The Stretch Run

With more than 75% of the MLB season in the books, the Braves and Dodgers, perennial powerhouses, have been even better than advertised, but some fellow big spenders have really disappointed this season 😏

• The shallow, injury-riddled Yankees have lost eight in a row and are nine games back from the final AL Wild Card seed

• The Mets, despite being the most expensive team in the majors, are nine games below .500 after trading away everything of value (except for Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor) in an effort to retool their farm system

• The Padres are six games out of the final NL Wild Card seed and might be regretting 11-year, $280M commitment to SS Xander Bogaerts, who is having his worst offensive season since 2017 in his first season with the Friars

Instead of the AL East’s most expensive club running away with the division title, it’s the cheapest (and youngest) one who’s run up a three-game lead over the rest of the American League. Fans are finally showing up 🙌

And despite lacking a single All-Star Game starter, the Orioles have one of the most well-rounded ball-clubs in baseball, they’ve gotten ahead of the pack as a committee 🧢

• 12th-best offense by wRC+

• 7 hitters over league average wRC+ who’ve played in at least 75 team games

• 8th-most pitching fWAR

• 2nd-most pitching wins

Still, to say they’ve had a deep roster shouldn’t take away from a few standout contributors 👇

• 2019 No. 1 overall draft pick Adley Rutschman is, in his second MLB season, one of the best all-around catchers in baseball

• 3B Gunnar Henderson is the prohibitive favorite (-300) to win the AL Rookie of the Year

• Felix Bautista, nicknamed “The Mountain” for his 6’8, 285 pound frame, has been far and away the best reliever in baseball

While the Orioles are undoubtedly in the midst of an epic franchise turnaround, there are reasons to worry that they might run out of steam by the time the playoffs come around 👀

• Despite all the success, the Orioles only have the fourth-best run differential in the AL, and the seventh-best run differential in MLB

• The Rangers, Rays and Dodgers all have worse records, but more than double the run differential the O’s have posted

Maybe some of the Orioles good luck will fade, but either way you just have to tip your cap to what this franchise is doing. There’s pretty much a big six this year for World Series odds, who are you taking? 💰

• Braves: +280

• Dodgers: +350

• Astros: +700

• Rangers: +800

• Orioles: +950

• Rays: +1400

Trivia Question: How many times have the Orioles won the World Series?

For My Parlay Gurus

If you believe in the Birds, you might consider betting their rising star rookie Grayson Rodriguez to continue his recent run of dominance, and fade the Yanks while the big money signing Carlos Rodon continues to struggle in New York. Take a look 👇

• Orioles ML vs. Blue Jays: -116

• Nationals ML @ Yankees: +164

$100 on this bet would win you $392 — if we hit, make sure you email [email protected] for a chance to win up to $100*. Many will enter, only some will win 😉

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Trivia Answer: Three — the O’s won the World Series in 1966, 1970 and 1983

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Must be 18 years of age or older to enter. Many will enter, only some will win. Giveaway ends 12 hours after the completion of the final game references within the giveaway. The winner will be notified via the email address used to enter. Restrictions apply. See the General Conditions and Releases sections of Overtime's Terms of Use at https://overtime.tv/terms for additional giveaway terms

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