The New York Mets are the sixth and last seed in the National League playoffs, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are the first seed.
Bookmakers see the Dodgers as a strong favourite to win the NL Championship Series because they think the regular-season results fairly represent the teams’ respective strengths.
The Dodgers are a -180 favourite at DraftKings, a -176 favourite at FanDuel, and a -170 favourite at Caesars Sportsbook when the best-of-seven series gets underway in Los Angeles on Sunday.
After leading their NL Division Series to extra innings, the Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres, who were ranked fourth, 2-0, in Game 5.
With a 4-1 victory on Wednesday, the Mets eliminated the second-seeded Philadelphia Phillies in four games and guaranteed their place in the NLCS.
FanDuel has Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani as the favourite to win NLCS Most Valuable Player at +230, despite the fact that he only went 4-for-20 (.200) with one home run and four RBIs in the NLDS.
FanDuel has Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor as the next favourite to win the NLCS MVP at +500 after he blasted the game-winning grand slam against the Phillies in Game 4. Three Dodgers, Freddie Freeman (+1,100), Teoscar Hernandez (+1,000), and Mookie Betts (+700), complete the top five.
The winner of Saturday’s ALDS Game 5 between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians will take on the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Monday.
There’s a wager available at Caesars Sportsbook on whether both New York teams make it to the World Series. A Subway Series wager would pay +250, while the odds on a World Series without both the Yankees and the Mets are -320.