Let me start off by saying that the divisional round of the MLB playoffs was pretty exciting. As a baseball fan, I enjoyed a lot of it. I only got 1 of my teams through to the next round, but that's the way the wind blows sometimes.
As far as the blown calls in last nights Giants/Dodgers game, it happens. There have been bad umpires since the beginning of sports history. We can't ask umpires/refs/officials to be perfect. We can only as for consistency and integrity. It sucks when it happens like that, especially in baseball. As we've seen all season, 1 bad pitch ends up in the outfield bleachers and the other team celebrates the win.
So here we are, 4 teams fighting for 2 spots in the World Series. The Astros host the Wild Card Red Sox and the Braves host the Wild Card Dodgers.
The Astros got here by walking through a White Sox team that, other than 1 game, just didn't show up. They played well and their top ranked offense stayed hot. The Red Sox played an incredible game against the Yankees. Then rolled into Tampa Bay with a lot of momentum and played to their potential. The Tampa Bay/Boston series wasn't the longest, but it was great to watch. Very exciting offenses and defenses. In the end, the Red Sox bats came through and earned a chance to keep playing.
This series should be exciting and high scoring. Especially if both teams are stealing signs and hitting bombs. In the end, it will come down to which offense stays hot. I think Boston wants it. I think Boston deserves it. Unfortunately, I think Houston wins it. I believe it will go 6 or 7 games. The lines do not benefit you to play Houston to win the series (-150). You could play Fade Coach, which has been successful, and take the Red Sox to win the series (+130). The smarter plays are going to be on the Boston F5s or over run totals.
As for the National League, the Braves got here by being all around solid against the Brewers. Great pitching from a couple aces and big hits from Albies and MVFree. The Dodgers have had a much tougher route; beating St. Louis in the Wild Card game and then 5 intense games with San Francisco. Looking back on it, the Dodgers just seem inevitable. Their pitching hasn't been great. The bats just came through in clutch spots and showed that when a pitcher makes a mistake you make them pay for it.
This series should be interesting. I think it will play out more like a chess match. Atlanta will use their pitching and stellar defense to keep the score low. Then wait for their spots to score runs. The Dodgers will look to build momentum early and hope Atlanta just kind of folds. I love Atlanta and a bet for them to win the series will pay you well at (+175). The Dodgers, as I said earlier, just seem inevitable though. My plays will be Braves F5, relying on Morton and Fried. And actually, all 4 Atlanta starters are pretty good. I will also be looking at unders on most of the games. Unless the line drops to 7 1/2 complete game or 3 1/2 F5.
Best of luck whether you Follow or Fade. Let me know what you think on The Twitter @TSCoachJJ
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