<p>The Yankees stormed out to a huge lead in the American League East this season and cruised from there to the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs. The Indians - err, Guardians - played about .500 ball for much of this season, then steamed their way to the AL Central title. Now, these teams meet in a best-of-five American League divisional-round playoff series beginning Tuesday night in the Bronx.</p>
<p>Gerrit Cole gets the call for the Pinstripes here against breakout Cal Quantrill for Cleveland.</p>
<p>How are we playing this series opener with our free baseball betting pick?</p>
<h2>MLB Playoff Betting Odds</h2>
<p>The divisional-round baseball betting lines opened New York and Cole at around -220 over Cleveland and Quantrill, with an over/under of seven runs. Both figures were holding steady in the early betting action.</p>
<p>The Yankees are also lined as -225 favorites to win this ALDS, with the Guardians getting +180 as the underdogs.</p>
<h2>Guardians-Yankees Game 1 Betting Preview </h2>
<p>Cleveland reached this American League divisional-round series by sweeping Tampa Bay out in two games in a wild-card series over the weekend. The Guardians won Game 1 against the Rays last Friday 2-1, then got a walk-off home run from Oscar Gonzalez in the bottom of the 15th to win Game 2 Saturday 1-0.</p>
<p>So Cleveland is back in the ALDS for the fourth time in the last six seasons.</p>
<p>The Guardians went 92-70 this season to win the AL Central and easily played over their wins over/under of 76.5. Cleveland only sat at 54-52 heading into the far turn but played 38-18 from there and won the division by 11 games.</p>
<p>Stretching back a month or so and including their wild-card sweep, the Guardians are 26-6 over their last 32 games.</p>
<p>New York, meanwhile, reached this ALDS by winning 99 games this season, which earned it the AL East title, the No. 2 seed in the AL playoffs, a wild-card bye, and home-field advantage for this series. The Yankees started 61-23 this season, built a huge lead in their divisional race, but only played 38-40 from there. But they hung on to win the East by seven games and played over their seasons wins O/U of 91.5.</p>
<p>New York is back in the ALDS for the fifth time over the last six seasons.</p>
<p>The Yankees beat Cleveland by seven games in the regular-season standings and took the season series from the Guardians five games to one.</p>
<h2>Game 1 Pitching Match-Up</h2>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/48274&quot; title="Gerrit Cole Pitching Game Logs">Cole</a> hit 21/33 on quality starts this season but finished two for his last five and had a little problem with long balls. Last Tuesday, he held Texas to three runs - two earned - and six hits through six innings, with zero walks and nine strikeouts, although New York lost that game 3-2. But over his last five starts, he allowed 18 runs and 22 hits, including nine homers, through 29 1/3 innings.</p>
<p>The Yankees played 21-12 with Cole this season, and that’s about what they should have been, based on his performances.</p>
<p>Over two starts against Cleveland, this season Cole allowed just two runs and seven hits through 12 2/3 innings, with four walks and 15 whiffs. The Yanks won both of those games.</p>
<p><a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/pitcherlog/271591&quot; title="Cal Quantrill Guardians Pitching Game Stats">Quantrill</a> hit 16/32 on quality starts this year and finished two for his last three. Last Tuesday, he held Kansas City to one run and four hits through five innings of a 5-3 Guardians victory. And over his last three starts, he allowed just three runs and 12 hits through 17 innings.</p>
<p>Cleveland played 22-10 with Quantrill this season and an amazing 16-1 his last 17 times out!</p>
<p>In his only start against the Yankees this season, back in April, Quantrill allowed three runs and six hits through 6 1/3 innings of a 5-4 Guardians loss.</p>
<h2>Splits With the Sticks </h2>
<p>Cleveland batted .259 against right-handed pitching this season, with a .321 team OBP and a .396 team slugging percentage.</p>
<p>New York slashed .241/.323/.422 against right-handed pitching.</p>
<h2>The Bullpens</h2>
<p>The Yankees bullpen posted a 2.97 ERA this season, along with a 1.19 WHIP and a 2.46 K/BB ratio.</p>
<p>The Guardians pen put up a 3.05 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and a 3.08 K/BB ratio.<br />
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<span style="font-size:16px; color:#008000;">Get more details:</span> <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/mlb/matchup/1772719">Cleveland Guardians at NY Yankees Game 1 Betting Stats</a>
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<h2>MLB Betting Trends</h2>
<p>Cleveland played 46-35 on the road this season and 64-53 against right-handed starters.</p>
<p>New York played 57-24 at home and 73-48 against right-handed starters.</p>
<h2>Totals Report </h2>
<ul>
<li>The Totals split 78-78 in Guardians games this season.</li>
<li>The Unders played 81-77 in Yankees games.</li>
<li>The Overs played 41-37 at Yankees Stadium this season.</li>
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