Opening Odds for All Four MLB Division Series

• The odds for all four MLB Division Series have been posted 
• In the AL, Oakland is a slight favorite over Houston, while the Yankees are the chalk against Tampa Bay
• The odds in NL see the Dodgers and Braves heavily favored over the Padres and Marlins, respectively 

When it comes to the MLB Division Series, it’s safe to say that they won’t be centrally located. No Central Division team in either league survived the Wild Card round. The four Division Series this year are all intra-divisional matchups.

In the American League, the AL East-champion Tampa Bay Rays clash with the New York Yankees, while the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros square off in an all AL-West meeting.

The National League series will see the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves facing each other in an NL East set, while NL West rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres do battle.

ALDS and NLDS Odds

Odds as of Oct. 2  at PointsBet.

All of the best-of-five Division Series will be played in bubble settings. The A’s and Astros begin play Monday at Dodger Stadium. Tampa Bay and the Yankees also open Monday at San Diego’s Petco Park. The Dodgers and Padres will play at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Tex. Miami and Atlanta meet at Houston’s Minute Maid Park.

The AL series start on Monday, Oct. 5, while the NL sets launch Tuesday, Oct. 6.

The Dodgers average out as the favorite in the World Series odds at +350.

All A’s in AL West Set

The Astros are defending AL champions. However, the A’s ended Houston’s reign over the AL West this season.

This year, the A’s won seven of 10 meetings from Houston. The A’s won those seven games despite scoring four or fewer runs eight times.

Oakland’s team ERA of 3.77 was fifth-best in the majors. The A’s also posted an MLB-leading 2.72 bullpen ERA.

The A’s are moving on! Up next… the Astros 😤 pic.twitter.com/glaHoHz5Kz

— NBCSAuthentic (@NBCSAuthentic) October 1, 2020

There’s clearly bad blood between these teams. It was Oakland pitcher Mike Fiers who exposed Houston’s cheating scandal during the offseason. There was a bench-clearing episode during an A’s-Astros game this season.

Houston relied on pitching to get past the  AL Central champion Minnesota Twins. But they’re not nearly as deep in arms as the Oakland staff.

The Astros were held under three runs in seven of 10 games against Oakland this season.

Pick: Oakland Athletics (-121)

Dodgers Won’t Be Blue

The Padres are the only remaining National League team that has never won the World Series. Their best-of-five with LA feels like a showdown between the Dodgers and the team that will eventually dethrone LA atop the NL West.

The Padres battled the Dodgers hard in the regular season, going 4-6 against the MLB’s top team. However, the coronation of the Padres figures to wait at least one more year.

The Dodgers’ 1-2 starting-pitching punch of Walker Buehler (eight strikeouts in four innings) and Clayton Kershaw (13 strikeouts) were dominant as they swept the Brewers in the Wild Card round. LA outscored Milwaukee 7-2.

The wild wild NL West: Texas style. #Postseason pic.twitter.com/MVlW2e5CTU

— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2020

Meanwhile, the Padres set a record, utilizing nine pitchers to shutout the Cardinals in the third game of their NL Wild Card set.

San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr continues to be on a tear. He hit two homers against St. Louis and leads the MLB postseason in runs (five) and RBI (five). But, with starters Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger questionable due to injury, it will be hard to generate enough offense to top a Dodgers team that scored an MLB-best 349 runs.

Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-223)