Best MLB Parlay Picks Today (Ride with Guardians in the Bronx, and Unders for Both Starters in ALDS)

Before yesterday's matchup was postponed due to rain at Yankee Stadium, I had a lovely same game parlay cooked up for Game 5 of the ALDS. Now, we have an even better parlay opportunity with the NLCS kicking off today as well.

The Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees wrap up their series in the late afternoon, and then we get the San Diego Padres hosting the Philadelphia Phillies as the nightcap.

With two games on the board, I’ve got another juicy parlay for today, with a $25 bet paying out at #487.45 with +1549 odds!

Let's take a look at our options and build our best MLB parlay for Tuesday, October 18.

Best MLB Parlay Picks Today

• Guardians (+152) vs. Yankees
• Aaron Civale Under 3.5 Ks (-156)
• Nestor Cortes Under 3.5 Ks (+128)
• Phillies vs. Padres Over 7 (+100)

Guardians (+152) vs. Yankees

The odds for this game have moved a lot with Nestor Cortes making the start instead of Jameson Taillon who was scheduled yesterday. That makes a ton of sense because Cleveland struggles to hit left-handed pitching. During the year they were bad and in the postseason they have a .577 OPS against lefties. It’s a very real concern, but I love everything else about Cleveland. They have an outstanding bullpen which they will lean on today and Shane Bieber will be an option in relief. They also do all of the little things better than New York. Cleveland strings together hits well, they pitch as well as anyone in the league, they run the bases really well, and they play great defense. 

Sure, the Yankees have home run power, but in a do-or-die Game 5, I want the team that does everything else more reliably, and has the better manager. Above all else, I trust Tito Francona much more than Aaron Boone in this spot. 

Aaron Civale Under 3.5 Ks (-166)

Civale has yet to pitch this postseason, but during the year he only had a 60th percentile strikeout rate. That is solid, but Civale just won’t have time to rack up the Ks. This is going to be a bullpen game and he will get the hook at the first sign of trouble. 

Nestor Cortes Under 3.5 Ks (+128)

Cortes is a massive upgrade from Jameson Taillon who has an infinite ERA this postseason. Cortes pitched pretty well in Game 2 of this series, but it was not smooth sailing the whole way. This is a Guardians lineup that grinds out at-bats and doesn't strike out much. They were last in the league in strikeouts this year. While Cortes is a much more trustworthy starter, the Yankees are still going to rely heavily on relievers today. Cortes only had three strike outs in five innings in Game 2 and I don’t see any scenario where he pitches that long today. 

Phillies vs. Padres Over 7

We are getting two great pitchers in Zack Wheeler and Yu Darvish, but I’ve thought like that all postseason and watched as many games have gone over. Especially games involving these two teams. Five of San Diego’s seven games this postseason have ended with more than seven runs scored and the same goes for four of Philadelphia’s six games. Darvish has pitched well with an ERA of 3.00 this postseason, but both of his starts have finished with eight runs on the board.

These are the best two postseason offenses that are still hanging around. The Phillies have a team OPS of .717 and the Padres, .703. I don’t think it’ll be a total shootout, but I like the over in this spot. 

Parlay Odds: +1549

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change