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00:00Today is the first day in the month of October, which perfectly coincides with a term we call
00:09October baseball.
00:11It's the start of the Major League Baseball postseason on this Tuesday.
00:16All four wildcard series begin today.
00:19That means a quadruple header of opening games of the opening round on the opening
00:24day of October.
00:27Let's play that playoff baseball here to begin.
00:30Joe, we start with both of the games in the American League.
00:34It goes in chronological order.
00:36First game up, how about some afternoon baseball in October, 2.30 p.m. Eastern time.
00:42The slated first pitch in Houston in what is going to be an ace's affair for the Astros.
00:48It's from Rivaldez.
00:49He has been sensational since the end of June.
00:52For the upstart Detroit Tigers, it's Terrence Scuble.
00:56He has been sensational all season long.
00:59Houston, you're a dollar and a half favorite on the money line.
01:02But Joe, when you see these two lefties take the bump, your first spot should be on the
01:07total.
01:08Six and a half the number today in H-town.
01:11Yeah, and I would go even further and cut the game in half then.
01:15You and I discussed it earlier.
01:16Even in the first five, three and a half under.
01:20This is a pitcher's battle of epic proportion.
01:23I would also correlate that to a Frambois Valdez over on his strikeout prop, whatever
01:30that number is.
01:31It should be six and a half probably somewhere in that ballpark there.
01:36He's taking on a Detroit lineup that unfortunately does strike out a lot.
01:40They don't put a lot of balls into play.
01:43Valdez is a ground ball pitcher as it is, so they're not even going to have a real chance,
01:49I think, to do any sort of damage.
01:51I do think with several left-handed bats in that lineup, I think it's all Frambois Valdez.
01:58So I think he gets over the six and a half Ks.
02:01I think the under is a great play, and I wouldn't at all be opposed to going under in the Detroit
02:06team total as well, because I do think this has got a three-nothing game written all over,
02:13three-one, somewhere along those lines.
02:16Two and a half that team total for the Tigers.
02:18The over does have the juice at minus 146, as you would expect, but just to see a team
02:23total at two and a half for a playoff game, indicative of the overall game total at six
02:29and a half.
02:30You are correct.
02:31The strikeout prop for Valdez is at six and a half.
02:33The under has the juice and plus money on the over.
02:36Five and a hooked the number for Scoble.
02:39Heavy juice on the over.
02:41It is interesting, Joe, approaching K props now in playoff baseball, right?
02:45If you start to struggle, do the managers go quickly to the bullpen to bring in some
02:51relief?
02:52It's all hands on deck for every game here in October, especially in the wild card round
02:58in a best of three series.
03:01Houston has won 14 of the last 16 starts that Fromber Valdez has made.
03:08Valdez himself has won 10 of those 14 victories for Houston.
03:14One of the losses, the most recent one here in the month of September against the Padres
03:19when Valdez was great and gave up just a single earned run.
03:23It's just that Dylan sees for San Diego had a near no hitter going once again.
03:28But Tarek Scoble has been that guy for the Tigers.
03:31He is going to run away with the American League Cy Young Award, and rightfully so.
03:37He is 18 and four tied for the most wins in MLB this year.
03:41The ERA is second best around Major League Baseball.
03:44If there is a game for the Tigers to take, it is here in game one.
03:50Houston pretty heavily favored to win this series.
03:53But can Detroit continue that momentum?
03:56We know how good wild card teams have been in the expanded MLB postseason since we saw
04:01the additional wild card team get added in 2022.
04:06Nobody better than the Tigers since August 22nd, since August 11th, since September 1st.
04:13Detroit was four games below 500, 62 and 66 on August 22nd.
04:18From that point, 24 and 11, the best record in baseball.
04:23But Joe, as we know, nobody has better playoff proven experience than Houston out of the
04:28entirety of the 12 teams to make the MLB postseason on either side.
04:32The Astros have reached the American League Championship Series seven consecutive Octobers.
04:38Yeah, it's the old guard versus the new guard, right?
04:42That's going to be really the storyline here.
04:45The young guys who nobody took seriously a la Arizona a year ago, Ben, right?
04:50Because nobody was taking Arizona seriously when we got to this point in the season last
04:55year and they ran that right to the World Series.
04:58I got news for you.
04:59I think you're right.
05:00I think this series is won or lost in this game.
05:03If Framboise wins, I think Houston sweeps.
05:05If Detroit wins, oh boy, it could be time for the new guard to take over because I do
05:12think this is the last run for that core in Houston.
05:17Absolutely so.
05:18They're all veterans now.
05:19Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve, Jordan Alvarez, we'll see what his status is on the playoff
05:24roster.
05:25AJ Hinch, revenge game, revenge series in October now against the former team that he
05:32managed to a World Series title back in 2017.
05:37Of course, Joe, the Houston Astros have played in four World Series.
05:40They've won two ships, one clean, one tainted.
05:44If you will, Baltimore was the number one overall seed in the American League last year.
05:49They earned the opening round by into the division series.
05:52The Rangers made quick work of the young O's.
05:55And they learned from that playoff experience now against another young roster in the Royals.
06:00Good news, though, for Casey on this first day of October.
06:04Vinny Pasquantino, the Pasquatch, Vinny P, as we know and adore him here on the early
06:10line, is set to make his return, broke his thumb back on August 29th, has not played
06:16since.
