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If your favorite baseball team isn't playing tonight, make the games more interesting by betting on MLB odds at BookMaker Sportsbook! This is the only online wagering outlet that offers early MLB moneylines, runlines and totals. First pitch for Game 7 of the World Series between the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers is scheduled for Wednesday, November 1, 2017, at 8:20 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium. The game will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
It almost wouldn’t have felt right for this series to have ended in Game 6. It’s only fitting that the Dodgers force this series to brink after the epic contests throughout the Fall Classic. Now, it’s all down to a winner-take-all single game. Houston has been here before after the ALCS, but the Dodgers have home-field advantage which is huge against an Astros team that’s managed just two road wins all postseason.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The Dodgers find themselves in a favorable position according to history. In the last 16 times, a home team extended the World Series to a Game 7, they’ve won that Game 7 14 times.
That’s not a particularly encouraging statistic for the Astros, but Houston is the only team that has already had to contend with a Game 7 this postseason. Obviously, the Astros got by that one with flying colors, sending the Yankees home and them to their second ever World Series.
The Dodgers’ flew through their NLDS and NLCS opponents, but that doesn’t mean the team isn’t fatigued. In fact, given the heavy bullpen usage, it’s quite the opposite.
Kenta Maeda, Brandon Morrow and Kenley Jansen have been overworked and all appeared in the game on Tuesday night, Jansen going two innings. Will Dave Roberts throw Morrow in all seven games? Can Jansen bounce back after two innings for any significant length in Game 7? These are all important questions considering how well Houston has handled the Dodgers’ bullpen most of the series.
Of course, there are just as many—if not more—questions for the Astros’ pen. Is Ken Giles even available? He’s been avoided like the plague given his postseason struggles. Will we see Charlie Morton or Brad Peacock in place of a Chris Devenski or Will Harris?
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Typically, the second time a starter faces a team in a week, the advantage flips to the hitters who can adjust to the stuff of the pitcher.
Wednesday represents a rematch of Game 3 with Yu Darvish and Lance McCullers Jr. lined up for the start.
Darvish didn’t fare well in his first start this World Series. The right-hander lasted only 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, walking one and giving up a big home run. While not stellar, McCullers was better. He went 5.1 innings and allowed three runs. He did, however, walk four in the game, leading to the shorter outing.
After McCullers, Hinch opted to go to Brad Peacock for 3.2 innings to close out the game. He could take a similar approach in Game 7 given his complete lack of trust in his pen.
Can McCullers improve on his last start? We can expect Darvish to be better than what we saw in Game 3. Before that start, he had pitched well in his career against Houston, going 5-5- with a 3.44 ERA in 14 starts.
Darvish has plenty of experience against the Astros given most of his Major League career was spent with the Rangers. He held them to one run—and one hit—in seven innings back in June when he last faced them before his Game 3 start.
On the other side, McCullers faced the Dodgers for just the second time ever earlier this series. His first career start against them was even better with two runs allowed in seven innings.
There were concerns about McCullers healthy coming into the postseason. Those concerns linger. He’s healthy. He’s shown that, but is he 100-percent to form? Can he go deep in the game? And can he continue to perform. His second half was marred by both injury and ineffectiveness after an All-Star first half where he was 7-2 with a 3.05 ERA. He had just six starts after the All-Star break, going 0-2 with a 8.23 ERA.
LIVE BETTING
The Dodgers’ pitching, behind Rich Hill, held the Astros to one run in Game 6. That was the second time in the series, Houston has scored just a single run. In the other four games, the Astros have scored 31 runs.
You can pitch to the Astros, you just need to hit your spots and pitch them carefully. If you miss, this is a very dangerous offense, particularly at the top.
Houston’s top five in the order have done just that. Jose Altuve has been the weak link of the five hitting .214, but he’s still hitting .324 this postseason with seven homers and 13 RBIs. He’s hit two bombs in the World Series.
Beyond him, Alex Bregman has gotten several big hits this World Series including against Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen. Both could make appearances in Game 7.
Meanwhile, George Springer has four homers in the six games and a .375 batting average after looking lost as recently as in Game 1. Yuli Gurriel is slugging, too, with five extra base hits.
On the other side, Justin Turner and Yasiel Puig carried the Dodgers earlier in October, but Houston pitching has figured them out, at least partially.
While Houston has gotten better individual numbers in this series, the Dodgers have scored nearly as many runs. They plated 12 in Game 5, but have leaned on a collection of bats.
Cody Bellinger, for instance, has had some big hits, but is batting .167 in the series with 14 strikeouts. He’s been all-or-nothing. Joc Pedersen has been the best bat. He’s 5-for-14 with three homers and will undoubtedly get a start—again—in Game 7 after his blast in Game 6.
QUICK PICK
This is it. It’s all or nothing for both teams. It’s been an exciting series to this point and Game 7 figures to continue the intrigue. Los Angeles won Game 4 by four runs, but the other five games were decided by two runs or fewer. This should be a close game again.
In the end, the Dodgers have home field advantage in this series. Look for Los Angeles to win Game 7 in front of the fans at home.
Houston did beat L.A. in Dodgers Stadium this series, back in Game 2, but Houston’s only 2-6 away from Minute Maid Park in the postseason. While Houston beat Darvish last time around, he’s still a great pitcher whose enjoyed past success against the Astros. He’ll pitch better. In the end, this comes down to the bullpen. Both are questions, but L.A. has the edge particularly with how well the arms looked in Game 6 and the likelihood we could see Clayton Kershaw.
MLB Odds: Dodgers 8, Astros 6
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