The Phillies and Cubs were able to get the win to keep their seasons alive. Now, they both play again on Thursday with a chance to either extend the series to five games, or have the Brewers and Dodgers move on.
- Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers, 6 p.m. ET (Dodgers up 2-1)
- Milwaukee Brewers vs. Chicago Cubs, 9 p.m. ET (Brewers up 2-1)
Three of the four starting pitchers started Game 1 for their teams, with Cristopher Sanchez on the mound for the Phillies, Freddie Peralta for the Brewers and Matthew Boyd for the Cubs. The only difference is Tyler Glasnow, starting for the Dodgers, who came in relief work in Game 1 out of the bullpen. Below, we will detail our favorite MLB picks of the day.
Cristopher Sanchez 6+ Strikeouts (-115) Fanatics
Sanchez, who will most likely come in second in the NL Cy Young race this year, started Game 1 and was fantastic. He went 5.2 innings, striking out eight Dodgers and gave up only four hits and two earned runs. This now makes it five straight starts in which Sanchez has hit at least six strikeouts, and that even includes his last start of the regular season when he only threw 60 pitches to rest his arm, and he still managed eight Ks.
This is also a matchup that Sanchez has had success in the past against the Dodgers. He has faced them three times this season, striking out six or more batters in all three games. One start he had exactly six, and in the other two he had eight and nine strikeouts. The Dodgers are obviously a fantastic hitting team, but they are also a team that is not shy to strike out, which is not a shock for a power-hitting team.
Through five playoff games, four of the batters in the Dodgers’ lineup have struck out 25% or higher, including two at 40% or higher. In the Divisional Round specifically, six of their projected nine batters have struck out 25% or higher against the Phillies. So, while Sanchez has given up at least two runs in all three of these starts, including four runs in his first two starts, he has still managed to strike out a bunch of Dodgers as well, which should continue tonight. Make this picks with one of the MLB betting bonuses on Fanatics Sportsbook.
Michael Busch Home Run (+525) BetMGM
This one is a higher risk taking a home run prop, so make sure that this is played with a lower unit size than the strikeout prop listed above. That said, +525 is a fantastic price for Michael Busch to go yard, who has been very good in these playoffs so far. He has three total barrels and nine HardHits total in the postseason, hitting two home runs in this divisional round series against the Brewers specifically.
One of the home runs that he hit was against Peralta. These two have seen a lot of each other over the years, with 19 ABs over the last three years. While Busch has struck out a decent amount (eight times, to be exact), he has also taken Peralta yard three times as well.
Two of those home runs were hit in 2025, with one coming in Game 1 of this series. While the weather situation is admittedly not great at Wrigley Field tonight, Busch just went yard yesterday in worse conditions. The home run he hit was 108.5 off the bat, but he had two more HardHits yesterday, both of which were put in the air as well.