Both championship series are back in action with the Rays visiting the Guardians in Cleveland and the Brewers hosting the Dodgers in Milwaukee, and the betting picks center on two starting pitchers’ workloads rather than who wins outright.
Tampa Bay enters Cleveland having won Game 2 to tie the ALCS after dropping home-field advantage in Game 1. The Guardians are just 1-2 at home this postseason. Griffin Jax starts for the Rays; he posted a 3.53 ERA and 1.18 WHIP this season and threw two scoreless-plus innings in his lone postseason outing, allowing one earned run. He didn’t face Cleveland in the regular season but has held the Guardians to 14 hits in 61 career at-bats. Jose Ramirez has hit him well, five-for-17, while Steven Kwan is 0-for-10 with three strikeouts against him.
Cleveland managed just one run in Game 2, on a Chase DeLauter double to right field that brought the go-ahead run to the plate without bringing him home. Gavin Williams starts Game 3 for the Guardians, making his fourth postseason appearance. He finished second in the majors in strikeouts this year and has struck out 24 hitters over 11.2 innings across three playoff outings. Against Tampa Bay earlier this season he struck out nine over 7.2 innings, allowing five hits and one unearned run.
Williams has thrown 210 pitches this postseason already, which argues against a deep outing in Game 3. The pick is Williams under 6.5 strikeouts, with the Rays having struck out only 32 times in five postseason games so far.
Dodgers on the brink in Milwaukee
Los Angeles trails the Brewers 3-0 in the NLCS after losing Game 3 on its own home turf, a result that pushed the Dodgers to the edge of elimination. Los Angeles has scored first in two of the three games and led in all three, only to watch Milwaukee answer and pull ahead. The Dodgers have struggled badly with runners in scoring position.
The Brewers had not named a Game 4 starter, but Tyler Glasnow is set to pitch. Against Atlanta earlier this postseason, Glasnow went 4.2 innings and allowed one hit. Dave Roberts left Blake Snell in too long in the previous game, a decision that cost Los Angeles. With a quicker hook expected for Glasnow, the pick is under 14.5 outs recorded. A secondary pick is William Contreras under 0.5 hits in the game; Contreras has been hitting well this postseason, but Glasnow has dominated him historically.
