After last year’s surprising World Series matchup between the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, this year’s Fall Classic pits two of the sport’s marquee franchises against each other.
Led by likely AL MVP Aaron Judge, the New York Yankees are shooting for their MLB-record 28th championship. This marks their 41st World Series appearance but first since 2009, ending their longest pennant drought since 1982 to 1995.
Led by likely NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in their 26th Fall Classic. They’ve fallen short in most of those appearances, however, winning just seven championships, with their last coming in 2020.
Dodgers-Yankees is a familiar World Series matchup for baseball fans. This marks the 12th time these two clubs have squared off in the Fall Classic and first since 1981. New York leads this famous postseason rivalry 8-3.
Can Los Angeles overcome its tortured history in October? Or will the men in pinstripes prevail again?
Here’s a look at the 2024 World Series at our favorite World Series betting sites, many of which have special World Series promos available for new bettors.
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Game 5 Preview
Game Details
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 30
- Time: 8:08 p.m. ET / 5:08 p.m. PT
- Location: Yankee Stadium (Bronx, New York)
- Watch: FOX
Odds Summary
- Moneyline: Dodgers +124, Yankees -148
- Run Line: Dodgers +1.5 (-162), Yankees -1.5 (+136)
- Total: Over/Under 8.5 (-102/-118)
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook and subject to change.
The Yankees finally got back in the series, fighting back from an early deficit and erupting for 11 runs against the Dodgers’ bullpen to win Game 4.
Now they’re looking to send the series back to Los Angeles behind Gerrit Cole in Game 5. Cole was masterful in a no-decision in Game 1, firing six innings of one-run ball at Dodger Stadium before New York’s bullpen imploded.
- Check out our World Series Game 5 prop bets.
The Dodgers will try to close out the series behind Jack Flaherty, who was also dominant in Game 1. Flaherty gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings while striking out six.
Flaherty has been inconsistent in the playoffs throughout his career (2-5, 4.73 ERA), however, so we shouldn’t necessarily expect a repeat performance in Game 5, especially on the road against a fired-up Yankees crowd.
Cole is the better pitcher, especially in October (11-6, 2.91 ERA), and should get more run support than he did last time. We like New York at home on the moneyline.
The Over/Under is 2-2 in this series, but we like the Under in what could be another pitching duel in Game 5.
World Series Game 5 Prediction: Yankees win 5-3
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers World Series Preview
In the old days, like back when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn, the World Series was played between the teams with the best record in the American League and the best record in the National League.
In that sense, this series is a bit of a throwback. The Yankees finished with the best record in the AL (94-68), while the Dodgers had the best record in baseball (98-64).
While Los Angeles was a bit better during the regular season, New York has been more dominant in these playoffs, albeit against easier competition. The Yankees are 7-2 in the playoffs so far, while the Dodgers are 7-4.
On paper, these two teams are evenly matched. They both finished the regular season with identical 96-66 expected records based on their run differential. Los Angeles outscored New York by 27 runs during the regular season but allowed 18 more runs as well.
Both teams feature potent, top-heavy lineups that are heavily dependent on their superstars for production. The Yankees rely on their slugging trio of Judge, Soto and Giancarlo Stanton, who combined for more than half of the team’s home runs (126 of 237) during the regular season.
The Dodgers are in a similar boat with Ohtani, Betts and Freeman, all of whom are former MVPs. Freeman and Betts are already Word Series champs as well, so they’re used to the pressure.
Both teams have plenty of power, but Los Angeles has considerably more speed. The Dodgers stole 48 more bases (at a much higher success rate) and grounded into 39 fewer double plays than the Yankees during the regular season, so their legs could be a factor, especially in close games.
On the mound, New York has the edge in the starting rotation with Cole, Carlos Rodon and Luis Gil forming a solid trio. Yamamoto is a legitimate ace in his own right, but he and Flaherty have never pitched in the World Series before. LA’s injury-depleted rotation has a lot of question marks behind him, forcing Dave Roberts to rely on bullpen games to get through the postseason.
The Yankees’ rotation was healthier and outperformed the Dodgers’ rotation during the regular season (3.85 ERA vs. 4.23), but Los Angeles has the better bullpen. The question is whether the Dodgers’ relief corps can hold up under the bright lights after being taxed so heavily all year.
Both managers have been highly criticized by their respective fanbases over the years, especially for their shortcomings in October. Roberts has at least led his team to a championship, however, while Aaron Boone has not. Roberts has also had to do more of a juggling act this year with his bullpen, so we’ll give Los Angeles a slight edge there.
Lastly, the Dodgers have home-field advantage in this series by virtue of having a better regular-season record, and they’ve been tough to beat in the Chavez Ravine. New York has been extremely impressive on the road this year, however, especially in the playoffs, so that doesn’t seem likely to swing the series.
Overall, this is an incredibly close matchup between two talented (yet flawed) teams, which is reflected in the pre-series odds as well. The series feels like a toss-up and will likely go six or seven games, but we’ll take Los Angeles thanks to its deeper lineup, stronger bullpen and advantage on the bases.
Prediction: Dodgers in seven
2024 World Series MVP Odds
- Freddie Freeman: -900
- Anthony Volpe: +1700
- Juan Soto: +2200
- Giancarlo Stanton: +2800
- Aaron Judge: +4000
- Jazz Chisholm Jr.: +7500
- Gleyber Torres: +7500
- Gerrit Cole: +7500
- Mookie Betts: +9000
- Austin Wells: +9000
Freeman is the heavy favorite after homering in the first four games of the series, setting a World Series record by homering in six straight games. If the Dodgers win, he’s a lock for MVP.
