The Houston Astros head into the postseason as the consensus favorites to win the World Series.

The Astros are around +200 to win the World Series at sportsbooks around the nation. The Los Angeles Dodgers are not far behind at +250, followed by the New York Yankees at +400.

Caesars Sportsbook has the Dodgers as the favorites, and at DraftKings sportsbooks, the majority of which are located on the East Coast, more money has bet on Yankees to win the World Series than has been bet on any other team.

The biggest reported bets at William Hill sportsbooks, though, are on the Astros. William Hill reported taking a $30,000 on the Astros +650 on April 21, and a $25,000 bet on Houston on May 13.

Even with the big bets on the Astros, multiple sportsbooks said Houston remains one of their best-case scenarios.

"The Dodgers and Astros are actually are best scenarios," Tony DiTommaso, risk manager for Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology, told ESPN. "I'll take it."

The Astros and Dodgers met in the 2017 World Series, with Houston prevailing in a thrilling seven-game series.

"We would like the Astros to win it," MGM sportsbook director Jeff Stoneback said. "We're in a good position on them, and really, we should be OK as long as the Brewers or Twins don't make it in there."

At the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, the Atlanta Braves are (+1000), St. Louis Cardinals (+1200) and Twins (+1200) are next. The Nationals are +1600, followed by the Oakland A's (+2500), Brewers (+3000) and Tampa Bay Rays (+3000).

The wild-card games begin Tuesday, with the Nationals hosting the Brewers in the National League. The A's host the Rays on Wednesday in the American League wild-card game.

The Los Angeles Angels have fired Brad Ausmus as manager after just one year with the team, sources told ESPN's Buster Olney.

His status had been under review by the team's leadership in recent days, at the end of a disappointing season on the field and a tragic one off it, with the midseason death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.

The Angels finished 72-90, 35 games behind the American League West champion Houston Astros, and failed to make the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

With Ausmus' dismissal, there will be immediate speculation that his replacement will be Joe Maddon, who parted ways with the Chicago Cubs on Sunday. Before his first big league managerial job with the Tampa Bay Rays, Maddon worked for years in the Angels organization, and sources told Olney that owner Arte Moreno has high regard for Maddon.

Ausmus was hired as the franchise's first new manager in nearly two decades with Mike Scioscia's departure after the 2018 season. Scioscia managed 19 major league seasons, wound up with 1,650 career victories and led the wild-card Angels to a World Series title in 2002.

Some of Britain’s top athletics stars share insight into the events which excite them the most

While their focus is, of course, on their own performances at the IAAF World Championships in Doha, some of the GB team-members reveal which events and athletes they would be most excited to watch, if attending as a fan.

View the video on our YouTube channel to find a list of athletes interviewed and a link to each section.

Also see our channel for more behind-the-scenes content from the British team holding camp in Dubai.

Find the dedicated Doha 2019 section on our website here.

British number one Kyle Edmund has been beaten by a wildcard player at the China Open - his fifth straight defeat.

Edmund, the world number 34, was defeated 6-4 3-6 7-6 (7-5) in Beijing by Zhizhen Zhang, who is ranked 213.

Dan Evans beat another Chinese player Zhe Li 6-3 6-4, while Cameron Norrie was 7-6 (7-5) 1-0 up when opponent Cristian Garin of Chile retired.

Norrie could play Andy Murray in the second round, if the Scot overcomes Italian Matteo Berrettini on Tuesday.

Edmund has not won a match since beating Australian Nick Kyrgios at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal in August.

The 24-year-old has only won 12 matches at ATP Tour level in 2019 and he recently parted company with coach Mark Hilton.

Evans, 29, ranked 48th, will face either France's Gael Monfils or American John Isner in round two.

All-Egyptian finals line-up in San Francisco
By MATT COLES – Squash Mad Correspondent

An Egyptian quartet will feature in the finals of the Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, as Raneem El Welily, Nour El Tayeb, Mohamed ElShorbagy and Tarek Momen were all victorious in their semi final clashes in San Francisco.

El Welily and her husband Tarek Momen will be looking for their first joint title success to follow the example set by Ali Farag and his wife Nour El Tayeb in the US Open two years ago.

World No.2 Mohamed ElShorbagy was the victor over his younger brother, Marwan ElShorbagy, in the most anticipated match of the night, advancing to the final for the third consecutive year.

The siblings had met 16 times on the PSA World Tour, with the older brother Mohamed holding the 13-3 advantage, and he continued that momentum into the first game, as he restricted the World No.11 to just four points.

The second game had more ups-and-downs in it, as Mohamed took a 3-0 lead, before Marwan reeled off five straight points to lead 5-3. Mohamed then did the same to lead 8-5, before the pair became deadlocked at 10-10 as Marwan saved two match balls.

The tie-break would go all the way to 17-15, with neither player giving an inch to their sibling on court. Mohamed eventually took the victory with his seventh match ball, booking his place in the final against compatriot Tarek Momen on Monday evening.

“I am really happy to reach the final for a third consecutive year. It is not easy and it is a very different tournament this year with the best-of-three,” Mohamed ElShorbagy admitted.

