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For the second time in three years, baseball bettors will be treated to a Game 7 in the World Series, with the road team trying to win again.

This season, it will be the Chicago Cubs looking to win the World Series for the first time since 1908 as small -120 betting favorites Wednesday at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark against the Cleveland Indians.

The Tribe have home-field advantage and last won the World Series back in 1948.

The Cubs have now won two of the first three games at Cleveland following a 9-3 victory in Game 6 on Tuesday after the Indians had taken two of three in Chicago to head home with a 3-1 series lead.

In other words, there has not been much of a home-field edge for either side, and three of the past four World Series have been won on the road, including each of the last two. The San Francisco Giants last did it in a Game 7 two years ago versus the Kansas City Royals, and the Pittsburgh Pirates are the most recent team to win the World Series on the road after trailing 3-1 back in 1979.

Cleveland ace Corey Kluber will stake his claim for MVP honors as he goes for his third win in the World Series. Kluber has stifled the Cubs offensively in his previous two starts, holding them to one run and nine hits over 12 innings with one walk and 15 strikeouts.

While Kluber will be pitching on short rest for the third time in the series, the Indians did not have to use any of their top three relievers in Game 6 and will have a fresh Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw and Cody Allen all ready to go.

Kluber will be opposed by MLB ERA leader Kyle Hendricks, who will make his first road start of the playoffs, as he has pitched much better at Wrigley Field this year. Hendricks went 7-6 with a 2.95 ERA in 16 outings away from home during the regular season but still held opponents to a .213 batting average.

Hendricks earned the clinching win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS, allowing two hits in 7.1 scoreless innings.

Unlike Cleveland, though, Chicago’s bullpen will not be nearly as strong outside of possibly using starters Jon Lester and John Lackey in relief if Hendricks struggles. That’s because closer Aroldis Chapman has thrown 62 pitches in his last two appearances over three days, making his availability past one inning questionable at best after manager Joe Maddon used him in Game 6 with a five-run lead.

The over has cashed in two of the last three games of the World Series after the under went 3-0 in the first three, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database.

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The Chicago Cubs staved off elimination with a 3-2 victory against the Cleveland Indians in Game 5 of the World Series on Sunday, and they enter Game 6 on Tuesday as solid minus-143 road favorites (bet $143 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark with Jake Arrieta on the mound.

Arrieta also pitched in Game 2 at Cleveland, allowing two hits and one run in 5.2 innings of a 5-1 win while walking three and striking out six.

The Cubs still trail the Indians 3-2 in the series but saw closer Aroldis Chapman come through in relief to earn a huge save in Game 5, as he got eight outs to protect the lead for winner Jon Lester.

However, Cleveland remains a big favorite to win the World Series with potentially two games left at home and a rested Andrew Miller in the bullpen.

Chapman threw 42 pitches over 2.2 innings, allowing one hit with no walks and four strikeouts Sunday. His availability for Game 6 is up in the air, while Miller has not made an appearance since throwing two innings during a 7-2 win in Game 4 on Saturday.

The bullpens for each team will likely play a key role in the outcome of the World Series, although the Game 6 starters also figure to be a deciding factor. Arrieta has made all three of his postseason starts on the road, with the first two resulting in losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.

The Indians will send Josh Tomlin to the mound off a brilliant outing in Game 3, when he allowed only two hits in 4.2 innings of a 1-0 victory with one walk and one strikeout. They have won all three of Tomlin’s starts in the playoffs despite the fact that he has yet to go a full six innings in any of them.

Tomlin was 5-5 with a 4.50 ERA in 15 appearances at Progressive Field during the regular season as opposing batters hit .283 against him.

Chicago’s Kyle Schwarber will return to DH in Cleveland after pinch hitting just once at Wrigley Field in Game 3. Schwarber went 3-for-7 in Games 1 and 2 with a double and two RBI.

The total has gone under in four of the first five games, according to the Odds Shark MLB database, with the Cubs closing as favorites in each of the last four.

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All the betting trends seemed to be on the side of the Cleveland Indians after they won Game 1 of the World Series in a 6-0 rout Tuesday.

But the Chicago Cubs returned the favor in Game 2 with a 5-1 victory. They find themselves as large -200 favorites Friday (wager $200 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark in Game 3 at Wrigley Field, in part because they have the best home pitcher in baseball taking the mound for them.

Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks (game log) not only had the lowest ERA in MLB overall this year at 2.13, but he was also unreal at home with a 9-2 mark and 1.32 ERA in 15 games. Last season, he was 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 15 games at Wrigley Field, showing what a big difference a year can make.

In fact, the emergence of Hendricks, improvement of Jon Lester and addition of John Lackey alongside Game 2 winner Jake Arrieta made the team’s four-man starting rotation the best in the big leagues.

