The top two teams in the AL East collide when the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays open a four-game series on Thursday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Yankees (31-13) enter the series with the best record in baseball and a 4.5-game lead over the second-place Rays (26-17) in the division. Two lefties — New York’s Nestor Cortes (3-1, 1.80 ERA) and Tampa Bay’s Ryan Yarbrough (0-0, 4.20) — take the mound. New York is a -125 money-line favorite (risk $125 to win $100) in the latest MLB odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while Tampa Bay is a +105 underdog.
First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. ET. The game is one of 11 on the MLB schedule for Thursday. Elsewhere in the majors, the Brewers and Cardinals (-120) open an NL Central showdown in St. Louis, and two-way star Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for the Angels (-160) against the Blue Jays. Before making any MLB picks or parlays, be sure to check out the baseball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times and it is off to a strong start to the 2022 season. It’s on a 41-30 roll on top-rated MLB money-line picks through seven weeks, returning almost $600 for $100 players. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has locked in three confident MLB best bets for Thursday. The games don’t start until 7:10 p.m. ET, so there’s still plenty of time to get your MLB picks in. If you successfully parlay the picks, you’d be looking at a payout of almost 21-1. You can only see the model’s MLB picks at SportsLine.
Top MLB picks today
After simulating every game on Thursday 10,000 times, the model is high on the Guardians (+120) beating the Tigers at 7:10 p.m. ET (see tickets at StubHub). Cleveland (18-22) sits in third place in the AL Central, seven games behind the division-leading Twins. Meanwhile Detroit (15-28) is in fourth place in the division, another 4.5 games behind the Guardians.
The Guardians have had success against Tigers starter Tarik Skubal (3-2, 2.22) in his career. The 25-year-old lefty is 0-2 with a 4.57 ERA in five career starts against Cleveland. Last season the Guardians pounded Skubal for 10 runs and 15 hits in 14⅔ innings across three starts.
Featured Game | Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians
How to make Thursday MLB parlays
The model also locked in three other best bets for Thursday, including a play on an even bigger underdog. You can see the model’s MLB Thursday best bets and parlay only at SportsLine.
What MLB picks should you target for a payout of almost 21-1? And what big underdog does the model like on Thursday? Visit SportsLine now to see the MLB best bets from an advanced model that is on a 41-30 roll on top-rated MLB money-line picks through seven weeks.