Through the LCS round of the MLB Playoffs, after going 116-86 (57% O/U) on such plays during the regular season, PredictionMachine.com is 5-2 with highlighted, "normal+" over/under picks. While we present the chance that each team wins overall and in 4, 5, 6 or 7 games below, World Series game-by-game picks will only be available to anyone who has purchased either the MLB Playoffs Picks Package or the World Series Picks Package.

When we ran the entire playoffs before the postseason started, this actual World Series matchup - Detroit Tigers vs. San Francisco Giants - occurred 7.9% of the time. One of the main points made from the original projections was that we had both three seeds winning outright over the two seeds in each league. 

As of right now, all starters have not been announced for the first four games, but we know Game 1 (Justin Verlander vs. Barry Zito) and can make some assumptions on the others based on the way rotations have been utilized thus far. 

To come up with this analysis, the Predictalator uses current rosters and strength-of-schedule and ballpark-adjusted team and player stats to play, one plate appearance at a time, every series 50,000 times before it's actually played. The percentages in the table below represent the team's likelihood of winning in that many games.

The Detroit Tigers are favorites in the World Series based on 50,000 simulations, bringing home the title 55.5% of the time. At this time, odds are not available to wager on the series, though implications have been that Detroit would be around a -150 favorite. At that rate, 60% confidence would be required to wager on the Tigers, hinting that the value will likely actually be in San Francisco at "plus" (underdog) odds.

Home field advantage obviously plays a role in helping the Giants' value, but so does a healthy lineup, a ballpark that fits the team, solid defense and one of the best pitching staffs in the league. Ultimately though, despite some significant weaknesses - like defense and bullpen depth - the Tigers' strength at the top of the rotation and in the middle of the lineup gives Detroit the edge (especially since the Tigers can get Verlander in to start multiple games if necessary). 

The most likely scenario is the Tigers winning the World Series in seven games, which occurs 16.2% of the time.  Every possible type of series win happens at least 2,750 times in 50,000 simulations. The series goes to seven games 30.5% of the time and gets to at least six games 59.8% of the time.

It's difficult to speculate on player awards where human voting is included, and I can't give away too much with respect to the game-by-game picks, but Justin Verlander has appears to have the best chance - by far - of any player in this series to stand out enough to win the MVP.

San Francisco - Detroit Series Odds (based on 2012 World Series played 50,000 times)