MLB · 11 months ago

MLB Betting Guide for Oct. 2: Spoiled by Postseason Baseball

Ben DiGiacomo

Host · Writer

MLB Betting Guide for Oct. 2: Spoiled by Postseason Baseball

Day one of the MLB postseason was a thrill as all four games kept us on the edge of our seats throughout the day and night, and we’re excited to do it all again today. Let’s break it all down.

Kicking off the day, the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers will meet this afternoon, with the Tigers looking to eliminate the Astros in their building. Yesterday, Tarik Skubal delivered an absolute gem of an outing, and the offense had some timely advantage, giving their bullpen enough cushion to hold on for the win. Today, AJ Hinch is looking to win with a by-committee approach, and I’m sure we’ll see several pitchers take the mound across the game for the Tigers. If the Tigers’ bats can get on Hunter Brown early, this one may be over quickly.

Next, the Kansas City Royals will be looking to eliminate the Baltimore Orioles in Camden Yards after the Royals pulled out a narrow 1-0 win yesterday. It feels like many underestimated the Royals’ arms and overestimated the strength of the Orioles’ offense as we saw the O’s appear completely outmatched by Cole Ragans. It’s hard to imagine anything changes today with Seth Lugo having the advantage over Zach Eflin on the bump. The O’s offense will need a resurgence, but I don’t know how I can expect that, as the Orioles’ body of work in the weeks leading into the postseason has been less than impressive.

Later on, the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers will hopefully deliver us a ton of offense again after the Mets pulled off an 8-4 win yesterday. The Mets’ bats stayed hot, and the Brewers’ arms just didn’t have it yesterday, but all season, the Brewers have been very resilient and always found ways to bounce back when no one expected them to. Tonight, the Mets will be throwing Sean Manaea on the mound, and while he’s been their best starter in the second half of the season, he hasn’t looked that sharp as of late. Most recently, he allowed six runs in not even four innings of work against the Brewers last weekend, so I’m not ready to uncork the Mets’ champagne just yet.

To close out the night, the San Diego Padres will look to finish off the Atlanta Braves after the Padres in what felt to be more of a rout than the 4-0 box score suggests. The Braves showed no ability to string together hits as they continually left runners in scoring position, putting together the type of outing that’s hard to bounce back from on the road. Max Fried will take the ball for the Braves tonight, and he should have a narrow advantage over Joe Musgrove, but at the end of the day, these Padres have been far too hot to pick against.

It should be a great day of baseball, so stick with SportsGrid throughout the day to keep you covered on all the action. Let’s ride!

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MLB Betting Guide for October 2

Game 1 Recaps: Tigers-Astros | Royals-Orioles | Mets-Brewers | Braves-Padres

2:32 p.m ET: Detroit Tigers @ Houston Astros (Tigers Lead 1-0)

Run Line: Astros -1.5 | Moneyline: Astros -174 | Total: 7.5
Where to Watch: ABC | Location: Minute Maid Park (Houston, TX)
Weather Notes: Dome

Starting Pitching Matchup: Tyler Holton (ERA: 2.19; K/9: 7.35) vs. Hunter Brown (ERA: 3.49; K/9: 9.48)

SportsGrid’s Best Bets: Tigers +1.5 (4-Stars) | Tigers ML (5-Stars, +146) | OVER 7.5 (1-Star)

SportsGrid’s Predicted Game Outcome: Tigers by 0.5 Runs

SportsGrid’s Top Props: Kerry Carpenter OVER 0.5 RBIs (5-Stars, +210) | Jose Altuve OVER 1.5 Total Bases (5-Stars, +115)

4:05 p.m ET: Kansas City Royals @ Baltimore Orioles (Roylas Lead 1-0)

Run Line: Orioles -1.5 | Moneyline: Orioles -162 | Total: 7.5
Where to Watch: ESPN | Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Baltimore, MD)
Weather Notes: Clear, winds blowing in from center mildly.

Starting Pitching Matchup: Seth Lugo (ERA: 3.01; K/9: 7.88) vs. Zach Eflin (ERA: 3.59; K/9: 7.29)

SportsGrid’s Best Bets: Royals +1.5 (2-Stars) | Royals ML (4.5-Stars, +136) | OVER 7.5 (5-Stars)

SportsGrid’s Predicted Game Outcome: Royals by 0.2 Runs

SportsGrid’s Top Props: Seth Lugo OVER 4.5 Ks (5-Stars, +128) | Jordan Westburg OVER 0.5 RBIs (5-Stars, +175)