“You have to play with a very different tactic for each match. Matches are short and sharp, especially in the colder conditions. I am really happy with how I played and I always think the top guys have a way of adapting and here we are, myself and Tarek, the top two seeds are in the final together.

“Tarek is one of the most inspiring players I have ever come across because he has worked on himself year on year. He was a very good junior, you expect things to happen once you go to the pro tour. That did not happen with him, but he kept working hard until it started happening for him and I respect that a lot about him.

“We are good friends off court, but we go hard at each other on the court and that is what everyone will want us to do tomorrow and hopefully we can give everyone a good match.”

Momen completed his path to the final with a polished performance against the spirited Colombian Miguel Rodriguez, winning 11-6, 11-3 in just 23 minutes, meaning he will have plenty of energy left for tonight’s showdown.

In the women’s draw, World No.5 Nour El Tayeb caused the only upset on the glass court at Embarcadero Plaza, as she defeated World No.3 Camille Serme in three games to reach the final of the Oracle NetSuite Open.

The pair had met 11 times on the PSA World Tour prior to this clash, with El Tayeb holding the 6-5 advantage coming into San Francisco, after winning their last encounter at the Tournament of Champions in New York in 2018.

This battle between the pair started off in a very tight fashion, with neither player able to break away. However, it was the Egyptian that eventually broke loose, winning the last four points of the game to take it 11-7.

Serme came back fighting in the second game, moving out into a quick-fire 6-2 lead. El Tayeb managed pull herself back to within a point, but the Frenchwoman had enough firepower to take it 11-7, forcing a decider.

The third game was always under control for the Egyptian, though, as she got an early lead and never looked like relinquishing it. The World No.5 secured the victory in just over half an hour, booking her spot in a second consecutive final to start the 2019-2020 campaign.

“First of all, it is nice to win a match on this court. I haven’t been here for the last three years, so I am happy to come out with a win in the semi finals,” El Tayeb admitted.

“I have played a lot of squash over the last couple of days. I played for an hour this morning. I just wanted to have a little bit of soreness, like Camille, who was probably feeling a little bit sore from yesterday.

“I wanted to feel a little bit of that soreness this morning and to feel like I have muscles, you know. I have been resting for over 48 hours without a match but it was worth the wait.”

El Tayeb will face World No.1 Raneem El Welily in the final of the Oracle NetSuite Open after she defeated India’s Joshna Chinappa in just 14 minutes games in the last match of the evening’s action.

The Egyptian won 10 of the first 12 points and although Chinappa saved three game balls, El Welily took it 11-5. She found herself trailing in the second at several points, but the World No.1 was able to fight back to take it 11-7 to finish the match off in quick time.

El Welily will face compatriot Nour El Tayeb in a repeat of the China Open final form earlier this month. The World No.1 will be looking for revenge after El Tayeb took victory in Shanghai.

She admitted: “I am happy to be in the final again. I have had good results so far and hopefully I can go one further tomorrow. It is still too early to think about that but I am happy with how I played today.

“I have been playing with Joshna since we were kids, we go way back. She has always had those killing shots out of nowhere and she can play them at any time. Obviously, I was prepared for a strong opponent, but I just had to be sharp today.”

As for her hopes of a double success for husband Tarek and herself, she added: “It feels good. We are just enjoying our time, trying to give our best on court. It is not about making it to finals, just trying to give it your best.

“Nour is playing well so far this season and she has had good results to start it, so obviously it will be a tough match, but I am going to be prepared for sure.” 

PSA World Tour Gold Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, Embarcadero Plaza, San Francisco, USA.

Men’s Semi Finals:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) bt [5] Marwan ElShorbagy (EGY) 2-0: 11-4, 17-15 (41m)
[2] Tarek Momen (EGY) bt [6] Miguel Rodriguez (COL) 2-0: 11-6, 11-3 (23m)
Final:
[1] Mohamed ElShorbagy (EGY) v [2] Tarek Momen (EGY)

Women’s Semi Finals:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) bt [8] Joshna Chinappa (IND) 2-0: 11-5, 11-7 (14m)
[3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) bt [2] Camille Serme (FRA) 2-1: 11-7, 7-11, 11-6 (32m)
Final:
[1] Raneem El Welily (EGY) v [3] Nour El Tayeb (EGY) 

Report by MATT COLES (PSA). Edited by ALAN THATCHER.

Pictures courtesy of PSA

It was one balmy night in Tokyo.

Welsh rugby has had many defining days over the years but this World Cup extravaganza takes some beating.

And Wales are now starting to believe. Not just the players and coaches, maybe the nation. Believe that Warren Gatland's side can actually win the World Cup.

It is an ambition that has been talked about over the past 18 months, especially during the record 14-match unbeaten run of 2018-19.

That led to Grand Slam glory and Wales were even ranked number one in the world for a couple of weeks in August.

Those hopes of World Cup success may have been still exactly that. Hope rather than expectation.

Now this one magical game in Japan has changed all that. After a 13-match losing sequence against the Wallabies, Wales have beaten Australia for a second successive game. And they have won the match that mattered.

