For the Los Angeles Dodgers, an 0-2 hole in the NLCS was a challenge.

For bettors, it was an opportunity.

The Dodgers dropped the first two games of its series against the Atlanta Braves. Los Angeles was the favorite to win the World Series from the start of the offseason to this week, when the Tampa Bay Rays took pole position. When the Braves went up 0-2, the Dodgers’ odds finally shifted to profitable levels.

Many bettors swooped in and grabbed the Dodgers to win the NLCS and World Series. In Game 3, it looked like a great investment. Most of the money is back on the Dodgers for Thursday’s Game 4, too.

Dodgers got an ‘avalanche’ of futures bets

The Dodgers went nuts in Game 3, scoring 11 runs in the first inning and cruising to a win. That’s the dominant team we’d seen all season and for the first two rounds of the playoffs.

Before Game 3, the Dodgers were about +400 to win the World Series and a touch under +200 to win the NLCS over the Braves. Bettors didn’t let that chance pass them by.

“[Game 3] is great news for bettors after an avalanche of money came in on LA to win the World Series and the NLCS when the Dodgers were down 0-2,” BetMGM sportsbook manager Matt Cosgriff said.

Future odds can shift on every win and loss, especially deep in the playoffs. That offers up value if you believe in a team being able to dig out of a series hole.

Even though the Braves were still up 2-1 in the series, the Dodgers and Braves were both +240 to win the World Series before Game 4 at BetMGM. The NLCS odds were even, at -110 for both teams.

Two six-figure bets are on the Dodgers

Included in the Dodgers’ money were two big plays made at BetMGM on Wednesday before Game 3: $100,000 to win $400,000 if the Dodgers win the World Series, and $200,000 to win $380,000 on the Dodgers winning the National League title.

The Dodgers are a fairly shocking -223 favorite for Game 4 against a quality Braves team. It hasn’t mattered. BetMGM said 68.1% of the money bet on Game 4 is on the Dodgers.

Los Angeles will start Clayton Kershaw, who had to be scratched from Game 2 due to a bad back. Even if Kershaw has been up and down in his playoff career, he’s a future Hall of Famer with baseball’s best lineup backing him up.

This seems like a pivotal game in the NLCS and the 2020 season as a whole, given the Dodgers’ dominance all year. Without any “Thursday Night Football” this week, bettors will be watching to see if the Dodgers can get one step closer to a title.