The Daily Sweat: After late comebacks Tuesday, will Dodgers and Astros roll to World Series?

The Houston Astros were in a lot of trouble on Tuesday night. Earlier Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers were practically finished.

After two shocking turns, the Dodgers and Astros look like they might be on a course to meet in the World Series again.

The Dodgers had an all-time rally, with Cody Bellinger's three-run homer tying the game in the bottom of the eighth and a Mookie Betts double giving them the lead later in the inning. The Dodgers avoided falling behind 3-0 to the Atlanta Braves with the miracle win. Then the Astros, down 2-1 in the eighth inning and down 2-1 in the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox, tied it in the eighth and hung seven in the ninth to even the series.

After both were close to the abyss, the Dodgers and Astros are favored at BetMGM to win their respective series. The Dodgers are -120 and the Astros are -135.

We'll see how much momentum means on Wednesday. The Red Sox are still favored in Game 5 on Wednesday. They're -125, with Chris Sale starting. The Dodgers are massive -225 favorites, the type of number you don't expect for an NLCS Game 4.

Instead of thinking about the positive momentum for the Dodgers and Astros, perhaps it's worth considering how the Braves and Red Sox might bounce back. Boston shouldn't be too nervous. They controlled Games 2 and 3 of the series. They're at home. A seven-run ninth inning was bad, but it's not like they lost a six-run lead. If you've been riding the Red Sox this series, there's no real reason to stop now.

The Braves could feel the effects. They had a shot to put the Dodgers in a 3-0 hole. Los Angeles looked like it was still hung over from a tense NLDS, but the Dodgers are alive after Tuesday's rally. We often underestimate the resiliency of teams bouncing back from awful losses, but you get the feeling that the Braves had to knock out the Dodgers when they had the defending champs on the ropes. How each team comes out Wednesday will be telling. It's still hard to take the Dodgers as such massive favorites in Game 4, though their series odds are enticing now.

Tuesday was a thriller in the MLB playoffs. Wednesday should go a long way in figuring out if we'll get that Dodgers-Astros showdown for a championship.

NBA regular-season gets into full gear

There was a fun appetizer of two games to start the NBA regular season on Tuesday. On Wednesday, 22 teams get their seasons started.

About the only bummer is No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons will be out due to an ankle injury (the new-look Chicago Bulls are 5-point favorites over Detroit). There are some fun games throughout the rest of the slate, with the spreads from BetMGM:

Pacers at Hornets (-2)
Bulls (-5) at Pistons
Wizards at Raptors (-2.5)
Celtics at Knicks (-2)
Cavaliers at Grizzlies (-7.5)
76ers (-3) at Pelicans
Rockets at Timberwolves (-5.5)
Magic at Spurs (-6)
Thunder at Jazz (-12)
Kings at Trail Blazers (-5)
Nuggets at Suns (-6)

The marquee game is probably reigning MVP Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets against the 2021 Western Conference champion Suns. The Nuggets might be getting too many points in that one. Another interesting game is how the 76ers, now without suspended Ben Simmons, react against the Pelicans.

It's good to have the NBA back.

Who cashed tickets on Tuesday?

The baseball comebacks weren't the only comebacks on Tuesday. The Golden State Warriors, trailing for most of their season opener against the Lakers, stormed back in the fourth quarter to win behind Steph Curry's triple-double. The Warriors won as 3.5-point underdogs. Russell Westbrook scored just eight points. It could take a while for the Lakers' pieces to fit together.

In the other NBA game, the Milwaukee Bucks got their championship rings and then got an emphatic win over the Brooklyn Nets, 127-104. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and looks like a decent bet for another MVP.

What's the best bet?

I'll go with the New York Knicks as 2-point favorites over the Boston Celtics. The Knicks were my favorite win total play of the season, so I need to ride it out. There's some regression coming for the Knicks, but it's still a team that won't go away and improved itself in the offseason. I'm not sure quite yet what to make of the Celtics.