Red Sox, Astros, Cubs Favored to Win 2018 World Series in Latest MLB Odds

The Boston Red Sox haven't been playing their best baseball of late, but they remain favorites to win the 2018 World Series.

OddsShark posted the latest Fall Classic odds Monday, with Boston coming in at +350 (7-2) to win the title. The Red Sox have an MLB-best 98-46 record and have spent most of the regular season lapping their competition.

The defending champion Houston Astros come in just behind Boston at +400 (4-1). Those are far and away the two best odds, as the Chicago Cubs are the National League favorites at +650 (13-2).

All it takes is one look at run differentials to see why Boston and Houston are the favorites. The Astros have outscored their opponents by an MLB-best 239 runs. The Red Sox are 20 runs behind that number at 219, and no other team in baseball is better than plus-150 (New York Yankees).

The Los Angeles Dodgers lead the NL in run differential and are +700 (7-1) to win the World Series despite being in danger of missing the playoffs. The Dodgers are 0.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies for first place in the NL West and would not win a wild-card spot if the season ended today. They are one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild card.

The Cardinals and Arizona Diamondbacks probably represent the best dice-roll odds. St. Louis is +2600 (26-1) despite being a wild-card team at the moment. The Diamondbacks are +2200 (22-1) and are only 2.5 games out of first place in the NL West. 

The Cardinals and Atlanta Braves have the exact same record (79-64), but Atlanta is +1200 (12-1) and has only scored 20 more runs this season than St. Louis. 

Colorado is probably the worst bet on the board at +1400 (14-1), given the team has been outscored this season (minus-11 run differential) and feels likelier to miss the playoffs than make a deep run.