World Series Odds: Houston Astros Biggest Favorite Since 2007 Boston Red Sox

Posted on: October 21, 2019, 12:21h. 

Last updated on: October 21, 2019, 12:39h.

The World Series odds on the Houston Astros beating the Washington Nationals has a price on the best-of-seven title that hasn’t been seen in more than a decade.

World Series odds Houston Washington
The Houston Astros are expected to top the Washington Nationals in the 2019 World Series. (Image: MLB)

The FanDuel sportsbook has the American League champs at -240 (implied odds of 70.59 percent) of winning four World Series games against the Nats. Washington is at +200 (implied odds of 33.33 percent).

On those respective prices, a $100 bet would net $41.67 on the Astros, and $200 on the Nationals.

“The Astros do have much more than the dominant 1-2 punch of Cole and Verlander. They also have one of the best offenses of all time,” ESPN’s David Schoenfield reported.

According to the metric weighted runs created plus (wRC+), which adjusts for park and era, the Astros had the second-best offense ever, behind only the famed ’27 Yankees of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig,” Schoenfield revealed.

The last time a team was so heavily favored in the World Series came in 2007, when the Boston Red Sox opened at -220 over the Colorado Rockies. The Sox swept the series 4-0 to win their second title in four years.

Game 1 is Tuesday night in Houston. The game price has the Astros at -195, and the over/under at seven runs.

Bets Galore

The 2019 World Series will take more legal sports bets in the US than any other Fall Classic in history. That’s because of the widespread expansion of regulated sportsbooks following the May 2018 decision by the Supreme Court to strike out the long-standing federal ban on the gambling activity.

Legal wagers on the series can be made in 13 states: Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, Mississippi, Arkansas, New Mexico, Iowa, Indiana, and Oregon.

Bettors can take odds on the series outcome, each game, and a plethora of in-game results.

As for the series, FanDuel has the Astros winning 4-2 as the likeliest scenario at +290. Houston in five is next at +390, in seven at +400, and a sweep at +800.

Washington sweeping the favorites is the longest at +2300. A $100 bet and that outcome coming to reality would net $2,300.

The last World Series sweep came in 2012, when the San Francisco Giants made quick work of the Detroit Tigers. The last series to go seven came in 2017, when the Astros survived the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Man Bets $8.25M

Anyone who follows sports betting by now knows Jim McIngvale, aka “Mattress Mack.” The owner of the Gallery Furniture chain  in Texas says he couldn’t get insurance for a promotion he ran this year that offered full refunds to customers who made a minimum $3,000 purchase should the Astros win the World Series.

To offset part of a liability that is estimated to be around $20 million, the furniture businessman has been placing bets on the Astros at sportsbooks across the country. According to Darren Rovell, Mattress Mack has wagered seven bets totaling $8.25 million. If Houston tops the Nationals, the wagers will return him a $15.46 million profit.