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The MLB Playoffs Are Coming – Tight Divisional and Wild Card Races Remain
The playoffs are coming baseball wagering enthusiasts with all the pertinent information surrounding the handful of teams that are still engaged in their respective, electrifying division races.
First, let’s take a look at the thrilling divisional races that are still taking place, starting in the NL East with the incendiary New York Mets, (86-70).
The Mets kicked off an extremely important four-game series at home against the Chicago Cubs with a convincing 9-5 loss on Monday and will close out the regular season with three home contests against the Florida Marlins.
New York, now 2 1/2 games behind the first place Phillies, has now dropped three straight games and six of their last nine heading into Tuesday night’s showdown with Chicago.
The Mets lead the NL wild card standings by one single game over the Houston Astros, (82-73) and five games over the Marlins, (81-74).
While the NL East is still officially up for grabs, the Mets clearly look defeated at this point. The club’s bullpen is absolutely atrocious and can’t hold any leads lately.
New York’s next three games against the Cubs feature left-handed staff ace Johan Santana taking the hill against Chicago’s Sean Marshall on Tuesday, Oliver Perez facing Carlos Zambrano on Wednesday and Pedro Martinez squaring off against Rich Harden in Thursday’s series finale.
Before moving on to the other division races, let me just say that, the only game I’d wager on and take the Mets is Tuesday night’s contest with Santana on the mound facing a mediocre Sean Marshall. I just don’t think there’s anyway Rich Harden and Carlos Zambrano, two of baseball’s best this season, lose their next starts, no matter who’s on the mound for the Mets!
The Phillies close out their 2008 season with two, three-game series’ at home against the Washington Nationals, two teams they’ve pretty much owned this season, so the possibility of them running the table is very real.
The Reds on Monday. First they play the Nationals in a three-game set, before facing the Mets for an important four-game set to close out the season.
The struggling Milwaukee Brewers are just one game behind the Mets in the NL wild card race and could overtake them with a three-game homestand against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates before closing out the regular season at home in a three-game set against the Cubs.
Looking at their respective remaining schedules, I’m going to go out on a limb and say the Brewers surpass the Mets for the NL wild card, though the Sep. 26 matchup between Milwaukee and Chicago, featuring Jeff Suppan going up against Ryan Dempster should be a thriller while the Brewers will definitely need to win the following day’s matchup with Seth McClung going up against Chicago’s Jason Marquis.
In the NL West, the Padres beginning on Tuesday before following that up with a road series against the San Francisco Giants.
The Rockies.
The bottom line here is that the Dodgers will win this division hands-down, led by the best manager in all of baseball, Joe Torre.
Here are some key trends on each of the remaining NL division and wild card contenders that MLB bettors can peruse before making their respective regular season-ending MLB Picks in the BetUS Sportsbook.
Philadelphia is 4-1 SU in its last five games when playing at home against Atlanta
PThe total has gone OVER in four of Philadelphia’s last six games when playing at home against Atlanta
PThe Cubs are 4-1 SU in their last five games when playing NY Mets
PThe total has gone OVER in 11 of Chicago’s last 15 games when playing NY Mets
PNY Mets are 9-4 SU in their last 13 games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
PThe total has gone OVER in 5 of NY Mets' last five games when playing at home against Chi Cubs
PFlorida is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games when playing Washington
PFlorida is 2-4 SU in its last six road games
PMilwaukee is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games at home
PMilwaukee is 2-8 SU in its last 10 games
The Bottom Line: I think BetUS MLB baseball betting enthusiasts can count on Philadelphia winning the NL East over the shell-shocked Mets for the second consecutive season, while the Milwaukee Brewers narrowly surpass the Mets for the NL wild card berth if they can take at least two games from the Cubs in their season-ending series.
Either way, neither the Mets nor Brewers have the look of a tem that is prepared t do some damage in the postseason and will likely flame out in the first round no matter whom they face.
