Oddsmakers Still Not Buying on Cardinals Despite 12-Game Win Streak

At the beginning of September, the St. Louis Cardinals' chances to make the postseason were barely above water.

They had about a 5% chance of making the postseason according to Fangraphs, set to play the second-most difficult schedule amongst playoff-contending teams, and it felt like the season was slipping away.

Now after 12 straight wins, the Cardinals have catapulted up the National League Wild Card standings and find themselves in a 4.5-game lead for the final spot over the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds with just a handful of games left in the season.

Despite the terrific run through September, WynnBET hasn't adjusted the Cardinals' odds all that much in the futures market. At the beginning of the month, St. Louis was listed at 50/1 to win the World Series, while on the outside looking in for the postseason. Now, with a spot all but locked up, they've moved up to just 30/1. Are oddsmakers not buying the September turnaround? Or are their other factors at play?

Cardinals Potential Wild Card Matchups: Giants or Dodgers

St. Louis won't catch up to Milwaukee to win the division with a 7.5 game lead, so it's expected that they'll be on the road in the single-elimination game between the second-place team in the National League West. They'll either travel to Los Angeles or San Francisco to face off against the Dodgers or Giants.

As of now, the Giants hold a slim 1-game lead in the division over the Dodgers. With the Cardinals having to play the second-best team in baseball on the road in a single-elimination game, its understandable why the odds are stacked against them.

At the same time, in the American League, teams like the Red Sox, Yankees and Blue Jays are all between +1200 and +1500 odds to win the Fall Classic, despite likely contending for one of the Wild Card spots.

Seattle, who remains two games out of the final Wild Card spot in the AL falls all the way back to +7500. I anticipate this being more of a liability issue for WynnBET on high profile teams like Boston and New York, along with Toronto who was a popular futures team towards the beginning of the season.

Can the Cardinals win a World Series?

The inherent randomness in baseball allows for wild things to happen over a short sample size in the month of October. It would be a difficult matchup, but the Cardinals could absolutely ride their hot streak into a one-game playoff and win, moving on to face the other NL West leader in the second round.

Remember, when the Cardinals won the World Series in 2006 and 2011, they were by no means the best team in the sport during the regular season. In 2006, St. Louis won it all with an 83-78 record, and then a 90-72 record the following year.

If you buy this hot streak playing into October, jump on the Cardinals at +3000 odds and see how wild October can be.

Think St. Louis has some more magic in them this year? Grab them before the odds shift right now at WynnBET Sportsbook!