Today is one of the few remaining days in the Major League Baseball season that we get multiple games on the same day, as the ALCS and NLCS will have games on separate days for much of the remainder of the series. However, fans and bettors are treated to back-to-back games starting this afternoon, and we have scoured the data to provide our best bets.
Read on for our top NLCS Game 2 and ALCS Game 1 picks for Monday, October 14.
Monday's Best MLB Picks
(MLB odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
New York Mets (+120) at Los Angeles Dodgers (-142) | O/U 8.5 (-105/-115)
If New York is going to make a long series out of this NLCS, it figures to have to win its games that Sean Manaea is starting. The Mets are 16-4 in Manaea's previous 20 starts, and the way he neutralizes left-handed hitters gives the road underdogs a great chance to pull the upset.
Shohei Ohtani entered the series with a .867 OPS against southpaws compared to a 1.128 OPS against right-handed pitchers. Max Muncy and Gavin Lux batted .172 and .152 respectively against lefties, while Freddie Freeman's average against southpaws was 50 points lower than against righties.
The Dodgers are the third team with three consecutive shutouts in postseason history, and their 33 consecutive scoreless innings streak ties an all-time playoff record. However, Los Angeles did come into Game 1 with a 6.86 ERA from its starting pitchers in the postseason, while Mets starting pitchers had a 2.43 ERA, and New York's offense averaged 5.4 runs per game.
Oddsmakers seem to think that runs will be scored in this game, as the O/U is high at 8.5 runs. The Mets have all of their best bullpen arms available after not using their most high-leverage arms in yesterday's blowout, and can shorten the game with a potential six-out save from closer Edwin Diaz.
I look for New York to jump out to an early lead and nail down the victory late. Even if that is not the script, the Mets can rely on an MLB-best 45 comeback wins this season, and a 4-1 postseason record when the opponent scores first.
MLB Pick: Mets Moneyline (+120)
Cleveland Guardians (+136) at New York Yankees (-162) | O/U 7.5 (-105/-115)
The Yankees went 4-2 in six head-to-head meetings with the Guardians this year and this is the fourth Guardians-Yankees postseason meeting since 2017, with New York winning each of the previous three. However, despite that recent dominance, I expect Cleveland to steal Game 1 because of a complete lack of confidence in the Yankees starting pitcher.
New York has lost each of Carlos Rodon's last two starts, and five of nine.
It is a small sample size because Cleveland only had 144 plate appearances against southpaws in September, but it posted a collective 153 wRC+, 9.7% walk rate, and 21.5% strikeout rate in that split. And the Guardians beat the best left-handed starting pitcher in the sport in Game 5 of the ALDS, tagging Tarik Skubal for five runs after he entered the start with 24 consecutive scoreless innings.
Both bullpens were fantastic in the ALDS, but I give the nod to Cleveland's pen in this series. Guardians relievers combined for a 3.16 ERA in the Division Series, but four of those nine runs came against Emmanuel Clase, who should positively regress to the 0.61 ERA he pitched to in the regular season.
Cleveland won 64% of its games (16-9) after a day off this season, and with Aaron Judge coming off an ALDS where he batted .154 and slugged .231, that makes New York's lineup much less intimidating.
MLB Pick: Guardians Moneyline (+136)
Mike Spector is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeSpector01.