BetMGM preemptively posted odds on Game 2 of a doubleheader between the Mets vs. Braves before the start of the eighth inning, when the Braves were leading 3-0 in Game 1.
No other sportsbook had odds posted on that contest because they're heavily contingent on the results of Game 1. The winner of Game 1 will qualify for the postseason and is incentivized to rest starters for Game 2.
BetMGM opened the honors with the Mets as -225 favorites and the Braves at +190 underdogs, baking in the odds of a Braves win at -5000. The odds were posted after the Braves went up 3-0. The assumption, of course, was that the Braves would trot out their back-of-the-bench players and someone other than likely Cy Young winner Chris Sale for Game 2 with the No. 5 seed locked up — and a postseason game the next day.
Atlanta needed just six outs to seal up a victory and stamp its place in the postseason. Instead, the Mets broke things open with six runs in the top of the eighth. BetMGM took down odds on Game 2 after two straight doubles to start the inning cut the lead to 3-1. The Mets proceeded to record three straight singles before a sacrifice fly gave New York the 4-3 lead. During the next at-bat, Brandon Nimmo hit a two-run homer to make it 6-3.
A two-way parlay on the Mets to win Game 1 and the Braves to win Game 2 would have paid $34,250 on a $1,000 wager if placed before the start of the eighth inning. Now, that's the most likely outcome.
In what would have been a potential reprieve, the Braves came back with four runs of their own in the bottom of the eighth to take an 8-7 lead.
Then, the Mets' Francisco Lindor launched a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to take an 8-7 lead, sealing a Mets win in one of the craziest games in franchise history.