San Diego Padres vs. New York Mets
By any measure, the Padres have the worst pitching staff in the postseason, and they are the league’s worst at hitting fastballs – a bad combination for October baseball, especially in Queens. Sure, Scherzer and deGrom have stumbled lately but great pitching shines in the postseason. We’ll take our chances with Buck, Max Scherzer, Edwin Diaz, and a resurgent Jacob deGrom and you should too. Mets in 2!
You can get the Mets to win this series at (-160) from our friends at BetOnline Sportsbook.
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Cleveland Guardians
Don’t look for a lot of scoring in this one – and the Rays are OK with that. The Rays lack depth in their starting pitching, but they have talent at the top in McClanahan and Glasnow. That will be enough to hold off Guardians bats which haven’t really recovered from a September swoon.
Pitching and defense will get it done for Tampa Bay, but they better get it done in the first 2 games. We’re cutting against the grain here. Visiting Rays in 2!
Philadelphia Phillies vs. St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis won 65% of their games at home this year – 4th best in the National League – while the Phillies are sub .500 on the road. A bad Phillies bullpen and some ghosts from 2011 cost them the series. This one goes the distance, but the Cards pitching depth at home sweet home take it in 3
Get the Cardinals to win (-125) in their Wildcard series against the Phillies here at BetOnline.
Seattle Mariners vs. Toronto Blue Jays
M stands for Mojo. The acquisition of Louis Castillo, the emergence of Julio Rodriguez, and the longest playoff drought in baseball make the Mariners our pick in this series. Toronto’s Manoa is tough, but the rotation after that is not so much. The Blue Jays’ offense has been streaky all season. Forget the past, the M’s starting pitching – Castillo, Ray, and Gilbert – are the real difference here. The Mariners exercise the demons and win this series on the road in 3.
Go to Bovada and take the underdog Mariners at (+135) to survive and advance against the Blue Jays.
