Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
With the Los Angeles Dodgers clinching the top seed in the National League playoffs, they now are only chasing the Houston Astros and New York Yankees for the best record overall and home-field advantage throughout the postseason.
That could prove to be significant for the three favorites on the odds to win the World Series at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com because they have the best home records in baseball by a wide margin.
The Astros finished 60-21 at home during the regular season, and neither the Dodgers (59-22) nor the Yankees (57-24) can beat that mark due to the fact that they are all playing their final games on the road.
Houston has a slightly better overall record as well and sits as the +225 favorite (bet $100 to win $225) to take home its second World Series championship in three years after beating Los Angeles for the title in 2017.
The Dodgers are right behind the Astros though as the +300 second choice at online betting sites while the Yankees check in third at +450. New York is expected to get healthier later this week with the return of designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion and catcher Gary Sanchez, who have combined to hit 68 home runs this year and only make the team’s lineup more dangerous.
The problem for the Yankees is they do not have the starting pitching to compete with the top two favorites. That is the main reason why a Los Angeles versus Houston rematch in the World Series is a strong possibility heading into the playoffs.
Three teams with an outside shot to potentially upset one of those three favorites on the MLB odds in the postseason include the Atlanta Braves (+700) and St. Louis Cardinals (+1000) in the NL along with the Minnesota Twins (+1400) in the American League. The Dodgers have won the pennant each of the past two seasons, but they have not played particularly well down the stretch. The Cardinals have been one of the best teams in the second half and might pose the biggest threat while the Braves have been consistently good.
The Twins have also continued to quietly remain legitimate contenders to win the AL pennant thanks in part to putting together MLB’s best road record. But Minnesota will likely need to put that to the test in the divisional round of the playoffs against New York.
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