The MLB season has reached the grand finale as the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will meet in the 2024 World Series to decipher the best team in the world.
The two teams have been far and away the best baseball teams in the MLB this season with the two best records and the best-performing players too, as the two biggest and most prestigious teams will go head-to-head at this stage of the season for the first time since 1981.
We'll take a look at the upcoming series and provide you with our best free MLB betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash while you take in the action on the field.
Learn more about how to bet on the MLB World Series here.
MLB World Series 2024 information
- Game 1: Friday, October 25th 2024 @ Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
- Game 2: Saturday, October 26th 2024 @ Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
- Game 3: Monday, October 28th 2024 @ Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York
- Game 4: Tuesday, October 29th 2024 @ Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, October 30th 2024 @ Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, November 1st 2024 @ Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
- Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, November 2nd 2024 @ Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California
New York Yankees season so far
The Yankees came into the season with a huge expectation of going all the way for the first time since 2009, and they have not let anyone down with their performances.
The regular season went about as well as it possibly could have, as New York put together a sensational 94-68 record which saw them clinch their playoff berth way back on September 18 and claim the division just eight days later when they defeated the Baltimore Orioles.
That set up a playoff clash against the Kansas City Royals in the American League Division Series, and things started well with a 6-5 win in Game 1 before they suffered defeat in Game 2 at home. But that seemed to kick them into gear as the Yankees won Game 3 and Game 4 to claim a comfortable 3-1 series win and push them into the AL Championship game.
There they faced off with the Cleveland Guardians and showed their quality with dominant wins in both Game 1 and Game 2 with a 5-2 and 6-3 win respectively. New York were given a scare in Game 3 however as Cleveland earned a 5-7 in at Progressive Field, but once again the Yankees stepped up in the face of adversity on the road to claim back-to-back wins with an 8-6 victory followed by a 5-2 win to put them into their first World Series since 2009.
Los Angeles Dodgers season so far
After bringing in Shohei Ohtani during the off-season, expectations were at an all-time high for the Dodgers and they have lived up to those demands. Putting together a 98-64 record for the regular season, Los Angeles registered the best record in the entire MLB and clinched their playoff spot on September 19th, before claiming the divisions one week later with a 7-2 win over the San Diego Padres.
A clash with the Padres followed them into the first round of the playoffs and they started well with a 7-5 win in Game 1, but San Diego caused a bit of panic in LA when they won Game 2 and Game 3 in spectacular fashion. But the Dodgers, in a win-or-go-home situation, made sure they didn't fall short of expectations by claiming back-to-back wins without allowing a single run against them to progress to the National League Championship game.
There they faced off with the New York Mets and once again performed admirably in Game 1 with an excellent 9-0 win. They lost Game 2 before dominant wins in Game 3 and 4, before the Mets powered back in Game 4 to keep the series alive. However, the Dodgers stopped short of a Game 7 by earning a 10-5 win and setting up this huge World Series clash.
MLB Picks: New York Yankees to win the World Series
This is a rare occasion, where the two best teams across the season actually make it to the World Series. The Dodgers had the most wins of any team in the National League (98), while the Yankees claimed the most victories of any American League squad (94). They can each put up runs at an elite rate and so, in theory, this series is going to come down to which team is most effective at suppressing that ability. For me, that is the Yankees.
The Yankees have four starting pitchers at their disposal who posted an ERA below 4.00 in 2024: Gerrit Cole, Carlos Rodon, Clarke Schmidt and Luis Gil.
Rodon has looked incredible so far in the postseason, sporting a 37.3% strikeout rate and a 22.0 K/BB ratio in his 14.1 innings of work. There are certainly question marks with this rotation outside of Cole, but it feels like New York has more places to turn than the Dodgers, who twice used a bullpen game during the NLCS, including Game 6’s victory on Sunday.
There is also the Freddie Freeman factor that must be considered. Freeman hit below .300 for the first time since 2019 but was a crucial element of this Dodgers lineup, posting a 137 wRC+ over 638 plate appearances. The veteran is currently nursing an ankle issue that has caused him to already miss multiple games in the playoffs.
Obviously with Ohtani in your lineup you always have a chance, but the Yankees have Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge themselves so aren't short of firepower. At +118 to win the series, the value is too good to ignore.
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