Marcell Ozuna @ San Diego Padres
- Ozuna has recorded three doubles in 20 plate appearances against Padres starter Joe Musgrove.
Yordan Alvarez vs Kansas City Royals
- Alvarez has been Houston’s most productive hitter against lefties this year, averaging .362 against southpaws to go with 10 HR.
Salvador Perez @ Baltimore Orioles
- Perez has some nice career numbers against O’s starter Zach Eflin, including a home run that registered over 98 MPH off the end of the bat.
NYM Leads 1-0
Sean Manaea is back on the mound in Milwaukee on Thursday for Game 2 against the Brewers.
The Mets pounced in the middle innings on Wednesday on their way to a surprising 8-4 win, led by Jesse Winker’s triple and some clutch hitting from Mark Vientos.
Manaea was hit hard for five earned runs across 3.2 innings of work against the Brew Crew last week, so this is a slightly favourable matchup for the home side given they finished the season ranked 12th in runs scored against lefties.
That said, Brewers starter Frankie Montas gave up a pair of runs in a short outing against the Mets last week himself, so there’s every reason to believe this could be a high-scoring game with so much on the line.
In terms of the series, the Mets will be glad they were able to rest star closer Edwin Diaz yesterday after the 30-year-old threw multiple innings earlier in the week.
Whether that proves the difference remains to be seen, but with the Mets lineup swining a hot bat, and the Brewers still stuck in a drought that has plagued them over the last fortnight, we could be looking at a stunning two-game sweep.
- Tips: Back the Mets to Win, Over 7.5 Runs
SD Leads 1-0
The Braves drew the short straw in the Wild Card round, traveling to the West Coast on short rest to face a healthy and loaded Padres lineup.
Austin Riley and Ronald Acuna Jr’s absence was always going to make this a tough ask for the visitors, while the way their rotation has worked out has also seen the likes of Spencer Schwellenbach require some rest.
Fortunately, Max Fried is scheduled to start Game 2, good news with the lefty coming off an eight-inning shutout against the Royals last week that involved nine strikeouts and two walks.
Looking at the numbers, Fried has made only two starts at Petco Park, and both have been exceptional.
The veteran 30-year-old threw a complete game shutout against the Friars way back in 2021, before returning two years later where he gave up a grand total of zero earned runs across five frames.
Those numbers are by no means a fluke, so based on what we saw from his stuff last week against Kansas City, I feel confident backing the Braves on Fried’s arm.
- Tip: Back the Braves to Win @ $2.00
- Player Pick: Max Fried Over 4.5 Strikeouts @ $1.85