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The Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers both find themselves chasing the Kansas City Royals in the American League Central standings heading into the series opener of a three-game set at Comerica Park Tuesday.

The Tigers are the 7-2 second choice on the odds to win the AL pennant and just dropped two of three games at home to the Royals, who are favored to win their second straight American League title at 13-4 odds.

The Twins have also jumped into the race for the division title after winning eight of their last 10 games, and they saw their three-game winning streak come to an end Sunday. They trail Kansas City by 2.5 games for the AL Central lead heading into the week and are at 28-1 to win the pennant.

However, Minnesota has lost six of the last seven meetings with Detroit, according to the Odds Shark MLB database, including five of six in the first month of the season.

The Tigers have averaged seven runs a game over the past five meetings between the teams, three of which ended up finishing over the total for bettors. However, they have averaged half of that (3.5 runs per game) in their last four games overall, scoring just four combined runs in losing to the Royals on Saturday and Sunday.

Detroit will send the struggling Alfredo Simon (4-1, 3.44 ERA) to the hill Tuesday for its matchup with the Twins, hoping to end the two-game skid although the team has also dropped each of his last two starts.

Simon has surrendered nine runs and 14 hits in just over nine innings combined over two road starts against Kansas City and the Chicago White Sox, walking six and striking out eight. The over cashed in both of those outings, but the under is 2-0 in his two home starts this year.

The Twins will counter on Tuesday with Kyle Gibson (3-2, 2.97), who has seen his team win in each of his previous three trips to the mound. In fact, Gibson has not allowed a run in either of his past two starts, scattering eight hits over 14 innings in home wins over the White Sox and the Oakland Athletics by a combined score of 14-0.

The under is 4-1-1 on the baseball betting lines in Gibson’s six starts overall this season although the lone over cashed last time out in a 13-0 victory against the A’s last Wednesday.

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Coming off a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox over the weekend, the New York Yankees have emerged as serious contenders on the odds to win the World Series and the American League pennant this season.

The AL East-leading Yankees (16-9) are at 20-1 odds to win the World Series and tied with the Red Sox at 7-1 to win the pennant behind a pair of AL Central teams that are virtually tied for the division lead.

The Detroit Tigers (17-9) are 3-1 to win the pennant and the 9-1 third choice to win the World Series behind the National League’s Los Angeles Dodgers (6-1) and Washington Nationals (7-1) after splitting a four-game set with the Kansas City Royals (16-9) last weekend.

The Royals are the defending AL champions after claiming a wild-card berth last year and look just as strong this season at 12-1 on the odds to win the World Series and 5-1 to win the pennant.

The Houston Astros (18-7), who lead the AL West, are the biggest surprise in baseball right now, riding an MLB-best 10-game winning streak. The Astros were 75-1 to win the World Series and 40-1 to win the pennant on April 15, and their odds have plummeted to 18-1 and 9-1, respectively.

The Dodgers (16-8) have taken control of the NL West with a four-game winning streak, including a three-game sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks over the weekend, and they are also the 11-4 favorites to win the pennant.

Los Angeles’ main competition in the NL looks like it will come from the Central Division, where the St. Louis Cardinals (18-6) and Chicago Cubs (13-10) appear to be the teams to beat heading into their four-game series that starts Monday at Busch Stadium.

The Cardinals are 8-1 on the World Series betting lines and 17-4 to win the pennant as owners of the league’s best record thanks to an NL-best six-game winning streak, and they split two games with the Cubs to open the year.

Chicago is 14-1 to win the World Series and 7-1 to win the pennant after the team dropped two of three at home to the Milwaukee Brewers.

However, that series win for the Brewers at Wrigley Field was not enough to save the job of manager Ron Roenicke, who, as ESPN.com reported, was fired after Sunday’s 5-3 victory against the Cubs. Milwaukee, an NL-worst 7-18, is 200-1 to win the World Series and 100-1 to win the pennant.

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First place in the American League East will be on the line this weekend at Fenway Park in Boston as the division-leading New York Yankees (13-9) visit the Red Sox (12-10) in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.

Despite losing five of their past eight games to fall out of first place in the AL East, Boston remains one of the favorites to win the AL Pennant at 11-2 odds on the MLB betting futures. New York has improved slightly to 10-1 from 18-1 on April 15.

The Yankees have won 10 of their last 13 games to put themselves into position to contend for the division crown this year after taking two of three from the Tampa Bay Rays, who are tied with the Red Sox for second place.

New York saw its three-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday following a 3-2 home loss to the Rays, with the under cashing for totals bettors on the baseball betting lines for the third straight time in the series.

Boston has been involved in a lot of high-scoring games recently but saw its over streak end at five after a 4-1 victory against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday. There had been an average of a little more than 15 combined runs scored in each of the previous five Red Sox games.

