Odds Set for Major League Baseball Wild Card Series Games
Posted on: September 29, 2025, 01:32h.
Last updated on: September 29, 2025, 03:15h.
- Full MLB wild card schedule set for Tuesday
- The Dodgers and Brewers are the most popular bets to win the World Series
- The Tigers are still the Moneyline favorites against the Guardians
The moment the Blue Jays’ Alejandro Kirk launched his second home run of the game against the Tampa Bay Rays to deep center on Sunday, MLB’s post-season matchups started to fall into place. Oddsmakers followed in line.
The Toronto Blue Jays catcher had two home runs, including a grand slam. Kirk blowing kisses to the Rogers Centre crowd of 42,083, tears in his eyes, was Toronto’s best sporting moment since the Jose Bautista bat flip in 2015. The Jays trounced the Rays 13-4 to win the American League East.
The Cleveland Guardians, meanwhile, finished off a comeback of historic proportions, winning the Central Division, with the Mariners already having wrapped up the AL West.
So, the AL best-of-three wildcard matchups are set – tRed Sox and Yankees in New York on Tuesday (6:08 p.m.), with Detroit heading to Cleveland to play the Guardians (1:08 p.m.). The winner of Boston and New York will head to Toronto next Saturday to start the American League Division Series. The winner of Detroit versus Cleveland goes to Seattle in the ALDS.
Wild Card Games Begin on Tuesday
In the National League, Cincinnati knew that if they beat Milwaukee on Sunday, they would win the final wildcard NL spot. The Brewers won 4-2. To get in, the Mets had to win against the Marlins. The Mets lost 4-0, so they’re out.
The Reds go to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers (9:08 p.m. on Tuesday), and the Padres head to Wrigley Field to play the Cubs (3:08 p.m.), while the Phillies and Brewers wait for the winners of those series in the National League Division Series.
The Tigers (Tarik Skubal) are -169 moneyline favorites at DraftKings for Tuesday’s game while the Guardians (Gavin Williams) are +138. In New York, DraftKings has the Yankees (Max Fried) at -136, while the Red Sox (Garrett Crochet) are +112.
At BetMGM, the Cubs (TBD) are moneyline favorites at -115, with the Padres (Nick Pivetta) at -105. The Dodgers (Blake Snell) are moneyline favorites at -200, the Reds (Hunter Greene) are +165.
“There is a bunch of action coming in on these best-of-three Wild Card series, with the Yankees/Red Sox unsurprisingly seeming to be the most popular,” said Eric Biggio, Lead Baseball Trader at Caesars Sportsbook. “Overall, we have seen good two-way action so far. We can’t wait for tomorrow, as there will be a lot of action from the first game through the last. People love backing Tarik Skubal, so we anticipate that to continue tomorrow morning.”
Injuries of Note for Tuesday
Injuries of note: The Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm is suffering a forearm injury that has him day to day. He wasn’t in the lineup for Sunday’s 4-1 win over the Orioles. Red Sox starting pitcher Dustin May, who’s been on the 15-day DL with an elbow injury, threw his second live bullpen session on Friday, while relief pitcher Jordan Hicks was cleared to play catch following a 15-day IL stint for a shoulder. Guardians’ starting pitcher John Means pitched 5.1 innings for Triple-A Columbus on Friday following 60 days on the IL for an elbow injury.
Reds left fielder Austin Hays is day-to-day, as is Nick Lodolo, who is throwing pitches from a bullpen mound, according to MLB.com. Dodgers’ third-baseman Max Muncy is expected to be back for Tuesday, while Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya, ankle is on rehab assignment in Triple A.
“As of Monday afternoon, the Tigers-Guardians and Red Sox-Yankees matchups are drawing the most action for Wild Card series betting,” said Adrian Horton, Senior Director, North American Sports Trading, ESPN BET. “The Dodgers are our most bet Series Winner overall on a fairly lopsided split of tickets, followed by the Guardians and Yankees, though action is much closer to 50-50 in those series.”
Dodgers and Brewers Popular Bets to Win World Series
The Guardians don’t have relief pitcher Emmanuel Clase, who’s been out since an investigation into alleged gambling connections began earlier this season. Clase had 47 saves last season and had 24 this season before the suspension.
The Dodgers and Brewers are two of the most popular bets to win the World Series. Surprisingly, the Yankees winning it all would be the best outcome for the sportsbook,” said Halvor Egeland, a BetMGM senior trader. “If the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, and Red Sox advance, this could be the most bet MLB Playoffs in BetMGM history.”
In AL pennant betting at BetMGM, the favorite is the Mariners at +200, while the highest ticket percentage is the Tigers at 18.2%. The highest handle percentage is the Yankees at 23.3%. On the NL pennant side, the Phillies are the favorite at +210, while the highest ticket percentage is the Phillies and Dodgers at 14.0%. The highest handle percentage is the Dodgers at 17.0%.
Great Value on Red Sox for Bettors
“Yankees-Red Sox certainly should be the most bet,” said Phill Gray, the former head of trading operations at Sports Interaction, and an industry sports betting consultant. “Yankees are very short in my opinion, -165 to take the series outright. Always a heavily backed public favorite obviously, but that price to me seems to be getting out ahead of that action, so some great value on Boston at that inflated price for them coming back.”
Gray will also be watching the Reds vs. Dodgers series. “We would have thought LA would skip the wildcard at the beginning of the season, but here they are, and rightly so price-wise – a whopping -245 to take the series. LA has a much better offense for sure, but the Reds match up decently in pitching. I expect to see heavy action on the Overs as the public thinks the Dodger bats will be pounding it at home.
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