Yankees-Dodgers parlays cash for bettors on MLB’s opening day
Sportsbooks needed an underdog to win one of the two MLB games on opening day Thursday, and they didn’t get it.
The New York Yankees (-170) and Los Angeles Dodgers (-260) won their openers as sizable favorites, providing a victory for money-line parlay bettors on the first day of action.
“That combo has been hit a billion times,” William Hill sportsbook director Nick Bogdanovich said before the games. “There’s incredible handle on the (Yankees) game. We need a split.”
The first two games also required bettors to brush up on sportsbooks rules.
The Yankees defeated the Washington Nationals 4-1 in a game stopped after five innings because of rain. Because five innings is considered a complete game, money-line wagers were graded and paid out. Totals and run-line bets were refunded; sportsbooks require a full nine innings for those.
The Yankees moved from about -140 favorites to -170 on Thursday when it was announced that star Nationals outfielder Juan Soto would miss the game after a positive test for coronavirus.
In the second game, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw was scratched a few hours before first pitch because of back stiffness. The change in starters to Dustin May meant refunds at the books who “list” starting pitchers, meaning the bet stands only if the listed pitcher starts the game.
The South Point and Westgate recently said they would stop listing pitchers and would treat baseball like another sport, in which bettors lock in their price regardless of subsequent changes in availability for key players.
The Dodgers were favorites of around -300 before the Kershaw injury announcement.
Los Angeles went on to beat the San Francisco Giants 8-1, blowing open a 1-1 game with five runs in the seventh inning and two more in the eighth. The game stayed under the closing total of 9½, which was bumped up from 8½ after Kershaw was scratched.
The MLB season opens in full Friday with 14 games.
Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.
