How to bet MLB at Rickwood Field between the Giants and Cardinals

Sam Panayotovich

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

When a Major League Baseball game is played at a historical site, Las Vegas bookmakers must check all the boxes to ensure the numbers are right.

The “Field of Dreams” game back in August 2021 immediately comes to mind, when the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees slugged eight home runs in the thin Iowa altitude. Most sportsbooks opened that total at 9 and respected money came “Over” to nudge it up to 9.5.

Chicago won 9-8 on a Tim Anderson walk-off blast.

Thursday night in Birmingham, Alabama, the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals meet at legendary Rickwood Field for a Negro Leagues tribute game, airing at 7 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app.

The first shop to market opened at a total of 9.5, with St. Louis as a -116 favorite. The total got whacked immediately to 8.5 before settling at 9.

“The field dimensions look pretty decent,” Westgate SuperBook senior baseball trader Randy Blum told FOX Sports.

“Allegedly, Major League Baseball added 10 feet to the official dimensions. There’s no elevation to speak of. I know sometimes it’s difficult for the players to not have those upper decks. I’ll investigate it a little more, but as of now, I’m not seeing anything to drastically alter the line from a normal game.”

The total would be decidedly different if Rickwood Field played to its old dimensions. It was 470 feet to the left field pole, 478 to center, 448 to right center and a measly 335 to the right field pole. Those distances would be a pitcher’s dream and there’s no way you could line a total around 9.

Thursday’s pitching matchup is far from spectacular, with San Francisco righty Keaton Winn (3-7, 6.66 ERA) opposing St. Louis righty Andre Pallante (2-3, 4.61 ERA). While the total market has dipped, those starters don’t exactly instill the most confidence in terms of keeping the game low and slow.

I lean to San Francisco despite Winn’s peripherals, but I’m keying slugger Jorge Soler for my favorite wagers. You can find Soler “Over” 1.5 total bases at +120, and he’s +160 to drive in at least one run. Those are both solid.

Maybe I thought about him to homer at +550, too.

Maybe.

This game is a literal coin flip on the side and the total has me perplexed, so I’ll place all my eggs in the Soler basket. Soler absolutely punishes mistakes and assuming Pallante only goes his usual four or five innings, he’ll get two at bats against a Cardinal bullpen that’s already allowed 29 homers.

Viva Soler.

PICK: Jorge Soler Over 1.5 total bases
PICK: Jorge Soler Over 0.5 RBIs

Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and NESN. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. He’ll probably pick against your favorite team. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.

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