Cleveland is not so lucky, as it depends more on an outstanding bullpen and ace Corey Kluber, who shut down the Cubs in Game 1 and is scheduled to start again on short rest Saturday in Game 4 at Wrigley.

In Game 3, the Indians will be sending Josh Tomlin (game log) to the hill following two solid postseason outings against the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. Tomlin went 2-0 in those games with a 2.53 ERA, allowing three runs and seven hits in 10.2 innings with three walks and 10 strikeouts.

During the regular season, Tomlin was 8-4 in 15 road starts with a 4.31 ERA, and opposing batters hit .257 against him.

Tomlin will not have to worry about facing Chicago’s Kyle Schwarber, who was not medically cleared to play in the outfield after going 3-for-7 with a double and two RBI as the designated hitter in the first two games at Cleveland.

The Indians have won six of their last seven games at National League ballparks in interleague play after dropping eight of 11. The over has gone 9-5-1 in their past 15 interleague road games, and the under has cashed in the first two games of the World Series.

Chicago heads into Game 3 as the -225 favorite on the updated World Series odds.

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The Chicago Cubs played like they had not been in a World Series since 1945 as they fell to the Cleveland Indians 6-0 in Game 1 Tuesday.

But despite that loss, the Cubs remain slight favorites to win the series at most sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark and are listed as -155 chalk (bet $155 to win $100) to take Game 2 Wednesday.

Chicago will turn to 2015 National League Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta (0-1, 4.91 ERA in two starts this postseason) in an effort to even the series before heading to Wrigley Field for three games over the weekend.

The two outings for Arrieta (game log) in the playoffs both took place on the road and resulted in losses, but he went 11-3 with a 3.59 ERA in 15 regular-season starts away from home as opponents hit just .203 against him.

Cleveland will be hard-pressed to duplicate ace Corey Kluber’s performance in Game 1 after he set a World Series record by striking out eight batters in the first three innings.

Trevor Bauer will head to the mound next and hopes to last longer than his latest outing, which totaled less than an inning against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALCS because stitches came loose on his pinky finger that was injured in an incident with a drone.

Bauer (game log) went 6-4 with a 4.73 ERA at Progressive Field during the regular season.

If Bauer cannot stay in the game again, the Indians have a solid option out of the bullpen in former starter Danny Salazar, who could throw up to 70 pitches after coming back from a forearm injury and being added to the postseason roster. Like designated hitter Kyle Schwarber for the Cubs, Salazar could be an X-factor in this series.

Schwarber had a fairly impressive Game 1 in his return from a gruesome knee injury that had sidelined him since the first week of the season, hitting a double with a walk and two strikeouts.

Cleveland manager Terry Francona improved to 9-0 in World Series games with the victory following two sweeps with the Boston Red Sox. Another betting trend in the Tribe’s favor is that the Game 1 winner has gone on to win the World Series 17 of the previous 19 years, including six straight.

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The two MLB teams with the longest droughts without winning a championship will square off in the 2016 World Series starting Tuesday in Cleveland.

The underdog Indians come into the World Series with a price of +170 (bet $100 to win $170) against the favored Chicago Cubs, who are -190 chalk (bet $190 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark to bring home their first MLB title since 1908.

The Game 1 pitching matchup pitting Cleveland’s Corey Kluber against Chicago’s Jon Lester opened as a pick’em and features two of the most dominant aces in the postseason this year.

Despite all the positive attention the bullpen for the Indians has gotten so far, Kluber has seemingly returned to his Cy Young Award-winning form from two years ago in these playoffs, allowing just two runs in 18.1 innings of work over three starts.

The hard-throwing righty has walked seven and struck out 20 after going 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA in 32 starts during the regular season.

Meanwhile, the Cubs have won all three of Lester’s starts this postseason, including two in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers that both resulted in identical 8-4 scores to earn him NLCS co-MVP honors.

Lester has given up just two runs over 21 innings with two walks and 14 strikeouts following a rebound campaign in 2016 that saw him end up 19-5 with a 2.44 ERA after going 11-12 with a 3.34 ERA in 2015.

Cleveland has home-field advantage in the World Series by virtue of the American League beating the National League 4-2 in the All-Star Game at San Diego’s Petco Park on July 12.

However, no team has more road wins this year than the Cubs, who went 46-34 away from home in the regular season and have won three of five in the playoffs to date. And Chicago has a 69 percent chance of winning the World Series, according to PredictionMachine.com.

The teams split four meetings last year, with Lester and Kluber both walking away with no-decisions in the most recent game, won 2-1 by Chicago at Wrigley Field on a Kris Bryant walk-off home run. The Cubs have won six of the last eight head-to-head matchups dating back to 2006, according to the Odds Shark MLB database.

