The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are still the favorite to win the 2021 World Series despite currently running second in the National League West Division. The Dodgers are given +300 odds to repeat.
The team they trail in their own division – the San Francisco Giants – recently saw their World Series odds drop dramatically. It’s almost hard to believe that you could get the Giants to win it all at +2000 or even higher at the beginning of June.
But, are the Giants a legitimate World Series contender?
SF Giants Hitting
At the beginning of the 2021 season, the Giants were listed as high as +2800 to win this year’s World Series. They were not the favorite to win the NL West either. Most of the reasoning behind that was a lineup that was viewed as so-so.
Fast-forward to roughly 65 games into the season and the Giants lineup is doing just fine. In fact, San Francisco is fifth in runs per game (4.97) and hits .243 collectively which is 11th in the majors. Buster Posey hits .328 with 12 homers and shortstop Brandon Crawford has a team-high 16 dingers and a .260 batting average. Mike Yastrzemski is a rising star and Brandon Belt has 11 homers. The Giants offense is fine.
Take a recent seven-day stretch in June from the 16th to the 22nd . The Giants owned the best batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS in MLB.
SF Giants Pitching
If there was any reason to suspect the Giants might be a contender in the NL West, it was their pitching rotation. Said rotation might be the very best in baseball. All five starters own a winning record led by Kevin Gausman (8-1) and Anthony DeSclafani (8-2).
The combined ERA of the entire pitching staff is 3.27. That ties the Giants with the Dodgers for third- best in the league. L.A., of course, is supposed to have the best staff in baseball with three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw, last year’s NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler, and Julio Urias.
One of the reasons why the Giants own a three-game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West is their bullpen. San Francisco ranks fifth in bullpen ERA (3.43) compared to L.A. (3.76) which is tenth overall.
Will the Giants Win the World Series or Division?
So, are the Giants really a contender to win the NL West and the World Series? The answer to both questions is yes.
San Francisco has proven they are certainly capable of winning both their division and the World Series. The big reason why, of course, is pitching. Late-season baseball is all about pitching. The Giants have five capable starters and their bullpen is one of the best in baseball.
The only issue is the Dodgers. While the Giants own a 5-4 record so far this season against the Padres, San Francisco is 3-4 against the Dodgers. Interestingly, the Giants were swept at home by L.A. and then won three games in a four-game series on the road against the Dodgers.
The Giants have eight games remaining in the first half of the season against Oakland, the Dodgers, and St. Louis. Then, they will start the second half with 16 of their first 19 games against the Cardinals, Dodgers, and Astros. There are also six games against the Mets, another three-game series with Oakland as well as Milwaukee and the Cubs on the second-half schedule.
They may falter at some point which could cost the Giants the division. San Francisco is given +400 odds to win the NL West. The better bet is on the Giants to win the World Series. The odds have dropped to +1550 which still offers plenty of value on a team that has a legitimate shot of taking over the postseason.
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