In a game in which the betting market expects the Los Angeles Dodgers to win comfortably, bettors are turning to player props as alternate ways to get in on the NL Wild Card action.
The Dodgers are a heavy -225 betting favorite on Wednesday night against the St. Louis Cardinals, who come back as a +180 underdog. With the big discrepancy in the betting odds, props offer other ways to get involved in the game.
Just like they did in the AL Wild Card matchup between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox on Tuesday night, bettors are taking the favorite to win while both teams get involved in the scoring. The Dodgers to win and both teams scoring at least three runs is the most-bet prop of the night, according to data released by BetMGM on Wednesday. That bet comes with +280 odds (bet $100, profit $280).
The total is 7.5 but 69% of dollars are on the over, so the market is hoping for runs.
For player props, Max Scherzer and Nolan Arenado are the two popular plays.
Scherzer to strike out more than 7.5 batters is one of the three most-bet props at -105. Scherzer, who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Washington Nationals, has struck out at least eight batters in six of his 11 starts with the Dodgers. However, striking out the Cardinals may prove difficult. Only six teams had fewer strikeouts on offense than St. Louis this season.
Nolan Arenado has only reached at least two total bases twice in his last 10 games, but his prop is getting hit early. Arenado getting more than 1.5 total bases is +130. A total base has to come from a hit, meaning walks don't count toward the total. A single is worth one base, a double is worth two and so on.