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The odds may still be with the Chicago Cubs to advance to their first World Series since 1945, but they are listed as small home underdogs Saturday against the Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 6 of the NLCS at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

That’s what happens when facing a three-time Cy Young Award winner who has turned things around in the postseason and blanked the Cubs for seven innings in a Game 2 victory.

Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw (2-0, 3.72 ERA in the playoffs) allowed only two hits at Chicago in his most recent start there last Sunday, walking one and striking out six. The Dodgers have won every game in which he has appeared, including a relief appearance resulting in a save in the deciding Game 5 of the NLDS versus the Washington Nationals.

Kershaw (game log) did not face the Cubs during the regular season but was 5-3 with a 2.18 ERA in eight previous starts, as they hit just .218 against him and struck out 68 times in 53.2 innings.

Meanwhile, Chicago will send MLB ERA leader Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 3.00 ERA in the playoffs) to the mound for the second time in the series, as he also opposed Kershaw in Game 2. Hendricks allowed only an Adrian Gonzalez solo homer in that 1-0 loss along with two other hits over 5.1 innings with four walks and five strikeouts.

Hendricks (game log) was nearly perfect at Wrigley Field during the regular season, going 9-2 with a 1.32 ERA in 15 appearances.

The key for the Cubs will obviously be hitting and generating runs, as they have failed to score in their two losses and outscored Los Angeles 26-10 in their three wins. For the Dodgers, they will need to hold Chicago’s bats in check and leave the pressure on their opponent, who has not won a World Series since 1908.

The Cubs won four of the seven regular-season meetings, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database, and dropped four of seven the year before. They are hoping it does not come down to a deciding Game 7 on Sunday like it did when they were last in this position back in 2003 and lost.

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If the San Francisco Giants (87-75) are going to win their fourth World Series title in seven years, they will need to get through the defending National League champions first on Wednesday when they visit the New York Mets (87-75) in the Wild Card Game.

The matchup is listed as a pick’em at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark, with each team hoping its ace can do the job and earn a shot at the Chicago Cubs.

San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.74 ERA) was the MVP of the 2014 World Series, but he actually posted the lowest ERA and highest strikeout total (251) of his career this year.

Bumgarner forms a dangerous one-two punch at the top of the rotation with Johnny Cueto, who won the World Series last year with the Kansas City Royals. However, Bumgarner was not as good on the road with a 6-5 mark and 3.39 ERA, although he went 2-0 against the Mets in two starts this season with a 3.27 ERA.

On the other side, New York’s Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60) is also coming off a career year and has the role of staff leader due to injuries to Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz.

How far the Mets would be able to go in the postseason without deGrom and Matz remains to be seen, but Syndergaard has proven he can carry a heavy load. He went 6-6 with a 2.87 ERA at Citi Field this year and 1-1 versus San Francisco in two starts with a 2.63 ERA. The Giants hit only .159 against him in those outings.

The teams split a four-game series in San Francisco between August 18 and 21, with New York winning two of three at home the only other time they met in 2016 between April 29 and May 1. Despite the quality of pitching in this matchup, the total has surprisingly gone over in six of the past seven meetings according to the Odds Shark MLB Database.

In fact, a 6-0 over streak ended on August 21 when Syndergaard blanked the Giants for eight innings in a 2-0 road win for the Mets, allowing just two hits on 98 pitches with two walks and six strikeouts. Both lag behind on the odds to win the World Series, with New York listed at +1800 and San Francisco at +2200.

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Two familiar foes will square off Tuesday in the American League Wild Card Game, when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles as -150 home favorites (bet $150 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The teams just played each other last week at the Rogers Centre, with Baltimore winning two of three but losing 10 of 19 meetings overall this year to surrender home-field advantage.

The Blue Jays will send Marcus Stroman (9-10, 4.37 ERA) to the mound as the starting pitcher on Tuesday, even though he struggled versus the Orioles during the regular season. Stroman went 1-2 in four starts against Baltimore with a 7.04 ERA, and he went 4-3 in 16 home starts with a 4.59 ERA.

Toronto has lost five of its last six games with Stroman on the hill overall, as he has failed to earn a win since beating the Houston Astros at home back on August 14.

Opposing Stroman for the Orioles will be Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77), who is just 2-6 with a 7.01 ERA in his career when pitching at the Rogers Centre. Tillman walked away with a no-decision there last time out against the Blue Jays on Wednesday after allowing one earned run and six hits in 5.2 innings of an eventual 3-2 victory.

Tillman has gone 1-0 with a 3.63 ERA in four starts versus Toronto this season and owns an 8-3 mark and 2.97 ERA in 14 outings away from home overall.

