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MLB betting: Exciting Orioles are creeping up in the AL East standings and odds

frank schwab
NFL writer
·3 min read
8

When the Tampa Bay Rays started the season 13-0 and kept that hot streak going for weeks afterward, it seemed like the Rays winning the AL East was a wrap.

If any team were going to make a charge at them, the Baltimore Orioles didn't seem like the one.

Well, the AL East standings are a bit surprising if you haven't looked at them in a while. After the Orioles won again Monday, they are only four games behind the Rays. Baltimore is 48-29 as its young lineup has come together very fast.

The standings have shifted, and so have the odds.

Rays still lead the AL East odds

Tampa Bay is still, rightfully, a big favorite in the AL East. They're -750 at BetMGM. The Rays don't have many weaknesses, with a shiny +150 run differential to prove it.

Yet it seems like -750 is a bit heavy for a team whose lead is just four games with half a season to go.

Are the Orioles a good value? They're +900 to win the AL East. The New York Yankees, whose offense has been struggling without injured Aaron Judge, are 9.5 games behind the Rays. The rest of the division is 10 or more behind. We're roughly halfway through the season — the Rays have played exactly 81 games — so there's a lot of time for all of that to change. But it seems like if anyone is going to beat the Rays, it would be the Orioles.

And while the Rays look like the better team, a +900 shot on the Orioles doesn't seem like the worst bet.

The Orioles' Jorge Mateo (3) and Anthony Santander (25) have been part of the team's hot streak. (AP Photo/Tommy Gilligan)

Orioles have been on a roll

It's not like you can dismiss a 13-0 start to the season. But since then, the Rays are 41-27, a .603 winning percentage. The Orioles are at .623 for the season and .646 since their mediocre 6-6 start.

That's cherry-picking stats, but the Orioles have been playing very well. There's a good reason they are back in the AL East race.

Baltimore is being led by young offensive stars such as catcher Adley Rutschman and infielder Gunnar Henderson, who has heated up after a slow start to the season. The Orioles' starting pitching isn't great, but it has been decent, and the bullpen has been solid all season.

Of course, everything the Orioles do well, the Rays do well, too. They are quantifiably better than the Orioles. That's the reason the Rays are favored by a mile to win the division. And they probably will win the AL East.

But the Orioles' surge has brought some intrigue to the division race. Maybe Baltimore can't overtake the Rays, but at +900 odds, it might be worth finding out.