by OddsShark (@OddsShark) – Sponsored Post
The Los Angeles Dodgers have been reliable as a big favourite on the moneyline, which they might well convert into a long-overdue World Series title.
The Dodgers are a -200 favourite with the Tampa Bay Rays coming back as a +170 underdog on the updated World Series odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The best-of-seven series begins Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas; the Dodgers are a -175 favourite for Game 1 at online betting sites, while the Rays are +150 to win with a 7.5-run total.
Tampa Bay is 5-5 in its last 10 postseason games as the underdog, and the Rays are 3-7 in their last 10 games (including the regular season) as a +140 to +180 underdog. The Rays have a deep pitching staff led by righthander Tyler Glasnow and lefthander Blake Snell, their announced starters for games 1 and 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tampa Bay’s 3.36 earned-run average in the playoffs is a smidge better than the Dodgers’, which is a reason why the total has gone UNDER in 12 of their last 20 games in the playoffs.
However, the Rays’ hitting has lagged in the playoffs with all-star Brandon Lowe slumping. Their .702 on-base plus slugging (OPS) is second-poorest in the playoffs among the eight ALDS / NLDS qualifiers, even though none of their three playoff opponents placed higher than 13th in regular-season ERA.
While the World Series is at a neutral site, the Dodgers have played their last 10 games at the Arlington ballpark. Los Angeles is also 13-7 in its last 20 playoff games as a favourite, and the total has gone OVER in six of the last nine games in that sample. They are also 15-5 in their last 20 games as a -155 to -185 betting favourite. As noted, the Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler-led pitching staff has a 3.36 playoff ERA, and also has a 1.20 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitching) in comparison to the Rays’ 1.34.
Offensively, outfielders Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger have helped the Dodgers put up an .812 OPS in the playoffs, second-best among the eight Division Series participants. Two of their playoff opponents had a top-10 regular-season ERA.
The Rays are 5-3 in Glasnow’s last eight starts when they were underdogs. Kershaw will start on Tuesday and the Dodgers are 11-9 in his last 20 playoff starts when they were favoured.
In terms of series duration, seven of the last 20 World Series have gone the full seven games.(including three of the last four). The second-most common duration has been five games (six times), along with four 4-0 sweeps and three six-game series. Anecdotally, this is the first World Series since 2004 matching teams who won a seven-game league championship series, and that series wound up being a 4-0 sweep.
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