The Houston Astros begin another season as the hunted.

Almost five months after claiming their second World Series title, the Astros opened the 2023 season on Thursday as the consensus favorite to make it three in seven years.

That includes at BetMGM, where the Astros are the +600 favorites ahead of the Atlanta Braves (+750), while the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees both opened the season at +800. That represents a shift from just after last year’s World Series, when the Dodgers were installed as the +500 favorite ahead of the Astros at +700.

That was before a busy offseason that saw numerous marquee names switch jerseys.

The Astros lost ace Justin Verlander, but acquired former American League MVP Jose Abreu while locking up multiple young stars with multi-year deals.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers lost shortstop Trea Turner to the Phillies and then his replacement, Gavin Lux, to a knee injury. They did add several veteran pieces including designated hitter J.D. Martinez and infielder Miguel Rojas, who is now thrust into the primary shortstop role.

The Dodgers are being offered at +700 along with the Yankees at BetRivers, where the Astros opened the season as the +625 World Series favorites. DraftKings has the Astros at +600 ahead of the Yankees and Braves at +750, with the Dodgers fourth at +850.

A polarizing team among oddsmakers is the New York Mets, who added Verlander in the offseason but lost closer Edwin Diaz to a freak knee injury during the World Baseball Classic.

They are being offered at +900 at BetRivers, with the sportsbook reporting the Mets drawing the highest among of total World Series winning bets (13.0 percent) and money (14.6 percent).

The story is similar at DraftKings, where the Mets have been backed by the most money with 15 percent of the handle at +950, while the Yankees lead with 15 percent of the total bets at +750. Interestingly, the Mets are only the second-most popular choice to win the National League pennant, drawing 20 percent of the money at +475 behind 21 percent for the Phillies at +900.

The Astros are the popular choice at DraftKings to win the American League, having been backed by 31 percent of the total bets and 30 percent of the money at +310. The Yankees are next at +370, having drawn 29 and 20 percent of the action, respectively.

Houston has also been backed by 36.1 percent of the money to win the A.L. at BetRivers, where it’s the Atlanta Braves who have been the popular choice to win the N.L. pennant with 23.3 percent at +350.

MLB Futures (BetRivers)
Top 5 teams to win the World Series by % of money (% of tickets)
1. New York Mets (+900) — 14.6% (13.0%)
2. Houston Astros (+625) — 12.1% (9.3%)
3. New York Yankees (+700) — 9.7% (10.7%)
4. San Diego Padres (+900) — 8.7% (12.1%)
5. Atlanta Braves (+800) — 8.5% (5.8%)

Top 5 teams to win the American League by % of money (% of tickets)
1. Houston Astros (+300) — 36.1% (25.8%)
2. New York Yankees (+315) — 15.2% (27.9%)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (+600) — 13.1% (12.3%)
4. Chicago White Sox (+1600) — 12.4% (10.5%)
5. Seattle Mariners (+850) — 6.0% (5.9%)

Top 5 teams to win the National League by % of money (% of tickets)
1. Atlanta Braves (+350) — 23.3% (16.4%)
2. New York Mets (+425) — 22.8% (16.1%)
3. San Diego Padres (+450) — 16.2% (14.5%)
4. Philadelphia Phillies (+800) — 14.1% (18.5%)
5. St. Louis Cardinals (+1000) — 8.6% (7.4%)

Top 5 players to win AL MVP by % of money (% of tickets)
1. Shohei Ohtani (+175) — 24.3% (13.9%)
2. Corey Seager (+3500) — 16.5% (12.5%)
3. Julio Rodriguez (+900) — 9.7% (5.9%)
4. Yordan Alvarez (+1000) — 8.4% (4.3%)
5. Vlad Guerrero Jr. (+1400) — 6.8% (7.5%)

Top 5 players to win NL MVP by % of money (% of tickets)
1. Trea Turner (+600) — 34.4% (13.7%)
2. Juan Soto (+650) — 9.3% (21.9%)
3. Francisco Lindor (+2300) — 9.1% (1.7%)
4. Ronald Acuna Jr. (+850) — 8.9% (7.3%)
5. Fernando Tatis Jr. (+2200) — 5.7% (6.8%)

Top 5 pitchers to win AL Cy Young by % of money (% of tickets)
1. Jacob de Grom (+600) — 22.7% (6.2%)
2. Kevin Gausman (+1500) — 18.6% (13.5%)
3. Triston McKenzie (+3000) — 11.8% (12.9%)
4. Cristian Javier (+2000) — 9.6% (13.1%)
5. Dylan Cease (+700) — 7.3% (9.6%)

Top 5 pitchers to win NL Cy Young by % of money (% of tickets)
1. Zac Gallen (+1200) — 26.5% (14.2%)
2. Spencer Strider (+1000) — 19.6% (26.1%)
3. Brandon Woodruff (+2200) — 9.9% (8.4%)
4. Zack Wheeler (+1500) — 5.3% (12.1%)
5. Julio Urias (+1800) — 3.6% (2.7%)

–Field Level Media

Colorado Rockies closer Daniel Bard will open the season on the injured list, with right-hander Jake Bird taking his spot on the Opening Day roster.

Multiple outlets reported Thursday that Bard is going on the IL to deal with anxiety.

“From my experience, knowing myself, I think just taking a step back, taking time to work through things, get it right, is the best approach,” Bard said, according to MLB.com.

The 37-year-old Bard was a member of Team USA at the just-completed World Baseball Classic, but control issues in a game against Venezuela included an inside pitch to Jose Altuve that broke the hand of the Houston Astros second baseman.

Bard was a standout reliever for the Boston Red Sox early in his career, posting a 1.93 ERA in 73 outings during his second major league season in 2010. But control issues surfaced and after two outings in 2013, he stepped away from the game.

The Rockies gave Bard a look in spring training in 2020 and he made the roster, returning to his standout ways last season when he had a 1.79 ERA in 57 outings and finished 16th in National League MVP voting.

But in the fifth inning for Team USA against Venezuela, Bard gave up a walk and a single, threw a wild pitch, hit Altuve and issued a walk to force in a run. He ended up charged with four runs on one hit and two walks, while not recording an out.

“I can’t speak for Daniel because I’m just observing from 3,000 miles away, but I think he might have gotten caught up in the moment,” Rockies manager Bud Black said after the outing. “He’s pitching for his country in front of a big crowd. He only had three or four outings with us this spring and Daniel’s got a lot of moving parts in his delivery. He was just out of whack.”

Bird, 27, made his major league debut last season, going 2-4 with a 4.91 ERA in 38 relief appearances.

Third baseman Mike Moustakas, who signed a minor league deal with Colorado late in the spring, also was named to the Rockies’ Opening Day roster.

–Field Level Media

Pablo Lopez and four relievers combined on an Opening Day two-hitter as the visiting Minnesota Twins blanked the Kansas City Royals 2-0 on Thursday.

Byron Buxton, Trevor Larnach and Christian Vazquez each had two hits for Minnesota, which spoiled the managerial debut of Kansas City’s Matt Quatraro and won its season opener for the first time since 2020.

Lopez (1-0) made a strong first impression with his new club after being acquired from the Miami Marlins during the offseason. The right-hander tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with three walks and eight strikeouts while throwing 50 of his 85 pitches for strikes.

Cabel Thielbar, Jorge Lopez and Griffin Jax did not allow a hit over the next 2 2/3 innings before Jhoan Duran worked around a one-out walk in the ninth for the save.

Minnesota broke a scoreless tie with two runs in the sixth inning. Buxton hit a leadoff triple to right-center field off Zack Greinke (0-1) and scored on Larnach’s single to center.

After Jose Miranda flied out, Amir Garrett replaced Greinke and walked Kyle Farmer. Pinch-hitter Donovan Solano then singled to left field, allowing Larnach to score from second.

Vazquez followed with a one-out single to load the bases before Garrett struck out Michael A. Taylor and retired Max Kepler on a liner to right field to strand the bases loaded.

Greinke, who was making his third Opening Day start with the Royals, allowed two runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

Kansas City’s best scoring opportunity came in the bottom of the fifth, when Lopez walked Bobby Witt Jr. to load the bases with one out. MJ Melendez then grounded into double play to end the inning.

