The 2023 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season is in its infancy, and the Houston Astros have not gotten off to the best of starts, but the latest MLB betting odds have the Astros as the favorites to retain baseball’s coveted World Series. The Astros have reached the World Series four times from 2017 to the present, winning two titles, including last year with a comprehensive 4-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Houston Astros were fantastic throughout the 2022 season, topping the American League (AL) West by 16 games, courtesy of a mightily impressive 106-56 record (0.654). Only the Los Angeles Dodgers 111-51 (0.685) enjoyed a better regular season record than the dominant Astros. The 106-win season marked the fourth time in a six-year span that the Astros reached at least 100 victories during one campaign.
Astros Were Brilliant After an Indifferent Start to 2022
Following a shaky start to the 2022 season, which saw them end the opening month with an 11-10 record, the Astros put the pedal to the metal. They Clinched a playoff berth on September 16 following a 5-0 demolition of the Oakland Athletics and wrapped up the divisional title three games later against the Tampa Bay Rays; the Astros were 97-51 at the time.
The Astros brushed past the Seattle Mariners in three games in the AL Division Series before dismantling the New York Yankees 4-0 in the AL Championship Series. After trailing 2-1 to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 World Series, the Astros won three straight games to clinch their second World Series.
This season has not started great for the Astros, who are 2-4 from their opening six games at the time of writing. They lost 3-2 in their opening game against the Chicago White Sox before beating them 6-3 and 6-4, then falling to a 6-3 loss. A 7-6 and 6-3 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Tigers left the Astros rooted to the bottom of the AL West, although it is very early days.
Never Write Off the Yankees
Although the Astros are the current favorites to become the 2023 World Series champions, there are some superb teams that it would be ridiculous to write off. For example, you can never dismiss the New York Yankees even though they have not reached the World Series since winning it back in 2009. The Yankees will be there or thereabouts come the end of the regular season and only need to break their playoff hoodoo to be in with a real chance of becoming World Series champions for the 28th time.
Renowned prediction website FiveThirtyEight currently has the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Atlanta Braves, and the Yankees as the three favorites for World Series glory; FiveThirtyEight gives those teams a 12 percent, 11 percent, and 10 percent chance of winning baseball’s most-coveted title, respectively.
Watch Out for the Padres
The San Diego Padres are the team on everyone’s lips right now, thanks to becoming the big spenders of the MLB. The Padres have only reached the World Series twice, losing in 1984 and 1998, but many experts predict that 2023 could be their year. The signing of Xander Bogaerts adds some quality to the Padres’ roster while tying Manny Machado to an 11-year, $350 extension could be a masterstroke. Throw into the mix a roster featuring the likes of Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr, and a plethora of up-and-coming talent, and it is easy to see why the Padres are one to watch throughout the 162-game season.
Everything is shaping up to be one of the best and most exciting MLB seasons in living memory, with no fewer than ten teams capable of emerging victorious come the end of the long season. As always, Belly Up Sports will be with you every step of the way.
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