Houston Astros enter World Series as biggest favorites since 2007, oddsmakers say
The Houston Astros are the best team in baseball and are being treated like it by oddsmakers as they get ready to play in their second World Series in three years.
The Astros and the Washington Nationals will play Game 1 on Tuesday night. Houston is entering the series as the heaviest favorite for any World Series contender since the Boston Red Sox in 2007, according to online betting service Bet-NJ.com.
Houston is -200 to win the title, which means to win $100 you must bet $200, according to Bet-NJ.com. The Astros, who won 107 games during the season, were the preseason favorites to win the World Series and have stuck the course making them the betting favorite over Washington, who failed to win a postseason series up until the playoffs this year.
Houston Astros take batting practice for baseball's World Series Monday, Oct. 21, 2019, in Houston. The Houston Astros face the Washington Nationals in Game 1 on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The Astros are led by pitchers Gerrit Cole, Justin Verlander and Zack Greinke as the frontline starters of their rotation. Alex Bregman, an American League MVP candidate, anchors the batting order, while it is bolstered by Rookie of the Year candidate Yordan Alvarez. At least 69 percent of the betting markets are taking the Astros, according to Bet-NJ.com.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility for the Nationals to win the series. Washington is +175 to win their first championship and has made it this far by upsetting the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals.
Washington will need a lot of out their two best starters Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg to keep the Astros from jumping out to an insurmountable lead during their games. Washington also needs their bats, led by Anthony Rendon, to jump on Houston pitching early in the ball game and put pressure on them – unlike what the New York Yankees did in the American League Championship Series.
The World Series can be watched on FOX.
Game 1 is set for 8:08 p.m. ET in Houston. Cole will be taking on Scherzer.