Friday MLB Opening Odds
(The Spread) – Clinging to a slim lead in the AL Wild Card standings, the Red Sox begin a pivotal series with the Yankees tonight in New York.
Jon Lester will take the hill for the Red Sox tonight in the Bronx, as the Red Sox are –140 money line favorites over the Yankees (+130). Boston currently has a two-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card after losing two straight games and seven of its last 10.
The Rays, meanwhile, will host a three-game series against the Blue Jays tonight in Tampa Bay. Oddsmakers have installed the Rays as a –190 money line favorite against Toronto, which is +180 on the ML as it takes on ace David Price. The over/under total for this contest is currently sitting at 7.5 runs.
In the National League Wild Card, the Braves lead the Cardinals by two games thanks in to St. Louis’ ninth-inning meltdown against the Mets on Thursday. The Cards blew a 6-2 lead in the top of the ninth and fell to New York 8-6, blowing a massive opportunity to get within one game of the Braves in the Wild Card standings. Atlanta (+115) will be on the road tonight in Washington (-125) at 7:05PM ET, while St. Louis (-215) hosts the Cubs (+195) at 8:15PM ET.
Thanks to the Giants’ loss to the Dodgers on Thursday night, the Arizona Diamondbacks have clinched the NL West crown this season. They’ll host the Giants tonight in Arizona and are –170 money line favorites over San Francisco, which is +160 on the ML. According to latest MLB trends, the Giants are 10-3 in their last 13 road games against the Diamondbacks and 35-16 in their last 51 meetings with Arizona overall.
MLB Opening Odds & Totals for Friday, September 23, 2011
951 Atlanta Braves +115 (6.5)
952 Washington Nationals –125
953 Cincinnati Reds –130 (9)
954 Pittsburgh Pirates +120
955 Philadelphia Phillies –130 (7)
956 New York Mets +120
957 Colorado Rockies +130 (8.5)
958 Houston Astros –140
959 Florida Marlins +210 (8)
960 Milwaukee Brewers –230
961 Chicago Cubs +195 (7.5)
962 St. Louis Cardinals –215
963 San Francisco Giants +160 (9)
964 Arizona Diamondbacks –170
965 Los Angeles Dodgers –120 (6.5)
966 San Diego Padres +110
967 Baltimore Orioles +165 (9.5)
968 Detroit Tigers –175
969 Boston Red Sox –140 (9)
970 New York Yankees +130
971 Minnesota Twins +180 (8.5)
972 Cleveland Indians –190
973 Toronto Blue Jays +180 (7.5)
974 Tampa Bay Rays –190
975 Seattle Mariners +240 (10)
976 Texas Rangers –275
977 Kansas City Royals +115 (9)
978 Chicago White Sox –125
979 Oakland A’s +180 (7)
980 Los Angeles Angels -190
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