The New York Yankees take on the Cleveland Guardians in the opening game of the ALCS on Monday at 7:38 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium.
The Guardians are an underdog (+138 on the moneyline to win) when they visit the Yankees (-164). The probable starters are Carlos Rodon (16-9, 3.96 ERA) for the Yankees against Alex Cobb (2-1, 2.76 ERA) for the Guardians.
The Yankees were vicotrious 3-1 over the Royals Thursday in their most recent game. Gerrit Cole was the winning pitcher after throwing seven innings, giving up one earned run on six hits while striking out four, while Aaron Judge finished 1-for-2 with a double to lead them offensively.
Saturday, the Guardians knocked off the Tigers 7-3. Tim Herrin was the winning pitcher after he went 1 1/3 innings, giving up one earned run on one hit while striking out one. Lane Thomas paced the Guardians’ offense, going 2-for-4 with a home run and five RBI.
Before watching this Yankees vs. Guardians matchup, here’s what you need to know about Monday’s playoff action, including viewing options.
New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Monday at 3:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Yankees (-164, bet $164 to win $100)
- Underdog: Guardians (+138, bet $100 to win $138)
- Over/under: 7.5
Yankees stats and trends
Yankees betting records
- This season, the Yankees have won 77 out of the 134 games, or 57.5%, in which they’ve been favored.
- New York is 42-24 this season when entering a game favored by -164 or more on the moneyline.
- The Yankees have a 62.1% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
- New York’s games have gone over the total in 86 of its 164 chances.
- The Yankees are 81-82-0 against the spread this season.
Carlos Rodón (Yankees probable starter)
- Rodon (16-9 with a 3.96 ERA and 195 strikeouts in 175 2/3 innings pitched) gets the start for the Yankees, his 33rd of the season.
- In his most recent appearance on Monday, the lefty threw 3 2/3 innings against the Kansas City Royals, allowing four earned runs while surrendering seven hits.
- The 31-year-old has an ERA of 3.96, with 10 strikeouts per nine innings, in 32 games this season. Opponents are batting .235 against him.
- Rodon is trying to record his 17th quality start of the year.
- Rodon is looking to collect his 26th start of five or more innings this season in this outing.
- He has had five appearances this season in which he held his opponents to zero earned runs.
- He will face off against a Guardians squad that is hitting .238 as a unit (21st in MLB). It is also slugging a collective .395 (16th in MLB) with 185 total home runs (12th in MLB).
- This season, the 31-year-old ranks 40th in ERA (3.96), 37th in WHIP (1.223), and 11th in K/9 (10) among pitchers who qualify.
Yankees batting stats
- No team in MLB has hit more homers than the Yankees, who have connected on 237 this season.
- Fueled by 495 extra-base hits, New York ranks fourth in MLB with a .429 slugging percentage this season.
- The Yankees rank eighth in MLB with a .248 team batting average.
- New York has scored 815 runs this season, which ranks third in MLB.
- The Yankees have an OBP of .333 this season, which ranks third in MLB.
- New York ranks 11th with an average of 8.2 strikeouts per game.
Guardians stats and trends
Guardians betting records
- The Guardians have come away with 28 wins in the 60 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
- This season, Cleveland has been victorious five times in 12 chances when named as an underdog of at least +138 or longer on the moneyline.
- Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Guardians have a 42% chance of pulling out a win.
- Cleveland’s games have gone over the total in 72 of its 166 opportunities.
- The Guardians are 85-80-0 against the spread in their 165 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.
Alex Cobb (Guardians probable starter)
- Cobb makes the start for the Guardians, his fourth of the season. He is 2-1 with a 2.76 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings pitched.
- His last time out was on Wednesday against the Detroit Tigers, when the righty tossed three innings, surrendering two earned runs while giving up three hits.
- The 37-year-old has put up an ERA of 2.76, with 5.5 strikeouts per nine innings in three games this season. Opponents are batting .241 against him.
- Cobb is trying to collect his second quality start of the season in this outing.
- Cobb heads into the game with two outings of five or more innings pitched this year.
- He has had one appearances this season in which he did not give up an earned run.
- He will take the mound against a Yankees offense that ranks 11th in the league with 1352 total hits (on a .248 batting average). The team also slugs a collective .429 (fourth in the league) with 237 total home runs (first in MLB action).
Guardians batting stats
- The Guardians rank 12th in MLB play with 185 total home runs.
- This season, Cleveland is 16th in baseball with a .395 slugging percentage.
- The Guardians have the 21st-ranked batting average in the majors (.238).
- Averaging 4.4 runs per game (708 total), Cleveland is the 14th-highest scoring team in MLB.
- The Guardians are 18th in baseball with an on-base percentage of .307.
