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The 2022 MLB postseason begins on Friday with the start of a new expanded 12-team playoff field and a best-of-3 series. The new format has led to some intriguing matchups over the weekend including a stacked San Diego Padres team with Juan Soto against the 101-win New York Mets and the ageless wonder Albert Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals facing Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies.

More games means more opportunities to bet. Our experts tackle some of the most important questions surrounding how bettors should approach all of the AL and NL Wild Card games this week.

Note: All lines are courtesy of Caesars Sportsbook


The Mets, Blue Jays, Guardians and Cardinals are all hosting the best-of-3-series this weekend and all are favored to advance. Which team are you most confident in to advance to the LDS?

Karabell: The Guardians were four games over .500 one month ago. Then they won 21 of 25 games to lock up the Central. Starters Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie are thriving and the Rays are really struggling to score runs lately. I think the Guardians, with their deep, speedy lineup and strong defense are a serious threat to the Yankees in the next round, too.

Doug Kezirian: Based on the series odds, the Mets are the most likely to advance. A series price of -170 represents a 63% likelihood. However, the question was about my outlook. In a vacuum, yes, the Mets would be my pick. However, I do worry about their psyche, given the late-season fade, and even the recent performances of their aces, although the Padres are also an unreliable unit. I honestly think all these series are evenly matched and do not feel confident with any pick. Yes, it’s a cop-out.

Tristan H. Cockcroft: The Mets, because it’s tough envisioning a Padres team that was league-average in run scoring over the past month upsetting a team that’ll probably be getting two-thirds of its innings from Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Edwin Diaz.

On the flip side, where do you see an upset happening?

Eric Karabell: The Phillies certainly didn’t thrive in September but they have the rotation advantage on the Cardinals with top-10 starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola in the first two games. Perhaps MVP candidates Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado don’t care, but the Cardinals aren’t great against right-handed pitching. If the Philadelphia bullpen can hold leads, they can advance.

Tyler Fulghum: As a St. Louis native who has thoroughly enjoyed the wild nostalgia this season has provided, I begrudgingly agree with Karabell. The Cardinals kryptonite this season has been high-octane, high-quality RHP. And the Phillies have a couple of really good ones in Wheeler and Nola. Plus, the Cards offense really struggled down the stretch (save for Albert Pujols), and while they have depth on the mound from the 1st inning to the 9th inning, they don’t really have any overpowering pitchers to dominate games (outside of closer Ryan Helsley).

Todd Zola: Pitching can go a long way in a three-game series and the Mariners have a top-three capable of matching up with anyone. Winning two in the Rogers Centre won’t be easy, but Seattle has the starters and bullpen to keep Toronto’s batters in check and with Julio Rodriguez back, they have an opportunistic offense ready to pull the upset.

Cockcroft: The Phillies, and maybe that’s just my memory of so many good-performing, recent Cardinals teams that qualified for October disappointing in early playoff series, but history backs it up, as the Cardinals have lost nine of 13 playoff games and 3-of-4 series in the previous three postseasons. Additionally, Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez represent a superior rotation to whatever the Cardinals roll out there, and the games will be played in the better park for pitching between these teams’ homes. I’ll note that I went with chalk picks in this series with my MLB predictions, but the Phillies were the one upset I was sorely tempted to pick.

The Mets are the biggest favorite at -170 vs the Padres. They blew a 10.5-game division lead that would have avoided this round. Do you see the blown lead impacting this series?

Fulghum: I do not think the blow lead in the division will affect the Mets series with San Diego. Having Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom to pitch these games matters way more to me. It’s not like New York played poorly down the stretch – they won 101 games – it’s just that the Braves went absolutely nuclear down the stretch and chased them down. San Diego, on the other hand, has been a relative disappointment this season after all the Spring Training hype and the midseason addition of Juan Soto.

Cockcroft: There’s too much evidence that says regular-season “momentum” doesn’t matter for me to buy the blown-lead argument. The Mets still have their rotation aligned in their favor, and they have home-field advantage with their opponent traveling cross-country. If there’s anything from their blowing the division race that could influence this series negatively, it’s this silly concept of saving deGrom for a prospective elimination game (Game 2 or 3) rather than making the smart move of simply pitching him in Game 2. Had the Mets taken the division, there wouldn’t have even been this distracting debate.

