Right now, if it seems like the Houston Astros against the Washington Nationals is a David versus Goliath type showdown; it’s really not to that extent.
Still, Mattress Mack has to be feeling good about his large wager on Houston to win it all. Furthermore, the Astros are the largest World Series favorite since 2007 in the 115th year of the Fall Classic.
The Astros and the Nationals will meet in the 115th edition of the World Series.
Houston is the biggest favorite to win the MLB championship since 2007. https://t.co/5O13JwEgua
— Sporting News MLB (@sn_mlb) October 20, 2019
This is from David Purdum who writes for ESPN on some handicapping items.
Caesars Sportsbook on Sunday opened the Astros as -235 favorites to beat the Nationals in the best-of-seven series. The Nationals are listed as +195 underdogs.
Furthermore, let me try to put this into perspective for folks who do not bet or look at lines. First, you’re smart. Second, don’t start. Third, some 12 season ago the Boston Red Sox were -240 favorites to beat the Colorado Rockies. Indeed, Boston ended up sweeping Colorado in that series to win the 2007 World Series.
Remember, a storybook ending set up this trip to the World Series for Houston. Jose Altuve homered off Aroldis Chapman Saturday night to send the Yankees home. Equally important, Washington swept the St. Louis Cardinals in easy fashion to advance from the other side of the bracket.
Prior to the 2019 regular season, the Astros opened at Caesars Sportsbook as co-favorites with Boston at 6-1, to win the World Series. Then, Houston won an MLB-high 107 games.
Now they just need four wins to finish off what looks like the completion of a very hard-fought journey.
As someone who looks at baseball betting lines, and watches too much baseball; I think this is one of the better teams in the last 25 to 30 years. Houston seems to have tenacious instinct about them, coming directly from their start players like Altuve, George Springer, Alex Bregman, Gerrit Cole, and Carlos Correa to name only a few.
Even when those players fail to step up – it seems like someone is ready to take the baton. They have depth, they have talent, and they’re incredibly tough to beat in their home park. While I don’t see this as a cakewalk, I do believe they win this series against the team who should test them the best from the NL.
Baseball got the team everyone has been talking about all season long in the World Series. Now it’s time to learn if they’re ready for their destiny or if a major swerve is coming.
