Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for Opening Day (Pitching Duel Favors Dodgers Late)

The 2023 MLB season kicks off with an Opening Day matchup between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers dominated the Diamondbacks last year across 19 games between these NL West teams, with Los Angeles going 14-5 in those contests.

Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Game Info

• Date: Thursday, March 30, 2023
• Time: 4:05 p.m. ET
• Venue: Globe Life Field -- Arlington, TX
• Coverage: ESPN+, NBCSP and BSSW

Both teams have great pitchers on the hill for Opening Day. The Diamondbacks are starting ace Zac Gallen, who pitched to a 2.54 ERA in 2022 and a 12-4 record on a bad Arizona squad. The Dodgers are going with Julio Urias, who was 17-7 with an even better 2.17 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.

Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Odds & Spread

• All MLB betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: ARI: (+154) | LAD: (-184)
• Spread: ARI: +1.5 (-146) | LAD: -1.5 (+122)
• Total: 7.5 -- Over: (-106) | Under: (-114)

The Dodgers come into this matchup as the home favorite on both the runline and the moneyline. The game has an over/under of 7.5 runs, which is in the middle of the pack for Thursday's slate.

Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Betting Trends

- Arizona is 3-13 in its last 16 games against the Dodgers.
- The total has hit the under in 13 of Arizona's last 18 games against NL West teams.
- The Dodgers are 4-1 in their last five games in March.
- The total has hit the under in four of the Dodgers' last six games at home.

Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Prediction & Pick

The Dodgers failed to make any major improvements to their roster this offseason, nevertheless, they still have one of the best teams in baseball and are one of the few true contenders to win a World Series this year.

Gallen is a phenomenal pitcher and the Diamondbacks are in a position to take a step forward this season, but Arizona is running into a buzzsaw in Urias. He dominated the Diamondbacks last season in his two starts against them, pitching to a 0.79 ERA and a .105 opponent batting average. Arizona's offense simply won't have enough to keep up.

Final Score Prediction: Dodgers: 5 | Diamondbacks: 1

Diamondbacks vs Dodgers Best Bet

With two stud pitchers on the mound in this one, we're going to look at the first-half bets here, Urias was dominant against the Diamondbacks last year, surrendering just one earned run in two starts, but Gallen was even better, pitching to a 0.64 ERA in two starts against the Dodgers, also giving up just one run, but in three more innings pitched.

I think the majority of runs in this game come off the bullpen, so let's take the under on the first half of this one.

Bet: 1st Half Alternate Total Runs: Under 3.5 (+102)

David Kaestle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, David also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username davekaestle. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.