2018 MLB Postseason Betting Predictions

The 2018 postseason in Major League Baseball gets underway today with two tiebreaker games in the National League. The NL West and NL Central divisions have ties after 162 games, with Los Angeles and Colorado tied in the West and Milwaukee and the Cubs tied in the Central. The winners of both games will win their respective division, and the losers will face off Tuesday in the National League wild card play-in. The American League wild card will be Wednesday, with the Division Series starting Thursday in the National League and Friday in the American League. How will the postseason turn out? Take a look at our MLB betting predictions from the national pastime.

2018 MLB Postseason Betting Predictions

The 2018 #Postseason field is set! Here’s our breakdown of how each team was built: https://t.co/dYv6aw0dWQ#Astros#Athletics#Indians#RedSox#Yankees#Braves#Brewers#Cubs#Dodgers#Rockies pic.twitter.com/nZ8sfPjgPX

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) October 1, 2018

The Cubs will advance to the World Series

Why? It’s all about pitching on the game’s biggest stage, particularly in the senior circuit. Of the four teams entering the tiebreaker games, they have the best setup in their rotation. They are set to start Jose Quintana in their tiebreaker with the Brewers, and he posted a 3.05 ERA in the last eight starts of the season. He pitched against Milwaukee twice, permitting just two earned runs over 13 ⅓ innings combined. The Cubs also have their bullpen rested after an easy weekend series. If the Cubs lose Monday, they get ace-caliber Jon lester to pitch Tuesday on his regular rest. If the Cubs win, they wouldn’t play until Thursday, and Lester would start the NLDS. If the Cubs lowe Monday but win Tuesday, Kyle Hendricks would start the NLDS for them, and he has been their top hurler down the home stretch this season. The Cubs would host the wild card winner in the NLDS, which would be Milwaukee, Los Angeles or Colorado. Los Angeles still has Clayton Kershaw atop their rotation, but he has not been that solid lately. On Saturday, he gave up more earned runs at AT&T Park than he ever had against the Giants. It’s hard to say whether he’s ready for a postseason run after an injury-marred season. After that, the Dodgers also have Rich Hill, but it will be hard to ask him to carry the team to the World Series all by himself. The caveat for the Cubs is the offense, which has dwindled somewhat in the season’s last two months. However, they went 16-12 in September, a respectable if not dominant mark, and it was just a 19-5 finish by the Brewers that brought them the tie. The Cubs have the pitching depth and the experience to make it through three tense rounds of the postseason and make it to the World Series.

Oakland will beat the Yankees in the AL wild card game

At this point, neither team has named its starting pitcher. The Yankees are likely to use Luis Severino, J.A. Happ or Masahiro Tanaka, while the A’s are likely to send Liam Hendriks to the hill. On paper, the Yankees would have the better chance in that matchup, but quick hooks are the order of the day in the postseason, and Oakland has the better bullpen than the Yankees. If Oakland can scratch out an even game or even a lead after five or six innings, that could be it, as the Oakland relievers could shut down the Baby Bombers. One key consideration is second base. The Yankees have rookie Gleyber Torres there, with his 24 home runs and .820 OPS. Jed Lowrie plays second for the A’s, and his numbers are similar (23 home runs, .801 OPS). However, Lowrie is the steadier hand as far as defense goes, and the postseason is the time when crucial errors crop up that end up in highlight reels through the entire offseason. Then there’s the matchup of the designated hitters. Giancarlo Stanton came from Miami to give the Yankees that big bat they were missing. He had a dreadful April and an awful September, putting up big numbers in the intervening months. The A’s have Khris Davis, who has had a fine September and has 10 more home runs and 23 more RBI on the season than Stanton. While Yankee Stadium is a storied place with plenty of Yankee lore, this is the season when the A’s steady roster sends the Baby Bombers home after just one postseason game.