Baseball season hits its final stretch

The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees open a series in the Bronx on Friday night (7:05pm ET, NESN/YES), but the BoSox would need a miracle to catch their rival for the AL East title over the final seven days of the regular season.

In fact, Boston is still trying to lock down the AL's Wild Card berth as baseball enters its final stretch, with the Tampa Bay Rays and the Los Angeles Angels still in contention for that spot. However, Boston still sits high on the World Series odds board at Oddsmaker right now; here's a look at how everyone stacks up heading into the weekend on the MLB futures list . . .

Philadelphia Phillies (Odds to win World Series: EVEN)
The runaway NL East division champions will have the top record in the National League heading into the playoffs. Their pitching staff is so good that they can send rookie hurler Vance Worley (11-2, 2.85 ERA) to the bullpen for the postseason.

New York Yankees (Odds to win World Series: +200)
The team with the top record in the American League, the Yankees have taken advantage of Boston's recent struggles to lock down the AL East. They'll help to decide the AL Wild Card with season-ending sets against the BoSox and Rays.

Boston Red Sox (Odds to win World Series: +400)
The Red Sox looked like a lock to make the playoffs a couple weeks ago, but now they'll have to sweat it out for a Wild Card berth over the last stretch of the season.

Milwaukee Brewers (Odds to win World Series: +400)
The Brewers are on the verge of clinching the NL Central division title, and they'll set up their playoff rotation while cruising through the last week of the season.

Detroit Tigers (Odds to win World Series: +600)
Detroit has clinched the AL Central division crown, and they'll ride of the arm of slam-dunk Cy Young winner Justin Verlander (24-5, 2.29 ERA) into the playoffs.

Texas Rangers (Odds to win World Series: +600)
The Rangers have faltered a couple times over the past two months, but their recent surge has them in position to clinch the AL West division this weekend.

Arizona Diamondbacks (Odds to win World Series: +800)
Arizona can take care of business in the NL West division standings directly this weekend, as they play a three-game series against the second-place Giants.

Atlanta Braves (Odds to win World Series: +1000)
The Braves still have some work cut out for them as they try to nail down the NL's Wild Card berth; they get the Nats this weekend then have to host the Phillies.

Tampa Bay Rays (Odds to win World Series: +1200)
The schedule isn't kind to the Rays down the stretch, but by taking three of four from Boston last week they're still in position to overtake them for the Wild Card.

St. Louis Cardinals (Odds to win World Series: +3000)
The Cards will be scoreboard-watching the Braves as they try to keep their NL Wild Card hopes alive. St. Louis plays the Cubs and Astros over the next seven days.

Los Angeles Angels (Odds to win World Series: +3500)
The Angels are now closer to the AL Wild Card than they are to the Rangers in the AL West standings, so they'll need to leap over both the Red Sox and the Rays.

San Francisco Giants (Odds to win World Series: +7500)
The defending champions don't have any room for error in the NL West or the NL Wild Card race � they need to keep winning and hope for a lot of help from others.