When the Tampa Bay Rays were 13-0, they probably didn’t think they had the AL East locked up. The New York Yankees, or maybe the Toronto Blue Jays or Boston Red Sox, had plenty of time to chase them down.
The Rays probably weren’t worried about the Baltimore Orioles, either.
Just after the All-Star break, the Orioles are the hottest team in baseball. They’ve won eight in a row. They’re only one game behind the Rays in the AL East. Baltimore hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2016, but that drought looks like it will end. It’s one of the best stories in MLB.
If the Orioles are ready to overtake the Rays in the AL East over the last 2 1/2 months of the season, we might find that out this week. The Los Angeles Dodgers come to Baltimore for a three-game series. The Orioles are getting respect too; they’re -115 favorites at BetMGM in the opener.
The Orioles just swept a pretty good Miami Marlins team. Saturday’s win said a lot about a young team: They fell behind 4-0 early and kept chipping away, finally getting a 6-5 win. They are getting timely hitting from a talented lineup that has come together very quickly. The pitching isn’t great, but it has been good enough and the bullpen has been doing its job all season. Perhaps the Orioles will be buyers at the deadline, especially if they remain within a game or two of the Rays.
The Orioles are 57-35 with a strong +53 run differential. The Dodgers are good again too, and they played pretty well at the New York Mets last weekend coming out of the break. Not that the Orioles’ start is fluky, but a series win over the Dodgers would further legitimize their start and keep the pressure on the Rays.
The Orioles are +325 to win the AL East at BetMGM. Those aren’t bad odds for the hottest team in baseball.
The Baltimore Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson has helped lead a surging team into contention in the AL East. (AP Photo/Gail Burton)
Here’s the first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:
10 MLB games
There are a few teams getting Monday off in MLB, but it’s still a good 10-game schedule.
The San Francisco Giants have been hot, and they start a series at the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds were swept by the Milwaukee Brewers, a bad outcome for a team that was leading the division at the All-Star break. The Giants have worked their way up in the NL West and trail the Dodgers by just 1.5 games. The Giants are -155 favorites. If the Reds are going to stay in the division race, it’s critical that they don’t let a slump become a long losing streak.
What’s the best bet?
There isn’t much going on these days but baseball, so let’s look to MLB. Jesus Luzardo of the Marlins has been one of baseball’s hottest pitchers, and he takes on the last-place St. Louis Cardinals on Monday. The Cardinals are -115 favorites. The Marlins stumbled a bit coming out of the break, but I’ll still happily take them and Luzardo as slight -105 underdogs at the Cardinals.
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