A lucky Major League Baseball fan might want to consider a future in fortune telling.
The St. Louis Cardinals visited the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Monday to begin a three-game series. At the FanDuel Sportsbook, a lucky fan placed a $1,000 bet on Cardinals’ designated hitter Brendan Donovan to hit a single on the very first pitch of the game off Arizona starter Ryne Nelson.
The payout if Donovan did just that? A whopping $34,000. And the 26-year-old Donovan delivered for the lucky fan:
Baseball is a game of averages, and at the end of the day, the odds will almost always favor the pitcher. Donovan may be one of St. Louis’ best hitters (he entered play on Tuesday with a .286 batting average), but the simple math states he was more likely to get out than reach base, let alone single on the game’s very first pitch.
The Cardinals went on to win the first game 10-6. Donovan had two hits in five at-bats and scored two runs in the victory. On Tuesday, Arizona evened the series by winning a pitching duel by a score of 3-1.
Arizona is in a tight race with the San Francisco Giants, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins for the the three wild card spots in the NL. Entering Wednesday, those five clubs were only separated by half a game.
