Having your league win the All-Star Game is supposed to be a massive advantage.
In this case though, the argument could be made that the Kansas City Royals won't be favored in any of the games of the World Series against the New York Mets. Game 1 is no exception.
ODDS ANALYSIS
When word came out that Matt Harvey was going to start Game 1 of the World Series, the baseball world shook its head. Jacob deGrom is the ace of all aces, but instead, he'll pitch in Game 2. That said, the oddsmakers are still favoring the Amazin' in this one at the ever-so-slight margin of -115.
PITCHING MATCHUP
No formal announcement has been made yet about the Royals' rotation for the postseason, but Edinson Volquez figures to get the ball from Ned Yost.
The Volq Man hasn't been great here in the playoffs, posting a 4.32 ERA with an alarming K/BB ratio of 15/12 in 16.2 innings of work. He was touched up for five runs in five innings by the Blue Jays in Game 5 of the ALCS, but without any tremendously better options, Yost more or less has his hands tied and is going to need to count on his bullpen for success.
The Dark Knight will be pitching on the road for the first time in these playoffs, but we can't see this moment being too big for him. He struck out nine against the Cubs in the biggest start of his career at home in his last outing, allowing two runs over 7.2 innings.
If there's a concern for Harvey, it's his triceps, as he was struck by a comebacker on the arm against Chicago. He stayed in the game and was largely considered fine, but Mets fans still have to have a twinge of concern.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Our guys strike people out, so if we're not striking people out, we better catch the baseball. So now we've really got to make sure defensively, we've got the right people out there." – Mets manager Terry Collins on the trouble of playing against the Royals, who have better contact on the baseball than any other team in the game
SITUATIONAL BETTING
The Kansas City bullpen is going to be all the rage going into the World Series. The Royals have a lot of really tough arms to get past, so the goal for all of these starters will be to get through six frames.
Wade Davis, Luke Hochevar and Kelvin Herrera have combined to give up just one run in 21 innings of work in the playoffs, and they've got a 28/5 K/BB ratio in that span.
PROP TALK
Dan Freaking Murphy. Here's a man who has never done anything completely remarkable in his career, and all of a sudden, he's batting .421 in the playoffs with a 1.462 OPS and seven home runs. He's got one homer in each of his last six games.
And yet, we're going to go against him here in Game 1. Murphy just can't keep this up. The five days off will hurt him for sure, and the Royals pitchers generally do a good job of keeping the ball in the yard. The law of averages has to catch up at some point, and for a man who only had 14 homers in the whole regular season, we don't see him keeping up at this torrid pace offensively.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Royals are the better of these two teams as we see it, and we think it's by a wide margin. Volquez really needs to settle down and avoid putting free men on the base paths, and if he manages to do that, this should be a game the hosts can win.
Kansas City's bats should be able to put good wood on the ball and avoid the strikeout, and that's going to cause Harvey to labor through more pitches than he's used to. If he's out of this game in the fifth or sixth inning, the Mets don't have the depth in their pen to match up with the Royals.
Kansas City 6, New York 2
The MLB lines for Game 1 of the World Series were first released by BookMaker Sportsbook. The New York Mets were lined at -115 favorites. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
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