After an annoyingly long wait, the World Series finally gets underway on Friday night with Game 1 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees. We've spent the week breaking down how this star-studded matchup will play out, and we're ready to unveil our bets for the World Series. Buckle up, folks. This is gonna be good.

World Series betting preview

Game 1/series double: Game 1 Yankees/series Dodgers (+470 FanDuel)

We like the Dodgers to hoist the Commissioner's Trophy in the end, but their -125 price to win doesn't do it for us. Instead, let's try to juice it up with a Game 1/series double at five times the price. 

The Yankees have the starting pitching advantage in Game 1 with Gerrit Cole going up against Jack Flaherty. Cole hasn't been dominant in the postseason by any means, but Flaherty's velocity dip since the regular season is more concerning. The Dodgers right-hander gave up eight earned runs and four walks in his last start against the New York Mets. We like the Yankees to steal Game 1, and if they do, the Dodgers will be much cheaper than +470 to win the series live. 

World Series MVP - Mookie Betts (+900 DraftKings)

Shohei Ohtani is a massive +200 favorite to win World Series MVP, but Betts has been the Dodgers' best hitter all postseason. Betts leads Los Angeles in RBIs (12), home runs (four), doubles (four) and OPS (1.063) in the playoffs.

Cole will be the busiest starter for the Yankees in this series, and Betts is batting .412 with only one strikeout in 18 career plate appearances against the right-hander. This value is too good to pass up. 

Any triple in series - No (+125 DK)

This is an obscure one, but hear us out. Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium are two of the smallest, simplest venues in MLB. There isn't much room in the gaps or corners for the ball to bounce around and get away from the outfielders. We saw that throughout the regular season, as Yankee Stadium and Dodger Stadium ranked 30th and 24th, respectively, in park factor for triples.

The Yankees hit only 15 triples in the regular season to rank 28th in MLB. Ohtani and Betts are always threats to grab three bags, but 16 of L.A.'s 26 triples this season came on the road. Neither team has hit a triple in the playoffs, so we like the price here at +125. 

In the news ...

Rams upset Vikings to climb back in NFC West race — The Los Angeles Rams aren't dead yet. L.A. took down the Minnesota Vikings, 30-20, on "Thursday Night Football" to improve to 3-4 and put itself right in the thick of the NFC West race. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua returned to the field and combined for 12 catches, 157 yards and a touchdown in the win. The Rams, which were as high as 20/1 to win the NFC West a few weeks ago, are now +370 to win the division.

Thunder make opening-night statement with dominant win against Nuggets — The Oklahoma City Thunder kicked off the season with a 102-87 victory against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren led the way with 53 points, 21 rebounds and 13 assists combined, and the defense held Denver to 7-39 (17.9 percent) from three. The Thunder are +260 favorites to win the Western Conference. 

Jameson Williams suspended two games for PED violation — On Thursday, the NFL announced it has suspended Williams for two games without pay for violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances. The Detroit Lions wide receiver said, "the news came as a complete surprise" in a statement released through his agent. Williams was also suspended for four games for violating the NFL's gambling policy in 2023. The Lions are 11.5-point favorites against the Tennessee Titans this Sunday.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jack Dougherty