With about 90% of the 2023 MLB season completed, the three-team race in the AL West is one of the tightest divisional competitions of the past half-century.
Just two days ago, oddsmakers for the major mobile sportsbooks were virtually conceding the division to the Houston Astros, who were around -500 at most sites despite a rather small cushion over the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers. That was before Houston dropped two to the lowly Oakland A’s, Texas won two over the competitive Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle split the first two games of its series with the Los Angeles Angels.
Now the defending World Series champions are just a game up on the Rangers, who have never won a World Series, and 1.5 games ahead of the Mariners, who have never even been to one. And naturally, the odds have tightened considerably in a span of 48 hours.
As of Wednesday morning, here were the three teams’ records and the most favorable divisional odds available in legal betting states for their backers using any one of six of the most common available sites: FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, Barstool Sportsbook, and BetRivers: