It didn’t take long for Corbin Burnes to take over as the betting favorite for the American League Cy Young award.
Burnes absolutely dominated during his debut in Baltimore, punching out 11 in six brilliant innings during the Orioles’ 11-3 Opening Day win over the Los Angeles Angels.
The O’s ace retired 18 of the 19 batters he faced, allowing only a solo home run to Mike Trout in the first inning.
Burnes became the first pitcher to strike out 10 or more batters and allow less than two hits in his team’s opening game since 1934, according to MLB.com.
With just one dazzling start, Burnes immediately separated himself from the pack in the AL Cy Young race.
Burnes is now alone at the top of BetMGM Sportsbook’s AL Cy Young odds board at +650 to win the award.
Heading into Thursday’s Opening Day action, Burnes had been even at +800 with Toronto Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman.
Three more pitchers – Tarik Skubal (+800), Pablo Lopez (+850), and Luis Castillo (+900) – have odds better than 10/1.
Gerrit Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, was a consensus favorite until an elbow injury landed him on the injured list.
Burnes is hoping to help deliver on sky-high expectations for the young Orioles, who have their best preseason over/under in 25 years.
The three-time All-Star was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers to the Orioles in early February, giving Baltimore the true No. 1 starter they sought all offseason.
Baltimore won 101 games last season and won the AL East for just the second time since 1997.
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They opened the season as co-favorites with the New York Yankees in the division at +180 odds.
Burnes has finished top-10 in the NL Cy Young voting in each of the past four seasons, winning the award in 2021.
There’s still a ton of baseball to go, but there’s no doubt Burnes is off to a great start in pursuit of his second Cy Young.