Jimmy Boyd in 
The table below shows the most common final combined scores for nearly 32,000 MLB games. This information is useful for those making wagers on the diamond. It allows them to see how often each number hits.
MLB Key Numbers For Handicapping & Making Bets on Baseball Totals
“Runs” represents the final score of each game. The “#” represents how many times that has been the final score. And, “%” shows the percentage of the games that have hit that mark.
It’s not surprising that 7, 9, and 5 are the most popular numbers. Evens gets knocked down a bit because games can’t end in a tie. And, when you think about it, 7-0, 6-1, 5-2, and 4-3 are pretty common. Maybe the most surprising is 11 runs at almost 8% of all games, which seems like a high final score.
While looking through this past data, I came across the highest-scoring game in recent history.
On August 12, 2008, the Boston Red Sox defeated the Texas Rangers 19-17 for a combined score of 36 runs. The game featured a ridiculous 37 total hits, 5 home runs, 4 errors, 11 different pitchers, and six players with at least 3 RBI.
| Runs Scored | # Games | % of Total |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 3561 | 11.15% |
| 9 | 3301 | 10.33% |
| 5 | 3052 | 9.55% |
| 8 | 2492 | 7.80% |
| 11 | 2452 | 7.67% |
| 6 | 2283 | 7.15% |
| 10 | 2113 | 6.61% |
| 3 | 1969 | 6.16% |
| 13 | 1665 | 5.21% |
| 12 | 1567 | 4.90% |
| 4 | 1518 | 4.75% |
| 14 | 1093 | 3.42% |
| 15 | 1070 | 3.35% |
| 16 | 650 | 2.03% |
| 17 | 631 | 1.97% |
| 1 | 600 | 1.88% |
| 2 | 594 | 1.86% |
| 18 | 384 | 1.20% |
| 19 | 313 | 0.98% |
| 20 | 207 | 0.65% |
| 21 | 166 | 0.52% |
| 22 | 89 | 0.28% |
| 24 | 47 | 0.15% |
| 25 | 44 | 0.14% |
| 23 | 25 | 0.08% |
| 26 | 21 | 0.07% |
| 27 | 16 | 0.05% |
| 28 | 9 | 0.03% |
| 31 | 6 | 0.02% |
| 29 | 5 | 0.02% |
| 30 | 2 | 0.01% |
| 32 | 2 | 0.01% |
| 33 | 1 | 0.00% |
| 34 | 1 | 0.00% |
| 35 | 1 | 0.00% |
| 36 | 1 | 0.00% |
| 31,951 Total Games | ||
When studying the daily baseball lines you’ll see the over-under commonly set at 7 or 9. Now you know why. What the books will do is skew the juice one way or the other. If you like the “over” 7 runs you might have to pay higher juice if the books are also leaning that way. That’s why when you check out our free picks you’ll also see the line listed next to any over/unders.
By setting the over/under line on a common score the books are risking more pushes. Those aren’t necessarily good for them since they can’t make any money off of the vig. Some books will take a riskier approach and go with a half point higher or lower with more vig. Since you can’t have a tie when it’s on a half run this causes more swings in the action. Provided the book can balance the wagers in accordance with the juice they set on each way.
Learn More
- How to Bet
- Stats Used for Handicapping
- Common Mistakes Bettors Make
- Home Field Edge
- Series Bets
- Best Handicappers
- Dime Line Sportsbooks
- How to Bet MLB Runlines
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