World Series Betting Odds Favor Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies
Now that League Championship games have been played, the odds have flipped again … and it’s looking pretty good for the Texas Rangers.
Not only are the Rangers in advantageous position leading the Houston Astros 2-0 in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series with the next three games (if needed) in Arlington, the betting gods have taken notice.
Texas is the betting favorite to win the World Series, according to the latest odds published by Fox Sports. The Rangers are essentially even money at this point.
World Series Winner Odds*
Rangers: +110
Philadelphia Phillies: +140
Astros: +750
Arizona Diamondbacks: +800*As of Nov. 16
The Phillies, who lead the NLCS 1-0 over Arizona, are also looking good at +140. The defending champion Astros (+750) are facing an uphill climb after losing the first two games at home.
Of the 89 times a team has been in a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series, only 14 teams in MLB history have come back to win it.
If the odds hold true, it would be a Texas-Philadelphia clash in the Fall Classic. That’s the outlook from FanGraphs, too, which gives the Rangers a 75.9% chance to win the ALCS. The Phillies are at 74.2% for the NLCS.
Philadelphia remains the World Series-winning favorite via FanGraphs at 41.7%, but Texas has shot up to 33.2% after going into the ALCS with less than 20% odds.
The Astros (13.1%) and Diamondbacks (12%) are holding out hope for series comebacks.
Game 3 of the ALCS is Wednesday night with Max Scherzer on the mound at Globe Life Field, where the Rangers have played just one game during their 7-0 postseason run. Texas can clinch the franchise’s third trip to the World Series without having to return to Houston.
With up to three games in Arlington, the Rangers could close out series with two wins at home. Houston would host Games 6 and 7.
“The momentum is in our favor, but can’t let the guard down,” said Nathan Eovaldi, the winning pitcher in Game 2. “The Astros are an incredible team, and they have the lineup from top to bottom. They have good pitching.
“And we’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been doing. And we bring this momentum back home to Arlington. Our fans were outstanding the last game, the first postseason game we had back home against Baltimore. Hopefully they’ll be bringing that same energy and we’ll be able to keep momentum going.”
You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92.
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