There is a significant disparity between the best and worst teams in Major League Baseball right now.

That discrepancy was on display once again on Monday night.

Seven MLB favourites were -185 or greater to win outright. All seven of them won. Four of them covered the run line.

A $100 parlay featuring those seven outright winners would have paid $1,146.50.

If you do a simple search for baseball betting tips, most columns will start with the same rule: Don’t bet on big favourites.

However, the notable gap between the playoff contenders and the teams just playing out the final stretch has provided a unique opportunity over the past couple of weeks.

The numbers tell the story.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2021.

MLB favourites stay hot

Since Aug. 6, MLB favourites are a combined 104-44. That’s a 70.3 per cent win rate.

Keep in mind, that number is irrespective of any additional factors that could be applied to narrow selections.

For example, MLB favourites went 7-3 on Monday night. All three losers were on the road.

We can break it down even further.

The Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 6-5 as a +110 home underdog.

The Padres were 14 games above .500 entering last night’s game. The Rockies were 14 games below .500.

However, those numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Colorado is 39-21 at Coors Field this season – one of the best home records in the majors. Meanwhile, San Diego is 27-30 as the visiting team.

Factor in that the Padres handed the ball to a starting pitcher with a 13.11 ERA in the month of August, and it becomes clear that San Diego wasn’t a worthy road favourite. 

A 70.3 per cent win rate is impressive.

Passing on the Padres in Colorado last night is the perfect example of how to further narrow the remaining 29.3 per cent window.

The Chicago White Sox (+110) beat the Oakland Athletics 5-2 in their first meeting since last year’s playoff series.

Even that game ended with a sweat.

The White Sox own the best home record in the American League at 40-22 but was a small underdog with Dallas Keuchel starting opposite Frankie Montas for Oakland.

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals (+140) beat the Houston Astros 7-6 for the only notable upset on Monday night.

So, what can we do with this information moving forward?

ESPN published a column on Monday from MLB Insider Jeff Passan that highlighted the struggles of the worst teams in baseball and how big of an impact the schedule could have on the playoff races.

The article starts by highlighting how bad the seven worst teams in baseball have been this month – a combined 20-76 record.

The updated number is 21-79 after Monday night’s games – the Rockies beating the Padres was the lone addition to the win column.

As a general rule, it makes sense not to rely too heavily on big baseball favourites straight up for obvious reasons.

However, the disparity between the best and worst teams in baseball has created a unique circumstance that needs to be taken into consideration over the final few weeks of the regular season.

The numbers can’t be ignored.

Bo Levi Mitchell sidelined

Fans of the Calgary Stampeders received some more bad news on Monday.

Following an 0-2 start, the Stampeders will be without their starting quarterback for at least this week.

Calgary opened as a seven-point favourite against the Montreal Alouettes, but that number has been off the board since the Mitchell injury news broke.

The Stampeders entered the season as a consensus top-three choice to win the Grey Cup but have already dropped their first two games at home.

Now they are staring down a potential 0-3 start at McMahon Stadium with Vernon Adams Jr. and the Alouettes in town on Friday night.  

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