MLB Odds, Lines and Scores

MLB Moneyline Odds

The beloved moneyline bet, a wager that is widely regarded as the most simplistic and prominent bet type in all Major League Baseball lines today – and sports in general. Most oddsmakers will give a winning or losing percentage for each MLB matchup on the slate; said percentages are known as the implied probability of a win or loss and are converted into odds that you or I wager on.

The "moneyline" wager is quite simple to understand and remains the most popular form of MLB lines today. Bettors must decide on which team they believe is going to win. The team expected to win (who you think will win) is the side you want to bet on. One team will enter each contest as the "favorite", and their opposition will be referred to as the underdog. How do we visually separate the two? This is also quite simple; separating the two begins with identifying which team has a (-) sign next to their team’s name; these are known as the favorites. Therefore, the opposition will be the underdogs and have a (+) symbol alongside the team’s name.

To help you understand and recognize the difference, we have created a hypothetical example below:

The Boston Red Sox are favorites entering their matchup versus the New York Yankees, and the available odds on the Red Sox have opened at -120 odds. A wager on the Red Sox would require a $120 stake to return a profit of $100. The higher odds rise for favorites, and you will notice the risk to reward ratio becomes smaller; this is because you are favoring the team that is already anticipated to win the matchup. When the bookmakers favor a team, you always be required to stake more than what your actual profits will return.

When looking at the underdogs, the Yankees could have an opening line value of +130. If you staked the same $100 wager on them, you would return a profit of $130. The less probable team to win naturally gives bettors a more significant return from their investment. For this reason, MLB underdog wagering can be an excellent method of securing long-term profits, especially when considering the volatility that baseball games can provide.

These foundations are applied to all MLB moneyline betting odds and across all moneyline sports betting markets. Still, please take into consideration that blindly picking underdogs to win could damage your bankroll. The favorite has been given a higher probable chance of victory for a good reason, as the oddsmakers use a multitude of methods when providing the available MLB odds.

MLB Totals

One of the second most popular MLB betting markets is the totals category. With MLB totals, bettors must decide how many runs will be scored during the game; alternatively, you can predict the total runs scored for singular teams rather than the total score between two squads. Known as game totals or team totals, the winner of each matchup becomes irrelevant in this market because it is all about the runs scored.

MLB Game Totals – When browsing MLB totals, you may find a total of Over/Under 9.5 runs. You must then decide whether the game in question will exceed the total or fall under the estimated run total. If you chose to wager on the over 9.5 (10 runs or more), both teams must score a combined total of at least 10 runs. If you bet under 9.5 (9 runs or less), the total runs scored by both teams must fall under 9 runs. In addition, should the total number of runs land on 9, under bettors will receive a ‘push’, which will return your original stake.

MLB Team Totals – Alternatively, you can decide to bet the total amount on one team. The New York Yankees team total is hypothetically set at 3.5 runs. This would require over bettors to see 4 or more runs for the Yankees, whilst under bettors will be hoping the Yankees score 3 or less to return a profit. Likewise, should the Yankees score 4 runs, the bet will result in a push, and your original stake will be returned.

You will notice that MLB total odds are priced at -110 on the over/under. You are giving sportsbooks their small margin of profit no matter the outcome.

MLB Runline Betting

Unlike the other headline American sports that provide spread betting, the MLB slightly differs and is better known as "the runline". The critical difference between the two is that oscillating lines in the NBA and NFL do not translate into the MLB run lines. The runline is consistently set at -1.5 for the favorable team, requiring the team in question to win by two or more runs. On the opposite side of the runline, underdogs will have a +1.5 advantage to work with, requiring the team to lose by just one run or win the game outright to become a successful wager. Odds on run lines will decrease or increase depending on public betting action or how talented the team is/become from a line-up change.

MLB matchups are rarely won by one lone run, making the run line a popular betting market for gamblers.