MLB Betting News, Match-Ups and Trends For Tuesday 10/16/18

Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros Preview and Predictions 10-16-2018 in MLB

MLB Previews 15th October 2018 by Gracenote
Red Sox vs. Astros Preview and Predictions

by Gracenote on 10/15/2018

The Boston Red Sox got an MVP-like performance from one of their stars in Game 2 and managed to even the best-of-seven American League Championship Series at one win apiece. Mookie Betts and company now must win one of the next three games at the Houston Astros, beginning with Tuesday's Game 3.

Betts scored a pair of runs and drove in another in Sunday's 7-5 triumph as Boston's offense, which led the majors in batting average and runs scored during the regular season, woke up after a quiet Game 1. "I just go out and do what I can to help the team win, try and be consistent in having some good at-bats and getting some timely hits and whatnot," Betts told reporters. "But it's not just me. We've got 25 guys out here to win." The Astros made it as interesting as they could, with Alex Bregman representing the tying run and flying out to the warning track to end the game, and said they feel confident heading home. "We didn't play our best game today," Bregman told reporters after the loss. "We had a lot of traffic on the bases all night. We're going to keep putting pressure on them, keep competing, and if we do that, I like our chances."

TV: 5:09 p.m. ET, TBS

PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox RH Nathan Eovaldi (1-0,1.29 ERA) vs. Astros LH Dallas Keuchel (0-0, 3.60)

Eovaldi owns the only quality start among Boston pitchers in the postseason after dominating the New York Yankees in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. The 28-year-old scattered one run and five hits over seven innings while striking out five and not walking a batter. Eovaldi started at Houston as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays on June 20 and was knocked around for four runs on seven hits - four solo homers - in six innings to suffer the loss.

Keuchel surrendered two runs and four hits in five innings at Cleveland in Game 3 of the ALDS but did not factor in the decision in a game the Astros went onto win 11-3. The former Cy Young Award winner won his lone start against Boston in the 2017 ALDS but was not sharp against the Red Sox on Sept. 9, when he was knocked around for five runs and nine hits in six frames. Keuchel posted a 4-6 record with a 3.90 ERA in 16 home starts during the regular season.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Astros have homered in a postseason-record 14 consecutive games.

2. Boston LHP Chris Sale was hospitalized Sunday because of a stomach ailment and did not travel with the team but is expected to make his Game 5 start.

3. Houston OF George Springer went 2-for-5 in Game 2 to extend his postseason hitting streak to a franchise-record 11 straight games.

PREDICTION: Red Sox 8, Astros 2
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Milwaukee Brewers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers Preview and Predictions 10-16-2018 in MLB

MLB Previews 16th October 2018 by Gracenote
Brewers vs. Dodgers Preview and Predictions

by Gracenote on 10/16/2018

The Milwaukee Brewers attempt to take a 3-1 lead when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series. Orlando Arcia hit a two-run homer and five pitchers combined on a five-hitter as the Brewers recorded a 4-0 victory on Monday.

Arcia has gone deep in back-to-back games, and manager Craig Counsell isn't surprised to see his shortstop coming through on the big stage. "Orlando has always been a guy that you want to put a moment on him, put pressure on him," Counsell said during his postgame press conference. "Put a big moment on him. Put the spotlight on him. He loves it. And I'm not surprised that he's thriving in the playoff atmosphere. He has this love and he's wired the right way for this kind of baseball." The Dodgers went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position in Game 3, a fact that distressed manager Dave Roberts. "I thought we had the right guys in those moments and we just didn't execute," Roberts told reporters after Game 3. "So in games like this, things like that get exploited. I definitely don't think it's the personnel. It's a matter of when we get in those spots, we have to find a way to be productive."

TV: 9:09 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Brewers LH Gio Gonzalez (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Rich Hill (0-0, 4.15)

Gonzalez started Game 1 and was pulled after allowing one run and one hit - a homer by Manny Machado - in two innings. Counsell didn't announce Gonzalez as the starter until after Monday's victory but said starting the 33-year-old always was the preferred plan. "We laid out some scenarios, kind of going into (Monday's) game, what the possibilities were for (Tuesday)," Counsell said in his postgame press conference. "And if we got a good start and we're in good shape, Gio was always going to be the guy."

Hill went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 12 innings in two regular-season starts against the Brewers, but he doesn't see the success as a factor in mid-October. "It is probably something you look a little bit deeper into scouting reports as opposed to what they hit and what they don't hit," Hill said Monday during his press conference. "It's really about the makeup and the fight that they have, too, as well, knowing that no lead is ever safe." The 38-year-old Hill is 1-2 with a 3.55 ERA in nine career postseason starts.

WALK-OFFS

1. Machado, who is 5-for-11 in the series, has recorded three homers and nine RBIs in seven games this postseason.

2. Milwaukee became the third team to toss three shutouts in the first six games of a postseason, joining the 1905 New York Giants and 1966 Baltimore Orioles.

3. Roberts said that C Austin Barnes will start in Game 4 in place of the struggling Yasmani Grandal, who went 1-for-4 with three strikeouts in Game 3 and has committed three passed balls and two errors in the series.

PREDICTION: Dodgers 5, Brewers 4
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