Don’t be shocked if the Guardians upset the Yankees, plus other best bets for Tuesday

Good afternoon gamblers, it’s Chris Bengel back with you on this Tuesday.

It’s hard to argue with the beauty of this time of year. We’ve got Major League Baseball playoffs on a daily basis and Tuesday also marks the start of the 2022-23 NHL season. Oh yeah, and the NBA season begins next Tuesday.

The MLB postseason was beyond entertaining in the Wild Card Round and I don’t expect that to change with the Division Series, which started today. Let’s not waste any more time and get right to today’s picks.

All times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook

🔥 The Hot Ticket

Guardians at Yankees, 7:37 p.m. | TV: TBS

• Key Trend: The Guardians are 17-5 in their last 22 road games against a right-handed starter
• The Pick: Guardians (+175)

The Guardians have defied expectations all season. They went 46-26 in the second half of the season to run away with AL Central title. With those factors in mind, I like the underdog Guardians to pull off a massive upset in the Bronx on Tuesday.

Yankees starter Gerrit Cole has a 1.78 career ERA during the postseason while with the Yankees, but that’s not to say there haven’t been a few hiccups. In the Wild Card Game last year against the Red Sox, Cole surrendered three earned runs on four hits and lasted just two innings. Entering the 2022 postseason, Cole has yielded at least four earned runs in three of his last five starts. It also doesn’t hurt that the Guardians possessed the seventh-highest batting average (.254) in the majors throughout the regular season.

Meanwhile, Guardians starter Cal Quantrill has been throwing the ball extremely well over the last month.He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in seven of his last nine starts while conceding just one run or less in six of those outings. The right-hander only recorded 128 strikeouts over the course of the regular season, but Quantrill did hold the Yankees to just three earned runs over six innings in a start back in April while only racking up a pair of strikeouts. 

It wouldn’t be shocking if the Guardians are able to get to Cole early and that could wind up being the difference the way Quantrill has been pitching. Ride with the underdog in this spot with a very spicy pricetag.

💰 More picks

Lightning at Rangers, 7:30 p.m. | TV: ESPN

Latest Odds:

New York Rangers
-130

The Pick: Rangers (-120): — Opening night, a rematch of last season’s Eastern Conference Final at Madison Square Garden. It doesn’t get much better. As the season begins, I have no problem fading the Lightning and it could be a theme throughout the year.

The Lightning lost some big names this offseason, chief among veterans Ondrej Palat and Ryan McDonagh .On the other hand, the Rangers are a much-improved team after losing to the Lightning in six games in the Eastern Conference Final last spring. New York added Vincent Trocheck in free agency and he should feel right at home as the team’s second line center..

There’s going to be a ton of buzz inside the World’s Most Famous Arena on Tuesday and for good reason. This Rangers team is a Cup contender and I like them to get off on the right foot to start off the season.

Key Trend: The Rangers are 35-16 in their last 51 home games

Padres at Dodgers, 9:37 p.m. | TV: FS1
The Pick: Julio Urias Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-115): — The National League Division Series has an NL West flavor to it after the Padres took down the Mets. These are two teams that are very familiar with one another and that could play into the favor of Dodgers starter Julio Urias in today’s strikeout prop.

Urias has registered at least five strikeouts in four of his last five starts. In addition, the Dodgers left-hander has tallied at least five strikeouts in five of his seven starts against the Padres over the past two seasons. If the lethal Los Angeles offense backs up Urias, he should have plenty of opportunities to get to the five-strikeout mark that we need.

Key Trend: Urias recorded at least five strikeouts in three of his four starts against the Padres in 2022