The Los Angeles Dodgers were just five outs away from a 3-0 series deficit in the NLCS on Tuesday night.

The Houston Astros were six outs away from a 3-1 deficit in the ALCS.

Both teams rallied late to win.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, there have been 157 instances in which both LCS games were played on the same day and last night was just the fourth time that both teams won after trailing in the eighth inning or later.

Entering last night’s games, the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox were the betting favourites to reach the World Series.

A few hours later, the Dodgers and Astros were once again the favourites to get there.

Here’s the Morning Coffee for Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021.

Dodgers, Astros rally

With the Dodgers trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Cody Bellinger hit a three-run home run to tie the game 5-5.

Three batters later, Mookie Betts doubled to right centre to cash in the winning run. Los Angeles held on for the 6-5 win.

The Dodgers entered last night with an 0-81 record when trailing by three runs or more in the eighth inning or later in their postseason history.

In fact, MLB teams had lost 138 straight playoff games when trailing by three runs or more in the eighth inning or later before L.A.’s comeback win.

Each of the first three games in the NLCS have been decided by a single run.

While the Braves still lead the series 2-1, they’ve now lost 18 of their past 22 games at Dodgers Stadium. They haven’t won in that stadium since 2018.

As of this morning, the Dodgers are -210 to win Game 4 tonight with Julio Urias on the mound. L.A. is now -115 to win the NLCS.

Meanwhile, despite being a +110 underdog for Game 5 tonight, the Astros are now -135 to win the ALCS.

Boston has home-field advantage and is 5-0 coming off a loss in the postseason under manager Alex Cora. 

Still, after becoming the first team in MLB history to score seven runs with two outs in the ninth inning, oddsmakers now give Houston the edge to advance to the World Series. 

Bucks receive rings, win opener

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 32 points with 14 rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks (-1.5) beat the Brooklyn Nets 127-104 in their season opener.

In addition to going over his point and rebound totals, Giannis also went over with seven assists and two blocks.

The Greek Freak was +700 to win NBA regular season MVP entering the opener. It didn’t take long for oddsmakers to make an adjustment.

Giannis is now a co-favourite to win that award along with Luke Doncic at +500.

It seemed strange to me that anyone would have shorter odds to win MVP than Giannis heading into the season, so the sudden move isn’t a major surprise.

Meanwhile, Stephen Curry scored a team-high 21 points with 10 assists and 10 rebounds as the Golden State Warriors (+135) beat the Los Angeles Lakers 121-114.

It was Curry’s eighth career triple-double.  Jordan Poole scored 20.

Meanwhile, the Lakers fell short despite getting a combined 67 points from Anthony Davis and LeBron James.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, it’s the first time that the Lakers have lost when Davis and LeBron both scored 30 points in the same game.

They were previously 8-0 in such games, including the postseason.

Russell Westbrook had a debut to forget. He finished with just eight points, five rebounds and four assists – his first single-digit point total performance in 134 games.

Westbrook also had as many turnovers (four) as assists. 

Sure, it’s only one game, but after watching last night’s game I certainly feel better about the fact that I’m not holding any Lakers’ futures.

Habs’ slide continues

The Montreal Canadiens were the biggest surprise of last year’s playoffs with their run to the Stanley Cup Final.

While regression was expected, Tuesday night’s 5-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks certainly turned some heads.

The Sharks (+135) handed the Habs their fourth straight loss to open the season.

Montreal has been held to one goal or fewer in each of its first four games of the season.

As mentioned, oddsmakers certainly expected some regression when they listed the Canadiens at +180 to make the playoffs at the start of the season.

Following a 0-4 start, Montreal is now +310 to make the postseason.

On the other side of the spectrum, the Edmonton Oilers (-295) improved to 4-0 with a 6-5 win over the Anaheim Ducks. 

Leon Draisaitl led the way with two goals and two assists.

Connor McDavid registered a goal and two assists.

McDavid and Draisaitl are now tied with Anze Kopitar for the league lead with eight points.

The Oilers are one of six teams that has won every game so far, along with the Sharks, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues, Florida Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres.

Yes, the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres (+140) rallied from down 2-1 to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-2 last night.

With wins over the Canucks, Arizona Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens to start the season, how much stock oddsmakers putting into Buffalo’s hot start?

The Sabres opened the season at +1360 to make the playoffs. As of this morning, they are still +960 to make the postseason.