With the field pared down to four, the Los Angeles Dodgers hold the highest probability to reach and win the 2017 World Series. Per analytical model FiveThirtyEight, the Dodgers have a 60 percent chance of playing in this season’s Fall Classic and a 27 percent chance to win their first championship since 1988.
They’re followed by the Houston Astros (57 percent chance to reach; 30 percent change to win), New York Yankees (43 percent; 20 percent) and defending champion Chicago Cubs (40 percent; 18 percent). The probability odds are updated after each postseason game is played.
The Dodgers won a Major League-best 104 games and franchise-record 57 games at home during the regular season. From June through July, the club posted a 41-10 record and entered the All-Star break with 61 wins.
At one point, the Dodgers were on pace to at least tie the MLB record of 116 win, but a late slide during the dog days of summer removed the possibility.
From Aug. 16 through Sept. 11, the Dodgers dropped 16 out of 17 and became the first team in MLB history to endure 11-game winning and losing streaks during the same season.
The club would rebound in late September, winning eight of its final 10 games during the regular season and ultimately took that momentum into the National League Division Series, where they swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in three games.
Los Angeles posted a run differential of +9 during the NLDS, scoring an average of nearly seven runs per contest. The club relied on timely hitting, as evidenced by a collective .298 batting average, and combined for nine extra-base hits.
Of the teams remaining in the postseason, the Dodgers only faced the Cubs during the regular season. They went 4-2 in the head-to-head meetings and now have an opportunity to avenge their 2016 NLCS loss.
