When handicapping baseball games, we often dig deep into splits such as home/road records and how teams perform vs right- and left-handed pitching. But something you should add to your list is how teams perform in series openers and in the last game of a series.
For whatever reason, this trend sticks. Maybe they’re just damn good, they’re motivated to start or finish strong, or they mentally check out when a series is coming to an end — a handful of teams stand out as excellent or awful bets at different spots in a series.
As we navigate the 2022 season, we’re equipping you with all the betting information you need to win your MLB bets. Below, we have 2022 series opening and closing betting trends so far, and we’ll update these records with 2022 MLB betting trends throughout the season. You can use these betting nuggets over at BetUS to help nail your baseball wagers:
If you’re looking for other tools to inform your MLB bets, check out our free MLB computer picks page, MLB futures breakdown or our best baseball betting sites.
Team Records When Opening A Series
- Mets 28-8 (77.8%)
- Dodgers 27-9 (75.0%)
- Yankees 27-10 (73.0%)
- Brewers 24-12 (66.7%)
- Astros 24-13 (64.9%)
- Padres 22-14 (61.1%)
- Phillies 22-14 (61.1%)
- Athletics 9-28 (24.3%)
- Nationals 10-26 (27.8%)
- Pirates 11-26 (29.7%)
- Marlins 11-25 (30.6%)
- Rockies 12-24 (33.3%)
- Angels 12-24 (33.3%)
- Rays 13-23 (36.1%)
Last year, the best teams in baseball, like the Giants and Rays, unsurprisingly dominated series openers. This year the trend is continuing with three of the top teams – the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees – all dominating series openers. The Mets, in fact, have won their last seven series openers.
While there aren’t too many weird blips in the series opener trends so far, one thing to note is the Athletics’ utter incompetence to start a series. While the A’s are bad overall, with a 35.7 percent win rate, they’re over 10 percentage points worse in series openers. With top starter Frankie Montas now traded, the A’s might get worse, too.
Team Records When Closing A Series
- Astros 27-10 (73.0%)
- Mets 25-11 (69.4%)
- Dodgers 25-11 (69.4%)
- Rays 22-14 (61.1%)
- White Sox 21-15 (58.3%)
- Mariners 21-15 (58.3%)
- Guardians 20-16 (55.6%)
- Tigers 11-26 (29.7%)
- Nationals 12-24 (33.3%)
- Cubs 13-22 (37.1%)
- Rangers 14-22 (38.9%)
- Royals 14-21 (40.0%)
- Athletics 15-22 (40.5%)
- Cardinals 14-20 (41.2%)
Last year, the Cleveland Guardians were a below-.500 team, but they were the best team in baseball in the final game of a series. Early this year, there hasn’t been an obvious close-out money-maker.
On the other side, though, the Cardinals’ struggles in the final game of a series are worth noting. St. Louis is a solid team this year, sitting at 63-51 and leading the NL Central. However, the Cardinals are among the worst in baseball when it comes to closing out series, with a win rate almost 15 percentage points lower than their season figure. You can bet on the Cards all you want this year, but they’re worth a fade to close out a series.
Lock in your MLB bets to start or close series over at BetUS:
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