The 2024 MLB Postseason rolls on with ALCS Game 5 between the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians on Saturday, October 12th. Let’s dive into the MLB Best Bets Today for tonight’s matchup as you enjoy the drama. 

After another back-and-forth thriller on Friday, the Yankees have a 3-1 series lead heading into Game 5. It’s a potential elimination game for the Guardians and a possible clincher for the Yankees. Let’s find some winning MLB picks and MLB predictions before the game gets underway.

 

 

 

MLB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets Today, 10/19

As always, be sure to shop around for the best Vegas Odds and Lines at different sportsbooks. The odds in this article below are accurate as of this writing. 

Without further ado, let’s check out my MLB best bets and props for Saturday, October 19th.

 

 

 

Yankees vs. Guardians Prediction, ALCS Game 5: Saturday, October 19th

Have you caught your breath yet from the past two days of playoff baseball?! Both the NLCS and ALCS matchups have featured a ton of runs and exciting games. Well, let’s do it all again on Saturday night with this Game 5 showdown between the Yankees and Guardians. 

Carlos Rodon is on the mound for New York while Cleveland is going with Tanner Bibee to start. Let’s focus on Rodon first. The Yankees’ lefthander was excellent in Game 1 with 6 innings of one-run ball, striking out 9 and walking none. As impressive as the outing was, we should expect the Guardians’ hitters to be better in this rematch. 

Cleveland has woken up at home with 6 and 7 runs scored in the past two contests. The offense also hit notably better against lefties (.324 wOBA, 114 wRC+) than righties (.299 wOBA, 95 wRC+) during the regular season. Rodon, meanwhile, had a 4.69 ERA on the road this year compared to a 3.11 ERA at home. He’s yet to pitch on the road during this postseason with his starts in ALDS Game 2 and ALCS Game 1 both coming at Yankee Stadium. Plus, the Yankee relief corps that was so dominant in the ALDS has allowed 10 runs over their past 11 innings of work. 

On the other side, Bibee was very shaky in his Game 2 start with 3 runs allowed over just 1.1 innings. He could be better today, but the New York offense is on fire with at least 5 runs scored in each ALCS game thus far. Plus, the Guardians’ righty had a 4.15 ERA at home in the regular season compared to a 2.76 ERA on the road. If Bibee runs into any trouble early, expect another quick hook in an elimination game scenario. It’ll be all-hands-on-deck for the Cleveland bullpen.

The only problem with that, though, is that the Guardians’ relievers have all been used a ton in this series. Cleveland used 7 relievers last night and 7 the game before – including all of the high-leverage arms. Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin, and Pedro Avila have all been used in back-to-back days and could be overworked if needed tonight. 

All in all, bank on another high-scoring contest as the offenses appear to have the advantage on both sides right now. There have been at least 7 runs scored in every ALCS game thus far with an average of 10.5 total runs per game. The trend should continue as we take the over. 

 

 

 

Best MLB Player Prop Bets & Other Picks Today, 10/19