The Cleveland Guardians have the opportunity to turn the postseason on its head and become America’s Team. All they need to do is slay the New York Yankees.
Beating the Yankees would save the baseball world from the never-ending chatter that would come with a Yankees-Mets all-New York showdown. Or worse, a Yankees-Los Angeles Dodgers pairing. The networks surely aren’t rooting for a World Series that includes the Guardians.
No chance.
Cleveland dropped a 5-2 decision in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, so the task has already gotten harder.
We study Game 2 when Gerrit Cole looks to pitch New York to a 2-0 lead, break down an NHL contest and flip to the stack of three college football games on the Tuesday night slate.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS AT NEW YORK YANKEES
Juan Soto (+370 to homer) and Giancarlo Stanton (+320) homered in Game 1 as New York outclassed the Guardians. Both teams had six hits, but Cleveland’s big problem was swinging at air—a staggering 14 strikeouts.
Cole watched the festivities on Monday and certainly has a plan of attack. He’ll grab the tablet and review his Aug. 22 outing against Cleveland when he gave up just one hit in six innings during a 6-0 victory.
The Guardians are hoping Tanner Bibee is up to the task after he compiled a 2.08 ERA in two AL Division Series outings against the Detroit Tigers. He didn’t face the Yankees this season, but he must slow Stanton, who is 7-for-19 with two homers this postseason.
Aaron Judge (+240) has never faced Bibee, but he can go deep against anyone. On the Cleveland side, Josh Naylor (+550) has three homers against Cole, Jose Ramirez (+425) has taken him deep twice and Steven Kwan (+1100) has hit one off him.
Jose Ramirez to homer, +425 (DraftKings)
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FLORIDA PANTHERS AT COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
There won’t be many dry eyes in the building when Columbus plays its home opener against the Panthers. It will be the team’s first regular-season home game since star forward Johnny Gaudreau was tragically killed by a drunk driver in late August when he and his brother were cycling in New Jersey.
It’s already hard not to sob just hearing crash details, and the situation became more heartbreaking that the accident happened the night before their sister’s wedding. So picturing a whole arena of emotional fans makes it feel likely the Blue Jackets will be energized at the start, but can they keep up that intensity for 60 minutes?
Columbus split its first two games of the season and last played on Saturday when it posted a 6-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche. As for the Panthers, they are completing a four-game road trip with a back-to-back as they beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Monday night.
Florida (2-2-0) is down two key players as winger Matthew Tkachuk (illness) and center Aleksander Barkov (leg) are both out. Perhaps the Panthers will have tired legs on Tuesday.
Blue Jackets to win moneyline, +142 (DraftKings)
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LOUISIANA TECH AT NEW MEXICO STATE
Louisiana Tech (2-3) had its best scoring night of the season while rolling to a 48-21 victory over visiting Middle Tennessee last Thursday. It broke a three-game losing streak in which it scored 50 total points.
The bright spot for the Bulldogs is that freshman Evan Bullock tossed five touchdown passes in his second career start. Tru Edwards had a 75-yard scoring reception and had one of 71 yards earlier this season, so he has become a true big-play threat.
New Mexico State has dropped five straight games, so there hasn’t been much fun in Las Cruces. The Aggies have given up 48 or more points in three of their past four games, including last Wednesday’s 54-13 road loss to Jacksonville State.
New Mexico State has scored 13 or fewer points in three of the last four games. Its best running back, Seth McGowan, hasn’t found the end zone since scoring twice on Aug. 31. You got to figure Bullock’s emergence gives Louisiana Tech an opportunity to cover a double-digit road spread.
Louisiana Tech -11.5 spread, -110 (DraftKings)
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