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Are the Yankees a Good MLB Betting Pick vs. the Indians in Game 1?

Are the Yankees a Good MLB Betting Pick vs. the Indians in Game 1?

Written by on October 4, 2017

MLB Betting News
The Cleveland Indians will look to kick off their 2017 MLB postseason run with a big win at home against a New York Yankees team that picked up a thrilling 8-4 wild-card win over Minnesota on Tuesday night to reach this American League Division Series, which is why you may be wondering if the Yanks are a good MLB betting pick against the Tribe. Cleveland recorded an impressive 101 wins during the regular season while recording a phenomenal 22-game winning streak that stands as the second-longest winning streak in professional baseball history, one of the reasons they are the favorites to reach and win the 2017 World Series. New York bashed their way into the postseason on the bats of outstanding rookie Aaron Judge and to a slightly lesser degree, sophomore Gary Sanchez. Now, let’s find out where the value in this ALDS series opener lies.

New York Yankees (92-71) at Cleveland Indians (102-60)

  • When: Thursday, October 5, 7:30 PM ET
  • Where: Progressive Field
  • TV: FS1
  • Live Stream: MLB Live
  • Radio: ESPN Radio, WTAM 1100, Indians Radio Network
  • MLB Odds: TBA

Weather Forecast

  • Clear: 20°C/68°F
  • Humidity: 64%
  • Precipitation: 7%
  • Cloud Cover: 22%
  • Wind: 6 mph NW
  • Stadium Type: Open

Colorado vs. Arizona NL Wild Card Odds & Betting Pick

Recent Head to Head Statistics (Last 10 Games)

  • Runs: New York 3.80 / Cleveland 4.50
  • Hits: New York 7.40 / Cleveland 7.70
  • Walks: New York 2.90 / Cleveland 3.40
  • Strikeouts: New York 9.10 / Cleveland 10.50
  • Over/Under: New York 3-5-1 / Cleveland 3-5-1

Probable Pitchers

New York Yankees

Joe Girardi did not name a starter for Game 1 of the ALDS against the Indians on Thursday night. The potential candidates are Sonny Gray or Masahiro Tanaka. Gray said he hadn’t heard anything when asked after New York’s 8-4 wild-card win over the Minnesota Twins. Girardi was still in the process of finalizing his ALDS roster with his bullpen pitching 8.2 innings while allowing just one earned run and striking out a postseason-record tying 13. Girardi told reporters that both, Chad Green and David Robertson will likely need two days off following their long outings on Tuesday night, leaving both almost assuredly unavailable for Game 1.

Cleveland Indians – Trevor Bauer – R – (17-9, 4.19 ERA, 196 K)

Trevor Bauer recorded a career-high in wins (17) and strikeouts (196) and has gone 10-4 with a 3.93 ERA at home this season. Over his last 10 starts, Bauer has limited the opposition to two runs or less seven times while giving up just one earned run in each of his last two starts spanning a combined 13.0 innings.

Why are the New York Yankees a Good MLB Betting Pick?

The Yankees looked good in getting past the feisty Minnesota Twins in their 8-4 wild-card win on Tuesday night as Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. The bad news is that staff ace Luis Severino looked awful in not getting out of the first inning while allowing three earned runs on four hits while giving up four hits including two home runs while getting just one out. New York finished the regular season ranked a stellar second in scoring (5.30 RPG), first in home runs (241), seventh in team batting average (.262) and fifth in team ERA (3.73), some more reasons to consider them a good MLB Betting Pick, but not so fast.

Team Statistics

Offense
  • Runs: 5.31
  • Hits: 9.05
  • Walks: 3.81
  • Strikeouts: 8.53
Defense
  • Runs: 4.07
  • Hits: 7.71
  • Walks: 3.12
  • Strikeouts: 9.65

Why are the Cleveland Indians a Good MLB Betting Pick?

Good pitching beats good hitting and the Indians were the best pitching team in all baseball this season while ranking first in team ERA (3.30), second in WHIP (1.16), first in strikeouts (1,614), third in quality starts (84), while also finishing fourth in errors with 76. Offensively, the Tribe wasn’t half bad in ranking sixth in scoring (5.05) and fifth in team batting average (.263). Cleveland is the safest MLB Betting Pick for Thursday. Manager Terry Francona is so confident in his pitching staff that he chose not to start staff ace and likely AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber in Game 1, giving the Game start to No. 2 hurler Trevor Bauer. Francona will likely get as many innings out of Bauer as possible before going to his outstanding bullpen. “We’re going to get to our bullpen if we have a lead,” manager Terry Francona said.

Team Statistics

Offense
  • Runs: 5.05
  • Hits: 8.93
  • Walks: 3.73
  • Strikeouts: 7.12
Defense
  • Runs: 3.48
  • Hits: 7.83
  • Walks: 2.51
  • Strikeouts: 9.96

Latest MLB Playoffs Betting Trends

  • Yankees are 15-8 ATS in their last 23 games
  • Yankees are 6-2 SU in their last 8 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 5 of NY Yankees’ last 7 games
  • Indians are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games
  • Indians are 21-4 SU in their last 25 games
  • The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Cleveland’s last 5 games

Expert Analysis and MLB Betting Pick

Cleveland has won three straight over New York and five of the last seven meetings overall and simply has too much pitching for them to lose this contest, even against a Yankees team that is absolutely phenomenal at the plate, starting with Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Despite their thrilling wild-card win on Tuesday night, the Yankees are 2-6 in their last 8 playoff road games, 1-5 in their last 6 playoff games and 2-5 in their last seven games against the Indians while Cleveland has gone 6-0 in Trevor Bauer’s last six starts against teams from the AL East and 4-0 in his last four starts against teams with a winning record. Remember the old adage people, good pitching beats good hitting every day of the week. MLB Betting Prediction: New York Yankees 3 – Cleveland Indians 5
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