Opening Odds for All MLB Playoff Series
By Sascha Paruk in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The 2021 MLB playoff field has been finalized
- The Wild Card and Division Series will run from October 5th to October 14th (at the latest)
- See the opening odds for all the matchups, below
The American League narrowly avoided a hectic tiebreaking procedure to decide the final playoff berths on the last day of the season. But with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees both winning, MLB’s ten-team playoff field was cemented.
In the AL, the #1-seed Tampa Bay Rays await the winner of Boston/New York in the Wild Card game. The #2 Houston Astros have home-field advantage against the #3 Chicago White Sox in the other ALDS.
In the National League, The #1-seed San Francisco Giants will face the winner of the LA Dodgers/St Louis Cardinals, while the #2 Milwaukee Brewers meet the #3 Atlanta Braves.
Here is how the opening odds look for all the matchups that have been set.
Wild Card and Division Series Opening Odds
| AL Wild Card | Odds to Advance | Format |
|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | -120 | One-Game |
| Boston Red Sox | +102 | |
| NL Wild Card | Odds to Advance | Format |
| St Louis Cardinals | +190 | One-Game |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | -230 | |
| ALDS | Odds to Advance | Format |
| Chicago White Sox | +106 | Best-of-Five |
| Houston Astros | -124 | |
| NLDS | Odds to Advance | Format |
| Atlanta Braves | +116 | Best-of-Five |
| Milwaukee Brewers | -136 |
Odds as of Oct. 3rd at FanDuel.
Red Sox Getting No Love at Home
The Yankees will be sending a hot-and-cold Gerrit Cole (16-8, 3.23 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) to the mound against arch-rival Boston, who will counter with Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP).
The Red Sox won the season series 10-9, but that was heavily tilted towards Boston at the start of the season and towards the Yankees in the back half.
In the NL, the Dodgers will give the ball to three-time Cy Young-winner Max Scherzer (15-4, 2.46 ERA, 0.86 WHIP) who’s second-favorite in the 2021 Cy Young odds, as well. The Cardinals will go with crafty veteran Adam Wainwright (17-7, 3.05 ERA, 1.06), who put together an excellent second half of the season.
Home Teams Favored in Division Series
The Houston Astros are favored in the AL Pennant odds, despite the Rays having the top seed. They are also -124 favorites to edge out the Chicago White Sox.
Between Lance Lynn (11-6, 2.69 ERA, 1.07 WHIP), Lucas Giolito (11-9, 3.53 ERA, 1.10 WHIP), and Carlos Rodon (13-5, 2.37 ERA, 0.96 WHIP) the Chi-Sox will feel good about the top of their rotation.
Houston will likely counter with Zack Greinke (11-6, 4.16 ERA, 1.17 WHIP), Lance McCullers Jr (13-5, 31.6 ERA, 1.22 WHIP), and Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.13 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) in the first three games.
The Brewers arguably have the best starting pitching in all of baseball. Cy Young-favorite Corbin Burnes (11-5, 2.43 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) and Brandon Woodruff (9-10, 2.56 ERA, 0.96 WHIP) are both legit aces, while Freddy Peralta (10-5, 2.81 ERA, 0.97 ERA) has the potential to dazzle. In Josh Hader, they have the most dominant closer in the game today
Atlanta’s pitching staff will be led by Charlie Morton (14-6, 3.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) and Max Fried (14-7, 3.04 ERA, 1.09 WHIP), wth rookie Ian Anderson (9-5, 3.58 ERA, 1.23 WHIP) the most likely player to get the start in Game 3 versus Chicago.
Stay tuned to SBD’s MLB odds page to see the moneyline, runline, and over/under for all playoff games and to monitor the odds shifts.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
