Despite coming up short for the best record in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays enter baseball’s postseason this week atop the odds to win the AL pennant and the World Series at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
The Blue Jays are pegged as +145 favorites on the odds to win the AL pennant after ending up 93-69 on the season, two games behind the Kansas City Royals in the overall Junior Circuit standings. Toronto will open an American League Division Series matchup at home against the Texas Rangers on Thursday.
The Royals, meanwhile, will begin their postseason run against the winner of the AL Wild Card Game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros on Thursday. The Royals are set at +200 on the odds to win the AL pennant, with the Rangers at +550 and both the Yankees and the Astros at +700. New York will play host to Houston in the AL Wild Card matchup on Tuesday night.
Over in the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals led the circuit with a 100-62 record, and they’re the +210 favorite on the odds to win the NL Pennant. The Cardinals will be up against the winner of the NL Wild Card Game in the National League Division Series, with that matchup on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh between the Pirates and the Cubs.
The Cubs and Pirates both head into the Wild Card Game at +500 on the updated odds to win the NL pennant, with the Los Angeles Dodgers at +290 and the New York Mets at +325. Game 1 between the Dodgers and the Mets takes place at Dodger Stadium on Friday.
On the World Series odds, the Blue Jays are the +300 favorites, followed by the Royals and Cardinals at +500, the Dodgers at +600 and the Mets at +700. The Cubs sit at +1000 on the odds to win the World Series, with the Pirates at +1100, the Rangers at +1200, and both the Yankees and the Astros at +1400.
New York will send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound on Tuesday night against Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, with the Astros slight -109 road favorites over the +104 Yankees. On Wednesday, the Cubs are sitting as -128 road favorites against the +123 home underdog Pirates, with Chicago’s Jake Arrieta set to match up against Pittsburgh’s Gerrit Cole.
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