The Royals were held without a hit until Salvador Perez singled with one out in the fourth inning. Lopez’s eight strikeouts tied for the second-most by a Twins starter on Opening Day.

The Twins threatened to score early when Greinke walked Miranda to load the bases with two outs in the first inning. Greinke escaped unscathed after Nick Gordon grounded out to second.

–Field Level Media

Ji Hwan Bae went 2-for-3 and started a go-ahead rally with a walk and a stolen base as the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates edged the Cincinnati Reds, 5-4, on Thursday in the 2023 season opener for both clubs.

Oneil Cruz drove a sacrifice fly to deep left in the eighth inning off reliever and loser Buck Farmer (0-1), scoring Bae to snap the 4-4 tie.

The Reds unsuccessfully challenged a close out call on a strike out-throw out double play in which pinch-runner Stuart Fairchild was called out at second base to end the eighth.

Rob Zastryzny (1-0) earned the win for the Pirates, coming on to finish the sixth inning and pitching a perfect seventh.

Pirates closer David Bednar pitched around a one-out double to Jonathan India in the ninth, striking out the next two batters for his first save.

The Reds put their first three runners on in the first inning off starter Mitch Keller but only scored once on a Tyler Stephenson 6-4-3 double play that plated India.

The Pirates tied the game in the third on Cruz’s homer 425 feet to the sun and moon deck in right against Reds starter Hunter Greene.

The Pirates took advantage of a complete loss of control from Cincinnati pitching in the fourth inning.

After Greene allowed a one-out double to Bae and a walk to Austin Hedges, Reds manager David Bell decided to pull his starter. Reliever Fernando Cruz walked the next three batters — Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Andrew McCutchen — to force in a pair of runs for a 3-1 Pittsburgh lead.

Greene allowed five hits and three runs over 3 1/3 innings, striking out eight and walking one. Forty-four of his 83 pitches were clocked at 100 miles an hour or higher.

A Cruz wild pitch to Carlos Santana allowed Cruz to score and Pittsburgh had a 4-1 advantage.

The Reds crept closer with a 435-foot solo homer by Spencer Steer to left-center off Keller in the fourth. The Pirates starter was knocked out of the game an inning later when the Reds tied the game on a two-out, two-run triple from Jason Vosler, filling in for the injured Joey Votto at first base.

Keller allowed four runs and six hits, striking out eight and walking four over 4 2/3 innings in his 2023 debut.

The annual Reds opener drew a Great American Ball Park-record crowd of 44,063.

–Field Level Media

Brandon Nimmo drove in three runs, leading the New York Mets to a 5-3 Opening Day victory over the host Miami Marlins on Thursday.

Nimmo lined a sacrifice fly for the Mets’ first run of the season in the third and delivered a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh as the Mets improved their major league-best Opening Day record to 41-21.

David Robertson, making his Mets debut, earned the save with a scoreless ninth. Robertson’s save came after the Mets lost closer Edwin Diaz to a knee injury during the World Baseball Classic earlier this month.

Max Scherzer (1-0) did not give up a run before entering the sixth. He allowed three runs on four hits with two walks in six innings.

Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, was left with a no-decision, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Miami’s Garrett Cooper hit a two-run homer off Scherzer and made two stellar catches at first base, including one that saved a run.

Luis Arraez made his Marlins debut after winning the 2022 American League batting title with the Minnesota Twins. He went 2-for-3 with an RBI double.

New York opened the scoring in the third as Daniel Vogelbach led off with a four-pitch walk, advanced to third on Omar Narvaez’s single to right field and raced home on Nimmo’s line-drive sacrifice fly to left.

The Mets threatened in the fourth as Starling Marte drew a full-count walk and stole second. He was stranded when Jeff McNeil’s liner down the first-base line was turned into an inning-ending out after Cooper’s diving catch.

New York stretched its lead to 3-0 in the sixth. Nimmo drew a four-pitch walk, advanced to third on Marte’s single and scored on Francisco Lindor’s sacrifice fly to deep center. McNeil’s two-out RBI single capped the rally.

