World Series 2020: Early Odds, Guide for Fall Classic

After 11 League Championship Series games, there are still four possible World Series matchups.

The Tampa Bay Rays or Houston Astros will advance out of the American League on Saturday following a Game 7 forced by three consecutive Houston victories. The Atlanta Braves still hold a slight advantage over the Los Angeles Dodgers to advance to the Fall Classic out of the National League.

However, the Braves and Rays are 0-4 in LCS games in which they could clinch the series victory.

Friday's wins by Houston and Los Angeles narrowed the gap in championship odds between the four contenders. The Astros went into ALCS Game 6 at +850 to win the title (wager $100 to win $850), and now they have smaller odds than the Dodgers to do so.

World Series Odds

Atlanta: +175

Tampa Bay: +275

Houston: +325

Los Angeles Dodgers: +350

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Even though Houston's odds dropped significantly after its ALCS Game 6 victory, it still carries good value to win the World Series.

Houston has all the momentum heading into Saturday's Game 7 with Tampa Bay after becoming the second team in LCS history to recover from a three-game deficit.

The Astros have some of the most experienced postseason bats of the four teams remaining and the performance of those players has been one of the reasons why they fended off elimination for three straight days.

Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley, George Springer and Carlos Correa combined for 31 of Houston's 52 ALCS hits and eight of the team's nine home runs against Tampa Bay.

To reach the Fall Classic, the Astros have to beat a member of the team's World Series triumph in 2017.

Charlie Morton has allowed two earned runs in his four postseason starts for the Rays, and he kept the Astros off the scoreboard in ALCS Game 2 while conceding five hits over five innings. If Morton once again contains the Houston order, he may allow the Rays offense to take the lead and diminish the chances of a potential Astros comeback.

Tampa Bay followed that strategy in Game 2, as it scored three runs off Lance McCullers Jr. in the first inning and did not allow Houston to score until the sixth inning. If you believe the Rays can replicate that winning formula Saturday, they are worth the World Series bet at +275 since their price would drop with a Game 7 victory.

Atlanta sits in the same precarious position Tampa Bay failed to win out of Friday, as it holds a 3-2 advantage over the Dodgers in the NLCS.

Since the NL East champion has an easier path to reach the World Series, its odds are not as high as those of the other three franchises. But the Braves still come at decent value, especially if you think they will wrap up the NLCS in six games. If that happens, their price would dip.

Atlanta possesses a dominant one-two punch in Max Fried and Ian Anderson at the top of its rotation. They combined to allow a single earned run in 10 innings in Games 1 and 2.

Brian Snitker will turn to Fried in Game 6 and Anderson for a potential Game 7 on full rest to try to put away the Dodgers.

Los Angeles is still a dangerous a team, but it has the toughest path to reach the World Series of the four contenders.

The Dodgers have outscored the Braves 32-29 in the series thanks to their 24 runs over the past three games. However, they have been silenced for long stretches of the NLCS. After scoring 15 runs in the first three frames of Game 3, the Dodgers plated two runs in the following 15 innings.

If Fried limits the Dodgers' effectiveness—like he did with nine strikeouts over six innings in Game 1—their chances to force Game 7 will diminish.

In a similar vein to the Astros prior to ALCS Game 6, the Dodgers own the highest value on the championship odds board. If the Dodgers work better against Fried Saturday, they will sit at a lower price to win the World Series ahead of NLCS Game 7.

Since the Dodgers qualified for two of the past three World Series out of the NL, they may be worth a wager based off their +350 odds.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference.