MLB Predictions and Best Bets – October 7, 2020

The second round of the 2020 MLB playoffs is officially underway, as the Marlins/Braves and Padres/Dodgers faced off on Tuesday to get the ball rolling.

Bettors get that same batch of games to work with at the top betting sites again today. Here’s a look at who is playing.

Atlanta blew up and took game one against Miami, but that was following a 4-1 lead by the fish. Houston took a commanding 2-0 series lead over Oakland, too, while we got good games overall on the day.

Everyone is back in action on Wednesday, with Oakland playing for their playoff lives. Let’s see if you should bet on the Astros punching their ticket to the next round, as well as what you should do with every other contest.

Atlanta struck first in game one, recovering from an early 4-1 hole to win, 9-5. That really shouldn’t shock anyone, either, as the Braves have the vastly superior bats in this series, and the Marlins don’t have elite pitching.

On Wednesday the Braves still have the edge on the mound, as talented youngster Ian Anderson will get the ball. He’ll face Pablo Lopez, who does a solid job with run prevention, but isn’t a dominant ace.

Atlanta looks like the play here, but with a high total set, I’d bet the Under.

Houston wasn’t great during the regular season and they allowed Oakland to snag the AL West, but here they are, about to eliminate the A’s from the playoffs.

It could come tonight with Zack Greinke on the mound, but I put a little stock in Oakland being such a good team all year, and bringing some fight to this one. The Athletics are an emotional bet to back, admittedly, but they should come to play with their season on the line.

If you don’t love the Athletics here, just bet the Over. Neither pitcher is going to miss a lot of bats in this one, and both offenses like to put the ball in the air.

Giancarlo Stanton has been amazing for the Yankees during their playoff run, and he continued his stellar postseason showing with two homers on Tuesday.

They came in vain, of course, as the Yanks fell in game two after blasting nine runs the day prior. Tampa Bay answered back to tie this series up at 1-1, and now we get a less than compelling pitching matchup between Charlie Morton and Masahiro Tanaka.

Both of these hurlers are plenty capable and experienced, but I love the Over here. The Yanks to win is a fine secondary bet, as well.

San Diego and L.A. face off for game two on Wednesday night, pitting Chris Paddack against Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw fanned 13 in his most recent playoff outing, while Paddack has been slipping for quite a while now.

These are two elite arms in terms of sheer talent, but one is actually reliable (kind of), and the other is facing a loaded Dodgers offense. I actually still like the Over just because the insane amount of power featured in this game, but I don’t see the Padres winning this one.

These look like the best MLB bets on Wednesday’s baseball betting slate. The pitching in the Marlins game is better than this game total suggests, so I have no issues hammering the Under there.

I also love the Braves to go up 2-0 in this series, but you’re not chasing them at a -196 price. You can bet on them to win by two runs (+100), but the Under is my preferred target in this game.

I’ll take a stand with Oakland to stay alive on Wednesday. I like them to win at +105, but if you think this series is over, just brace for the fireworks (which are coming regardless) and bet on the Over.

There isn’t any pricing out for game two of the Padres vs. Dodgers series, so we’ll cap things off with the Yankees to cover the RL, and also for that game to go Over. New York’s offense is obviously much scarier in this spot, while neither pitcher strikes fear into the heart.

Hopefully my MLB picks serve you well. Happy betting, and good luck!