First Five Innings Betting Strategy

Betting on baseball and particularly its flagship competition, Major League Baseball (MLB) is popular the world over with the biggest games and in particular the World Series ones seeing plenty of cash wagered on them at the top online gambling sites.

The vast majority of that money is wagered on betting markets that relate to the full match.

But betting on the full match isn’t the only way to do it. You can also bet on just the 1st half in baseball, which means wagering solely on the first five innings of the game rather than the full 10 innings. This is sometimes known as MLB 1st 5 innings betting or f5 baseball betting. 

Types of First Five Innings Bets

The general rule is that there are considerably less types of bets to place just on the first five innings compared to the game as a whole. Let’s look at the three most popular ones. 

1st 5 innings money line

A reminder that in US Sports betting, money line betting just means betting on who will win the match without taking into account the actual score or the margin of the win. One thing to remember when betting on the first 5 innings money line is that there are three runners in it rather than two. 

The reason for that is that whereas there’s no tie in a baseball match after 10 innings (it goes to overtime and the match is settled based on the winner of that), the game could be tied after five innings. Where that’s the case, your bet is a push, meaning you get your stake returned to you.    

First 5 innings run line

In other US Sports such as basketball and American Football, this is known as points spread betting, whereas in soccer for example, it’s known as handicap betting. 

You’re betting on the margin of victory.  This is done by either siding with the underdog to win, tie or lose by less than a certain number of points; or on the favourite to win by a certain number of points, or more. One thing to remember when betting on baseball first 5 innings is that both teams will bat the same number of times (5), which is in contrast to the full match, where the home team doesn’t bat if they’re ahead after 9.5 innings. 

First 5 innings total

Here you’re betting on whether the number of runs scored across both teams is above or below the number set out by the Sportsbook after five innings. For example: Over or Under 4.5 runs. It’s a simple choice: you either go over, or under

 First Five Innings Betting Strategies and Tips

And let’s round things off with some strategies and tips for successful betting on the first five innings.

The starting pitcher is King

When playing the First 5 innings money line or the run line, the single most important consideration is who the starting pitchers are. They’re the key players on the pitch.

Starting pitchers rarely pitch more than five innings because of the strain on their bodies so when betting on the full match, you have to think about who is in the bullpen; who is going to come on to replace the starting pitcher after five innings. Not so here. We know the starting pitchers will play the first five innings so consider their recent form, long-term stats and how they compare with their rival starting pitcher.

Consider the batting order

Some teams go for a top-heavy approach to their batting, which means they load their best and biggest batters at the beginning. If Team A does that but Team B doesn’t and instead spreads them out a bit more, Team A has an edge because their best hitters are likely to all bat in the first five innings. So the first 5 innings result could go Team A’s way. 

Outsiders have a better chance 

The best teams tend to come good over a longer period. For example, a weaker side in T20 cricket (3.5 hours game) has a better chance of winning than in a Test match (5-day game).  So, if you’re betting on an outsider on the money line, you’re better off doing so on 5 innings money line market than the total match money line. Admittedly though, the odds do reflect the fact upsets are more likely over a shorter period.