained left oblique. He will join pitchers Carlos Rodon, Tommy Kahnle, Lou Trivino and Frankie Montas on the injured list to start the season.

New York’s starting shortstop on Thursday will be highly touted rookie Anthony Volpe, who won the job this spring in which he batted .314/.417/.647 with three home runs and 10 extra-base hits in 17 games. During his first full minor-league season in 2021, Volpe established himself as one of the best prospects in baseball, and he followed it with a standout 2022 that ended at Triple-A. In 275 minor league games, Volpe hit .263/.376/.505 with 50 home runs and 89 stolen bases.

Still, he was an underdog heading into spring training, with Oswald Peraza, another front-line shortstop prospect, expected to earn the job. Peraza struggled and has been sent down. Volpe will bat ninth as he acclimates to facing major league arms for the first time after just 22 career games above Double-A.

It’s ace right-hander Gerrit Cole on the mound for New York. In 33 starts with the Yankees last year, he went 13-8 with a 3.50 ERA and an MLB-best 257 strikeouts, the most by a Yankees pitcher in a single season in franchise history, surpassing Ron Guidry’s previous record of 248K in 1978.

Cole allowed 3ER-or-fewer in 24 of his 33 starts and 2ER-or-fewer in 19 starts. He allowed one-or-zero earned runs in 13 starts and tossed six scoreless starts. Cole got 3R-or-fewer of support in 22 of 33 starts, including 10 of his final 14 starts. He recorded nine double-digit strikeout games this season, tied for the most in franchise history (also had nine in 2021 and David Cone’s nine in 1998).

This will be Cole’s fourth straight Opening Day start. His first as a Yankee came on July 23, 2020, as the COVID-19-shortened season began at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Cole picked up a complete-game victory that night despite throwing only five innings in a rain-shortened contest. Cole received a no-decision against the Blue Jays in the April 1, 2021, opener at Yankee Stadium after striking out eight and allowing two runs over 5 1/3 innings. Cole also accepted a no-decision last April 8 against the Red Sox, when he permitted three runs over four innings in the Bronx.

Cole had a strong 2023 spring, striking out 27 batters in 21 2/3 innings while compiling a 3.32 ERA over five starts. Aaron Judge hit .368 (14-for-38) with two homers in 15 spring games.