With the MLB post-season beginning on Tuesday, the Houston Astros lead the way on the World Series odds as +210 favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Houston closed out its schedule on a 12-2 run to finish the regular season with an MLB-best 107-55 record, and will now wait to kick off its American League Division Series against the winner of Wednesday night’s AL wild card game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Oakland Athletics at Oakland Coliseum.
The Astros also tallied an MLB-best 60 wins on home turf, but struggled this season against both the Rays and A’s. Houston posted just three wins in seven meetings with Tampa Bay, while going 3-7 in their past 10 dates with the A’s, according to the OddsShark MLB Database.
Houston is closely followed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who sit as +275 second favourites on the World Series odds, while the New York Yankees sit third as a +425 wager. The Dodgers went 18-6 in the month of September to finish with an NL-leading 106-56 record, and powered their march to a seventh-straight National League West title with an MLB-leading 3.37 team ERA.
But while the Dodgers have enjoyed steady regular season success in recent years, they have continued to struggle in the postseason. Los Angeles has come up short in consecutive World Series appearances including a heartbreaking loss to the Astros in seven games two years ago, extending their championship drought to 31 years.
Despite being plagued all season by injuries up and down the roster, the Yankees won the AL East with a 103-59 record, marking their best regular-season finish since 2013 when they last appeared in the World Series.
New York now prepares for an ALDS clash against the AL Central champion Minnesota Twins, who sit as a +1600 wager on the World Series odds at online sports betting sites despite winning 101 games and leading the majors with an MLB record 307 home runs.
Fresh off their second straight first-place finish atop the NL East, the Atlanta Braves enter the postseason closely trailing the favourites at +750 on the World Series odds. The St. Louis Cardinals needed just 91 wins to take first place in the NL Central and return to the postseason for the first time since 2015, and sit next at +1000 on those futures.
After overcoming a dismal 19-31 start, the Washington Nationals embarked on a red-hot 74-38 run to capture the top NL wild card spot but lag at +1500 on the futures. Further down the World Series odds, the A’s join the Twins at +1600, followed by the Milwaukee Brewers at +2200, while Tampa Bay trails as a +2500 longshot.
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