World Series Betting Preview

The World Series begins in Boston on Tuesday night as the Red Sox play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1.

At Bovada Sportsbook the Red Sox begin the series as a -165 favorite. That’s much less profitable than the +1200 odds the Red Sox were getting on the preseason World Series futures.

The Dodgers are looking to take the next step this year after losing to the Houston Astros in last year’s World Series in seven games. At Bovada Sportsbook they’re a +135 series underdog. If you’re wondering, the Dodgers were at +500 in the preseason.

Boston’s route to the World Series went through New York and Houston. In the best-of-five ALDS the Red Sox knocked off the Yankees in four games, while they needed five games to vanquish the Astros in the best-of-seven ALCS.

The Red Sox will open at home, which may not mean very much, as they have gone 2-2 at Fenway Park in the postseason so far. In their last nine home games in the playoffs, Boston is only 4-5. On the road, Boston is a surprising 5-0 in this year’s postseason.

Babe Ruth was Boston ace last time franchises met in playoffs

The Dodgers had to go through Atlanta and Milwaukee to get back to the World Series. Los Angeles cruised past the Braves in four games in the NLDS, but needed seven games to eliminate the Brewers in the NLCS.

The Dodgers have posted a 3-3 mark on the road in the postseason so far. At home they’ve gone 5-1 thanks to stellar pitching that has also led to a 4-0-2 UNDER mark for totals bettors in Los Angeles. In last year’s World Series against Houston, the Dodgers were 1-2 on the road and 2-2 at home.

If you’re looking for matchup data between the Dodgers and Red Sox, there’s not much to go by, especially in the postseason. The last time the Red Sox and Dodgers met up in the postseason, Babe Ruth pitched for Boston and the Dodgers played in Brooklyn and were known as the Robins. That was the 1916 World Series, which Boston won in five games.

The last time the Red Sox and Dodgers met up in this century was in 2016. They clashed in a three-game regular-season series in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers took two out of three. In the last 10 games between the Red Sox and Dodgers, Boston is 7-3, which includes a 4-0 record in Boston.