Miami tied the score 3-3 in the sixth. Jacob Stallings doubled and scored on Arraez’s RBI double. On an 0-1 fastball, Cooper slugged a 422-foot homer to center.

New York took a 5-3 lead in the seventh off reliever Tanner Scott (0-1). With one out, Eduardo Escobar singled and Narvaez walked before Nimmo’s two-run double to center.

–Field Level Media

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit the go-ahead sacrifice fly in a two-run ninth and had three RBIs as the visiting Toronto Blue Jays defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 10-9 on Opening Day Thursday afternoon.

George Springer had five hits and Bo Bichette added four hits for Toronto.

Tyler O’Neill and Brendan Donovan hit two-run home runs for the Cardinals. It was O’Neill’s fourth consecutive Opening Day with a homer, tying a major league record.

Each starter allowed five runs in 3 1/3 innings. Toronto’s Alek Manoah allowed nine hits, including two homers, and had three strikeouts. Miles Mikolas allowed 10 hits and struck out six for the Cardinals.

The lead changed hands three times in the final two innings.

St. Louis’ Jordan Hicks allowed singles by Springer and Bichette to open the eighth. A wild pitch put runners at second and third. Catcher Willson Contreras was injured on the play as Hicks’ pitch glanced off his right knee, and Andrew Knizner took over as catcher. Guerrero hit a two-run single to make it 8-7.

Yimi Garcia (1-0) walked Lars Nootbaar to open the home eighth and Goldschmidt doubled. Arenado put the Cardinals up 9-8 with a two-run ground-rule double.

Ryan Helsley (0-1) walked Whit Merrifield to start the ninth. Kevin Kiermaier singled, Springer hit an RBI single to tie the game and Guerrero hit his sacrifice fly.

Jordan Romano pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to earn the save.

Daulton Varsho hit a one-out RBI double to right in the first for the Blue Jays. Alejandro Kirk followed with a two-run single to center.

Donovan led off the bottom of the first with an infield single and took second on Bichette’s throwing error. Nolan Arenado drove him in on a single.

Bichette made it 4-1 in the second with an RBI double.

Contreras singled in the third and O’Neill homered 403 feet to center.

Springer led off the fourth with a single and took third on Guerrero’s single. Zack Thompson replaced Mikolas and allowed Varsho’s sacrifice fly.

Tommy Edman started the home fourth with an infield single and Donovan homered to right center.

Tim Mayza allowed singles to Donovan, Nootbaar and Paul Goldschmidt and St. Louis took a 6-5 lead in the sixth.

Brandon Belt doubled against Andre Pallante with one out in the seventh. Matt Chapman’s single scored pinch-runner Nathan Lukes, making his major league debut.

Anthony Bass allowed Contreras’s single and walked O’Neill with no outs in Cardinal seventh. Adam Cimber walked Nolan Gorman. Walker’s fielder’s choice grounder scored a run for a 7-6 lead.

–Field Level Media

Robbie Grossman and Brad Miller homered and the Texas Rangers exploded for nine runs in the fourth inning in an 11-7 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday in Arlington, Texas.

Grossman went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and a walk, while Miller’s lone hit in four at-bats was a two-run shot for the Rangers. Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim each had two hits and two RBIs, with Marcus Semien adding two hits and a run for Texas.

Alec Bohm went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer, a double, two runs and three RBIs for the Phillies. J.T Realmuto had three hits and Nick Castellanos and Brandon Marsh each added two for Philadelphia, which saw Trea Turner go 1-for-4 with an RBI triple and a run in his Phillies debut.

Trailing 5-0 entering the bottom of the fourth, the Rangers loaded the bases before Heim’s double trimmed the deficit to 5-2, with Josh Jung advancing to third. Three pitches later, Grossman drove Aaron Nola’s fastball over the right-center field fence to tie the game.

After Gregory Soto (0-1) relieved Nola, the Rangers loaded the bases again on two walks and a single by Semien and Nathaniel Lowe scored Josh Smith on an infield single.

Nola was rocked for five runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks in 3 2/3 innings.

Connor Brogdon relieved Soto and the Rangers increased their lead to 7-5 on a passed ball before Garcia capped the outburst with a two-run single to right that scored Corey Seager and Lowe.