Which of the eight teams playing in this round do you think has the best chance to win the LCS and is worth a futures play?

Karabell: The Guardians seem like the obvious pick to me against a Yankees team dependent on one slugging hitter and lacking rotation depth and clarified bullpen roles. Maybe they can rely on Luis Severino and Gleyber Torres. Maybe Clay Holmes and DJ LeMahieu are healthy. Seems like a bunch of maybes. The Guardians are solid.

Zola: 100% agree with Eric, but deciding between the Phillies and Mariners for the next best bet. Both have the pitching to pull it off. Seattle has the better defense and bullpen, which is huge in a short series, so I’ll go with the Mariners to upset Houston, a team who hasn’t played a meaningful game in what seems like months, and will have sat for six days between games.

Cockcroft: I’m amazed that the Guardians have as long odds as the Phillies! They’ve got a solid rotational top three, an elite defense (plus-77 Defensive Runs Saved!) and an above-average scoring offense that is by far the most contact-oriented in baseball. Maybe, just maybe, this throwback-style team has what it takes to topple the Yankees, then the pitching-rich Astros. Ultimately, I see tons of value in the Guardians for +3500, so that’s how I’ll pick here.

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

Ohio State climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Tuesday, LSU and Miami moved into the top five, and Florida State jumped back into the rankings at the expense of Alabama, which plummeted to its lowest spot in 17 seasons.

The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes to move up two spots after their win over preseason No. 1 Texas. Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season poll for the first time since November 2015.

The Longhorns dropped to No. 7 as the media voters shuffled the rankings following a topsy-turvy Labor Day weekend. It was only the second time — and first since 1972 — that two top-five teams lost in Week 1 and the first time that four top-10 teams lost.

Only three teams in the Top 25 are in the same spot they were in the preseason poll.

Penn State got seven first-place votes and remained No. 2. LSU, which received three first first-place votes, was followed by Georgia and Miami to round out the top five.

Oregon got the other first-place vote and was followed by Texas, the Clemson Tigers, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

LSU jumped six spots after winning at Clemson and Miami got a five-rung promotion for its victory over Notre Dame.

The biggest movers in the poll were Florida State and Alabama after the Seminoles’ 31-17 victory in their head-to-head matchup.

The Seminoles, who were 15 spots outside the Top 25 in the preseason, are now No. 14. The Crimson Tide fell all the way from No. 8 to No. 21 — their lowest ranking since Bama was No. 24 in the 2008 preseason poll. That was the second of Nick Saban’s 17 teams in Tuscaloosa.

It’s been quite a turnabout for Florida State. The Seminoles were No. 10 in the 2024 preseason, lost their first two games, finished 2-10 and weren’t ranked again until now.

Utah, at No. 25, joins Florida State as the only newcomers to this week’s poll. The Utes are ranked for the first time since last October, when they were at the front end of a seven-game losing streak.

Utah had received the second-most points, behind BYU, among teams outside the preseason Top 25, but the Utes got more credit for beating UCLA on the road than the Cougars received for hammering FCS foe Portland State.

Boise State, which had been No. 25, received no votes following its 34-7 loss at South Florida. The Broncos had appeared in 14 straight polls.

The other team to drop out of the poll was No. 17 Kansas State, which followed up its season-opening loss to Iowa State with a last-minute home win over FCS team North Dakota.

Ohio State is the first team to take over the top spot in the first regular-season poll since Alabama in 2012. It was the biggest jump to No. 1 in the first regular-season poll since USC was promoted from No. 3 in 2008.

Texas’ fall was the biggest for a preseason No. 1 since Auburn dropped to No. 8 in the first regular-season poll of 1984.

LSU has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 3 in 2012, and Miami has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 5 in 2004.

