Thursday MLB Playoff Odds
(The Spread) – The Rangers can punch a ticket to their second straight World Series appearance with a win tonight, while the Cards look to go up 3-1 on the Brewers.
Nelson Cruz has absolutely murdered the Tigers in the ALCS and has put Texas within one victory of reaching the World Series for the second time in as many years. Cruz, who hit a grand slam in the 11th to help the Rangers win game 2, hit a crushing three-run homer in the 11th inning on Wednesday to give Texas a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. (Cruz also made a great throw to keep the score tied.)
Now the Tigers will rely on their ace Justin Verlander to send the series back to Texas for Game 6. Verlander will start Game 5 today at 4:19PM ET and will oppose C.J. Wilson. Verlander took the loss against Wilson in Game 1 of the series, as he pitched just 4 innings in a game where rain was a major factor. Oddsmakers have installed the Tigers as –151 money line favorites against the Rangers tonight, who are +142 ML underdogs.
In the NLCS, Chris Carpenter helped the Cardinals win their second straight game over the Brewers and now St. Louis has an opportunity to take a 3-1 series lead tonight at 8:05PM ET. The Cards will send Kyle Lohse to the mound against Randy Wolf, who was lit up in Arizona in the ALDS. He gave up seven earned runs on eight hits in just 3.0 innings of work.
According to latest MLB trends, the Cardinals are 2-8 in Lohse’s last 10 starts against the Brewers and 1-5 in his last six home starts versus Milwaukee. Meanwhile, the Brewers are 4-1 in Wolf’s last five road starts against the Cardinals. Oddsmakers have installed the Cardinals as –130 money line favorites over the Brewers, who are +122 on the ML.
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