Kevin Davies
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The Divisional Series is starting to heat up! The Tigers evened their series with the Guardians behind a classic Tarik Skubal start and the Royals stole a game from the Yankees in the Bronx to make it 1 game apiece. That means every series is 1-1 right now, but that’s going to change tonight as the National League has their Game 3s tonight. I’ve found my 2 best MLB player prop bets for the NLDS to lock in, so let’s dive in! You can also see our MLB picks for each of today’s matchups.
Sean Manaea (NYM) Under 1.5 Walks (-115)
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The Phillies have a dangerous lineup, but it’s not always the most patient lineup. Philadelphia likes to attack the fastball early in the count to avoid the breaking balls — especially against left-handed pitchers. In fact, Philly had the 7th-lowest walk rate against southpaw pitching in the final 2 months of the season. Their opponent on Tuesday will be Sean Manaea, a lefty who has been an unsung hero for the Mets in 2024. Manaea was excellent in the regular season and continued that success into the postseason against the Brewers in the Wild Card series. The lefty looked sharp in that outing and didn’t issue a walk in 5 innings. His start against the Phillies will be his 3rd of the year against his divisional rival, and Manaea walked 1 hitter or less in both previous outings. With the Phillies swinging early in the count and Manaea on a short leash in a critical game, I’m expecting Manaea to finish with 1 walk or less.
Read our full Philadelphia Phillies vs New York Mets prediction
Walker Buehler (LAD) Under 14.5 Outs Recorded (-130)
Available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The postseason is completely different from the regular season and the role of a starting pitcher might be the biggest difference of all. During the Wild Card and Divisional Series so far, it’s clear that managers are hoping to get 5 innings out of their starters instead of 6 (unless you’re Tarik Skubal). That’s because managers are worried about the opposing lineup getting a third look against their starter. It’s caused the bullpens to become extremely important since they might need to cover 4+ innings per game. As for Walker Buehler, he will likely have an extremely short leash. Buehler had a rough regular season with a 5.38 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 16 outings. He bounced between Triple-A and the Majors throughout the season but was promoted back to L.A. in August for the remainder of the season. Buehler allowed a .277 batting average and a 10% walk rate in the 8 outings since being brought back up. The right-hander will need to complete less than 5 innings for this prop to win and I’m not worried about that at all.
Read our full LA Dodgers vs San Diego Padres prediction
