As Major League Baseball takes its customary break during All-Star week, it's a good time to check out updated pennant and World Series odds at the traditional halfway point of the season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, the consensus preseason World Series betting favorites, remain the top choice entering the final two-and-a-half months of the season. Close behind are the Philadelphia Phillies, leaders in the NL East, who have the best record in baseball at 62-34.In the American League, the Cleveland Guardians have the circuit's top record, yet rank only sixth on the Series boards and third in the AL.
Odds to win 2024 World Series
Here are live odds to win the 2024 World Series at top online sportsbooks:
Also check: Best sports betting promos | Top sportsbook apps
World Series betting favorites to avoid
Let's take a look at some of the front-runners and examine why their odds seem too short.
LA Dodgers (56-41, 1st in NL West)
Odds to win NL pennant:
Odds to win World Series:
Not only have the Dodgers stumbled lately, but they’ve been hit with a number of key injuries. Yet their Series odds aren't much different than the +330 when the season opened.
In the eight days prior to the All-Star break, L.A. went 1-6, their worst seven-game stretch since 2021. That’s largely because the pitching staff has been hammered with ailments.
Ace Tyler Glasnow was recently put on the injured list with a back injury. Even when healthy, his ERA had gone up every month this season to a current 3.47 season norm.
Rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who came from Japan, was 6-2 (2.92 ERA) before going down with a shoulder injury and put on the 60-day IL. Plus, veteran righty Dustin May will be lost for the rest of the season, needing surgery for an esophageal tear.
With a staff that has seven players on the IL, even the Dodgers' extra-potent lineup hasn't been able to help L.A. avoid its current slump. The Dodgers could well wind up playing in the wild-card round.
Cleveland (58-37, 1st in AL Central)
Odds to win AL pennant:
Odds to win World Series:
Leading the way for the Guardians have been All-Stars Steven Kwan, the runaway leader in MLB batting with a .352 average, and third baseman Jose Ramirez, who is tied for second in RBIs with 77.
But in recent weeks, Cleveland has struggled, recording a 7-11 record and getting shut out three times over its past seven games.
Although the Guardians have the league's lowest bullpen ERA at 2.62, the starting staff is without two guys who were counted on to lead headline the rotation. Ace Shane Bieber was lost early to elbow surgery, and Triston McKenzie was recently demoted to Class AAA after losing velocity.
Oh, and Cleveland has the second toughest remaining strength of schedule according to Tankathon.com.
Seattle (52-46, 1st place AL West)
Odds to win AL pennant:
Odds to win World Series:
The Mariners are front-runners in their division by one game over Houston, but considering they had a 10-game lead in the West four weeks ago, yikes!
It's somewhat hard to believe they'd be anywhere near first, considering Seattle has a league-worst .219 batting average.
Star outfielder Julio Rodriguez has been strong over his past six games but otherwise is having a down year. The 2022 AL Rookie of the Year has only 10 homers and 35 RBIs. That's quite a fall from his 32 home runs and 103 runs batted in last year.
The Mariners do have a doozy of a pitching staff, though, which is led by Logan Gilbert (6-5), whose WHIP is a league-low 0.87.
World Series longshots to consider
Here are a couple of squads, whose odds are highly attractive and worth at least a small wager.
Pittsburgh (48-48, 3rd in NL Central)
Odds to win NL pennant:
Odds to win World Series:
As long as rookie right-hander Paul Skenes continues to dominate, the Pirates have a solid shot at making the playoffs. They stand only 1.5 games behind the New York Mets for the final wild card.
Skenes is 6-0 in 11 starts with an ERA of 1.90, and he's not alone. Fellow righty Mitch Keller is 10-5 with a 3.46 ERA. In three of his past 11 starts, he's worked at least six innings without yielding a run.
The downside to the Pirates' hopes is that they have the league's fourth most difficult remaining schedule.
San Francisco (47-50, 4th place NL West)
Odds to win NL pennant:
Odds to win World Series:
This is somewhat of a reach for a team that's nine games off the Dodgers' pace but only three behind in the wild-card chase.
A key reason for giving the Giants a look is their remaining schedule, which includes a league-high 17 games against the four worst teams in the league. Plus, lefty Blake Snell is pitching like a Cy Young winner again.
Most Popular
Comments / 0