MLB post-rivalry series betting opportunities
Following their sweep of the Yankees at home on the weekend of June 16th, I contemplated how much impact this type of weekend might have on the Red Sox. Heading into that series, they were floundering, searching for a spark and/or consistency. I figured a huge weekend sweep of their most fierce rival might propel them back into the race in the AL East. Well, the great mojo lasted for a few days as Boston won back-to-back games against Minnesota afterward, only to go 1-6 in the next seven games. In any case, it did get me thinking. Are there rivalry series’ that each team plays that might build momentum, or on the opposite side, cause a letdown afterwards? I set out to find the answer to this question by studying my MLB database over the last 5+ seasons. The following is what I found.
As with any study of this type, you will find answers on both sides of the argument and varying degrees of success by teams. There is no set handicapping standard for dealing with post-rivalry series games. However, I uncovered many team-by-team momentum-building or letdown angles that we could employ over the rest of the season should you agree with the logic.
What I have done below is put together a list of momentum-building or letdown post-rivalry series scenarios for many of the teams across the MLB landscape. These are 31 of the most definitive angles I found when studying the data. These records all indicate the success or lack thereof that teams have had in the game following a 3+ game series against a divisional rival. The data dates back to the start of the 2018 season or the last 5-1/2 seasons.
To be perfectly honest, I was a little disappointed in not finding anything conclusive for some of the game’s biggest rivalries, such as Dodgers-Giants, Cubs-Cardinals, or Red Sox-Yankees, but hopefully, you still find the information useful. You’ll see also that for each scenario, I’ve listed the next opportunity to take advantage of the findings, with games starting as early as Friday, 6/30.
Before I get into the team-specific data, for the record, from a systematic standpoint, here are the best and worst records of all teams coming out of series’ against these specific opponents:
Best
