The Monday Night Football matchup between AFC West rivals Las Vegas and Kansas City highlights this week's slate of NFL games as we're a quarter of the way through the 2022 season.
The expanded Major League Baseball playoffs begin Friday, but already two winners are clear before postseason games are even played.
The Tampa Bay Rays in the American League and the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League are beneficiaries of a third wild-card team being added into the mix this season. The 12-team playoff format is an expansion of the 10-team format first adopted in 2012.
Also new to the 2022 playoffs: Four best-of-three wild-card series, with the winners of each series set to face a division champion in their respective leagues.
The odds still will be stacked against the third wild card, with both having to play at a division champion for all three games of their wild-card series. The Rays hit the road to face the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians, while the Phillies match up against the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinals.
In the other two wild-card matchups, the Toronto Blue Jays will play host to a three-game series against the Seattle Mariners in the AL, while the New York Mets play host to the San Diego Padres in the NL.
FrontPageBets breaks down the round.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings and subject to change.)
Rays (+110) at Guardians (-130)
Think of the Rays and solid pitching comes to mind. They had the fourth-best staff ERA in baseball at 3.39 (heading into play Wednesday). But in six games between the Rays and Guardians this season, Tampa Bay scored just 18 total runs (3.0 per game), while losing four of them. And the Rays finished the season losing nine of 11 games, which was not a good sign from a team keen on clinching a playoff spot. The Rays have slightly more power but the Guardians do a better job of getting on base. Tampa Bay’s Corey Kluber will get a return trip to Cleveland, but it won’t be a welcome homecoming. (Series under 15.5 runs +100)
Prediction: Guardians in two. (Series under 2.5 games -110)
Phillies (+115) at Cardinals (-135)
The Cardinals spent a lot of emotion down the stretch from Albert Pujols’ home run chase to the farewells for Pujols and Yadier Molina. Adam Wainwright might retire as well. Do they still have enough energy left in the tank? Absolutely, at least when it comes to a matchup with the Phillies. The Cardinals were tied for the fifth most home victories in baseball at 53. The Phillies did go 4-3 in the season series and shut out the Cardinals over three-consecutive games, but the teams haven’t seen each other since July 11. Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler has returned and had consecutive scoreless outings against St. Louis in the first half, but the Cardinals have enough to advance. Read more about the Cardinals at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Prediction: Cardinals in three. (Series over 2.5 games -110)
Mariners (+140) at Blue Jays (-170)
The Mariners didn’t make things easy on themselves, losing eight of 11 games at one point in September, but they managed to get their act together and end the longest playoff drought among the four major sports (2001). Rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez appears worn down from his first full season and must find another gear, not to mention a resolution to some back issues. The Blue Jays are playing well and will carry the AL’s top OPS into the series. Behind proven pitching and a dynamic offense that appears to be in stride, Toronto has too much for Seattle. (Series over 19.5 runs -120)
Prediction: Blue Jays in two. (Series under 2.5 games -115)
Padres (+145) at Mets (-175)
Jacob de Grom, Max Scherzer and the home-field advantage gives the Mets far too much for the Padres to overcome in the short series. Outside of the pitching advantage, the Mets have the fourth-best OPS in the NL at .743, while the Padres are ninth at .702, all while playing without Fernando Tatis Jr. San Diego can still boast Manny Machado and Juan Soto on offense, but the Mets can confidently counter that with Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil (+2800 most hits in wild-card round), who has put a charge into the New York cause late in the season. The Mets might have fumbled their chance at an NL East title, but it isn’t likely they fumble this.
Prediction: Mets in two. (Series under 2.5 games -120)
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@FieldLevelMedia Doug Padilla has been on the MLB beat for more than two decades, covering the betting angles for the past five seasons.
