The 2018 World Series will get underway at Fenway Park on Tuesday night, and the Boston Red Sox have been listed as the betting favorites ahead of the series opener at sportsbooks.
The Red Sox are pegged as -165 World Series odds favorites (wager $165 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com, with the Dodgers the +135 underdogs (wager $100 to win $135) for the best-of-seven set. And for Boston, Tuesday's Game 1 of the World Series will get them back on the diamond for the first time in five days.
That's because the Red Sox managed to dispatch the defending World Series champion Houston Astros in just five games in the American League Championship Series. Boston actually lost the opener of that set, falling 7-2 at home as a -130 betting favorite, but bounced back from there with four straight victories to claim the pennant. The Red Sox closed out the Astros in Game 5 last Thursday, earning a 4-1 road victory as +170 underdogs on the day.
Boston also had a relatively easy time in their American League Division Series against the rival New York Yankees, winning that set in four games, including the final two at Yankee Stadium. During the regular season the Red Sox picked up a league-high 108 victories.
The Dodgers had more of a battle to claim the National League pennant, needing the full seven games to knock out the Milwaukee Brewers. Los Angeles closed out the NLCS on Saturday night with a decisive 5-1 road victory at +100 on the betting lines, their third win in four games. The Brewers had taken a 2-1 lead through the first three games of the set.
Los Angeles had previously cruised to a four-game victory over the Atlanta Braves in their National League Division Series. The Dodgers had claimed the NL West title with 92 victories.
For Game 1 of the World Series the Dodgers are listed as +130 road underogs at the sportsbooks with Clayton Kershaw as their probable starter. The lefthander has made four appearances so far in the playoffs – including a single scoreless inning in Game 7 to close out the Brewers – and has surrendered five earned runs on 11 hits over 19 innings of work.
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The Red Sox, set as -150 favorites for Tuesday night, will counter with Chris Sale, who hasn't pitched since October 13. The lefthander has made three appearances so far in the 2018 postseason, giving up four earned runs on six hits over his 10.1 innings of work for Boston.
The OVER/UNDER for Tuesday night is listed at 7.5 for totals bettors. The OVER paid out in four of five games in Boston's ALCS win over Houston, and two of their four ALDS games against the Yankees. The OVER, though, only paid out twice in the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers, and just once in their four-game NLDS matchup against the Braves.
The Red Sox and Dodgers haven't met since August 2016, according to the OddsShark MLB Database, with Los Angeles winning twice in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium. The two teams have met nine times since the 2010 season, with the Red Sox earning six victories.
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