Updated 2018 World Series Odds – October 23rd Edition

The Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in the 2018 edition of the World Series, set to open Tuesday night. The Red Sox eliminated the New York Yankees in their American League Division Series by a 3-1 margin and then needed just five games to send the Houston Astros home for the winter in the American League Championship Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers knocked the Atlanta Braves out, 3-1, in their National League Division Series but then needed all seven games to stop the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series. The Red Sox hold home field advantage by virtue of a superior record in the regular season and also are the favorites to win, as their current odds sit at -165, while the Dodgers are +135 underdogs to win the Fall Classic. Check out our World Series betting perspective for taking each of these two teams to win it all.

Updated 2018 World Series Odds – October 23rd Edition

TODAY. You ready? #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/r2AhlTKlr0

— MLB (@MLB) October 23, 2018

Why should you put your money on the Red Sox?

The Red Sox have the better of the two offenses. The Red Sox led Major League Baseball in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage). Against the Yankees and the Astros, they battered around some of the best pitchers in the game, including New York’s Luis Severino and the Astros’ Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander (the second time around). In the last five World Series, the team with the better OPS for the whole regular season has won each time. Not only does Boston rake, but they really rake against finesse pitchers — pitchers who have to hammer the black part of the plate to get strikes called, instead of using power to blow away hitters. The Red Sox hit 121 home runs against finesse pitchers, with a .283 batting average overall, during the season. The top Dodger pitchers — Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Rich Hill — all nibble at the edges of the plate, and Ryu just got torched by Milwaukee in Game 6 of the NLCS. Oh, and while Dodger Stadium has a reputation as a pitcher’s park, the Red Sox didn’t fall off much on the road this season, winning 57 games at home and 51 on the road, with more home runs and a better team slugging percentage outside Friendly Fenway. The Dodgers played worse at home than they did on the road, so those games on the West Coast may not benefit the Dodgers much, even though the Boston pitchers will have to bat.

Why should you put your money on the Dodgers?

The Red Sox haven’t been to a World Series since 2013, but the vast majority of the Dodgers made it this far last year, losing to Houston in seven games, so the bitterness of that loss has to serve as some motivation. There have been some injuries among the Dodgers’ ranks, but key contributors like Justin Turner is back. Clayton Kershaw is one of the best pitchers who has never won a World Series, and if he starts two or three games in this series and/or makes a key bullpen appearance, that could put the Dodgers over the top. The Dodgers also have seven pitchers who could start in just about any team’s rotation, which means that they have two innings-eaters in their bullpen. Ross Stripling and Kenta Maeda can come in for games when the Dodger starter is struggling, and closer Kenley Jansen anchors a stellar bullpen, while the Red Sox have a shaky closer in Craig Kimbrel. If the games come down to battles of relievers, the Dodgers could easily win. Finally, there’s Cody Bellinger, who had five hits against Milwaukee in Game 7 of the NLCS including a mammoth home run at just the right time. He had a phenomenal rookie season in 2017 but then fell apart in the postseason. This season he looks to have the experience to hit under the bright lights of the playoffs. If he can stay hot against the Sox, the Dodgers could seize momentum early on. World Series Prediction: Boston in six.