Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees Remain World Series Favorites

Posted on: October 7, 2020, 12:32h. 

Last updated on: October 7, 2020, 02:27h.

Bill Huber Read More

Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

When the first pitch was thrown to start Major League Baseball’s truncated regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees were the favorites to win the World Series. Nothing has changed now that the MLB playoffs have reached the divisional round.

In the marquee showdown of this round, it’s the Yankees against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League. Tampa Bay’s 40-20 record was four games better than anyone else in the AL, and seven games distant of the Yankees. Nonetheless, the Yankees are the series favorites and the favorites to reach the World Series.

In the National League, the Dodgers’ 43-17 record was the best in baseball. The second-best record belonged to their divisional-round opponent, the San Diego Padres, who went 37-23. The Dodgers not only are the series favorite, but the pick to win the championship.

Here are the consensus prices on those series ahead of Wednesday’s games.

American League

Bettors are drawn to the Yankees, with their 27 World Series championships and the highest payroll in Major League Baseball, even though they lost eight of 10 games to Tampa Bay during the regular season.

They tend to get overpriced depending on your perspective and how you’re looking at it,” said Doug Castaneda, the director of race and sports at Wynn Las Vegas, to Casino.org. “That’s exactly the case in the regular season, so why not in the postseason, right? So, here they are.

“They’re coming off a big win against Cleveland, albeit it was a short, best-of-three. But some might argue that was similar to an ALCS. So, that was an impressive win over a pretty good ballclub, so there you have it. It’s definitely star power with the Yankee brand. I think whoever they were going to face in the next series, they would most likely be favored in every game.”

The Yankees led the American League in runs and were second in scoring, but were only in the middle of the pack in batting and pitching. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, finished second in the American League in earned run average.

With the series tied 1-1, the Yankees were -133 at Wynn to win a pivotal Game 3 on Wednesday night.

National League

The Dodgers, who have the second-highest payroll, have dominated all season with a well-rounded team. Their pitching staff led the Major Leagues in ERA and batting average allowed, and their offense led MLB in home runs and runs.

Los Angeles is a heavy favorite for Wednesday night’s Game 2 at -230 at Wynn. That price is buoyed by ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw, who didn’t allow a run in eight innings against Milwaukee in the opening round.

Kershaw’s looked good, so maybe this is the year where he puts it together in the postseason. I think that’s part of the reason why that price is so high,” Castaneda told Casino.org.

“I think a lot of it has to do, not just with the name and the team and the lineup that’s backing him, but with his last outing. So, you’re seeing a really exorbitant price with Kershaw. Normally, if he has a ho-hum outing in the previous series, I think it’s in the high (1)80s and definitely not past the Mendoza Line (200) in terms of pricing.”

The consensus World Series championship odds before the start of Wednesday’s games had the Dodgers at +220, Yankees at +350, Rays at +400, Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros at +550, Padres at +1,400, Miami Marlins at +3,000, and Oakland A’s at +3,300.