While many bettors might expect to see a high-scoring affair between the two AL East teams, their recent series history has shown quite the opposite results. The under has cashed in each of the past seven meetings, four of which were played in Toronto.

Before that, though, six of the previous seven games finished over the total, with four of those also played at the Rogers Centre.

However, the last four starts for both Tillman and Stroman have also gone under, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database. In fact, 11 of Tillman’s previous 13 outings have all dipped below the total, 10 of which have seen eight runs or less scored.

The Blue Jays are listed at +1000 on the odds to win the World Series heading into Tuesday’s game, with the Orioles sitting at +2200. Toronto has a 56.9 percent chance of winning Tuesday’s game, according to website PredictionMachine.com.

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The Chicago Cubs (86-47) and Washington Nationals (78-55) are near-locks to become the first two National League teams to clinch playoff berths as big division leaders. The Cubs and Nationals are also the two favorites on the odds to win the World Series at +300 (bet $100 to win $300) and +550, respectively, at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

Chicago leads the NL Central by 15.5 games over last year’s division winner—the St. Louis Cardinals (70-62)—who are left to chase one of the wild-card berths instead. Meanwhile, Washington has a 9.5-game lead on the New York Mets (69-65), the defending NL champions who swept the Cubs in the NL Championship Series last year.

While the Cardinals (+2800) and Mets (+5000) are both long shots to win the World Series, the best race in the NL is in the West, where the Los Angeles Dodgers (+1000) and San Francisco Giants (+1400) are duking it out for the division title.

The Dodgers (74-59) are holding on to a slim two-game lead over the Giants (72-61), their bitter rivals who have won the World Series in the last three even-numbered years.

Los Angeles might be a good value bet now, as ace Clayton Kershaw (11-2, 1.79 ERA) is still hoping to return for the playoffs after sitting out since late June because of a back injury. The three-time NL Cy Young Award winner and 2014 NL MVP could be the key to the postseason because good pitching seems to be the only way to stop Chicago this year.

The American League also features a few top contenders on the 2016 World Series odds, led by the AL West-leading Texas Rangers (80-54) at +650. Because the AL beat the NL 4-2 in the MLB All-Star Game on July 12, the team winning the pennant from that league will have home-field advantage in the World Series.

The Kansas City Royals (69-64) used that edge to defeat the Mets in the World Series a year ago, and they are among the AL teams chasing a wild-card spot with a price of +3300 to repeat as champs.

The Royals are three games behind the Detroit Tigers (72-61) and trail the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians (76-56) by 7.5 in the race for the division title. The Indians are +900 to win the World Series, while the Tigers are +2200.

In the AL East, three teams are battling to win the division, as the Toronto Blue Jays (76-57) lead by two games over the Boston Red Sox (74-59) and four over the Baltimore Orioles (72-61). The Blue Jays fell to Kansas City in the 2015 ALCS, and they are +750 to win the World Series ahead of the Red Sox (+1000) and Orioles (+2500).

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The Kansas City Royals (69-64) had won 11 straight games Danny Duffy (11-2, 3.01 ERA) started until he got hammered by the Boston Red Sox in his last outing Saturday.

Now the Royals will try to avoid losing two straight with Duffy on the hill when they host the Detroit Tigers (72-61) as -165 home betting favorites (bet $165 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark in a key American League Central matchup starting Friday.

Duffy surrendered seven runs and nine hits—including three homers—to the Red Sox in five innings of an 8-3 loss in his most recent start. He had given up more than three runs only once in his previous 16 starts before that and saw his ERA rise from 2.66.

But Duffy has yet to suffer a setback at home this season, going a perfect 6-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 18 appearances at Kauffman Stadium, including 11 starts.

The Tigers are three games ahead of Kansas City in the AL Central standings and trail the division-leading Cleveland Indians by 4.5 games heading into the final month of the season. Detroit is coming off a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox and sends the struggling Anibal Sanchez (7-13, 5.92 ERA) to the mound. He’s going for just his second win since August 2.

Sanchez last won on the road against the Minnesota Twins on August 23, allowing three runs and six hits in seven innings of an 8-3 victory. However, he followed that up by giving up five runs and eight hits in 5.2 innings of a 5-0 home loss Sunday.

The Royals have dominated the season series this year, winning nine of 13 meetings so far, including three straight and seven of the past nine. Most of the games have been low-scoring affairs recently, according to the Odds Shark MLB Database, with the under going 5-1-1 in the previous seven games between the teams. Before that, the over was on an 11-2 run dating back to August 2015.

The Tigers were just swept at home by Kansas City in a three-game series August 15-17, getting outscored by a 13-3 margin.

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