World Series 2017 Betting Odds Change Before Game 3 Between Dodgers, Astros

The Los Angeles Dodgers might have lost home-field advantage along with Game 2 of the World Series, but that doesn’t mean they still aren’t favored to win the Fall Classic. L.A. still has a slight edge, over the Houston Astros, according to the latest betting odds.

Heading into Game 3 in Houston, Bovada.lv gives the Dodgers -130 odds to win the championship. The Astros are barely underdogs, and they have even odds after taking one of two games at Dodger Stadium.

L.A. began the World Series as a -160 favorite. Houston had +140 odds before Game 1.

After winning Game 1 behind seven dominant innings from Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers were poised to take a 2-0 series lead. But Kenley Jansen blew a 3-2 lead in the ninth inning of Game 2, and the Astros made multiple comebacks to eventually win 7-6 in 11 innings.

Even with Houston going home, the Astros would’ve been hard-pressed to win the series after losing the first two games. Both Dallas Keuchel and Justin Verlander started in Los Angeles, and the Dodgers might have the pitching advantage in Game 3 with Yu Darvish facing Lance McCullers. Houston would’ve had to beat a 104-win team in four out of five games, which would’ve included another start from Kershaw.

As long as neither team rattles off three straight victories, the series will return to Los Angeles for Game 6. The Dodgers had been undefeated at home in the playoffs before the Game 2 loss. L.A. ended the regular season with four straight wins at home.

The World Series might’ve turned with Game 2, and not simply because the Astros stole home-field advantage. Houston’s bats, which gave the Astros MLB’s best offense in the regular season, finally got going.

The Astros beat the Yankees in the ALCS on the strength of their starting pitching, not their lineup. Houston scored more than four runs just once against New York, and they were held to two runs or fewer in five of the eight games before Wednesday’s Game 2.

If Houston’s lineup is back in sync, they can do some damage against the Dodgers’ No.3 and No.4 starters.

Jose Altuve is the likely AL MVP, and his home run in the 10th inning of Game 2 was his sixth this postseason. Carlos Correa hit his fourth homer of the postseason in the at-bat immediately following Altuve's, and George Springer’s 11th-inning go-ahead homer was his third hit of the night.

The Astros will be tough to beat if those three hitters are seeing the ball well at home. Houston is 6-0 at Minute Maid Park this postseason.

The Dodgers, of course, have gotten timely hitting all postseason long. Before Game 2, their bullpen had tossed 28 consecutive scoreless innings. Between the team’s relievers and the ability for Kershaw to possibly pitch two more times, the rest of the series is as unpredictable as the betting odds indicate.