National League World Series contenders better hope the Houston Astros don’t reach the Fall Classic.
The Astros crushed the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, on Sunday, completing their three-game road sweep. It’s the first time Houston has swept the Dodgers in L.A. since the 2008 season, via Fox Sports.
The series against the defending champions wasn’t even close. Houston outscored L.A. 29-6.
This caps off an impressive stretch for the Astros (55-35). In three of their past four series, they have faced the Dodgers (56-35), Chicago Cubs (53-36) and the Philadelphia Phillies (53-37), three of the best teams in the NL. During this stretch, they went 8-1.
Before declaring the Astros should be World Series favorites, remember they have 72 regular-season games remaining and must navigate the American League. That could be challenging.
The Astros are second in the AL behind the Detroit Tigers (57-34). The oddsmakers still favor Detroit. As of Sunday, FanDuel Sportsbook gives the Tigers +750 odds to win the World Series, while it gives the Astros +1000 odds. The Dodgers have the best odds (+220).
Still, if the Astros make it to the World Series, they may be a bad matchup for the team that faces them, particularly the Dodgers.
Many of the Astros’ strengths are the Dodgers’ weaknesses, specifically pitching.
Entering Sunday’s game, the Astros were tied for third in baseball in quality starts (42) and ranked fourth in earned run average (3.51). The Dodgers, meanwhile, were tied for 23rd in quality starts (25) and were 23rd in ERA (4.32).
More importantly, the Astros may not fear the Dodgers. They beat them in seven games in the 2017 World Series. After dominating them in this weekend’s series, Houston may feel it could do that again if it plays L.A. in the postseason.
