Game 1 of one of the most unexpected World Series of all time is still two nights away. Still, we can safely declare that anyone who predicted a Texas Rangers-Arizona Diamondbacks clash in March is the real winner.
The Rangers opened the season with +2000 odds of winning the American League, tied for the sixth-worst in the Junior Circuit. The Diamondbacks’ pennant-winning odds of +7000 ranked 11th in the National League.
A $10 bet on this World Series in March would have yielded a payout of $14,900 when Corbin Carroll caught Jake Cave’s fly ball for the final out of the Diamondbacks’ Game 7 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Friday night’s takeout dinner is on you as we settle in for a Fall Classic that embodies the chaotic nature of baseball’s new 12-team playoff format.
World Series Odds
All MLB betting odds used for these World Series predictions are current as of Wednesday, Oct. 25, and courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.
Texas Rangers vs Arizona Diamondbacks
Rangers (-170) | Diamondbacks (+134)
World Series Prediction
Rangers vs Diamondbacks Prediction
The Rangers’ ALCS roster featured four players with World Series experience, though Nathan Eovaldi is likely to be the only one asked to be a meaningful contributor against the Diamondbacks. Arizona’s lone player with World Series experience is 38-year-old Evan Longoria, who is 5-for-37 this month and 15 years removed from his previous trip to the Fall Classic.
Texas feels like the team built for this moment. The Rangers spent $775 million on Eovaldi, Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jacob deGrom, and Jon Gray the last two winters before luring Hall of Fame-bound manager Bruce Bochy out of retirement to piece it all together in the dugout.
They’ve got power to spare, with 15 homers in the ALCS alone and a potent 1-2 pitching punch in Eovaldi and Jordan Montgomery.
Of course, we’ve all spent October underestimating the Diamondbacks – who began the season with the 10th-lowest payroll in baseball – and marveling as their young core, led by the budding superstar Carroll, thrived in the postseason spotlight. Chemistry is a real thing at this time of year, and manager Torey Lovullo has cultivated a winning blend and figured out a way to navigate nine innings without a true no. 1 ace.
At the risk of being wrong once again, though, the Rangers become the latest team to snap a lengthy championship drought as they win it all for the first time.
Rangers vs Diamondbacks Pick: Rangers in 6 Games
World Series Best Bet
Jonah Heim: MVP (+3300) at Caesars Sportsbook
ALCS MVP Adolis García is hotter than the sun’s surface, and Seager won the World Series MVP for the Dodgers in 2020. But Heim is an intriguing value pick in this strangest of postseasons.
With a .245 average, two homers, and six RBIs in 12 games, Heim has been quiet but not silent in the playoffs. He hit 18 homers this season, an impressive feat for a catcher but one that makes him an afterthought on a team with five players who hit at least 19 homers.
As the sixth-place hitter for most of the playoffs, he’s a perfect candidate to do some damage once the Diamondbacks exhale after navigating the top half of the potent Rangers’ order.
Plus, in the postseason of the longshot, who better to win the World Series MVP than a catcher (Salvador Perez in 2015 is the lone backstop to earn World Series MVP honors this century) who is 28 but has already been traded three times – including once for 2018 World Series MVP Steve Pearce?
World Series Schedule
Friday, Oct. 27
Game 1: Diamondbacks @ Rangers — 8:03 p.m. ET
Saturday, Oct. 28
Game 2: Diamondbacks @ Rangers — 8:03 p.m. ET
Monday, Oct. 30
Game 3: Rangers @ Diamondbacks — 8:03 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Oct. 31
Game 4: Rangers @ Diamondbacks — 8:03 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Nov. 1
Game 5: Rangers @ Diamondbacks — 8:03 p.m. ET***
Friday, Nov. 3
Game 6: Diamondbacks @ Rangers — 8:03 p.m. ET***
Saturday, Nov. 4
Game 7: Diamondbacks @ Rangers — 8:03 p.m. ET***
***if necessary