MLB Playoff Bracket 2020: Dodgers, Yankees Favored To Meet In World Series, Rays And Astros Advance

Three teams have advanced to the next stage of the 2020 MLB playoff bracket, but one division champion that still has work to do in the wild-card round remains the decided World Series favorite.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best odds to win the championship, following their Game 1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. LA leads the way with +275 odds at various sportsbooks, needing one more victory to reach the NLDS.

The Dodgers led MLB with a 43-17 record in the truncated regular season. Los Angeles has won eight straight NL West titles. The franchise last won the Fall Classic in 1988.

The Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees and Houston Astros all completed sweeps of their respective wild-card series Wednesday. While Houston has reached two of the last three World Series, it’s the two AL East teams that are considered the league’s top contenders.

Tampa Bay and New York have +350 championship odds each at both FanDuel and DraftKings Sportsbook. The Yankees are slight AL favorites with +195 odds to win the pennant. FanDuel gives the Rays +210 odds to reach the World Series.

The two division rivals are set to meet in the ALDS Monday.

The regular season might suggest that Tampa Bay should be a heavy favorite to defeat New York. The Rays finished seven games ahead of the Yankees to win the AL East, leading the league with a 40-20 record. Tampa Bay has beaten New York eight times in 10 meetings this year.

Los Angeles, Tampa Bay and New York are in a tier of their own. The Atlanta Braves are a distant fourth with +900 World Series odds. The NL East champs are followed by the Astros (+1200), Oakland Athletics (+1500) and Chicago White Sox (+1600).

Oakland hosts Chicago Thursday with a trip to the ALDS on the line. The winner will face Houston in the best-of-five series.

The San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals both have +2200 World Series odds. St. Louis has a 1-0 series lead over San Diego in their best-of-three series. The Padres have home-field advantage for the entire wild-card round.

The Miami Marlins (+2500) have a 1-0 series lead over the Chicago Cubs (+3700). The Cincinnati Reds (+4500) are on the brink of elimination against Atlanta.

Facing elimination against Los Angeles, the Milwaukee Brewers (+7000) are the biggest long shots left in baseball.