Red Sox vs. Dodgers World Series 2018 Prediction: Boston Will Beat Los Angeles For MLB Championship

The Boston Red Sox are favored to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 World Series. Between the success of Alex Cora's club in both the regular season and the playoffs, it’s hard to believe that L.A. will be able to pull off the upset in this year’s Fall Classic.

It’s not at all hard to see why Boston has better odds ahead of Tuesday night’s Game 1 at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are the superior team by just about every measurement, and it should result in the team’s fourth championship in 14 years.

The Red Sox significantly outperformed the Dodgers over the course of 162 games, recording 108 wins to Los Angeles’ 91 victories. Boston outscored their opponents by 229 runs, while L.A. had a run differential of plus-191.

Boston has been more impressive in the postseason, cruising through the ALDS and ALCS with a 7-2 record. L.A. enters the World Series with a 7-4 playoff record, needing seven games to take care of the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS after beating the 91-win Colorado Rockies in the NLDS. The Red Sox eliminated the 100-win New York Yankees and the 103-win defending champion Houston Astros.

Five of Boston’s playoff wins have come on the road. The Red Sox were perfect at Yankee Stadium and Minute-Maid Park. They had the best home record in the regular season and have home-field advantage in the season’s final series.

After posting their best record in franchise history, Boston reached the World Series by defeating New York and Houston in several different ways. The Red Sox allowed three runs or fewer in four playoff wins. They scored at least seven runs in four victories.

With MVP candidates Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, Boston has the best offense in baseball. L.A. led the NL in runs scored, but their lineup isn’t nearly as dangerous as the one the Red Sox will put on the field each night. Boston found a way to get to Justin Verlander when they won Game 5 of the ALCS and punched their ticket to the World Series. If they get more than one shot at Clayton Kershaw, there’s a good chance they’ll add another shaky outing to the left-hander’s playoff resume.

Chris Sale gives Boston a pitcher that can match Los Angeles’ ace. Nathan Eovaldi, Rick Porcello and even David Price have been more than good enough this postseason to give the Red Sox offense a shot at winning on most nights in the postseason.

There’s certainly a path to winning the World Series for the Dodgers. It starts with Kershaw performing like the best pitcher in baseball for two starts and possibly contributing in a third game. Later in the series, he might be able to pitch out of the bullpen, which is the only area that Los Angeles has an edge over Boston.

Craig Kimbrel has flirted with disaster four times in the playoffs, allowing the tying run to come to home plate or reach base before recording a save. Maybe the Dodgers will finally force him to blow a game and give Los Angeles control of the series.

That, of course, would likely mean hitting better than .218, which L.A. has done over 11 playoff games. Boston has held the opposition to a .217 batting average this postseason.

There isn’t a pitching staff in baseball that can shut down Boston’s lineup over the course of a seven-game series. Whether it’s another bad playoff start by Kershaw, Hyun-jin Ryu coming back down to each, Walker Buehler looking like a 24-year-old that’s never pitched in the World Series or Rich Hill getting knocked around, the Red Sox will find ways to put runs on the board.

Boston is simply too good in each facet of the game, and Los Angeles’ World Series journey could be much less exciting than it was a year ago.

World Series Prediction: Boston in five