Dodgers clear favorites at sportsbooks to win World Series
Dave Roberts guaranteed the Dodgers will win the World Series during an appearance Thursday on “The Dan Patrick Show.”
“We will win the World Series this year,” the Los Angeles manager said. “Put it on record.”
The Dodgers are the clear favorites at Las Vegas sportsbooks to do so. They’re 6-1 at Circa Sports and every other team is in double digits.
LA also is the runaway leader in regular-season win totals. The Dodgers, coming off a 106-win season last year, have a win total of 99½ at the Westgate SuperBook, seven wins higher than any other team.
“The Dodgers look loaded again,” SuperBook manager Randy Blum said. “Losing Corey Seager, it seemed like it would hurt them a little bit. But then they brought in Freddie Freeman.
“Also, with Trevor Bauer getting cleared much the same way Deshaun Watson did, he could face a little suspension. But we do expect him to pitch for the Dodgers sometime this season. That’s like adding an ace through a trade or free agency.”
The Dodgers opened at 100½ at the SuperBook, which lowered them after taking action on the under. That’s partly because other books opened LA lower than that and gamblers bet on the differences between the books.
“We’re getting a lot of under bets, which we were hoping for,” Blum said. “We think the Dodgers will go about their business and win 100 games again.”
LA is at 98 wins at Caesars Sportsbook and 98½ at Station Casinos after opening at 97½.
In addition to the Dodgers, there are eight other teams with win totals of 90 or more at the SuperBook: the Chicago White Sox, Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays at 92½; the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees at 91½; the Tampa Bay Rays at 90½; and the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers at 90.
The Rays were one of three teams to win 100 games last year, joining LA and the San Francisco Giants, who went 107-55. But SuperBook bettors are banking on Tampa Bay, which opened at 91½, to go under this season.
“Everyone is betting the Rays under for some reason,” Blum said. “All of a sudden, the Rays are not good. They look fine to me. They’ve got the same team as last year. I don’t really understand those bets. There’s nothing to dislike about the Rays.”
Station Casinos was the first book to post win totals and it has made some major moves on multiple teams. The Baltimore Orioles, who went 52-110 last season, opened with the lowest number on the board at 55½ before shooting up to 63½.
“We had the win totals up early and with all the free-agent signings, there has been a tremendous amount of movement,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said.
The SuperBook opened the Orioles at 64½ before lowering it to 63 after taking a lot of action on the under.
“We think the Orioles are going to be dramatically improved this year,” SuperBook oddsmaker Ed Salmons said.
There were several other notable moves at Station, where the Oakland Athletics dropped from 83½ to 70½ and the Cincinnati Reds dipped from 82½ to 74½ amid fire sales by each team.
The A’s traded away Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, while the Reds parted ways with Sonny Gray, Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez.
“It was a combination of action and adjustments based on trades,” Esposito said.
Oakland is one of five teams with totals in the 60s at the SuperBook. In addition to the Orioles, the other four are the A’s and Colorado Rockies at 69½, the Arizona Diamondbacks are at 66½ and the Pittsburgh Pirates are at 65½.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.