MLB World Series Bracket 2024: Odds, Top X-Factors in Yankees vs. Dodgers
October 22, 2024MLB World Series Bracket 2024: Odds, Top X-Factors in Yankees vs. Dodgers
The superstars on the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers rosters will be front and center on the marquee for the 2024 World Series.
Everyone expects Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Juan Soto, Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton to come up with the most meaningful hits of the series.
That could be the case, and if it happens, some of those big hits will likely be home runs.
But not all of the run-producing power resides in the top half of each order. The bottom half of both lineups will be important to either keep offensive rallies alive or to provide a spark in certain games.
The Yankees own the clearest advantage on paper with their starting rotation, but as each game gets deeper, the edge will go away because of the Dodgers' bullpen performance.
How each set of bullpen arms performs could decide the fate of the World Series.
World Series Odds
Series Winner
Los Angeles Dodgers (-125; bet $125 to win $100)
New York Yankees (+105; bet $100 to win $105)
Series Total Games
Over/Under 5.5
Game 1 Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers (-130)
New York Yankees (+110)
Over/Under 8.5
Home Run Power
It's obvious to call home run power an X-factor in a series with some of the best long-ball hitters in Major League Baseball.
But that's exactly what we'll get in some games at Dodger Stadium, and especially with the short porch at Yankee Stadium.
The Dodgers and Yankees combined to hit 21 home runs in their respective league championship series.
Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto struck seven of New York's 10 home runs, while the Dodgers' 11 home runs were more spread out across the roster.
Four Dodgers hit multiple home runs against the New York Mets, including Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts.
Each team can alter the course of a game with a single swing, which is why home run power will be more important in this specific World Series compared to previous Fall Classics.
Contributions from Bottom Half of Order
The bottom half of each order has to come up with a few clutch hits at some point of the World Series.
Los Angeles is more equipped to deliver on that specific X-factor because Max Muncy, Enrique Hernandez and Andy Pages came up with huge hits throughout the NLCS.
Tommy Edman could be added to that group depending on Freddie Freeman's status and how manager Dave Roberts aligns his lineup. Edman hit cleanup in NLCS Game 6 with Freeman out.
Pages and Muncy each hit two home runs in the NLCS. Pages, Muncy, Hernandez and Will Smith all chipped in four RBI versus the Mets.
The Yankees' power was more consolidated at the top of the order in the ALCS win over the Cleveland Guardians.
Stanton, Soto and Aaron Judge combined for 19 of the team's 25 RBI and nine of the 10 home runs hit against Cleveland.
Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe each had six hits against Cleveland, and the latter could be one of the most important players in the series if he changes a game or two with his speed on the basepaths.
The Dodgers hold the edge with lineup depth going into the World Series, but the Yankees have Rizzo, Volpe, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and others who have the potential to make up that gap.
Bullpen Performance
No one will argue that the Yankees hold the edge in starting pitching.
The gap closes, though, when you talk about which team holds the edge in the latter innings with their bullpens.
Luke Weaver has been a revelation in the New York bullpen and Tommy Kahnle only allowed three hits in four innings in the ALCS.
Clay Holmes has had his struggles this season, so we may see less of him and more of Tim Hill, Mark Leiter Jr. and others to bridge the gap between the starters and late-inning hurlers for the Yankees.
The Dodgers bullpen was more taxed in the NLCS because they utilized two bullpen games. Every L.A. pitcher who appeared against the Mets pitched at least two innings in the series.
A combination of Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech and Evan Phillips can get the Dodgers through the final few innings of any game, but they have to reach that point first.
If all of the starters pitch to their lofty expectations, all of the relief pitchers will enter in high-pressure situations. Whichever unit handles those spots best should deliver the title to their team.
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