American and National League 2010 Penant Races & Odds: With half of August's dog days behind us, Major League Baseball is providing some hot pennant races to go along with the record breaking heat across much of America. Of the six divisions in both American and National Leagues in all but one – AL West – does the leader have more than a three game lead over the second place team. In the West the Texas Rangers currently enjoy a 8 1/2 game cushion. In the other five divisions, it's a dog fight. Online sportsbook Bodog.com lists the Rangers odds of winning the AL Pennant at 3-to-1 and 2010 World Series at 6-to-1.
The New York Yankees, with a one game lead in the AL East, are in a battle for supremacy with the second place Tampa Bay Rays. And with only a six game deficit, the third place Boston Red Sox should not be counted out of the battle.
Online sportsbook Bodog.com lists the Yankees as 3-to-2 odds favorites to win the American League Pennant and 3-to-1 favorites to win the 2010 World Series. Odds on Tampa Bay winning the AL championship are 5-to-2 and 11-to-2 to win the World Series.
In the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox have been engaged in a see-saw battle all summer. The Twins, currently riding a four game winning streak, have created a three game lead over the South-Siders who have lost two straight. As of Monday morning, the Twins were lined at 8-to-1 odds to win the AL and 14-to-1 to win the World Series.
Over in the Senior Circuit, the first place Atlanta Braves are in a tussle with Philadelphia holding a two game edge in the NL East. The rest of that division has fallen off with the third place New York Mets trailing Atlanta by 10 games. Bodog lists Atlanta at 7-to-2 odds to win the NL and 8-to-1 to win the World Series.
The race that seems to have everybody's attention is going on in the NL Central where the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals are going back and forth. The Reds, who relinquished the lead to the Cards last week retook the lead by a game this past Sunday after completing a sweep of the Florida Marlins. The Cardinals took two of three from the Cubs at Busch Stadium over the weekend but that wasn't good enough to hold off the Reds. The Reds take off on a nine day, nine game West Coast road swing through Arizona, Los Angeles and San Francisco – a trip that will surely test their strength. Odds on the Reds winning the NL are 13-to-2 and 14-to-1 to win the World Series.
Who would have thought the San Diego Padres would be leading the NL West half way through August? The Padres currently hold a 3 1/2 game edge over the second place Giants. The West is developing into a two team race with Colorado 8 1/2 back and LA 10 games back. San Diego, winners in seven of their last 10 games, is on the road facing four games with the Cubs at Wrigley Field and three at Milwaukee. The Padres are listed at 13-to-2 odds to win the NL and 12-to-1 to win the World Series.
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