Caleb Wilfinger
Major League Baseball playoff action rolls on with another day of Championship Series action on Thursday, October 16. The Dodgers are set to host the Brewers to kick off the proceedings in NLCS Game 3, before the Mariners host the Blue Jays in a critical Game 4 of the ALCS in Seattle. Even with only 2 games on the board on Thursday, there are still a pair of bets that we like in the YRFI/NRFI market, so let’s get into our best bets for a quick and simple first-inning wager in these NLCS and ALCS matchups. You can also lock in our MLB picks for today’s matchups along with every game throughout the MLB playoffs.
YRFI/NRFI Best Bet: Brewers vs Dodgers – NRFI (-140)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -150.
While there was a run scored in the first inning of Game 2 in this series, I’m still going right back to the well with the NRFI on Thursday in Los Angeles. The Dodgers just received a masterful performance from Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as he put up a complete game 1-run masterpiece, allowing just 3 hits in the process and striking out 7 while only walking a single batter. Things won’t get any easier for the Milwaukee offense against Tyler Glasnow, who is coming off an excellent outing against the Phillies, in which he tossed 6 brilliant innings against one of the better lineups in the game. He should be in position for success against a struggling Brewers offense in this one.
On the other side, the Brewers have found themselves in what is a must-win situation, with winning four straight against this Dodgers team appearing to be next to impossible based on the form of Los Angeles’ starting pitcher. Milwaukee has not yet announced a starter for this game, but we can expect either an opener followed by either Jose Quintana or right-hander Jacob Misiorowski, who will be on four days’ rest following his Game 5 performance against the Cubs in the Division Series. Regardless of who takes the mound for Milwaukee, I’m expecting this low-scoring trend to continue in what should be a third straight contest that is dominated by pitching in this NLCS.
Read our full Dodgers vs Brewers NLCS Game 3 prediction
YRFI/NRFI Best Bet: Blue Jays vs Mariners – YRFI (-115)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
We’ve seen runs scored in the opening frame of each of the first 3 games of this series, and I’m also going back to the well in this market with a wager on the YRFI on Thursday. Toronto’s offense appeared to wake up in a big way in Game 3 and the Blue Jays should have a somewhat favorable matchup on hand against Luis Castillo (4.10 xERA, bottom 10% hard-hit rate), who is due for some regression in his upcoming outings.
On the other side, the Blue Jays are countering with Max Scherzer (5.19 ERA, bottom 2% barrel rate and ground ball rate), who has struggled against most lineups with a pulse this season. This is a spot where both offenses should see success, so let’s look for another hot start at the dish in Seattle.
Get our full Blue Jays vs Mariners ALCS Game 4 prediction
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