The two most storied MLB franchises will clash in the World Series for the 12th time beginning on Friday at Dodger Stadium.

Most online sportsbooks have opened the Los Angeles Dodgers as small favourites (around -125 to -130 odds) over the New York Yankees to win the Fall Classic.

Los Angeles dispatched the New York Mets in six games to capture the National League pennant, while the Yankees needed just five games to prevail over the Cleveland Guardians to earn the honour of representing the American League in the World Series.

These two teams last met in the Fall Classic back in 1981, when the Dodgers prevailed in six games. However, the Yankees have taken eight of the previous 11 clashes in the World Series between the teams.

These two teams played three games at Yankee Stadium during the regular season, with the Dodgers taking two of them while outscoring New York 17-10 in the process. Los Angeles was favoured on the moneyline in two of the three contests and the teams combined to play over the posted total twice in the series.

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25 (time TBD) @ Dodger Stadium
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26 (time TBD) @ Dodger Stadium
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28 (time TBD) @ Yankee Stadium
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29 (time TBD) @ Yankee Stadium
Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 30 (time TBD) @ Yankee Stadium
Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Nov. 1 (time TBD) @ Dodger Stadium
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 2 (time TBD) @ Dodger Stadium

Best bet: Players at eight positions have won World Series MVP, but none more than pitchers with 29 selections. However, only two pitchers (Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner) have claimed MVP honours over the past 10 years, as the general usage of the starting pitcher continues to diminish in the postseason during the analytics era. And considering the high-octane offences of both of these teams, it seems unlikely a pitcher will prevail this year.

If you like the Dodgers to win the Fall Classic, it’s hard to look past Ohtani, who has the shortest odds on the board at +200. There’s not much value in buying in at that price, though, so why not look to Mookie Betts at +850 odds? The two-time World Series champion has played in 69 career postseason games, and he’s having a great run this year with a .295/.404/.659 slash line with four homers and 12 RBIs.

If you believe the Yankees will take the series, take a look at Soto at +500 odds to claim MVP honours. He’s one of the few Yankees with World Series experience (Anthony Rizzo and Gerrit Cole are the others), and he has a .333 batting average with three homers and seven RBIs in seven career World Series games. The outfielder is having another incredible postseason this year, boasting a 1.106 OPS through nine games. He’s also in a contract year, and a World Series MVP nod would be the icing on the cake heading into a free agency period he should cash in handsomely on.

As you can see, oddsmakers believe this series will be competitive and go at least six games. And it’s hard to argue against that, as this World Series has all the ingredients to be a classic. At just +190 odds for the series to go deep, it’s best to pass on these props and put your money elsewhere.

I’m going to side with the underdog here and back the Yankees to win the series at +105 odds.

They have the edge in the starting pitching department due to Los Angeles missing several key hurlers to injury, including Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Dustin May, Clayton Kershaw, and Tony Gonsolin. That’s a lot of key arms, and although the Dodgers have managed with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Jack Flaherty and Walker Buehler in the playoff rotation to this point, I think the lack of starting pitching depth will hurt them when it matters most. Both bullpens have been relatively solid to this point in October and essentially cancel each other out.

The health of Freddie Freeman, who has missed the last three games for the Dodgers with a lingering ankle injury, is also a serious concern moving forward. He’ll benefit from the week off leading up to Friday, but Los Angeles needs him to produce at a high level in order to keep up with New York’s potent bats that are firing on all cylinders entering the series.

Stanton and Soto have carried the Yankees offensively this October, but Gleyber Torres (.400 OBP) and Anthony Volpe (.459 OBP) are also having excellent postseasons. Judge is hitting just .161 this postseason, and if he can heat up, it’s going to make life miserable for opposing pitchers.

No matter who prevails, this should be a World Series to remember.