Blue Jays vs. Dodgers World Series Game 7 prediction, odds and best bets: Which star rises to the occasion?

We're here. Game 7. Everything is on the line. We haven't seen a Game 7 in the World Series since 2019 and hopefully it lives up to that one, which had a game-changing home run hit the foul pole in the seventh inning. In true baseball playoffs fashion, it wasn't close to the biggest star, either. Who might step up tonight? It's anyone's guess. 

We do get a pitching matchup between two likely future Hall of Famers in Shohei Ohtani (though his pitching alone wouldn't be Hall of Fame level) and Max Scherzer. That hasn't happened often in Game 7. Jack Morris and John Smoltz in 1991, Sandy Koufax and Jim Kaat in 1965 and Waite Hoyt vs. Jesse Haines in 1926 were the others. Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling in 2001 were both Hall of Fame-caliber pitchers, but, well ... 

Anyway, let's dive into some picks for the night. Lines via DraftKings.

Blue Jays +1.5 (-136)

I'm staying here. This hit in four of the first five World Series games and we were a ball wedged in the wall away from cashing this one last night. It was, as they say, a bad beat. 

I'm in the same spot I've been in the last three games. I think the Blue Jays are going to win, but I won't be surprised if the Dodgers pull it off. I don't think the Dodgers offense is going to explode or anything, so if they do win, I like having the option of a one-run Dodgers win cashing this. If one of the two offenses does go totally off, it's likely the Blue Jays and we're covered here. 

George Springer over 1.5 H+R+RBI (+102)

Springer is playing through pain, but it's cool. He's a finely-tuned professional athlete and this is Game 7. He went 2 for 4 with an RBI in Game 6 and that would've cashed this bet. I love him hitting atop the Blue Jays' batting order, meaning there's a chance this cashes in the first inning with a hit and a run scored. He could always hit a home run, which he's done to lead off the game plenty of times before, and he has 23 postseason home runs, including some monster homers in elimination games. 

Oh, and as a bonus, he's 7 for 15 with two home runs in his career against Ohtani. I know Ohtani won't be in very long, but Springer will get two looks at him and has had success before.

Mookie Betts over 1.5 H+R+RBI (-119)

He got the big hit in Game 6 and I'm riding with a gut feeling here in Game 7. The Blue Jays are not going to let Ohtani beat them at the plate and Betts will likely be slotted in the four hole again. He's likely to have several RBI opportunities just like he did in Game 6. His swing on the two-RBI single was encouraging and he's simply too good a hitter to continue to hit as poorly as he'd been hitting. Similar to Ohtani on the mound, I don't expect Scherzer to have an overly long outing, but Betts will get multiple looks at him and he went 2 for 3 with a home run against him Aug. 8. He flew out twice against Scherzer in Game 3. He sees the ball well against him, as he's only struck out once in 14 career plate appearances.