A.I. MLB Picks for Wild Card Games on Tuesday – Best Bets for Red Sox/Yankees, Padres/Cubs, Reds/Dodgers, Tigers/Guardians
By Sascha Paruk in MLB Baseball
Published:
- The MLB playoffs start on Tuesday, Sep. 30, with a quartet of Game 1s in the Wild Card Round
- Red Sox vs Yankees Game 1 highlights Tuesday’s Wild Card picks
- Check out our A.I.’s MLB picks for all the Wild Card games on Tuesday
The MLB playoffs start on Tuesday, Sep. 30, with Game 1 in all four Wild Card series. The American League matchups are #6 Detroit Tigers vs #3 Cleveland Guardians, and #5 Boston Red Sox vs #4 New York Yankees. The NL Wild Card is #6 Cincinnati Reds vs #3 LA Dodgers, and #5 San Diego Padres vs #4 Chicago Cubs.
I have asked our internal A.I. to generate its best moneyline and run-total bets for each of the four Game 1s on Tuesday. The table below sets out the picks for each game in chronological order. Under the table, find the A.I.’s rationale for each pick.
A.I. MLB Picks for Tuesday, Sep. 30
A.I. MLB picks generated at 9:31 am ET, September 30. Claim the BetMGM bonus code before betting on the 2025 MLB playoffs.
DET Tigers vs CLE Guardians A.I. Picks
The A.I. is taking the home underdog and the under in the first game of the day between Detroit and Cleveland, which features an elite pitching matchup between Tarik Skubal and Gavin Williams.
A.I. rationale: “While Tarik Skubal is arguably the better pitcher and a true game-changer, the context surrounding this matchup points overwhelmingly toward the Cleveland Guardians. Skubal has been solid, but not untouchable, against Cleveland, with key hitters like José Ramírez and Steven Kwan boasting strong career numbers against him. Conversely, Gavin Williams has utterly dismantled the current Tigers roster, holding them to a paltry .161 batting average and .527 OPS over a significant sample size. The pitching matchup, while seemingly favoring Detroit on paper, is much closer when considering the head-to-head history.”
SD Padres vs CHI Cubs A.I. Picks
The A.I. is once again taking the home team in Padres/Cubs (which becomes a real trend today), along with over 6.5 runs.
A.I. rationale: “San Diego’s Nick Pivetta has been excellent this season (13-5, 2.87 ERA) and brings legitimate swing-and-miss stuff to the mound. However, he can be susceptible to the long ball, a dangerous trait at Wrigley Field, where the wind is forecast to be blowing out. Furthermore, key Cubs hitters like Ian Happ and Dansby Swanson have enjoyed considerable success against him in the past.
The Cubs are a dominant 50-29 (.633) at home this season and have won four of their last five as a home favorite. Conversely, the Padres have been abysmal as road underdogs, dropping eight of their last nine in that scenario. With the wind blowing out, favoring Chicago’s left-handed power from Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki, the offense should be able to provide enough support to overcome a potentially rocky start from Matthew Boyd.”
BOS Red Sox vs NY Yankees A.I. Picks
Our A.I. likes the Yankees moneyline, which is as long as -130 at Fanatics, and over 6.5 in Game 1 of the BOS/NYY series.
A.I. rationale: “The clear edge in this matchup goes to the New York Yankees, driven by their dominant recent form, home-field advantage, and the opponent’s decimated pitching staff. The Yankees have been nearly unbeatable at home, winning their last seven games in the Bronx and going 9-1 in their last ten.
The starting pitching matchup, while seemingly elite on paper, favors New York. Max Fried has been a steady ace, and while some Red Sox hitters like Alex Bregman have had success against him, he has effectively shut down others like Jarren Duran. On the other side, Garrett Crochet is a strikeout artist, but the Yankees have tagged him for six home runs in 108 career at-bats. More importantly, the game will likely be decided by the bullpens, where Boston is at a severe disadvantage. The Red Sox are missing multiple high-leverage arms, including Jordan Hicks and Tanner Houck, which will make navigating the late innings against a powerful Yankees lineup a monumental task.”
CIN Reds vs LA Dodgers A.I. Picks
As it did in each of the first three games, the A.I. is taking the home team to win in Reds vs Dodgers, along with under 7.5 runs. It especially likes the prospect of a Dodger ML+under 7.5 same-game parlay.
A.I. rationale: “The most compelling angle in this game is the total. The under has cashed in the last eight consecutive head-to-head meetings between these two clubs. With two elite strikeout artists on the mound in Blake Snell and Hunter Greene, and with the game being played in the pitcher-friendly confines of Dodger Stadium at night, runs should be at a premium. The market has already reacted by dropping the total from 7.5 to 7.0, but there is still value in playing under 7.5 at a juiced price.
The Dodgers have also been nearly unbeatable in recent playoff games, going 5-1 in their last six, and they’ve dominated the Reds with a 5-1 record in their last six encounters. Backing the Dodgers on the moneyline is the safe play, but the better value lies in combining it with the game’s strongest trend.”
The sports and sports betting data in this article was gathered with the assistance of AI that is connected to Sportradar’s database.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
