The 2022 Major League Baseball season gets underway with seven games on Thursday, April 7. It’s hard to declare a true headliner on a slate when every team is 0-0, but the most intriguing matchup is the showdown between the Astros and Angels at 9:38 p.m. ET. 

Odds provided by BetMGM

Spread: Angels -1.5 (+155) vs. Astros +1.5 (-190)

Moneyline: Angels (-120) vs. Astros (+100)

Total: ‘Over’ 8.5 (-120) | ‘Under’ 8.5 +100

The first thing bettors should note for this game is that Shohei Ohtani will toe the rubber for the Halos. That means that public money should show up on the Angels, which is why it’s not surprising to see them as a favorite in a game against the Astros, who are the fourth-favorite in the World Series market at 10/1. 

Ohtani was a true marvel in 2021, but there’s really not much that separates him and Framber Valdez, the pitcher he’ll be squaring off against on Thursday night. Ohtani pitched to a 3.18 ERA, 3.55 xFIP, and 1.09 WHIP in 130 1/3 innings last season. The former Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighter struck out 10.8 batters per nine innings and surrendered just over one homer for every nine frames he tossed. 

Valdez was not far behind Ohtani in 2021, pitching to a 3.14 ERA, 3.58 xFIP, and 1.25 WHIP in 134 2/3 innings. The 28-year-old southpaw struck out 8.4 batters per nine innings and gave up 0.8 home runs per nine innings. Not only did Valdez strike out nearly a batter per inning, but he’s also an exceptional groundball merchant and led the Majors (min. 100 innings pitched) with a 70.3% groundball rate in 2021. 

With a pitching matchup this tight and the lineups a near wash, this game projects pretty close to a coin flip, so there’s value on the Astros as a plus-money underdog on Opening Day and there’s nothing wrong with taking Houston at +105 on the First-5-Inning (F5) moneyline as well.