The old saying is that a team can’t clinch a playoff berth with a strong April, but it can essentially end its postseason chances with a horrid first month of baseball. Thus, you can probably write off struggling 2018 clubs like the Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres still competing in October. Not that they were ever expected to be very good.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Earlier this spring, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the +500 favorites to win the club’s first title since that Kirk Gibson/Orel Hershiser team in 1988 upset Oakland in the Fall Classic. The Dodgers have been uneven in the early going, however, and appear to miss All-Star third baseman Justin Turner more than most experts expected.

Los Angeles is too talented to keep struggling much longer and is still at +500 on those MLB futures but is now trailing the team that beat it in the 2017 World Series, the Houston Astros (+425).