06:17Joe Casey, the only team that enters the postseason with a losing record in September.
06:21They were just 11 and 14.
06:23A lot of that without Vinny P.
06:24Yeah, and also the worst hitting team down the last stretch, hitting 186 the final two
06:32weeks.
06:33Listen, if you're Baltimore, this is why you went and traded for Corbin Burns.
06:36Is it not?
06:37No doubt.
06:38Because you failed miserably last year.
06:39You need to win this game at home today and get the ball rolling.
06:44They've dominated Kansas City.
06:46I don't see any reason to think they won't dominate him here.
06:49Yeah, Burns, Joe, was really in American League Zion contention up until July.
06:54Scooble started to separate himself.
06:56He was 11 and four was Burns at the end of July with a 247 ERA.
07:00It's just his month of August was terrible.
07:0221 earned runs given up in that span, 28 runs scored against him.
07:08So plenty of offense, but he did figure things out in the five starts in September.
07:13Only four earned runs given up in total.
07:16Only a single earned run given up over his last three starts.
07:21Plenty more around the National League wildcard set next.
07:24Now we go to the wildcard round and the two sets to begin today in the National League.
07:28We start in Milwaukee.
07:30The Brewers, the champions of the NL Central, winning that divisional crown comfortably
07:35will host the New York Mets who won the first game of two yesterday in Atlanta to claim
07:40yet another playoff berth.
07:43Nobody since June 1st has been better than the New York Mets, 65 and 40 probably wouldn't
07:49be playing on the road as the final team into the NL postseason if it wasn't for the first
07:54two months of the year, but that's why we play 162.
07:59The Brew crew, Joe, in September didn't have to do much to even claim that divisional crown
08:04because they won the NL Central by 10 games.
08:07They ran away with it.
08:08So they're actually 13 and 13 in MLB's final month of the regular season.
08:13Can the Mets ride the momentum?
08:15Will Milwaukee take advantage of being at home?
08:18The Brew crew, a home favorite today.
08:20Freddy Peralta gets the start for Milwaukee, Luis Severino on the other side for New York.
08:25What gives in game one?
08:28What gives to me here is that advantage Milwaukee in game one, just strictly from the travel,
08:35the bullpen, your top two leverage guys for the Mets are out, having pitched, having to
08:40deal with yesterday.
08:42So Severino against Peralta, depending on which Severino shows up, is going to be interesting.
08:48But the bottom line to me is I get a team at home that has prepared for this, knows
08:54what to expect, getting a very shorthanded-esque Mets team.
08:59I like the way they play defense.
09:02I love the bullpen, the back end of Milwaukee.
09:05They have every advantage in this game.
09:06No reason for them to lose this game one.
09:10Whether or not they win the series, though, is another thing, but I definitely think they
09:14take game one today.
09:16It's a really good point, Joe, and this is one of the weird distinctions, where the number
09:20four game one in favor of Milwaukee is actually greater in favor of a club than they are for
09:28the series.
09:29Milwaukee nearly a dollar and a half favorite today, minus 142, that updated number.
09:34But the brew crew to win the opening round set against the Mets, of course, best of three
09:38here in the wildcard round, only minus 134, something to pay attention to.
09:45And the question, Joe, we will all have to ask for the nightcap tonight in San Diego.
09:50Nothing confirmed for the Braves, but with Chris Sale dealing with back spasms, his status
09:55for this series, maybe the playoffs for Atlanta in question, here are the three names that
10:01have been rumored to start today, to start the playoffs for the Atlanta Braves.
10:06Bryce Elder, the youngster A.J. Smith, Chauver, and a guy by the name of Ian Anderson, who
10:11was once a young, promising arm alongside Spencer Strider in the Atlanta rotation, but
10:17last through in MLB in 2022.
10:21But he has been with the Braves through magical postseason runs in both 2020 and 2021.
10:27I just want to read these stats off.
10:29He is 4-0 with a 1-2-6 ERA in eight playoff starts during the 2020 and 2021 campaign,
10:38totaling 40 strikeouts and 35 and two thirds innings of work.
10:43Anderson, again, this is crazy.
10:45Anderson is the third pitcher in Major League Baseball history with a sub 1-5-0 ERA through
10:53at least eight playoff starts, joining Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson and Steven Strasburg.
11:00That is who might start today for Atlanta in San Diego.
11:04Playoff pedigree, sure, hasn't pitched in the bigs since 2022.
11:09Yeah, and here's the other problem.
11:13You're going up against a Padres lineup that never strikes out, man.
11:17They are one of the, they are the lineup in Major League Baseball who does nothing but
11:22put balls into play and forces teams' defenses to have to make plays here.
11:28That is definitely going to be advantage Padres and Atlanta below average against righties
11:35this season.
11:36They have a ton of right-handed bats in that lineup.
11:39They got a ton on the bench, and guess what they're going to see?
11:42Three strikeout righty pitchers that are going to be going after them here in this series.
11:47This all screams Padres here to me, especially in this game.
11:52Michael King with the ninth best ERA in baseball, 2-9-5.
11:57He has been darn good in the second half, and speaking of the second half, since the
12:01all-star break, the Padres, the best team in the bigs, 43-20, 16-8 in September, only
12:08a half game behind Detroit for the best record in that month.