Mark it down on your calendar. May 6 was the first time the Baltimore Orioles were listed as betting favorites in a game this season.
With Jordan Lyles on the mound at home, Baltimore is around a -130 favorite over Carlos Hernandez and the Kansas City Royals on Friday (real-time odds here). The Orioles enter the game at 10-16 compared to an 8-15 record for the Royals.
Recent performance could be fresh on the market's mind. Baltimore split a four-game series against the Minnesota Twins, winning each of the last two games. Meanwhile, Kansas City has won just once in its last five.
Needless to say, Baltimore isn't a better favorite very often. And the Orioles haven't been profitable in the role, either.
Since general manager Mike Elias took over before the 2019 season and initiated a full-on tank job, Baltimore is just 9-22 in games when listed as the favorite. A $100 bettor would be down $1,439 for a -46% return on investment.
According to Bet Labs, you have to go back to 2016 to find the last time Baltimore was profitable as a betting favorite. Since 2005, the Orioles have been profitable as favorites in five seasons.
In five starts this season covering 26 innings, Lyles is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.615 WHIP. Last year, he gave up 38 home runs, the most in baseball.
This will be the fifth start for Hernandez, who has struggled early on to replicate his successes of last season. He's allowed 12 earned runs in 18 innings for a 6.00 ERA. He's walked 10 batters compared to just eight strikeouts.
The total for the game is listed at 8.
