Guardians vs Yankees Picks, Best Bets, Odds for Game 2 of ALDS MLB Playoffs

Guardians vs. Yankees Game 2 Odds

The Yankees topped the Guardians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series and our experts wouldn't be surprised if New York jumps out to a commanding 2-0 lead before the series shifts back to Cleveland.

We've got a play on both the total and the moneyline for Friday night's contest, so let's dig in to our best bets.

MLB Odds & Picks

Under 6.5

Odds courtesy of PointsBet

DJ James: The New York Yankees host the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the ALDS. Nestor Cortes will throw against Shane Bieber. In Game 1, the final ended up being 4-1 Yankees, which should be a nice predictor for this game’s outcome.

Both Cortes and Bieber are exceptional starting pitchers. Cortes has above average peripherals in every regard, except Extension and Fastball Velocity. He ranks in the 63rd percentile in Average Exit Velocity and the 75th percentile in Hard-Hit Rate.

Bieber ranks in the 15th and 14th percentiles in both of those, so that is a tad concerning, but he is strong in every other metric, excluding Curve Spin and Fastball Velocity. Basically, these are two soft-tossers.

Since August 1, Cleveland is subpar against lefties. The Guardians have a 96 wRC+ and are slugging .373. New York has a 103 wRC+ against righties, but is also slugging below 400.

Cleveland has a phenomenal bullpen and if Bieber can hand it to Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians will be in full lockdown mode. The issue with runs in this game may be the New York bullpen, but they at least have a few options behind Cortes in the later innings.

Take the under in this game from 6.5 (-120) to 6 (-120). It should be another low-scoring affair.

Yankees Moneyline

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Jules Posner: Shane Bieber was lights out in his Wild Card round start against the Tampa Bay Rays, but as the series progressed it did not look as impressive in context.

Although Bieber pitched well, he did so against a fairly weak Tampa Bay offense. The Rays only mustered one run against Bieber and Triston McKenzie, who are both good pitchers, but the Yankees are a good offense.

Nestor Cortes will be making his postseason debut and is riding a strong final month of the season into the ALDS. Over his past 5 starts, Cortes posted a 1.32 ERA, a 1.80 FIP and a 3.26 xFIP.

While the xFIP may give people some pause, the Guardians posted the 28th lowest wRC+ on the road against lefties over the final month of the regular season.

Despite the Guardians' Game 1 victory over the Rays in the Wild Card series, Cleveland only managed two runs against lefties in 10 1/3 innings.

The Yankees are Guardians are pretty much a dead heat in terms of how they have performed this season, so the real edge lies in the offenses. The Yankees have a clear edge there.

The Yankees' moneyline opened around -140 and remained there steadily overnight. It should be played at -150 or better.