Chicago Cubs vs. St. Louis Cardinals Pick 7/14/24 &8211; The Chicago Cubs will host their longtime rival St. Louis Cardinals &8230; Read more Unlike point-spread betting in most sports, most notably in the NFL or NBA, there&8217;s rarely variance in run lines. Pre-game run lines are almost always -1.5 for the favorite and +1.5 for the underdog. In-game run lines, i.e. live sports betting, have significant variance — if a team is leading by seven runs in the fifth inning, the live run line might be -6.5. When you bet on MLB odds, you will have some things to examine. First, there will be the two teams involved. The team with plus odds is the underdog, while the team with minus odds is the favorite. When you bet on MLB odds, you will have some things to examine. First, there will be the two teams involved. The team with plus odds is the underdog, while the team with minus odds is the favorite.