The Wild Card came and went without us seeing a Winner Take All matchup. But now we turn our attention towards the Divisional Round matchups which kick off today.
American League
Texas Rangers (+100) @ Baltimore Orioles (-122)
*Odds according to FanDuel
The Texas Rangers had an impressive performance down in Tampa where they easily eliminated the Rays for the playoffs. The Rangers starting pitching had phenomenal performances from both Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi. The Orioles have been off since last Sunday and have had the chance to get their starting rotation for the upcoming 5 Game Series. I don’t see much value on either side for who is going to win the Series, but I feel that these offenses will be able to put up some runs. With that I expect the Series to go 4 or 5 Games and will take the over in Runs Scored between the 2 Teams.
Bet: Rangers/Orioles over 35.5 Runs Scored (-120 on DraftKings)
Minnesota Twins (+122) @ Houston Astros (-150)
*Odds according to FanDuel
The Minnesota Twins finally won their first Playoff Series since 2002 by sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays at home. The Starting Pitching for the Twins carried through the Wild Card and the reward was a matchup with the defending World Series Champions the Houston Astros. This series was looking like it was going to be taking place in the Wild Card Round but after the last weekend of the Regular Season we saw the Astros take home the AL West on the last day. The Astros seem to be clicking at the right time and with a week of rest for this Veteran team, I expect this to be a tough matchup for the Twins. The Twins did take the season series from the Astros but the last time they met was May 31st.
Bet: Astros Win Series -150 (FanDuel)
National League
Philadelphia Phillies (+164) @ Atlanta Braves (-205)
*Odds according to FanDuel
We get a repeat of last years Divisional matchup between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves. Last year the Phillies were able to take away home field advantage from the Braves winning that Series 3 Games to 1. If anyone can match that Braves lineup the Phillies are the team to do it. Both these teams seem to be evenly matched on paper with good Starting Pitching and powerful offenses. If the Phillies can get the pitching that they got out of Nola and Wheeler in the Wild Card Round it could make things real interesting for a team that won their division by 14 Games.
Lean: Phillies +164
Arizona Diamondbacks (+184) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (-230)
*Odds according to FanDuel
Before the season I think we were all thinking that we would be getting an NL West matchup here in the Divisional Round, the only issue is we were thinking it would be the Padres versus the Dodgers. But the Diamondbacks continues their great year by knocking off the Brewers and advancing to the City of Angels. The Dodgers have a few question marks on this Pitching Staff, the only person I can trust going into this series would be Clayton Edward Kershaw. The Dodgers offence and Postseason experience I do think will be enough to get them passed the Diamondbacks here but from a odds perspective this will be something I’m looking to bet in game or in series.