After a Friday full of great wild card MLB playoff action, we are back again for more to kick off our Saturday. Most of the weekend focus for the casual sports fans will be shifting towards football, but us MLB diehards are keeping our eyes glued on the diamond. We have another full slate as the new format gives us the entire wild card weekend packed into three straight days of action. We were lucky to cash our first playoff bet of over 6.5 in the Phillies/Cardinals game yesterday thanks to a late ninth inning rally by the Phillies, who mounted an epic comeback to stun the Cardinals late. Let’s see what surprises today has in store for us!

Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Guardians

12:07 EST
Probable pitchers: Tyler Glasnow vs. Triston McKenzie

The Rays and Guardians get the early slate again, as they are both east coast teams and unfortunately two of the smaller market teams left here in the playoffs. Game 1 turned out to be quite the pitcher duel, as both Shane Bieber and Shane McClanahan turned in impressive performances. Two home runs provided the source of all the runs scored in the game, as the Guardians squeaked out a narrow 2-1 victory. We should be getting another good pitching matchup here today with Tyler Glasnow going against Triston McKenzie.

McKenzie has been a great story for the Guardians this season. He has plus stuff and seems to have really turned a corner here this season. He comes into this contest with a 2.96 ERA, a sub-1 WHIP, and is striking out over a quarter of the batters he faces. There seems to be a new found confidence, and it is really showing with his stuff and demeanor on the mound. I love the makeup of this kid, and he has a bright future ahead of him.

Glasnow has a tough task ahead of him as the Rays face an early elimination from the playoffs with a loss here. It’s a bit surprising that Kevin Cash elected to go with Glasnow, as he has only thrown 6.2 innings all year in his first action coming off Tommy John surgery last August. Glasnow is a great talent, but that is a tall task to ask coming off over a year of rehab. With the Rays' backs against the wall, the hitters will be tense, and that’s a lot of pressure on Glasnow’s shoulders. The Guardians should have what it takes to ride McKenzie and get this series done with here in two games.

Bet: Guardians (-108) (BetOnline)

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