It has been 29 years since the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ last World Series victory. But after entering this week’s all-star break with 26 wins in their past 30 games, the red-hot club has vaulted to +350 favourites on the World Series odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Dodgers have been a fixture atop the NL West standings in recent years, winning four straight divisional titles. But the club has failed to advance past the NLCS in 10 playoff appearances since its 1988 World Series win, and opened the 2017 campaign trailing at +1000 on the MLB futures.
However, Los Angeles has dominated since shaking off a middling 10-12 start, playing spectacular .800 ball since, and takes a 7.5-game lead in the NL West standings into Friday night’s matchup at Marlins Park in Miami.
The Dodgers are closely trailed on the World Series odds by the vastly improved Houston Astros at +425, followed by the Boston Red Sox at +600, and the Washington Nationals at +700.
Houston emerged as the class of the American League during the first half of the season, entering the break with a 60-29 record including a major league-leading 33-11 mark on the road. The Astros opened their season positioned well back of the favourites at +1100, but their hot start eventually lifted them past the pre-season favourite Chicago Cubs to briefly sit atop the World Series odds.
Plagued by inconsistency early on, the Red Sox recently rebounded with eight wins in nine games to claim top spot in the AL East by the end of June. However, they entered the break with just one win in five outings.
With a 9.5-game lead atop the NL East, the Nationals have improved on their +900 preseason odds, but are a middling 15-16 over their past 31 contests.
On opening day the Cubs sat alongside the Red Sox as favourites to repeat as World Series champions, but enter the second half of the season sitting two games under .500, and join the Cleveland Indians, the team they beat in last year’s World Series, at +800.
The New York Yankees continue their steady slide to +1400 on the World Series odds, followed by the Arizona Diamondbacks at +1600, while the Colorado Rockies are knotted with the Milwaukee Brewers at +2500.
And it has been all downhill for the Toronto Blue Jays over the last month. An 18-10 run in May boosted the club to a season-best +1600 on the 2017 World Series odds at sports betting sites. But with a 41-47 record, Toronto now sits at a distant +5000 on those futures and at +3300 on the odds to win the AL East.
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