Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
As the MLB All-Star break draws near, nothing has convinced oddsmakers that the Los Angeles Dodgers should not be heavy favorites to win the National League pennant for the third year in a row.
The competition is not really there right now, leaving the Dodgers as +120 favorites (bet $100 to win $120) on the NL pennant odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, with the Atlanta Braves sitting as the +350 second choice.
Los Angeles holds down a double-digit lead atop the NL West and also continues to own a large lead over Atlanta for the top seed in the league. The Dodgers will likely go into the break with the best record in baseball, with their second half of the season focused on staying healthy and making another run at that elusive World Series title that has escaped them each of the past two years.
It is hard to believe that the Braves have a more recent World Series championship (1995), but they too have struggled in the postseason other than that win over the Cleveland Indians. Atlanta has lost in two World Series appearances since then (1996 and 1999), falling to the New York Yankees both times.
Los Angeles last won the World Series in 1988, when Kirk Gibson led the team to an upset of the Oakland Athletics.
Besides the Braves and Dodgers, two NL Central teams also deserve mentions, although the winner of that division might not be determined until September. The Milwaukee Brewers are battling the Chicago Cubs in a tight race for first place in the NL Central, but the latter has better odds to win the pennant as the +850 third choice in the NL at online betting sites.
Why? Well, the Cubs won the World Series three years ago for the first time since 1908, so they at least capitalized on their opportunity following that extremely long drought while the Brewers fizzled in last year’s NL Championship Series.
Milwaukee and the Philadelphia Phillies are next in line to win the NL pennant at +950 odds and +1000 odds, respectively, and each of them has weaknesses with their pitching staffs. However, if Chicago, Milwaukee or Philadelphia can find a way to make a move or two before the trade deadline to get better and compete with Los Angeles and Atlanta, they should improve their pennant odds as well.
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