Daily free plays have done well lately, although Monday was a miss on the Royals/Astros Under. I’ll go with a side today as the MLB playoffs continue.
DODGERS (Kershaw) @ METS (Matz)
Take: METS (no current line, will update later)
Clayton Kershaw is one of the best pitchers I’ll ever see. I could write endlessly about the quality of his offerings. I have no idea why he hasn’t been able to duplicate his regular season success in the post-season. But there’s simply no denying he hasn’t been as overwhelming in the playoffs.
Kershaw is now faced with the task of keeping the Dodgers alive in their series with the upstart Mets. He did a solid job against them in Game One, but Jacob deGrom was even better and Kershaw eventually wore down and then got no help from that shaky LA bullpen.
The pressure here will be enormous. The failures of the last two post-seasons have to be in play when assessing tonight’s matchup and let’s face it, the Mets are simply playing better baseball than the Dodgers right now. In a way, the Dodgers are kind of fortunate to even still have a pulse.
Steven Matz will throw for the Mets and he’ll take the mound armed with the knowledge that he already dominated this opponent during the regular season. Matz also has the luxury of knowing that even if he comes up short, the Mets have that one-game cushion. For a rookie, that’s gravy, and beyond that, I haven’t seen anything to suggest that this kid won’t be up for the moment. Matz will also get to face an LA lineup that is simply better suited right now to facing righties as opposed to southpaws.
The Mets have played these first three games with a nothing to lose attitude. The Dodgers have played these first three games like a team with the weight of the world on their shoulders. The Mets are having fun, the Dodgers look like they’re toiling. Kershaw is awesome, and he might be able to find his groove and utterly dominate the Mets in Game Four. But I don’t see how that can be considered a sure thing at this point, and it’s also conceivable that Matz matches him pitch for pitch.
No widely available number on this game as I’m writing this, but price is not likely to be an obstacle. I’m going to look to line up on the Mets side to end this series tonight.
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My 3* CFB Game of Week is ready for Friday!