World Series Odds: Red Sox, Yankees Steady Despite Slow Starts

One AL East team's odds have jumped after a hot start to this campaign.

Both the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees have struggled over the first few weeks of the MLB season, and have some ground to make up on the surprising Tampa Bay Rays in the race for first place in the AL East division standings. However, the Red Sox and Yankees still sit among the favorites on the World Series odds heading into their series this week.

Boston and New York are both pegged at +800 (wager $100 to win $800) on the latest odds to win the 2019 World Series at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The rivals will meet in a short two-game set at Yankee Stadium starting on Tuesday night, with Boston's Chris Sale set to face New York's James Paxton. Both pitchers come into the matchup with sub-par stats, with Sale 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA on the season, and Paxton 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, has jumped from +5000 opening World Series odds to +1800 on those futures last week to +1300 on the latest board. The Rays open a series hosting the Orioles on Tuesday night, sitting with a 12-4 record and seven wins over their last 10 games.

It's a fourth American League team, though, that holds down top spot in the latest 2019 World Series odds, with the Houston Astros the +375 betting favorites. Houston rides a nine-game winning streak into its road series at Oakland on Tuesday night, which has allowed them to close the gap on the Seattle Mariners in the AL West standings. The Mariners are still back at +2200 on the World Series odds, but a hot start has advanced them from +6000 on that list.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies join the favorites at +800 on the latest World Series odds, with the Milwaukee Brewers at +1200, the St. Louis Cardinals at +1300, and both the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets at +1700. The Chicago Cubs, also struggling to start the season, have fallen from +900 to +2000 on those betting futures.

And the San Diego Padres opened among the longshots at +12500 on the odds to win the World Series, but holding down first place in the NL West standings has boosted them to +2200 on those lines. The Miami Marlins continue to hold the longest line at +80000, with the Kansas City Royals at +45000, and the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays at +30000.