For the second year in a row, the Baltimore Orioles are on track to defy the oddsmakers’ predictions regarding the mettle of their team.
Before the 2023 Major League Baseball season, oddsmakers at the best sports betting apps in Maryland put the Orioles won-loss total for betting purposes at 76.5 with minus-130 for the under and plus-110 for the over.
Well sportsbooks, if you took a peek at the standings coming out of Memorial Day weekend, which is a little more than one-third of way through the MLB season, the Orioles were far outpacing those expectations.
And entering Tuesday’s games, Baltimore has the third-best record in MLB at 37-22 (.627).
At their current pace, the O’s are on track to win (gasp!) 102 games.
Baltimore Orioles 2023 World Series Odds
Yet Baltimore has +4500 odds to win the World Series at BetRivers Maryland, behind 15 other teams on the board. One could argue that this number – and the team’s +1900 odds at BetRivers to win the AL pennant – represent tremendous value.
Okay, so let’s say the starting pitching falters – and there are some observers in Charm City fretting over that possibility – and the wheels were to fall off between now and Labor Day. Even in such a scenario, the Orioles need to win just 40 more games (in other words, go 40-63 from June 6 through the end of the season) to beat the over-under benchmark of 76.5 victories on Maryland sports betting apps.
Baltimore started the season in tepid fashion, at 8-7 after the first couple of weeks. Then, the Orioles went on a run of seven straight victories taking advantage of weaker teams, Detroit and Washington, and have stayed solid since then, rewarding their Maryland online sports betting backers.
Interestingly, what the Orioles are doing this season relative to the preseason over-under forecast is a reprise of last year.
Long Way From 2021 Doldrums
To flip the calendar back to 2021, the Orioles were in a shambles. They won just 52 games and their fans were dreaming of a far-off turnaround that hinged on draft picks who figured to be several seasons away from being helpful.
On top of that, the Orioles were competing against far better bankrolled opponents in the American League East, namely the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
It was expected that in 2022 only the diehards would show up to watch games at quaint, picturesque Camden Yards.
The over-under prior to the 2022 season was 62.5 wins at BetMGM Maryland. If that appeared insulting, one only had to look back to August 2021 when the oppressive dog days of summer were matched by an Orioles’ 19-game losing streak that felt like a biblical scourge.
In Baltimore’s last three-game homestand, total attendance was less than 30,000.
Orioles Turnaround Began in Summer 2022
So, 2022 arrived with faint hope. The Orioles started 3-8 and stood 14-24 by mid May. So, the oddsmakers looked like they might be on target. However, in July, the O’s went on a 10-game winning streak and did not slump after the All-Star break. They showed up the naysayers with an 83-79 finish.
It wasn’t just the over-under where the Orioles made noise from a betting perspective last year. They also were the league leaders in hypothetical moneyline standings with a theoretical profit of more than $2,700 on a standard $100 per bet basis.
This season, it has been more of the same, yet there is still wagering value in this team. Customers using the Caesars Maryland promo code can get the Orioles at +700 odds to win the division, well behind the favored Tampa Bay Rays (-200) as well as the Yankees (+360).
Trailing Tampa Bay on the odds board is understandable – the Rays have had the best record in MLB right from the start, after winning their first 13 games, and still stand alone with a .694 winning percentage. At 43-19, Tampa Bay is on pace for 112 wins.
But Baltimore is 3-3 against the Yankees this season and has led New York pretty much the whole way for the second spot in the AL East.
Baltimore Has Been Betting Bargain
Betting on the Orioles has been arguably an even better idea this year than in 2022. They are plus-$1,198 so far on a $100-bet basis, just a few dollars better than the Texas Rangers.
And there is little question of whether Baltimore goes over the top of that predicted 77-win threshold for this season. That would appear to be more a matter of not if, but when.
Bettors taking advantage of Maryland sportsbook promos can also jump on what seems to be a good wagering bargain right in their backyard.
