The Houston Astros face off against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night for Game 1 of the World Series, marking the first matchup of 100-win teams in the MLB's championship round in almost half a century. The last such matchup saw the 108-win Baltimore Orioles defeating the 102-win Cincinnati Reds in 1970.
The Dodgers are celebrating their first return to the October Classic since 1988. Ace Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the Dodgers, while the Astros — whose last World Series saw them swept by the Chicago White Sox in 2005 — are likewise starting a southpaw in Dallas Keuchel.
FiveThirtyEight gives the Dodgers slightly higher odds of emerging from the best-of-seven series victorious, with a 55 percent chance of winning the World Series compared to the Astros' 45 percent. That being said, The New York Times declared that there is "no underdog" in the matchup, with Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer adding: "I don't care how many games you've won … When it's four out of seven, it's hard to stop momentum."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The game begins 8:09 p.m. ET on Fox.
-
England’s ‘dysfunctional’ children’s care systemIn the Spotlight A new report reveals that protection of youngsters in care in England is failing in a profit-chasing sector
-
Cider farms to visit this autumnThe Week Recommends With harvest season fast approaching, spend an afternoon at one of these idyllic orchards
-
Endangered shark meat is being mislabeled and sold in the USUnder the radar It could cause both health and ecological problems
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
