MLB Picks & Predictions: Yankees vs. Guardians (Thursday)
Both MLB League Championship Series are on display today. While one leaves the bright lights of New York, another enters. The Yankees will try to take a commanding 3-0 series lead, while the Mets will attempt to prevent going down 3-1. Here are our top MLB picks and predictions for Thursday’s ALCS: Yankees vs. Guardians.
Join our new MLB Betting Group to share bets and compete in leaderboards >>
Thursday's Best MLB Picks: Yankees vs. Guardians
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
New York Yankees (-115) at Cleveland Guardians (-105) | O/U 7.0 (-122/+102)
In the League Championship Series, teams that have gone up 2-0 have won the series 84% of the time. The Yankees have patience at the plate, with 10 walks in this series. That has helped them get to the Cleveland bullpen early. In Game 2, with the Guardians having their ace Tanner Bibee on the mound, he got taken out in the second inning.
With most of the lineup contributing, the Yankees’ most important player had been missing. Aaron Judge had games with back-to-back sacrifice flies, but we hadn't seen the big fly until last night when he hit his first home run of the postseason to break the game open.
Clarke Schmidt was good enough in his American League Division Series (ALDS) start, going 4.2 innings and allowing two earned runs and a win.
The Guardians had their chances in Game 2. They had bases loaded twice and couldn't get the big hit against a Yankee lineup that could score. To make matters worse, the bullpen is exhausted. They went through seven relievers, including Erik Sabrowski, who pitched in back-to-back games for the first time all season.
They must hope being at home and feeling the crowd can help them in some of those big situations, but they must get ahead early.
Playing in Cleveland will help them, and if they get runs, the Yankees’ bats will continue to stay hot.
Pick: Over 7.0 Runs (-122)