World Series odds: Mets' chances of a title improving

Bovada released the latest World Series odds earlier today, and the Mets are creeping up the list, all the way to fifth.

While the Mets’ strong pitching has kept the team in the hunt all year—only the Cardinals have allowed fewer runs—the lackluster offense seemed certain to doom the team to irrelevancy. On July 30 the Mets sported a run differential of -7 despite the stellar pitching staff.

Of course we know what happened at the trade deadline, and the revamped offense has fueled a rapid climb up the standings. The team’s run differential went positive again on August 3, and currently stands at +23. More importantly, the Mets have opened up a 3.5-game lead on the floundering Nationals for the division lead.

With the pitching still dominating and the offense finally holding up its end of the bargain, bettors and oddsmakers are taking note—the Mets are not a team easily dismissed. The favorites in the new odds are the Toronto Blue Jays, who lead the majors in run differential and are riding a 10-game winning streak. The Blue Jays acquired the consensus best hitter and best pitcher available at the deadline in Troy Tulowitzki and David Price.

The aforementioned Cardinals own the best record in baseball, have the second best run differential (and are the only team within even 50 runs of Toronto), and are somehow only tied with the Dodgers for third in the odds.

The complete list from Bovada: