The Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals open an important NL Central showdown on Thursday when the division rivals face off at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Brewers (28-16) lead the NL Central by 3.5 games over the Cardinals (24-19). Milwaukee's Eric Lauer (4-1, 2.16 ERA) takes the mound against St. Louis' Adam Wainwright (5-3, 2.87). St. Louis is a -125 money-line favorite in the latest Cardinals vs. Brewers odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while Milwaukee is a +105 underdog.
First pitch is set for 7:45 p.m. ET and the game is one of 11 on the MLB schedule for Thursday. Elsewhere in the majors, the top two teams in the AL East -- the Yankees and Rays -- open a four-game series in Florida, and two-way star Shohei Ohtani takes the mound for the Angels 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
The model, which ran 10,000 simulations on each of Thursday's 11 games, is taking Cleveland (+120) to defeat Detroit at 7:10 p.m. ET (see tickets at StubHub). The Guardians are coming off a three-game series against Houston in which they played the reigning AL champs tough. Cleveland beat the Astros, 6-1, in the first game of the series, lost the second game and dropped a narrow, 2-1, decision in the rubber match on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Tigers just dropped two of three to the Twins.
Jose Ramirez is having a career-best season so far. The three-time Silver Slugger leads the majors in RBI (43), ranks fifth in OPS (1.015) and sixth in home runs (11). He also leads the team in batting average (.293), on-base percentage (.389) and hits (44).
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.