Saturday Playoff Baseball Picks

Tommy Lynch is a baseball analyst for Wannamakeabet.com

Phillies vs Braves

Through 3 games we are sitting here with the potential for the Phillies to close this series out and pull off the upset. I was on the Braves yesterday and that did not work out for me. This Braves offense is just off at the moment. They had plenty of runners on base but could not get any clutch hitting. The 6 through 9 hitters are a combined 0-30 this series! While the Phillies had a few hitters break out of slumps and had their bats firing on all cylinders. Today the teams will send Charlie Morton and Noah Syndergaard to the mound.

Neither of these pitchers have been that impressive this year. With both hovering around a 4.00 ERA for the season. The Braves have their backs against the wall and while I think they can pull this one out today. We can’t ignore this Phillies lineup that seems to haven woken up. I think we must look at the over here today. Both pitchers are capable of allowing runs. Add on to that the wind is blowing out to center and that is why you are seeing this total at 9. Let’s hope the Phillies stay hot and the Braves find some clutch hitting today.

Over 9 Runs

Astros vs Mariners
If home field was ever going to be important in baseball it is this game right here. These Mariners fans have been waiting a long time to watch playoff baseball. Even down 2-0 in the series this place will be electric from the start. With McCullers and Kirby on the mound today the advantage lies with the Astros. This Astros team is filled with players that have been in these situations and know how to close out a series. I would lean the Astros today but this Mariners team has found a way to win games they shouldn’t be winning all year so it would not surprise me if they pulled one out for their fans today. So, I will Pass.

Yankees vs Guardians
The Guardians were able to tie this series up at 1-1 and now head back to Cleveland. What have we learned so far this series? Cleveland’s offense has produced a lot of soft contact and it has taken some defensive errors for them to score. On the flip side, the Yankees are what we thought they were. If you can get Judge out, the rest of the lineup can’t string together hits just the occasional home run.

Today we have 2 solid pitchers on the mound in Severino and McKenzie. Both these pitchers finished the year under a 3.20 ERA. I don’t see any reason to expect runs in this game again. Until these teams can prove they put up runs I am going to stick with the unders. I like the First 5 Under 3.5 today. Let’s hope these offenses keep slumping! First 5 Under 3.5

Dodgers vs Padres

Yesterday we played with fire going over 7.5 runs in the most pitcher friendly ballpark and we saw that on full display. A bunch of hard-hit balls caught at the warning track prevented us from getting anywhere near that total. Just the like the Phillies, the Padres sit here with a chance to close out the World Series favorites at home!

They are sending out Joe Musgrove who was on fire in his wild card game against the Mets. The Dodgers with their backs against the wall will send out Tyler Anderson who had an excellent season. It’s no surprise that we see this total at 7 again given the park factors and the starting pitchers. This is a game I have no feel for today. It is hard to believe that the Dodgers could be getting bounced in the Divisional Round with this star-studded team but that is baseball and sometimes you can run into a hot team like the Padres. I will choose to sit back and just enjoy this game tonight. Pass

Braves/Phillies over 9
Yankees/Guardians First 5 Under 3.5