Major League Baseball gets underway on Thursday in the National League as the Miami Marlins travel to take on the Cincinnati Reds. The game is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Currently the odds have the Reds favored at -155 (Risk $155 to win $100) with the total for the game sitting at 7.5 runs.

Free Analysis: The Miami Marlins opened play last night against the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals but dropped a 4-1 decision. Today, they'll have to let all of that go and get on a plane headed for Cincinnati, where they will open a series against the Reds. During the middle of the regular season I'd say this wasn't really an issue, but at the beginning of the season I think it will bother the Marlins players, who aren't in the routine of flying all over the country just yet. Definite advantage for the Reds in this one. Cincinnati has been the site for Opening Day for what seems like forever. It's one of the better baseball cities in America and the fans really do the club justice by packing the stadium every Opening Day. It's usually on national television as well. Joey Votto is one of the better players in the game of baseball today and it's a good thing that plenty of people are going to be able to watch him. Votto will play for the first time since signing the longest guaranteed contract in major league history (10 years, $225 million). Votto batted .309 last season, finishing sixth in the NL with 103 RBIs and second in the majors with 110 walks. Mark Buehrle will make his debut with the Marlins today, coming over from the Chicago White Sox with manager Ozzie Guillen in the offseason. Buehrle spent 12 seasons in the American League and went 13-9 with a 3.59 ERA last year — winning at least 10 games for the 11th consecutive season. Buehrle is 10th among active pitchers with 161 victories, and 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in two starts against the Reds. Jose Reyes led off the seventh inning with a single in last night's loss to the Cardinals, their first hit of the season. Hanley Ramirez and Giancarlo Stanton, the power guys for the Marlins, went a combined 0-for-8 yesterday as the team struggled at the plate. Zack Cozart is set to become the Reds' first rookie shortstop to start a season opener since Frank Duffy in 1971. Cincinnati, a team that won the NL Central in 2010, struggled a bit last season, winning just 79 games. They're probably the most talented team in the NL Central but talent doesn't always win baseball games, as we've seen in the past. Johnny Cueto will throw the first pitch for the Reds in this game today. He was pretty much injured all of last season but does have the command and "stuff" to be very effective against the Marlins today. Last year Cueto finished 9-5 with a 2.31 ERA in 24 starts. The Reds have played well against the Marlins in his starts as well, winning all three of his games, even though he posted a ERA of 5.63 in those games.  Current Reds hitters are clubbing just a .220 average against Buehrle in limited at bats. The only one really of note is Miguel Cairo, who has five hits in 12 plate appearances against the South Paw. Current Marlins are hitting .241 against Cueto in 54 plate appearances. Reyes is just 1 for 12 against Cueto while Ramirez has two hits in four plate appearances.

Free Pick: I like the Reds in this game because they're playing at home and didn't have to travel through the night the way the Marlins did. To me that's a big disadvantage at this point in the season. Cincinnati is a team that plays well at home and I'm expecting them to play well in this game as well. I know current Reds don't have the best numbers against a guy like Buehrle, but he never had to hit in the American League either. I'm sure working that in along with pitching effectively will make a difference in today's game. I'm a big fan of Cueto. I think he's going to be able to get the job done today. I'm thinking the Reds are going to bash the baseball around today and I'm thinking they win in a decent manor.

Betting Strategies - MLB American League League Projections
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