Baseball markets use the event format and a defined scoring or settlement question. Baseball markets distinguish a whole game from a named inning or first-five-innings segment. The listed starting pitcher and extra-innings treatment may matter to a particular market. An illustrative 5–3 final score contains eight runs and a two-run margin; a first-five total needs the earlier inning-by-inning line.
Price describes a conditional return
Decimal odds include the original stake in the total return. In a hypothetical example, a 100-unit stake at 2.40 returns 240 units if the selection wins: 140 profit plus the original 100. A losing selection returns nothing under ordinary win-or-lose settlement. These figures illustrate arithmetic, not a forecast.
The reciprocal of decimal odds gives a price-implied probability before adjusting for margin: 1 ÷ 2.40 is about 41.67%. It is not a measured certainty about the event. When the implied probabilities of every mutually exclusive outcome add above 100%, the excess indicates an overround in that set of prices.
Compare prices only for the same event, selection and settlement conditions. An overall winner including extra play differs from a regulation-only result. A higher printed price can therefore concern a different proposition, while fees or exchange commission can also change the amount retained.