Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The San Francisco Giants (84-48) have held the lead in the National League West for most of the 2021 season, and they have gone on to win the World Series the last two times they were crowned division champions (2010 and 2012). The big question right now is, will the Giants continue to hold onto the lead, or will the favored Los Angeles Dodgers overtake them down the stretch and end up becoming the first team to repeat as World Series champs since 2000?
In addition, the Tampa Bay Rays (84-48) are currently riding a nine-game winning streak into Wednesday’s MLB action, and they have emerged as the team to beat in the American League, perhaps setting up a World Series rematch from a year ago versus the Dodgers (84-49). Los Angeles has won two straight games while San Francisco has dropped three in a row, enabling the eight-time defending NL West champs to pull within a half-game of first place in the division.
That said, the Dodgers are solid +300 favorites to win the championship in back-to-back years on the World Series odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com while the Rays are right behind them at +400.
From there, the Houston Astros (+550) and Chicago White Sox (+600) plus the Milwaukee Brewers (+600) follow along, and the Giants sit at +750 to win it all (how sports betting works). The New York Yankees (+1000) and Atlanta Braves (+1600) also offer some value at online betting sites.
Los Angeles and San Francisco will square off in a key three-game series at Oracle Park this weekend, and that will be the final time they meet this year during the regular season. Tampa Bay has a fairly easy schedule the rest of the way, facing the Detroit Tigers seven times and the Miami Marlins three before closing out the campaign with a tough six-game road trip at Houston and New York. The Rays own a six-game lead over the Astros for the AL’s top mark.
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