Playoff baseball doesn’t get any bigger than tonight’s Game 7 clash between the Dodgers and the Blue Jays.
L.A.’s star-studded roster entered this series as the clear betting favorite, and the Dodgers are -140 or shorter across the board in tonight’s game.
Interestingly, it will be Shohei Ohtani as the starting pitcher for the Dodgers. Ohtani is pitching on short rest after starting Game 4. Toronto is starting 41-year-old, three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who won seven games for none other than the Dodgers back in 2021.
Can L.A. hold off a deep Blue Jays team that is on the verge of one of the most memorable World Series upsets of all time?
Or will Toronto finish the job in front of an electric Rogers Centre crowd itching to see the franchise’s first World Series victory since 1993?
How To Watch World Series Game 7
- Kickoff: 8: p.m. ET
- TV: FOX
World Series Game 7 Betting Odds: Run Line, Moneyline, Total
Best World Series Game 7 Player Prop: S. Ohtani 3+ Hits Allowed (+103 at DK)
Given that Ohtani — who struck out six batters but otherwise struggled in Game 4 — had a hard time with Toronto’s lineup in Game 4, I expect him to give up some hits in Game 7.
I don’t expect him to get shelled by any means, but I do trust the Blue Jays lineup to do some damage here. Remember, Ohtani gave up three hits in his first three innings on the mound in Game 4, and that was with A) a fresh arm B) at home and C) in a high-stakes, but not quite under “must-win-Game-7-on-the-road” pressure.
I’d take this at shorter than even-money, and I certainly love it at this price. Ohtani, unlike most pitchers, is also a safe bet to stay in this game for longer than a typical pitcher would because he is, as you may have heard, also quite the threat as a hitter.
World Series Game 7 Prediction, Best Bet
This series has reached a seventh game for a number of reasons. At the risk of oversimplifying this thrilling battle, I’m having a hard time focusing on anything besides how well the Blue Jays have hit everyone besides Yoshinobu Yamamoto in this World Series.
Yamamoto memorably held Toronto to just four hits and 1 run across a complete game masterpiece in Game 2, and he gave up just one run on five in six innings in Game 6 to tie this series at 3-2. It’s no coincidence that the Dodgers won both those ballgames.
But the Blue Jays’ deep, balanced lineup has done an excellent job against just about every Dodgers pitcher besides Yamamoto. Toronto plated at least 5 runs apiece in Games 1, 3, 4 and 5, with the only loss in those contests coming in an 18-marathon heartbreaker in Game 3.
While Toronto has strung together one quality at-bat after another throughout this series, the Blue Jays were particularly effective against L.A.’s starter tonight, Shohei Ohtani, who is taking the mound on three days’ rest after a 93-pitch outing in Game 4. Ohtani surrendered 6 hits and four earned runs (3.50 ERA) in six innings of work in that contest. As lights-out as Ohtani can be at his best, I don’t see him shutting down this Toronto lineup, especially on short rest.
What should be a phenomenal crowd only helps the case for Toronto. While it’s easy to understand why the Dodgers are the clear favorites with a generational superstar like Ohtani on the bump, I think L.A. Manager Dave Roberts’ choice of starting pitcher in these circumstances has a ton of potential to backfire. Obviously, Ohtani could bring his A-game and almost singlehandedly win this matchup.
But if the Blue Jays get to him, they not only get a chance to attack L.A.’s biggest weakness — it’s bullpen — the rest of the way, but they would also avoid by far the Dodgers’ best hitter for the rest of the night.
With all that in mind, I love the Blue Jays on the moneyline tonight, especially at +125 at bet365. Blue Jays +1.5 (-135 at bet365) also makes plenty of sense if you’re looking to play this one a bit safer.
Best bet:
- Blue Jays moneyline (best odds: +125 at bet365)
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