MLB betting: The Dodgers are on an unbelievable streak of being favored that dates back to 2019
The last 127 Los Angeles Dodgers games all have something in common: The Dodgers have not been a betting underdog in any of them.
On Oct. 7, 2019, the Dodgers were slight underdogs to the Washington Nationals with Max Scherzer on the mound. The Dodgers lost that game, lost the next game as favorites and their season was over. That game against Scherzer and the Nats was the last time the Dodgers were underdogs.
Los Angeles was favored in the final game in 2019, all 78 games including postseason in 2020 according to Covers.com and haven't been an underdog in any of their 48 games this season.
Even Jeff Stoneback, the director of trading for MGM Resorts, was unaware of the Dodgers' unbelievable streak.
"I would have said they had to be a dog once," Stoneback said. "That has to be a record."
Dodgers are only small favorites on Tuesday
In the Dodgers' 48th game of the season on Tuesday, they were small -115 favorites at BetMGM vs. the Houston Astros, who had Zack Greinke on the mound. The Dodgers won 9-2.
The Dodgers are going to push the streak to 128 on Wednesday. They're -145 favorites over the Astros (which means a bettor would have to bet $145 on the Dodgers to win $100).
There were some close calls for the Dodgers' streak. On April 30, the Dodgers closed at -110 — a pick 'em, since both teams were -110 odds — against the Milwaukee Brewers, who had Freddy Peralta on the mound facing Edwin Uceta in his only MLB start to date. The Brewers took that one 3-1. This April 17, the Dodgers were -120 against the San Diego Padres and Yu Darvish. The Dodgers won 2-0.
In last year's World Series finale the Dodgers were just -121 favorites over the Tampa Bay Rays, and they won. There were a couple games last season in which the Dodgers were small favorites, but they were never underdogs.
Alabama football has had a remarkable streak of being favored, but that's college football. It's easier to envision that type of streak in football or basketball. In baseball, with games every day and the chance of having a No. 5 starter face the opponent's ace, teams just aren't favored every single day.
Except the Dodgers have been for two seasons running.
When would the Dodgers be underdogs in a game?
Can the Dodgers make it through a full 162-game season without being underdogs?
"It's probably never happened," Stoneback said.
We have to start thinking about a scenario in which the Dodgers would be underdogs.
"They'd probably be on the road against a good team, their No. 3 or 4 starter against the ace of the home team," Stoneback said. "But right now there aren't too many situations."
The problem with finding a spot in which the Dodgers could be underdogs is that they seemingly have endless starting pitching depth, and even in an unusual situation in which the Dodgers need to plug in a starter (like the Peralta-Uceta game in April), their lineup makes it tough to bet against them.
"You talk about a complete team," Stoneback said. "There's no real weakness in the starting pitching, when other teams are struggling to get anything past their top two."
Because the Dodgers are favored in every game and often heavily favored, they haven't been profitable on the whole this season. According to Covers.com, a bettor placing $100 on the Dodgers every game would have been down $162, despite their 30-18 record.
But it's a good idea to not wait to bet on the Dodgers until they're underdogs. It might be a while.
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