MLB Odds: Rays Now AL East Betting Favorite Ahead Of Yankees, Red Sox
Tampa Bay now is favored to win the AL East at FanDuel
As the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees get set to play for the first time this season, it's worth nothing that neither team is favored to win the American League East at one sportsbook.
The Tampa Bay Rays (+135) sit atop the betting board at FanDuel, with the Yankees (+175) on the two-line and the Sox (+400) on line three. After them, it's the Toronto Blue Jays (+650) and Baltimore Orioles (+30000).
Obviously, the Rays' recent 11-game winning streak and two-game lead in the standings help shape the market. But FanDuel has definitely taken some sizable bets on Tampa over the last month. That combination of recent form and monetary liability has catapulted the Rays to the AL East betting favorite.
Tampa Bay is the second-most profitable team in all of baseball this season. A $100 dollar bettor would be up $1,320 just blindly betting the Rays every game. Only the San Francisco Giants (+$1,590) have been a better bet in 2021.
"I don't know how the Rays do it," one professional bettor told NESN. "They lose the World Series and trade their ace (Blake Snell) in the offseason and they're still winning. It's amazing the way that organization keeps regenerating and developing talent."
That said, if you believe in the Red Sox, that's a pretty decent divisional price at 4-to-1.
This recent surge on Tampa Bay has created relative betting value on Boston and New York. When bookmakers adjust to a hot team and slash its prices, the odds go higher on the other teams. The Sox were +300 a month ago and you can find them as high as +450 in the market right now.
Nathan Eovaldi (6-2, 4.01 ERA) opposes Michael King (0-2, 2.86 ERA) in the Bronx on Friday night and bookmakers have essentially made the game a pick 'em. Both teams opened at -110 and there has been a slight shift in the market to the Yankees at -120.
So, flip a coin.
The movement on the total is really interesting. The first total to hit the board was O/U 10 and that lasted all of about 20 minutes before it was bet down to 9.5. Money hasn't stopped pouring in on the "Under," as some books around the country are dealing 9s.
Sox-Yankees run totals
Circa Sports 9.5 u-125
William Hill 9.5 u-125
DraftKings 9.5 u-120
FanDuel 9 o-120
Westgate SuperBook 9 o-120
South Point 9 o-115
BetMGM 9 o-110
Always be shopping.
Red Sox-Yankees Under 9 runs +100
RECORD: (39-33, +4.3)
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