Plaudits and comparisons will flow. Wales' greatest World Cup win? Most impressive Wales performance under Warren Gatland?

What is not in doubt is Wales are now in the driving seat to win Pool D and on a potentially easier path to the final in Yokohama on 2 November.

In front of interested England coach Eddie Jones, Wales' victory means they have maybe have avoided a quarter-final with his side, with France or Argentina lying in wait.

Magical match

First the match. And what a match. A World Cup group game should not evoke such intensity and passion especially in such humid conditions. That is meant to ramp up later in the tournament. But what the crowd of just under 50,000 witnessed in Japan's capital city will prove unforgettable.

Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards said before the match the players would remember this game for the rest of their lives. He was right.

A promising tournament had come alive when hosts Japan defeated Ireland. A day later Wales and Australia, two of the big beasts of this competition, produced this sensational spectacular in the match of the tournament so far.

For Welsh fans it was excruciating at times. Especially towards the end. For 45 minutes Wales were tactically peerless as they built up a 26-8 lead before the relentless inevitable Australia response.

Wales were reminiscent of a 400m runner who charged out of the blocks and hoped to hold onto victory by coping with the lactic acid.

Australia came up on the shoulder of Wales in the final straight but never passed them.

Gatland's side produced that decisive final flourish to provide spectacular celebration scenes from the Welsh supporters. Those fans might have been outnumbered in the stadium but they made themselves heard.

Manic Street Peachers anthems boomed around outside the stadium in Tokyo. The Welsh band held a couple of concerts in the Japan capital and there was a performance just before the match at the ground by lead singer James Dean Bradfield.

There was even some late floodlight failure to add to the drama. Wales' World Cup hopes are still shining bright though.

Statistics sometimes lie

Wales are heroic under Gatland. Their defence is resilient. These two factors are just accepted now and this Wales side once more belied the statistics.

Australia enjoyed more possession and territory, had double the amount of defenders beaten, made more clean breaks and won more penalties.

Yet they lost. Statistics can't demonstrate passion and pride and Wales delivered this when it mattered most.

There were so many key moments to dissect. Tries from Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies' interception were supplemented by the boots of Dan Biggar and Rhys Patchell to set the tone.

Who knew the drop goal was back in fashion? Wales demonstrated that was the case with Biggar and Patchell slotting over three points at the beginning of each half after patient attacking build-up.

Before their second-half recovery, Australia were rattled and fortunate captain Michael Hooper was not yellow-carded for a late high shoulder charge on the unfortunate Biggar.

Hooper was also riled by French referee Romain Poite when Samu Kerevi was penalised for a forearm smash into Patchell when the Australian centre was carrying the ball.

Hooper blamed Patchell's poor tackling technique, Poite disagreed, while Australia coach Michael Cheika moaned about the tackle laws afterwards. Wales just got on with business.

Perfect 10s

Wales overcame plenty of their own adversity. They lost Biggar whose brave but poor technical tackle on Australia giant Kerevi resulted in the Wales fly-half stopping a try but failing a head injury assessment.

Patchell has suffered concussions of his own in the last two years but his level-headed composed performance belied his relative international inexperience.

Other new heroes emerged. Dragons back-rower Aaron Wainwright set the tone with a counter-rucking turnover from the kick-off. Against Hooper and David Pocock, the 22-year-old tackled everything in green and gold and ran like a banshee for the 49 minutes he was on the field.

There was also a notable late intervention from replacement scrum-half Tomos Williams when he acrobatically kept a Matt Toomua kick to touch in play in the final minutes in the Welsh 22. Small moments, huge implications.

Williams had come on for man-of-the-match Gareth Davies. How that Wales scrum-half loves World Cups.

Davies scored the decisive try against England in Twickenham four years ago and here showed jet-heeled speed to pick off Will Genia's pass and sprint away to score.

His pace off the mark even made former Australia centre Stirling Mortlock question whether the Wales scrum-half was offside.

Captain Marvel

Old heroes proved themselves again. Hooker Ken Owens and Justin Tipuric were immense in defence in the face of the Australian onslaught inspired by the second-half introduction of Toomua at outside-half for the ineffective Bernard Foley.

Tipuric's fellow back-rower Josh Navidi continued to defy the odds with some brutal tackles.

Then there was Alun Wyn Jones. The inspirational captain commemorated becoming Wales' most capped player on his 130th Test appearance for his country by topping the tackle charts. 25 in all. A remarkable figure for a lock but this 34-year-old second-row is no ordinary player.

His record-breaking achievement was recognised after the game by an affectionate kiss from Wales wing George North.

Gatland did say afterwards Wales must celebrate the victory for the skipper. I am not sure this is exactly what Jones had in mind but even the steely skipper can get caught up in the emotion sometimes.

Wales now deserve to rest up. Fiji await on 9 October in Oita. As World Cup recesses go the recovery period is significant.

So was this remarkable result in Japan's capital city. How significant we will have wait to see. But Wales can just start believing in that World Cup dream.