MLB Wild Card Round Odds and Series Predictions: Dodgers, Yankees Among Favorites to Advance

That cold, crisp smell of October baseball is in the air; the champagne has dried, and teams are ready to battle for the World Series. With the first postseason pitch ready to fly on Tuesday, I've dug into the latest wild-card round odds and series predictions.

Who will take the first step toward the Commissioner's Trophy? Our MLB picks is a good place to start to find your answer.

(6) Detroit Tigers vs. (3) Cleveland Guardians

You can't talk about the Detroit Tigers without talking about their historic collapse. Owning a 15.5-game lead in the AL Central on July 9, A.J. Hinch's men ultimately lost 20 of 27 games and 15 of their first 20 in September, cracking open the door for the high-flying Guardians to sneak in and steal the division. They gave Cleveland an inch, and the team took a mile, and now they face off against one another in the first AL Wild Card series.

But who am I taking in my Tigers vs. Guardians prediction? The answer lies in the starting rotation. The opening game is crucial in a best-of-three series, and I can't find it in myself to bet against Tarik Skubal. Cleveland will likely counter with Gavin Williams, who, for his part, had a fantastic season.

The AL Cy Young odds favorite has historically dominated the Guardians, though. Across 12 appearances against Cleveland, Skubal owns an ERA of 2.33 and will look to redeem himself from his costly error against the Guardians that helped the division rival win the AL Central down the stretch.

The lefty is poised to come out and dominate, and if the Tigers take Game 1 (in which they're -175 favorites), I can't see a world in which the Guardians take two straight against a hungry Detroit club. The X-factor could ultimately be Casey Mize in Game 3, who's also dominated the Guardians this year, allowing just four earned runs across 17 1/3 innings in 2025.

The Tigers would have been an astronomical favorite earlier in the season, but we're getting them close to -112 betting odds to win the series at our best sports betting sites. Take those odds and run with it.

(5) San Diego Padres vs. (4) Chicago Cubs

Here's where we'll see our first upset of the wild-card round.

It helps when the starting rotation for the San Diego Padres only needs to get through five innings before the best bullpen in baseball takes over. Owning a MLB-best 3.06 ERA, the Padres' bullpen - headlined by closer Robert Suarez and flanked by flamethrower Mason Miller and Adrian Morejon - has become a hitter's nightmare in late-inning situations. Miller, who was a massive addition at the trade deadline, has punched out 54.2% of the batters he's faced since coming over to San Diego from the Athletics.

What's worse for the Cubs is that their starting rotation was dealt a massive blow when NL Rookie of the Year odds favorite Cade Horton was shut down due to a rib fracture near the end of the season. Will that be too much to overcome for a team that was already navigating life without Justin Steele?

The Padres do grade out as a below-average offense against lefties, so it'll be on Shota Imanaga (who allowed 14 earned runs across his last three starts of the season) and Matt Boyd (who also struggled to end the season) to take advantage. The return of Kyle Tucker, who owns a 137 wRC+, is certainly a big deal, but will it be enough to overcome the strength of the Padres' pitching staff?

At plus-money betting odds, I'm still all over the Padres and their star-studded offense to advance to the NLDS.

(5) Boston Red Sox vs. (4) New York Yankees

Look at the Red Sox.

After trading away franchise stalwart Rafael Devers and losing Tristan Casas and Roman Anthony to season-ending injuries, Boston still punched its ticket to the postseason. The reward? Taking on the vaunted - and rival - Yankees.

New York is likely the best offense in baseball, leading the bigs in homers (274), OPS (.787), RBI (820), and runs (849). The Yankees play home to the AL MVP odds favorite Aaron Judge, and will be rolling with Max Fried as their Game 1 starter.

Now, if Garrett Crochet shoves in Game 1 for Boston, which will likely be the case, this series can go three games. However, if Fried can keep it close in the postseason opener and allow his offense to make its mark, I expect the series will be over in two. The Yankees left-hander has owned Boston this season, registering a 1.96 ERA against them while recording 22 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings. So the latter prediction is the one most likely to unfold.

Look for the ace to limit the Red Sox's bats in Game 1, the New York offense to overwhelm, and the Yankees to ultimately win two straight - it helps that the pinstripes were one of the best teams in baseball at home this season, too (50-31).

At -178 betting odds, you're not squeezing much profit on a winning wager if the Yankees advance. Your best bet lies in the Yankees to earn the sweep (+170). 

(6) Cincinnati Reds vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

While the Reds did a fine job earning a postseason berth (they are actually just the third team ever to make the playoffs with 83 wins), they'll face a monster of a lineup in the Dodgers. The 10-win gap between the two teams is the biggest since the wild card rules changed in 2022.

The one (and likely only) way Cincinnati can do the unthinkable is through its starting rotation. Los Angeles will have its hands full with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott. However, when Shohei Ohtani is projected to be your Game 3 starter, that's when you truly understand the embarrassment of riches the Dodgers possess.

If Los Angeles' starters can get deep into ballgames and stop their leaky bullpen from being exposed, this will likely be a sweep in the Dodgers' favor.

Turning to the bats, the power outage from the Reds just can't be ignored when going up against a juggernaut like Los Angeles. Cincinnati hit only 167 home runs - Elly De La Cruz led the team with 22, Spencer Steer had 21. To put that into perspective, Ohtani had 55 on his own.

When you roll down the lineup, Teoscar Hernandez, who hits in the four or five spot, hit 25 home runs, while Andy Pages, who hits sixth or seventh, blasted 27. The depth of this lineup is simply astonishing, and if the bats are hot, there's no stopping this team.

Suffice to say, the margin for error for the Reds in this series is razor-thin - they'll have to play perfect baseball to even have a chance.

The Dodgers at -270 betting odds to win the series presents little value, as I'd price this closer to -250 with the variance of baseball. Instead, bet on Los Angeles to take both Game 1 and Game 2 (+170) and advance to the NLDS.