There are two MLB playoff games on Monday night as the divisional round continues. Below, we analyze the Game 2s in the National League.
- Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Philadelphia Phillies, 6 p.m. ET
- Chicago Cubs vs. Milwaukee Brewers, 9 p.m. ET
The Dodgers and Brewers each won on Saturday to start with the lead. Despite the Phillies being the higher seed, the Dodgers were favorites to win the series across the board. And the teams down 0-1 are underdogs on Monday night. We look at the best MLB playoffs picks and sportsbook odds for these two matchups. Find MLB betting bonuses for these picks on BetMGM Sportsbook.
Blake Snell 8+ Strikeouts (-105) BetMGM
Blake Snell missed four months this season, making only 11 starts this entire season. That said, since he has returned on August 2nd he has made nine of those 11 starts, and has been pretty much unhittable in those starts. He has struck out eight or more batters in five of those nine starts, with a K/9 of 11.69 and a strikeout rate of 32.7%. For context, that would have been both the highest K/9 and strikeout rate in the entire MLB if extrapolated out to all qualified pitchers.
He was fantastic in general over those nine starts, with a 2.41 ERA, 2.31 FIP, 2.39 xFIP and 2.96 SIERA, all elite numbers across the board that would have been top 2-5 in pretty much every metric. The Dodgers also let Snell pitch deeper into games, which is the important part here. He threw 7+ innings twice, and 6+ innings in five of his last seven starts.
With the Dodgers having bullpen issues, manager Dave Roberts has said he is going to rely on their starting pitching to pitch deep into games, so it would not be a total surprise to see Snell go another 7+ innings here. The last time he pitched against the Phillies was not that long ago, when these two faced off on 9/17, and Snell struck out 12 Phillies pitching seven innings in that game. History should repeat itself tonight.
William Contreras 2+ Bases (+115) BetMGM
William Contreras is a great bet for a home run for those of you looking to be a little bold, but we'll play it safe and take him to go 2+ bases instead. It was an interesting last game from the Brewers, who poured it on the Cubs with nine runs scored but not a single baseball cleared a fence.
Instead, they smoked four doubles and 13 hits total, with 18 HardHits, nine of which left the bat at 100+ mph exit velocity. They absolutely pounded the Cubs pitchers in Game 1, and the expectation is that we see something similar in Game 2 with William Contreras going up against Shota Imanaga on the mound for the Cubs.
This is a matchup that Contreras has dominated in the past, batting .300 in 10 ABs including two home runs. Contreras also had a good game in Game 1. Three of those hits above 100+ EV were off the bat of Contreras, who also contributed with one of the four doubles as well. He had EV logs of 103.8 and two that were 104.2 mph each, one of which was a double and another one was a single. He will at least smack for 2+ bases tonight, if not even going yard.