This is one of the most exciting times of the year for avid sports fans — the NFL is in full swing, the NHL drops the puck on its season, and the NBA is just days away from opening tipoff.
Need a little more excitement for your hectic schedule? How about the MLB playoffs and the Fall Classic. It all begins Tuesday, Oct. 3 as the Minnesota Twins travel to the Bronx to take on the New York Yankees in the AL wild card game. On Wednesday, the Colorado Rockies head to Phoenix to battle the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL wild card game.
These games are sudden death. Win and you’re in. Lose and you’re heading home and counting the days until spring training. Let’s see how these clubs match up and try and pick a winner in both games (odds provided by bovada.lv).
Minnesota (+205) at New York Yankees (-240) — The Yankees (51-30 at home this season) will be relying on youth to dispose of the Twins and reach the next round. They have an outstanding starter in 23-year-old Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98 ERA) and one of the best young sluggers in the game today in 25-year-old Aaron Judge, who finished the season with 52 home runs.
*** Could not import image: Oops! We had a problem to download the image /common-files/section-publish-files/188007-jpg-1506949964.38730 of the page url mlb-wild-card-vegas-odds-2017 ***Judge broke two historic home run records this season — the rookie total of 49 set 20 years ago by Mark McGwire and 33 blasts at Yankee Stadium, smashing Babe Ruth’s 96-year-old mark.
Severino is 12-5 in night games and 8-5 at Yankee Stadium. In his only start against the Twins this year, the righthander lasted just three innings and gave up three runs. But he has pitched some of his best games since the all-star break.
If these two players have a big day against the Twins, the Yankees will move on to meet the Indians in the American League Divisional Series. If not, the Twins will likely be making travel plans for Cleveland.
Ervin Santana (16-8, 3.28 ERA) gets the call for the Twins (44-37 on the road this season). They haven’t been in the playoffs since 2010 when they won the Central Division crown. Santana lost his only start against the Yankees this season, allowing seven hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.
The Twins are led by veteran infielders Brian Dozier (.269, 34 home runs) and Joe Mauer (.305, seven home runs). Miguel Sano (28 homers) and Eddie Rosario (27 homers) are also some long ball threats in the middle of the lineup.
The Yankees won four of six games against the Twins in 2017, including a three-game sweep Sept. 18-20.
VGB’s pick — New York Yankees (-240)
Colorado (+148) at Arizona (-173) — Zack Greinke was better earlier in the year than in recent months, but he’s been just about unbeatable at home throughout the season. Greinke (17-7, 3.20 ERA) is 13-1 at hitter-friendly Chase Field. The Diamondbacks (52-29 at home) will be counting on their 33-year-old righthander Wednesday night against the Rockies (41-40 on the road).
Jon Gray (10-4, 3.67 ERA) makes the start for the Rockies, who are 6-4 in the 25-year-old’s last 10 outings. Gray is 2-1 against the D’backs this season, with a 3.50 ERA. Greinke is also 2-1 against the Rockies this year, with a 3.41 ERA.
The Diamondbacks are led by MVP candidate Paul Goldsmith. The 30-year-old first baseman can hit for average (.297), power (36 home runs) and production (120 RBIs). In the other dugout, the Rockies have two of their own MVPs in Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon. Arenado’s numbers are impressive: .309, 37 homers and 130 RBIs. Blackmon’s are just as good: .331, 37 homers and 104 RBIs.
Arizona won 11 of the 19 matchups with Colorado this season, though the two clubs split their 10 games in Phoenix. The winner heads to Los Angeles for a five-game series against the Dodgers.
VGB’s pick — Arizona (-173)
Summary
Chris Wassel AA, AAS CURRENTLY Sports Writer and Journalist RESIDES IN Rahway, NJ EDUCATION Union County College, Montclair State University EXPERTISE Business, Writing, Sports, Food, Grilling, Olympics, Injuries, Politics, and more Summary Member of FSWA, FSGA, and a variety of Sports Betting Groups. Lead arranger of news and injury reports for Rotoballer Hockey. Also did the news lead for NASCAR on the same site coming out of COVID. Strategy and mapping out of various sports betting and sports articles for MyNHLTradeRumors and gambling.com. Runs a hockey and fantasy hockey podcast that teaches fantasy hockey players how to improve their skills. Experience Chris Wassel has 20+ years of sports journalistic experience in various disciplines.. His ability to play sports is well documented. Most people in the business just write. However, Chris will race cars and even a super Moto bike from time to time. There is that fitness and hiking/cycling aspect too. Chris has climbed mountains from Mount Washington to Mount San Jacinto in Palm Springs, California. For those that do not know. Chris also dabbles in food eating contests and challenges. Having a unique background with friends including Joey Chestnut and Casey Webb, Chris has the ability to eat a whole 16-pound turkey or a 32 inch meat lover's pizza. Since 2013, Chris has primarily focused on sports writing and fitness. On social media, he will answer any question in many different aspects. Even Chris's ability to wager on Entertainment and US Elections is well documented. He was able to predict Joe Biden's inevitable dip in approval rating below 40%. Throughout his career, Chris has worked at a lot of places from DraftKings to USA Today and much more. Finally, Chris has been nominated for quite a few awards from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association for Hockey Writer Of The Year. Also, there have been a number of amazing fantasy hockey championships from expert to high-stake leagues. Education Chris received an Associates from Union Country College for business and accounting. Chris did sports journalism work at Montclair State University covering the hockey, baseball, and football teams. Quote from Chris Wassel "Do Not Think, Just Do.”
Education
1999 Graduate of Union County College
1993 Graduate of Rahway High School
Professional Achievements
Media credentialed member of the New Jersey Devils since 2010
Covered several NHL Drafts including the one day event in Newark in 2013
Been on countless podcasts, TV shows, and more including Sportsnet and even NHL Network