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On Friday, we’ll see the start of the 2022 Major League Baseball postseason. In the American League, we’re going to see two very competitive series. The AL Central champions, the Cleveland Guardians, will host the Tampa Bay Rays in one series. And in the other, the Seattle Mariners will travel to Toronto to take on the Blue Jays. Let’s preview both of these series openers for MLB betting.

Game 1 of the MLB 2022 American League Wild Card Series

Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Guardians

After a season-long battle with the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Guardians came out on top of the American League Central division. By winning the division, the Guardians earned themselves the #3 seed in the American League Playoffs, and the right to host the Tampa Bay Rays in the best-of-three 1st round series.

The Rays continue to defy the odds, and have made the playoffs for the fourth straight season. This team is void of superstars, but the Rays always have good young talent that finds a way to win. Tampa will send Cy Young candidate Shane McClanahan to the mound in Game 1. McClanahan fought through some injuries late in the season, so we’ll have to see how he looks in this one.

Cleveland wasn’t supposed to win the division, but they showed everyone that this was their time. Led by Jose Ramirez, the Guardians proved their critics wrong and made it to the playoffs. Cleveland will send Shane Bieber to the bump. Bieber hasn’t had the best season, but he’s still the ace of this staff.

Seattle Mariners @ Toronto Blue Jays

For the first time since 2001, the Seattle Mariners will be in the postseason. After a 14-game winning streak in July brought the Mariners back into the postseason race, Seattle made some key acquisitions for the stretch run. Their biggest acquisition, starting pitcher Luis Castillo, will get the ball in the series opener.

Seattle’s offense isn’t overpowering, but they are led by one of the game’s most exciting young players in Julio Rodriguez. This team has found ways to win all season long, with many different players playing a huge role in their success. The Mariners have been a great story this season, and they’re not ready for this fairy tale to end.

On the other side, we’ll see the slugging Toronto Blue Jays. Led by Vladimir Guerrero Jr., George Springer, Matt Chapman, and Alejandro Kirk, the Blue Jays can put up runs in bunches. Their starting staff isn’t too shabby either, and we’ll see young flamethrower Alek Manoah in Game 1. The flamboyant starter looks like he’ll have a great career ahead of him.

While the Blue Jays are disappointed that they didn’t win the National League East, they know that they still have a great chance of getting to the World Series. Having home field advantage will be huge for the Jays, as they finished the season 47-34 on their home turf. This could possibly be the most exciting Wild Card series. We should see some great baseball between these two squads.