The Cardinals picked up a win against the Brewers, adding some distance to the NL wild card race for the first time in a long time. As a result, we’ll have to turn to the AL wild card for our excitement fix today. That’s right, we’re going to look at Cleveland and Oakland today, and take a little peak at the surging Diamondbacks, with odds thanks to Bovada.
The Indians (-1.5 +105 RL, -162 ML) visit New York to face the Mets (+1.5 -125 RL, +141 ML), as both teams fight to be in the playoff picture. The Indians will be hoping that Shane Bieber (12-5, 3.27 ERA) has settled down a bit after getting hit hard in recent outings. They’ll face Steven Matz (7-7, 4.33 ERA), who’s been terrific since moving to the Mets. This looks like it’ll be a fun game to watch, and I ultimately like the Mets to pick up the win, with the under (O/U 8.0).
Oakland (+1.5 -125 RL, +125 ML) plays host to the other team from New York (+1.5 -125 RL, +125 ML) as they chase Cleveland and the Rays in the Wild Card race. Homer Bailey (10-8, 5.22 ERA) gets the start against a Yankees team he handled very well in April. The Bronx Bombers respond with Domingo German (16-2, 3.96 ERA) who goes for his eighth straight wins. Expect a big homecoming party for Aaron Judge, and I think the Yankees will try to reverse their April fortunes by shelling Bailey. Pick the Yankees and the over (O/U 9.5).
And because I can’t go four paragraphs without gushing about the NL Wild Card race, today let’s look at the Diamondbacks (-1.5 +125 RL, -153 ML), who are somehow still only 4 games behind the Cubs. They face the Colorado Rockies (+1.5 -145 RL, +133 ML) who look like a great candidate to beat up on and climb right into the heart of the race. Alex Young (4-3, 3.98 ERA)gets the start for the D-Backs, and he really should have an easy enough time taking care of the Rockies, as he no-hit them in his first outing against them (although being pulled due to pitch count). They face Kyle Freeland (3-10, 7.09 ERA), who has allowed 18 runs in 3 games against Arizona this year. Bet hard on the Diamondbacks here and the over, this game should be a fun, sloppy one. (O/U 9.5)
Tonin’s record yesterday: 6-3
Tonin’s record this season: 77-59
