Expert Baseball Picks

We'll call Friday's pitching match-up a wash, but we give Houston the check-marks in the batting splits and in the bullpen comparison. On top of that, Los Angeles is playing without Trout. So we like the Astros here. We also like chasing better prices, so we'll play Houston and give the run and a half on the run line.

It's very difficult to beat Cole and Verlander back-to-back, but the way the Nats are playing, we're asking, "why not?" Washington's riding a huge wave of momentum, it's getting excellent starting pitching, timely hitting, the bullpen is better as of late, and it's getting another attractive underdog price. We like the value here with the Nationals.

It's time for Houston to put New York away and advance on to the World Series. We give the Astros advantages with the sticks and in the comparison of the bullpens, and the line on this game, when it comes out, shouldn't be too prohibitive, considering neither Cole or Verlander will pitch. The home team is only 2-3 in this ALCS, but that seems like a lean due for a correction. We're going with Houston for our free MLB pick here.

Houston is hot, with three wins in a row in this series, while New York looks lost, striking out 13 times Thursday night, committing four errors. Now the Astros get to throw Verlander on regular rest, and they're excellent against left-handed pitching. We're going with Houston here to finish off this series, with a World Series berth for the taking.

We're giving Tanaka the edge in the pitching match-up, and with other factors basically equaling out, we like New York to take Game 4 for our free MLB playoff pick here.

New York owns a slightly better record this season without its main starting pitchers. Also, the line on this game, when it comes out, will be very close to a "pick 'em", and the Yankees might even be posted as home dogs. And if there's ever a time to bet against Houston, it's right here, with both Cole and Verlander watching from the dugout. We'll take New York for our free MLB pick on Game 4.

The Nationals' pitching has been lights out in this series, giving up only one run and four hits in the first two games. The Cardinals won three of four games against the Nationals in the series this season in Washington in the first half. The Nats have won four of Strasburg's last five starts against St. Louis, and that trend will continue in this game. He will have another solid playoff start, and the bats of the Cardinals will stay silent. Flaherty will have a good outing as well, but just like the first two games, the Nationals will win a low scoring game and take a commanding 3-0 lead in this series.

Verlander is coming off a rough outing on short rest, but we expect a bounce-back performance Sunday night. So we'll give Houston the edge in the pitching match-up here. We'll also give Houston a small advantage with the sticks. Plus, we have to believe the Astros will salvage a split of these first two games on their home field. So we're going with Houston here for our free MLB pick on Game 2.

We give Greinke a short edge in the pitching match-up here, but it's close. We also give Houston the edge with the sticks and in the bullpen comparison. Also, the Astros just played a big game two days ago, while New York's had four days off, and we prefer teams that have played more recently in spots like this. So we're going with Houston here for our free MLB pick.

Both of these teams come into this game-winning two in a row, and both were underdogs in the last series. Both of the starters in this game have pitched well in the playoffs, and Mikolas has only given up one earned run in two appearances. Both will have good outings in this game and not give up many runs. The difference in this game will be in the bullpen, and in the playoffs, the Cardinals have a bullpen ERA of 4.30 while the Nationals have a bullpen ERA of 6.63. The Nats ranked dead last in the Majors this season in bullpen ERA, and that will hurt them in this game. The Cardinals will score runs late while the Nationals will not, and St. Louis will take the first game of this series at home.

Cole will be hard-pressed to match his previous outing, but he still gets the check-mark in the pitching match-up. And Houston owns the edge with the sticks. So we like the Astros for Game 5, and we'll chase the better price by giving the run and a half on the run line.