Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
The Los Angeles Dodgers (45-23) were just swept in two games by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim after winning nine of their previous 11 games along with 13 of 16. But that has not changed the minds of oddsmakers, with sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com still pegging them as +135 favorites (bet $100 to win $135) to take home their third straight National League pennant and +275 chalk to earn their first World Series title since 1988.
While L.A. has fallen short of winning the World Series each of the past two years, this might be the best team during this recent stretch of success thanks to a strong pitching staff that is not overly reliant on ace Clayton Kershaw anymore.
Kershaw has been very good for the Dodgers this season with a 5-1 record and 3.00 ERA in 10 starts, but Hyun-Jin Ryu (9-1, 1.36), Walker Buehler (7-1, 3.35) and Kenta Maeda (7-3, 3.89) have balanced out the starting rotation better than they ever have previously. Plus, right fielder Cody Bellinger is a legitimate NL MVP candidate in his third season.
The NL East and Central races are much closer than the West right now, so it is certainly understandable why Los Angeles looks like the team to beat again. However, the Philadelphia Phillies (+650), Atlanta Braves (+650), Chicago Cubs (+700) and Milwaukee Brewers (+700) also look like solid contenders on the NL pennant odds and would be in the playoffs as well if the postseason started today.
The Phillies (38-29) are tied with the Braves (38-29) for the lead in the NL East while the Brewers (38-29) own a half-game edge on the Cubs (37-29) at the moment. Milwaukee lost to Los Angeles 4-3 in last year’s NL Championship Series, and Chicago fell 4-1 the previous year after beating the Dodgers en route to winning the 2016 World Series.
Two other teams to watch as sleepers that could get hot and work their way into the playoff picture are the St. Louis Cardinals (33-32) and New York Mets (33-34). The Cardinals sit four games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, and they are tied with the Washington Nationals (31-36) as the co-sixth choice on those MLB odds at +1700 to win the pennant.
The Mets seemingly offer more value than the Nationals at +2500, sitting two games ahead of them in the standings and just five games behind the Phillies.
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