One of the most evenly matched World Series in recent memory will open at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City on Tuesday when the Royals host the New York Mets in Game 1, which is listed as a pick’em at most sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.
According to oddsmakers, the series itself is also a toss-up, making the first two games important to see which team grabs the early momentum in the best-of-seven championship series.
New York will send Matt Harvey (13-8, 2.71 ERA) to the mound in the opener, as he looks to stay perfect in the playoffs after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in his first two postseason starts.
Kansas City’s Edinson Volquez (13-9, 3.55 ERA), who has gone 1-2 in his three playoff starts this year with a 4.32 ERA, will oppose Harvey.
Volquez was brilliant in the lone win he earned at home against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series, allowing only two hits in six scoreless innings with four walks and five strikeouts en route to a 5-0 victory.
The Mets have won five straight games heading into the World Series following a sweep of the Cubs in the National League Championship Series. They are 7-2 in the postseason overall, and it is worth noting that six of the last seven teams that swept their LCS opponents, including the past four, lost in the World Series.
The layoff between games could be a factor, as Game 4 of the NLCS was last Wednesday. The under is 4-1-1 in New York’s last six for totals bettors, according to the Odds Shark MLB database, and second baseman Daniel Murphy has hit seven home runs in the playoffs, including one in a record six consecutive games.
The Royals lost two games in each of their previous playoff series, topping the Blue Jays in six games in the ALCS and the Houston Astros in five games before that. They won the last two games against the Astros after trailing the AL Division Series 2-1, and they won the first two versus the Blue Jays before dropping two of three in Toronto.
Kansas City rebounded to take the ALCS in Game 6 with a 4-3 win at home last Friday, as the under cashed for the second straight time following a 5-1 run for the over at the sportsbooks.
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