Public All Over Yankees, Astros in Saturday MLB Betting

The Highlights

• The public struggled mightily Friday, as four of the top five most popular plays lost … and they were all favorites.
• Public bettors are sticking with the same teams today, though, under the assumption that the best teams in the league aren't likely to lose two games in a row.

Friday did not go as planned for public bettors. Of the top five most popular plays on the MLB slate — all receiving at least 74% of bets — only Oakland was able to pull out a victory. To make matters worse, each of those plays was a favorite, including the Cubs at -181 and the Astros at -340.

Despite the losses, the public has a very similar card today, as they've stuck with three of the teams that betrayed them last night.

All data as of 9:30 a.m. ET. For live info, check out our MLB live odds page.

New York Yankees (-168) at Tampa Bay Rays

4:10 p.m. ET

I'd be surprised if these percentages don't somewhat even out, but as it stands now, the Yankees would be the most popular play of the season. They've attracted 89% of bettors and 90% of dollars, moving from -155 to -168.

Why the public loves New York: The Yanks were one of the public's losses last night, as they put up just one run in a 2-1 defeat. A public bettor can't fathom a world in which the Rays' pitchers silence that lineup two games in a row.

Atlanta Braves (-116) vs. Baltimore Orioles

4:10 p.m. ET

Perhaps the most eye-catching line on today's slate, the Braves are a very short favorite today against Baltimore. As a result, they've attracted 82% of bettors and 81% of dollars. They opened, however, at -145, making this one of Saturday's biggest line moves.

Why the public loves Atlanta: How could they not? The second-best team in the National League is playing the worst team in the majors. The Braves are at home, and behind their ace, and they're only -116. Plus, the Orioles won last night. There's no way a 22-52 team is winning two in a row, right?

Houston Astros (-330) vs. Kansas City Royals

7:15 p.m. ET

Despite losing on the 'Stros as -340 favorites last night, bettors are all over them again tonight. Eighty-six percent of both bets and dollars are behind Houston, making it Saturday's second-most popular play.

The Astros haven't moved from -330, but the Royals have gone from +270 to +288 from juice reduction, so the line is moving toward the public support.

Why the public loves Houston: See above. As you can probably tell, perhaps the only thing more intriguing to the public than a streaking team is a good team off a loss, and last I checked, Houston's pretty good.