MLB Wild Card odds: Giants slightly favored in NL Wild Card
By Ed Carroll
If you’re looking to make money by gambling on the MLB postseason this October, good luck, but you should probably know who’s the favorite in Vegas to win the World Series trophy. And if you’re betting on the Wild Card games, it looks like the San Francisco Giants are a slight favorite in the National League game over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Possibly due to the random nature of a one-game playoff, there aren’t heavy favorites in either league’s game, as the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals are even in the American League. $105 bet on either team would win you $100, and both of those teams have their best pitchers starting the game — for Kansas City, it’s James Shields, while Oakland counters with Jon Lester.
The National League has the Giants as mild favorites, even as the visiting team, meaning you’d need to put $115 on San Francisco to bring back $100, while $100 on the Pirates would bring you $105 in winnings should Pittsburgh triumph. Giants ace Madison Bumgarner will make the start for San Francisco, while the Pirates will turn to Edison Volquez in Pittsburgh’s second-straight Wild Card appearance.
Given that any two of these four teams could be eliminated after the Wild Card game, it’s no surprise that these four teams have the lowest odds (and the highest payouts) of winning the World Series. Betting $100 on the A’s or Pirates to win the World Series would net you $1,400 in winnings. Picking the Giants at $100 would get you $1.700 back, and the Royals have the best payout and the worst odds, with $100 bringing $1,800 back if Kansas City can end its 29-year playoff drought with a World Series championship.
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