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Cleveland Guardians vs New York Yankees: ALCS – Game 1

The New York Yankees are hosting the Cleveland Guardians today at Yankee Stadium in the opening game of the ALCS.

The Guardians did what it took to get here

The Cleveland Guardians finished the regular season on top of the AL Central with a 92-69 record, including 50-30 at home. They survived a five-game series against the Detroit Tigers and are coming off a 7-3 win in the decisive one. The Guardians have a 3.58 ERA, a .228 batting average, a .300 on-base percentage, and 1.20 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Jose Ramirez is the best player on the team with 173 hits, 114 runs, and 39 home runs.

The Yankees are the team to beat

The New York Yankees finished the regular season on top of the AL East with a 94-68 record, including 44-37 at home. They are coming off a 3-1 series win against the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees have a 3.78 ERA, a .232 batting average, a .310 on-base percentage, and 1.25 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Aaron Judge is the best player on the team with 180 hits, 122 runs, and league-high 58 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Yankees are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games overall, 9-3 SU in their last 12 games against Cleveland, and 13-5 SU in their last 18 games against teams from the AL. New York has played over the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games against Cleveland and 5 of their last 7 home games, while have stayed under in 5 of their last 6 games against teams from the AL Central. The Guardians are 2-6 SU in their last 8 games against the Yankees and 3-6 SU in their last 9 games against teams from the AL East. Cleveland has played under the total run line in 14 of their last 20 games overall, 10 of their last 15 games on the road, and 13 of their last 19 games against teams from the AL.

Prediction and Conclusion

The New York Yankees came to the AL championship series much easier than the Cleveland Guardians and will have the home-court advantage in this one. The Yankees will go with Carlos Rodón to open up the series. He is 16-9 for the season, with a 3.96 ERA, 195 K, 175 IP, and 1.22 WHIP. In the postseason, Rodon is 0-1, with a 9.82 ERA, 7 K, 3.2 IP, and 1.91 WHIP. On the other side, the Guardians will go with Alex Cobb, who is 2-1 for the season with a 2.76 ERA, 10 K, 16.1 IP, and 1.04 WHIP. In the playoffs, Cobb is 0-1, with a 6.00 ERA, 2 K, 3 IP, and 1.33 WHIP. Both pitchers have very limited experience when it comes to the playoffs but have been in the league for a long time. This is their moment to shine, so we won’t see much hitting tonight. Therefore, we go with under 7.5 total runs.