MLB Odds & Betting Lines

Forget everything you’ve heard about baseball no longer being America’s national pastime. 110 million Americans filed into Major League and Minor League stadiums from coast to coast in 2019, and nearly 170 million Americans identify as MLB fans.

Baseball’s tremendous rise in popularity has resulted in more people betting on the "old ball game" than ever before. $1 billion was wagered on baseball at Nevada's regulated sportsbooks in 2016, and that number is expected to grow by leaps and bounds as legal sportsbooks like TwinSpires Sports join the party with a selection of competitive odds and MLB betting lines.

Are you ready to get started? This brief guide will teach you how to interpret baseball odds, how baseball odds work, and what factors to consider before betting on your favorite MLB teams and players.

How to read baseball odds​

To better understand baseball odds let’s take a look at an example from a regular season MLB game.

The first column features the two teams along with the starting pitcher for each club. The Boston Red Sox are sending their top pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez to the mound, while the New York Yankees are countering with their ace, Gerrit Cole. The home team always appears on the bottom, which is why the Yankees are beneath the Red Sox.

The second column is the run line, the third column is the moneyline, and the fourth column is the total. We’ll examine each of these baseball bet types in far greater detail in the sections below.

MLB run line

The run line is baseball’s version of the point spread and is always listed as 1.5 runs. The team that is expected to win (the favorite) is listed at -1.5 runs, while the team that is expected to lose (the underdog) is listed at +1.5 runs.

Using the example above, if you were to bet on the Yankees run line, New York would need to beat Boston by two runs or more for you to win your wager. Conversely, if you were to bet on the Red Sox run line, Boston would need to beat New York outright or lose by just one run for you to win your wager.

MLB moneyline odds​

The moneyline is a three-digit number which indicates which team is most likely to win. In our example, the Red Sox are the underdogs and are expected to lose, which is why they have been assigned positive odds. The Yankees are the favorites and are expected to win, which is why they have been assigned negative odds. All you have to do to win an MLB moneyline bet is correctly identify which team will win the game.

The positive and negative numbers indicate how much money you must bet in order to win $100. For instance, if you were to bet $100 on the Red Sox and they won, you would win $110. On the other hand, you would need to bet $125 on the Yankees just to make $100, since they are expected to win the game.

Total or Over/Under​

The total, as the name suggests, is the projected number of total runs the two teams will combine to score. If you think the Red Sox and Yankees will combine to score over seven runs then you should select O 7. The "O" in this case stands for Over. If, however, you think Boston and New York will combine to score fewer than seven runs, you should select U 7. The "U" in this case stands for Under.

You can bet on the run line, moneyline, and total in tandem, or you can bet on just one component. The choice is yours.

Tips on how to win baseball odds​

Making winning wagers on baseball is easy, if you do your homework. Before laying down money on an MLB game, take a moment to examine both teams’ records and recent performance. Is one team’s winning percentage significantly higher than the other? Has one club been red hot over its past 10 games while the other has struggled? How have these two teams fared against one another during their previous dust-ups? The best indicator of future performance is always past performance, so be sure to pore over those stats and standings carefully.

Pitching is paramount

As important as team success is, baseball really comes down to pitching performance. Examine the pitching matchups for both teams and dig deep into each hurler’s numbers. How have they fared over their past five outings? How do their performances vary at home and on the road? What do their "Batter vs. Pitcher" metrics tell you about how they’ve done historically against the lineups they’re about to face?

Pay attention to environmental factors

Finally, you may want to consider weather. Balls travel further on warm, humid days than on cold, overcast days. Wind speed and direction can also be extremely useful factors when trying to predict the total score.

Study your stats

It’s a lot to take in, but the good news is that baseball has a stat for literally everything. If you want to find out Mike Trout’s batting average against left-handed pitchers on three days rest in domed stadiums on Tuesday afternoons, we guarantee you can find it.

MLB future odds

Futures are events that may - or may not - happen at a later date. TwinSpires Sports offers a wide arrange of MLB future odds during the season for divisional and pennant races for both leagues. We also offer enticing MLB postseason odds for the American League and National League Division Series, the American League and National League Championship Series and the World Series.

Do you prefer to wager on MLB player odds? TwinSpires Sports has you covered with odds for season-long award races in both leagues for the Cy Young Award, the Rookie of the Year Award, and the MVP Award. All MLB odds are updated throughout the season to reflect hot streaks, cold stretches, injuries, and transactions.

Bet on baseball now

Residents of Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania can enjoy legal MLB baseball betting with our baseball odds today. Step up to the plate and wager on your favorite teams and players!