We have four postseason games in the MLB on Saturday, October 15, and this ALDS tilt in Cleveland is one of them, so make sure you don’t overlook the best Yankees vs. Guardians betting pick and odds.
New York and Cleveland will play the third of a best-of-five ALDS series at Progressive Field, and the Yankees are slight -115 moneyline favorites on Caesars NY Sportsbook, while the total is set at 6.5 runs. These AL rivals have faced on six occasions this season before the playoff series, and the Yankees won five of them. The current series is tied at 1-1.
Yankees lost Game 2 after two bloop hits
The New York Yankees didn’t have problems in the opening game of the ALDS against the Cleveland Guardians at home and won 4-1, but things were quite different in Game 2. Namely, the Yankees lost 4-2 after allowing two runs in the 10th inning, so the series is now tied at 1-1 and will move to Cleveland.
New York took an early 2-0 lead through Giancarlo Stanton’s two-run homer in the 1st inning, but the Yankees were left scoreless for the remainder of the tilt. Aaron Judge, the AL home-run record holder, was 0-5 with four strikeouts, while Gleyber Torres and Isiah Kiner-Falefa were the only Yanks with a multi-hit outing. Nestor Cortes started the first playoff game of his career and pitched for 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Jameson Taillon took a loss after surrendering a couple of runs in the 10th.
Luis Severino (7-3) is named a starter for Game 3 of the ALDS clash with Cleveland on Saturday. The 28-year-old right-hander started 19 games this season and owns a solid 3.18 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, and 112/30 K/BB ratio across 102.0 innings of work.
Oscar Gonzalez helped the Guardians to tie the series
The Cleveland Guardians entered Game 2 of the ALDS in New York as underdogs, but even though they were 2-0 down early in the game, they proved the quality with a 4-2 victory. The pressure is now on the Yankees as the series moves to Ohio, but the Guardians now have to win Game 3 if they want to have decent chances of beating the favored rival.
Andres Gimenez hit an RBI single in the 4th inning before Amed Rosario tied the game at 2-2 with a solo homer in the 5th. The result remained 2-2 until the top of the 10th inning when Oscar Gonzalez hit an RBI and Jose Ramirez scored, while Josh Naylor drove in Gonzalez in the next at-bat with an RBI double to make it 4-2. Shane Bieber allowed two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and three walks across 5.2 innings. Emmanuel Clase was credited with a win after pitching for 2.1 scoreless innings.
Triston McKenzie (11-11) will start for the Guardians in Game 3 of the ALDS against New York on Saturday. The 25-year-old right-hander started 30 games this year and has a 2.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 190/44 K/BB ratio over 191.1 innings.
Trends:
New York:
- 7-15 in their last 22 playoff road games
Cleveland:
- 4-0 in the last four home games
- 5-1 in the last five vs. American League East rivals
- 6-1 in the last seven games with the total set at 6.5 or lower
New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians Pick
Although Triston McKenzie is not as experienced as Luis Severino in the postseason, I am leaning toward Cleveland in this matchup. McKenzie showed his worth in the previous round against Tampa Bay when he pitched for six scoreless innings. Also, against the Yankees this year, McKenzie allowed just one hit across 7.0 shutout innings to get a victory in his lone start. The home-field advantage is now on the Guardians’ side, and I am backing them to get a W here. Luis Severino should be worried about Jose Ramirez, who sent him three times over the fence and has five RBIs in 16 at-bats in his career.
Pick: Take the Guardians to win (+105)
The Total
I expect another low-scoring affair after the rivals combined for five and six runs, respectively, in the opening two games of the series. Severino didn’t surrender more than two runs in each of his previous three starts, while that was the case in each of McKenzie’s last four starts. Also, McKenzie allows just .167 BA in 42 at-bats against the Yankees’ batters. Under is 6-1 in the Yankees’ last seven overall; Under is 5-1 in New York’s previous six games vs. a right-handed starter, while Under is 6-0 in the Guardians’ last six vs. American League East opponents.
Pick: Go Under 6.5 runs (-110)