After Bohm’s fifth-inning RBI single made it 9-6, Miller launched a 407-foot, two-run homer to center in the bottom of the inning to push the lead to 11-6.

The Phillies took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on Bohm’s two-run homer, then pushed the advantage to 4-0 in their next at-bat.

Turner’s triple to right scored Marsh, who led off the inning with a triple to right. Six pitches later, Turner crossed the plate on Jacob deGrom’s wild pitch.

One batter after deGrom gave up a double to Bohm, he was replaced by Cole Ragans (1-0), who gave up a run-scoring double to Marsh that put the Phillies up 5-0.

deGrom allowed five runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in just 3 2/3 innings in his Rangers debut.

–Field Level Media

The Kansas City Royals named 11-year veteran Salvador Perez their team captain, just the fourth player in club history to hold the honor.

George Brett, Frank White and Mike Sweeney were the other players to hold the title of Royals captain. And all three players were on hand in the clubhouse Thursday to present Perez a jersey with a “C” on the right side of his chest.

A seven-time All-Star, Perez helped the club to World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015, earning Fall Classic MVP honors in 2015 when the Royals defeated the New York Mets.

Perez, 32, has 223 career home runs, second most in club history. He led the American League with 48 of those home runs in 2021, when he finished seventh in American League MVP voting. Perez also had an AL-best 121 of his 732 career RBIs in 2021. In 1,254 career games, he is a .268 hitter with a .764 OPS.

Perez is a five-time AL Gold Glove Award winner at catcher, including four consecutive from 2013-16.

–Field Level Media

Shane McClanahan hurled six shutout innings, Jose Siri homered in his first at-bat, and the host Tampa Bay Rays started their 2023 campaign with a 4-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday afternoon in St. Petersburg, Fla.

In his second straight Opening Day assignment, ace McClanahan (1-0) won the battle of left-handed starting pitchers against Detroit’s Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1).

McClanahan allowed just four hits and five baserunners in his season debut. The American League’s All-Star Game starter last year, McClanahan fanned six and walked one across 87 pitches.

Siri slugged a third-inning homer and Wander Franco went deep leading off the eighth. Randy Arozarena and pinch hitter Luke Raley notched RBI singles in the sixth.

Detroit’s Rodriguez tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on three hits. He struck out five and walked two. Austin Meadows was 3-for-4 with a double as each club produced six hits.

To open his final season, Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, 39, went 1-for-4 with a double in his 2,700th game.

Wearing their Devil Rays uniforms from their inaugural 1998 season, Tampa Bay got the game’s first lead when Siri jumped on an 89-mph cutter from Rodriguez leading off the third inning. Siri took advantage of the flat, center-cut pitch, ripping a shot to left an estimated 393 feet for the 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Rays got to Rodriguez for two more runs as reliever Jason Foley gave up consecutive RBI singles to Arozarena and Raley.

With Colin Poche on for the Rays in the seventh, the Tigers brought the potential tying run to the plate with two outs. But right fielder Manuel Margot stopped the threat with a diving grab near the foul line off a twisting drive by Ryan Kreidler.

Franco swatted his first homer to left-center off Mason Englert, making his major league debut, in the eighth.

Poche, Jason Adam and Pete Fairbanks each pitched an inning, allowing just two hits and two walks to round out the shutout.

The game lasted 2 hours, 14 minutes under the new pitch clock rules.

–Field Level Media

Chicago Cubs right-hander Marcus Stroman made major league history Thursday, becoming the first player ever to be hit with a pitch clock violation in a regular-season game.

It happened in the third inning of the Cubs’ Opening Day game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

With a runner on second in the third inning, Stroman was late delivering a 1-2 pitch to Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich. Home plate umpire Ron Kulpa called the violation, giving Yelich a 2-2 count. Yelich would subsequently work a walk.

Pitchers have 15 seconds to deliver a pitch with the bases empty and 20 seconds with a runner on base. The penalty for a pitcher is a ball.

The Cubs went on to win, 4-0, and Stroman pitched six innings to earn the win.

–Field Level Media