The American League Championship Series (ALCS) got underway last night with Game 1 between the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays, and now MLB fans are in for a treat with the National League Championship Series (NLCS) beginning tonight to create a small two-game doubleheader. We put more of a player prop spin on today’s best bets. Read on for my top MLB picks & predictions for Monday, October 13th.
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Monday’s Best MLB Picks & Predictions
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Seattle Mariners (+115) at Toronto Blue Jays (-140) | O/U 8.0 (-103/-118)
Cal Raleigh was not only Seattle's most consistent hitter in the American League Division Series (ALDS), but he has also had great career success at Rogers Centre, and that has me backing him to drive in a run as one of my best MLB player props today.
Raleigh batted .381 with four RBI in the ALDS, while hitting safely in all five games. That consistency made up for a general lack of power compared to his 60-home run regular season (he had one home run in the ALDS).
Raleigh entered the series with eight home runs and a career 1.195 OPS in 13 games at Rogers Centre, and backed that up with two hits, including a solo home run in Game 1.
Raleigh still drove in four runs in the ALDS despite the rest of his teammates combining to bat .184 with a .579 OPS in the previous series. If his supporting cast picks things up against Toronto's hard-throwing rookie Trey Yesavage, Raleigh should come up to the plate with plenty of traffic on the basepaths.
Pick: Cal Raleigh Over 0.5 RBI (+152)
Los Angeles Dodgers (-157) at Milwaukee Brewers (+128) | O/U 7.5 (-117/-104)
Blake Snell's first two postseason starts with the Dodgers have gone swimmingly. In 13 innings, he has pitched to a 1.38 ERA, a 0.77 WHIP and recorded 18 strikeouts.
In his last start, Snell generated a ridiculous 23 whiffs on 42 swings (55%). And his 18 strikeouts in this postseason are a big reason he has the highest postseason K/9 ever by a starting pitcher who has thrown a minimum of 60 playoff innings.
Instead of backing Snell's strikeout odds, which are juiced as high as -150 to the over, I am opting for the under on his earned runs total, given the betting lines for this matchup.
Los Angeles went 0-6 against Milwaukee in the regular season while the Brewers averaged 5.2 runs per game. But oddsmakers have made Los Angeles a steep -157 betting favorite, suggesting their confidence in a third consecutive strong start from Snell.
Pick: Blake Snell Under 1.5 Earned Runs (+101)
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01