South Carolina is in the top 10 in the regular season for the first time since it was No. 8 in December 2013.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 10 (Nos. 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 11, 15, 23)

ACC: 4 (Nos. 5, 8, 14, 17)

Big 12: 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 24, 25)

Independent: 1 (No. 9)

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma: This weekend’s game will be the first meeting since Oklahoma beat the Wolverines in the Orange Bowl to win the 1975 national championship. Wolverines freshman QB Bryce Underwood gets put to the test in his second start.

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

While Dabo Swinney isn’t inflating LSU‘s grade for beating his team in Saturday’s season opener, Brian Kelly is ready to give the Clemson coach an incomplete for his evaluation.

Both coaches weighed in Tuesday on how LSU’s 17-10 win at Clemson should be viewed. After trailing 10-3 at halftime, LSU outscored Clemson 14-0 in the second half and finished with significant edges in both total yards (354-261) and first downs (25-13).

LSU rose six spots to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll Tuesday, while Clemson dropped four spots to No. 8.

“It was a helluva game, down to the last play,” Swinney said in his weekly news conference. “Right out of the gate. It’s like getting the final exam [on] Day 1 of class. They made a 65; we made a 58. Neither one of us were great.”

Kelly had not won a season opener at LSU before Saturday, and the victory was his first with the Tigers against an AP top-5 opponent.

“I thought we dominated them in the second half, so he’s really a really good grader for giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us,” Kelly said in his news conference when told about Swinney’s comment.

“Or he didn’t see the second half, which, that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half.”

Kelly added that LSU is moving on to this week’s game against Louisiana Tech.

“Clemson is a darn good football team,” Kelly said. “That’s a top-notch team, and they’re going to be a team in the hunt for [the] playoff picture. We hope we are, too. But it was only one game. So I don’t know if he’s a hard grader or an easy grader, but I like the way that we played in the second half.”

Clemson visits LSU to open the 2026 season.

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Venables: Michigan’s Underwood ‘a little different’

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Venables: Michigan's Underwood 'a little different'

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Bryce Underwood “looks to be wise beyond his years” and compared Michigan‘s freshman quarterback to former Clemson national championship QB Trevor Lawrence on Tuesday ahead of the No. 18 Sooners’ Week 2 visit from the No. 15 Wolverines.

Underwood, ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, will make his second career start at Oklahoma on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

The coveted freshman earned Michigan’s starting job at the end of fall camp, beating out a collection of experienced passers on the depth chart including offseason portal additions Mikey Keene (Fresno State) and Jake Garcia (East Carolina). Underwood delivered a smooth college debut against New Mexico in Week 1, completing 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown in Michigan’s 34-17 win.

At Oklahoma, Underwood is set to face a much stiffer challenge against Venables, who resumed control of the Sooners’ defensive playcalling ahead of the 2024 season, and an experienced defense that held Illinois State to 151 yards of total offense in Week 1.

The former Clemson defensive coordinator compared Underwood to Lawrence, the five-star quarterback prospect who started as a freshman in 2018 and led the Tigers to a national championship win over Alabama.

“He’s a little different,” Venables said of Underwood. “It reminds me a lot of a Trevor Lawrence. Quick. Decisive. Accurate. Poised. Tough. Consistent. There’s a reason he was the No. 1 player in America. And he’s got a maturity and a work ethic and leadership agility to go along with that.”

As Oklahoma seeks to rebound from a 6-7 finish last fall, a new-look Sooners offense will get a test of its own Saturday.

Behind transfer QB John Mateer and first-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, Oklahoma gained 495 yards of offense in its 35-3, season-opening win over Illinois State. Mateer, who arrived in the offseason from Washington State alongside Arbuckle, passed Baker Mayfield for the most passing yards by an Oklahoma QB in a debut with 392 yards.

On Tuesday, Venables highlighted the Wolverines’ experience on defense, particularly in the front seven, as a defining challenge for the Sooners in an intriguing Week 2 matchup between two of college football’s most storied brands.

“[It’s] a defense that for the last several years has been one of the gold standards of college football when it comes to playing good defense,” Venables said. “It’s going to be a great physical matchup, and for us, a great litmus test to where we’re at.”

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