Recent history between the two fierce division rivals also suggests a high-scoring game and series, with the past five meetings all going over the total along with nine of the previous 11 games between the teams, according to the OddsShark MLB Database.

Boston starting pitcher Justin Masterson (2-0, 5.16 ERA) has seen the over cash in three of his four starts this season as well. The Red Sox lost for the first time in Masterson’s four starts this year in his last outing, as he allowed three runs and seven hits in seven innings of an eventual 5-4 loss to the Baltimore Orioles April 25 for a no-decision.

The Yankees will send CC Sabathia (0-4, 5.96) to the mound still looking for his first victory of the season. Sabathia got hit hard last time out on Saturday against the New York Mets, surrendering a season-high seven runs and nine hits, including three home runs, in five innings with no walks and two strikeouts.

Sabathia has seen the under cash in two road starts, while the over has gone 2-0 in his two at home. Sabathia’s previous trip to Fenway last season saw the total go way over the closing total of 8.5 runs, however, in a 14-5 road victory last April 24.

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Two of the early favorites to win the 2015 World Series will meet again at Fenway Park on Tuesday in the second game of a three-game interleague series between the visiting Washington Nationals and the host Boston Red Sox.

The Nationals entered the season as the team to beat in the National League and baseball overall, according to oddsmakers, and they remain the 6-1 favorites on the odds to win the World Series despite falling to 2-5 this year with a 9-4 loss to the Red Sox in the series opener at Boston on Monday.

The Red Sox are at 17-2 odds and viewed as one of the top two teams in the American League along with the Detroit Tigers (10-1), as they are both off to strong starts.

Boston rebounded from an embarrassing 14-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Sunday Night Baseball by topping the Nationals behind a sensational performance on Monday from rookie outfielder Mookie Betts, who stole two bases, hit a two-run homer and kept a potential homer from Washington outfielder Bryce Harper inside the park on a spectacular catch.

The over cashed on the baseball betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark in the home team’s fifth straight game compared to just the second time for the visitors this season.

The pitching matchup for Tuesday’s Nationals vs. Red Sox betting matchup pits Justin Masterson (1-0, 3.00 ERA) of the Red Sox against Stephen Strasburg (0-1, 5.06) of the Nationals in their second starts of the year.

Masterson had his first start on the road against the Philadelphia Phillies last Thursday and earned the win after giving up two runs and three hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in six innings of a 6-2 victory. He also had a great day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.

Strasburg also made his 2015 debut last Thursday but was on the wrong end of a 6-3 decision to the New York Mets at home. He surrendered all six runs to the Mets, three of which were earned, and nine hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 5.1 innings to take the loss.

However, the young righty has been outstanding in his past four road starts dating back to last season, going 4-0 with an 0.31 ERA and 28 strikeouts. He also earned a win in his only career start at Fenway Park back in 2012, allowing two runs and four hits with two walks and 13 strikeouts in six innings of a 7-4 victory against Boston.

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The San Francisco Giants have won the World Series in three of the past five years, and they are sitting at 20-1 to repeat that feat this season as one of 13 top contenders with odds that high or better at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

San Francisco’s direct competition in the NL West will again come from the defending division champion Los Angeles Dodgers, who are at 17-2 on the odds to win the World Series, the second choice behind only the NL East’s Washington Nationals at 6-1.

The Dodgers disappointed in the playoffs last season by falling to the St. Louis Cardinals (12-1) for the second year in a row and lost several key players in the offseason, including outfielder Matt Kemp to the rival San Diego Padres (20-1).

The Kansas City Royals are sitting at 33-1 on the World Series odds and will be hard-pressed to get back to the postseason this year in a competitive AL Central. Last year, the Royals met the Giants in the World Series, with Kansas City also starting the 2014 season at 33-1 to claim the title. San Francisco was at 14-1 to win the World Series prior to last season.

The four-time defending AL Central division champion Detroit Tigers are at 16-1 to win the World Series and have been one of the top favorites in years past. However, they lost ace Max Scherzer to the Nationals via free agency and former Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander will start the season on the disabled list due to a triceps injury.

The Chicago White Sox are also at 16-1 and feature rising Cuban star Jose Abreu, who is one of the favorites to hit the most home runs (15-2) and win the AL MVP award (4-1) at the sportsbooks heading into the season.

The Boston Red Sox look like the team to beat in the American League, though, as they are at 10-1 to win the World Series after adding former Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez and former Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval to their lineup in the offseason.

However, the Red Sox still have some question marks in their rotation with last year’s Opening Day starter Jon Lester now a member of the upstart Chicago Cubs, who are set at 16-1 on the odds to win the World Series following his addition along with several promising young players and a new manager in Joe Maddon.

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