Ricky Dimon
Show Bio
Will the Wild Card round of the 2022 Major League Baseball postseason come to an end on Saturday, or will at least 1 series be extended to a decisive Game 3 on Sunday? The chances of the latter are obviously good, especially because 3 of the 4 home teams lost on Friday. It would be shocking if all 4 series end up being sweeps.
With a couple of dramatic Game 1s in the rearview mirror, it’s time to look ahead at what Saturday could have to offer. For this mega parlay we are going with one total play and two underdogs on the money line. Let’s break down each of the legs one by one.
Seattle Mariners vs Toronto Blue Jays over 7.5 (-110)
By postseason standards, a pitching matchup between Robbie Ray (SEA) and Kevin Gausman (TOR) is nothing special. Ray has the pressure of facing his former team and he was nowhere near as good with Seattle during the regular season as he was while winning the American League Cy Young award last year with Toronto. Gausman was mostly effective during the regular season, but he compiled an ERA north of 4.00 in September and allowed 5 earned runs in 2 of his last 4 starts that month. The right-hander then yielded 2 runs in just 3.0 innings of work last weekend against the Red Sox. In Game 1 the Mariners brought out the bats early. They can do the same on Saturday and I expect the Blue Jays to join them in that effort.
Check out our Phillies vs Cardinals Same Game Parlay
San Diego Padres ML over New York Mets (+160)
If it felt like the Mets were done when they got swept by the Braves in the penultimate regular-season series to throw away the National League East, Friday night all but confirmed it. Sure New York swept Washington in between that disaster in Atlanta and the start of the playoffs, but the Nationals are terrible and the division was already pretty much lost by that point (Atlanta took care of business in Miami to clinch the East). In the Mets’ first meaningful game since their choke to the Braves (they once led the division by 10.5 games), they got blown out by the Padres 7-1 on Friday night even with Max Scherzer on the mound. Now they turn to fellow ace Jacob deGrom, who hasn’t been his normal self of late. San Diego hopes Blake Snell can provide the clincher, and he has allowed just 2 runs in 25.0 innings over his last 4 starts. Don’t be surprised if the Mets are officially done by the end of Saturday night.
Check out all of our MLB predictions
St. Louis Cardinals ML over Philadelphia Phillies (+100)
The Cardinals led 2-0 going into the top of the 9th inning on Friday afternoon only to give up 6 runs en route to a 6-3 loss. It was a shocking collapse by St. Louis, which was the superior team in the regular season and for almost the entire way in Game 1. It’s hard to see the Cards making the same mistake twice. They will be playing with desperation, once again have home-field advantage, and are sending Miles Mikolas to the mound. Mikolas compiled a 3.30 ERA and 1.03 WHIP during the regular season and was effective in 2 starts against the Phillies. Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola went 11-13 overall and 0-1 against St. Louis, giving up 5 earned runs in 7.0 innings in that start. Look for the home team to force a decider on Sunday.
Check out our full Phillies vs Cardinals predictions
Saturday’s MLB mega parlay (10/8)
Blue Jays ML (-115)
Padres ML (+160)
Cardinals ML (+100)
Parlay odds: +893
Along with our MLB Futures picks, we offer expert MLB Picks, including our MLB Best Bets throughout the playoffs.
