The Detroit Tigers have the worst record in baseball, and with Justin Verlander on the mound Wednesday for the 81-win Houston Astros, the Tigers entered the game as historic underdogs in Minute Maid Park.
Verlander went the distance on the mound for Houston and allowed just two hits – but the Tigers’ two solo home runs were enough, as Detroit’s staff held the Astros to a single run. The game ended with a throw-out to third base, as catcher Robinson Chirinos tried to stretch an extra-base hit into a triple.
The Tigers were +435 underdogs in the game, per Caesars Sportsbook, and their win is the biggest MLB upset in the last 15 seasons, according to ESPN.
Despite the extremely short odds, many bettors banked on Houston as a sure thing and lost. Multiple bettors lost more than $50,000 by betting the Astros to win.
Via ESPN:
“Scott Shelton, the sportsbook shift manager at Mirage/MGM, said it won more than six figures on the game, taking a $55,000 bet on Houston at -550 (to win $10,000) and a $63,520 bet on Houston at -575 to win $11,000.”
On the MGM app, Houston became a ridiculous -770 favorite just before game time.
