Houston Opens as -225 Favorite Over Nationals in 2019 World Series Odds: Best Bet on Series Price
- Odds list the Houston Astros as -225 favorites to win the 2019 World Series
- The Astros won the 2017 World Series; the Nationals haven’t won a World Series since 1924
- The two teams meet for Game 1 of the 2019 World Series Tuesday, Oct. 22
The Houston Astros have been there and done that. The Washington Nationals have not.
Houston won the 2017 World Series; Washington hasn’t won World Series since 1924. Washington hasn’t even seen its major-league team in the Fall Classic since 1925.
And, it seems, books are expecting that drought to extend for at least another year, having pegged the Astros as -225 favorites to win in the World Series odds.
Astros vs Nationals World Series Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Washington Nationals | +180 |
| Houston Astros | -225 |
*Odds taken 10/20/19.</em
Those are the largest odds offered on a team to win the World Series since the Boston Red Sox were -240 to beat the Colorado Rockies in 2007 – and, Boston swept Colorado, by the way.
Major League Arms Race
Both of these teams are rich in starting pitching.
The Astros will send MLB strikeout leader Gerrit Cole to the mound for Tuesday’s Game 1. He’s 19-0 in his last 19 decisions and hasn’t suffered a loss since May 22nd.
2019 strikeout leaders
regular season + postseason1. Gerrit Cole: 358
2. Justin Verlander: 329
3. Stephen Strasburg: 284
4. Max Scherzer: 270
5. Patrick Corbin: 264Top 5 all in the World Series pic.twitter.com/fA0ymtpxbr
— David Adler (@_dadler) October 20, 2019
Houston will follow Cole with 21-game winner Justin Verlander and 18-game winner Zack Greinke. Both are previous Cy Young Award winners. Verlander was also the American League MVP in 2011 and has made five career World Series starts.
The Nationals counter with their own Cy Young Award winner to start Game 1 in Max Scherzer. He’s won three Cy Youngs, has earned the award in both the AL and National Leagues and has a World Series start on his resume.
✅ Two elite starting rotations
✅ The two best OF defenses in baseballOne sure to be epic #WorldSeries.
@Nationals | @astros pic.twitter.com/j3kLqyICVL— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) October 20, 2019
Scherzer is backed by 18-game winner Steven Strasburg and 11-game winners Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez has started a World Series game and led the AL in ERA in 2013.
Washington And Houston Can Both Hit
Houston was third in the majors in runs scored this season with 920. Washington was sixth with 843.
Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Let's go #TakeItBack The stage is set for the #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/thTmFWDYbt
— 🏆 SPACEMAN 🏆 (@CopierCollin) October 20, 2019
The Astros led the MLB in batting average (.274), on-base percentage (.352), slugging (.495) and OPS (.848). They struck-out an MLB-low 1,166 times.
The Nats were second in on-base percentage (.342) and third in stolen bases (116).
Cardiac Kids
Both of these teams have displayed a flair for the dramatic during the postseason.
In Game 5 of the NLDS, Washington rallied from a 3-1 deficit via a pair of eighth-inning solo homers. Howie Kendrick’s 10th-inning grand slam was the decision blow as the Nats won 7-3.
In the Wild Card Game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Washington was also down 3-1 in the eighth inning, but rallied for a 4-3 victory.
Jose Altuve made his MLB debut on July 20, 2011, and collected his first hit in that game. His historic, pennant-clinching blast tonight sends the #Astros to the World Series to face that same team… the Washington Nationals.pic.twitter.com/IuBsCrscVX
— Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) October 20, 2019
Houston went the distance against the Tampa Bay Rays before winning their ALDS series in five games. The Astros won Game 2 of the ALCS from the New York Yankees on a Carlos Correa walk-off homer. They took the decisive sixth game of the series on Jose Altuve’s walk-off homer.
Washington’s Wild Ride
The Astros were the World Series favorites in the MLB future books from the start of the season, but the Nationals realistically shouldn’t be here today.
From 10 to 2.
The road to the World Series is complete! pic.twitter.com/xNRKzcsw2Y
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 20, 2019
Washington began the 2019 MLB season at average odds of +1700 to win the World Series. The Nats opened the season 19-31. They posted the best record in the NL (74-38) over the remaining 102 games to finish 93-69, and earned the first of two NL Wild Card playoff spots.
Nats SS Trea Turner at the Redskins game. They played Baby Shark over the loudspeakers too. World Series fever even made it to FedExField pic.twitter.com/bE5GkXLCef
— JP Finlay (@JPFinlayNBCS) October 20, 2019
The Nationals are the 13th Wild Card team to reach the World Series. Six of those ballclubs (the 1997 and 2003 Florida Marlins, 2002 Anaheim Angels, 2004 Boston Red Sox, 2011 St. Louis Cardinals and 2014 San Francisco Giants) won the Fall Classic.
Washington’s dream season is about to come to a crashing halt, however. The Astros are just too well-rounded a team, too strong in all areas, to be beaten.
Pick: Houston Astros (-225).
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
