Not much was expected this season from the Baltimore Orioles, who kicked off the campaign as 20/1 longshots to claim the AL Pennant at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. But two weeks into the season, the Orioles find themselves sitting atop the AL East standings with a league-leading 8-3 record.
The Orioles stormed out of the gate, sweeping the Minnesota Twins in a three-game series, before taking a pair from the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game set that included one contest that was postponed due to weather.
Since extending their season-opening winning streak to seven with a pair of road victories over Boston, the Orioles have cooled off, dropping three of four to the Red Sox and Texas Rangers, but have seen their odds to win the AL East climb to 14/1 on the MLB futures.
With Sunday’s series finale in Texas postponed, Baltimore enjoyed a rare two-day break before they open a three-game series as +130 home underdogs in Tuesday night’s Blue Jays vs. Orioles betting matchup at Camden Yards.
The defending AL East champion Blue Jays opened as 11/2 favorites to win the American League crown, but have received inconsistent performances from both the bullpen and their vaunted offense and stumbled to an early 7-7 record.
The Blue Jays tallied an MLB-best 891 runs in 2015, but have averaged just 3.6 runs per game over their past five outings, forcing the run total UNDER in each, and sport a team batting average of just .227. Toronto’s shaky start has had minimal impact on their odds of winning the AL Pennant, though, which remain at a strong 7/1.
In the National League, the Colorado Rockies sit alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers atop the NL West standings, after taking two of three on the weekend from the World Series favorite Chicago Cubs and following up with a decisive 6-1 win over Cincinnati on Monday.
The Rockies broke camp as 150/1 World Series longshots, but remain stalled on the baseball futures despite jumping out to an 8-5 start, including series wins over the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants.
The Diamondbacks were busy during the offseason, signing starter Zach Greinke and trading for Shelby Miller, earning them 14/1 odds to win the NL Pennant on Opening Day. But with just two victories in seven home games, and Greinke and Miller going winless through the first two weeks, Arizona has tumbled to 20/1 to claim their first NL championship since 2001.
