SportTuesday October 8 Best Sports Betting Picks & Predictions for MLB, WNBA Playoffs

The rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres was adversarial to begin with but could reach a new level of dislike during Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday. The best-of-five series is tied at 1-1, as is the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets.

Los Angeles fans threw balls and other items at San Diego outfielders Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. during Sunday’s Game 2, and now the scene moves to San Diego and its boisterous atmosphere. The Padres knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs in 2022, a feat that could be repeated with the next two games in San Diego. 

The Phillies and Mets aren’t best friends, but their series hasn’t had the type of theatrics we saw in Los Angeles. Instead, their matchups have featured solid late-game drama, and that’s always a good thing in October.

A WNBA Game 5 clash between the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx will decide which team advances to the Finals. That one might have some testy moments, too.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS AT SAN DIEGO PADRES

The tension between the teams continued on the Monday off-day as Dodgers manager Dave Roberts accused Padres star Manny Machado of throwing a baseball into the dugout at him during Game 2 on Sunday. The Padres informed ticket holders that the club has “a zero-tolerance policy for (misconduct), including throwing items onto the field,” and promised ejections for any violations.

Lost in the craziness is that the Padres hit six homers in their 10-2 win in Game 2. Tatis belted two and is 9-for-14 with three homers in four postseason games this month. Kyle Higashioka continued to be a surprise power supply with his third homer of the postseason.

Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts were a combined 0-for-8 for the Dodgers, and Betts is once again having a tough postseason. He is hitless in six at-bats — Profar robbed him of a first-inning homer — and is just 2-for-31 over the past three postseasons (nine games).

Los Angeles is turning to Walker Buehler (1-6, 5.38 ERA) for Game 3. San Diego has a big pitching edge behind Michael King, who struck out 12 in seven innings while beating the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of a NL wild-card series.

Padres -1.5 run line, +142 (DraftKings)

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES AT NEW YORK METS

The Mets have been hard to cool down in the postseason as they repeatedly come through in the late innings. New York won Game 1 at Philadelphia after scoring six times in the last two innings for a 6-2 victory, and they tied Game 2 on Mark Vientos’ two-run homer in the ninth.

Philadelphia won 7-6 in the bottom of the inning on Nick Castellanos’ single, but the tone has been set—the Mets are not going down easily in any game. The Phillies also fight hard, with Bryce Harper leading the way.

Philadelphia will have Aaron Nola on the mound. He can go deep into the contest and perhaps keep the game from getting into the bullpen too early. That’s a huge factor after the Phillies’ relievers were shaky in Games 1 and 2.

New York’s Sean Manaea might have a shorter hook, but the club is hoping the left-hander can corral Kyle Schwarber and Harper. Feels as if the Phillies should prevail.

Phillies moneyline, -112 (FanDuel)

CONNECTICUT SUN AT MINNESOTA LYNX

The Game 5 matchup would be intense under any circumstances, but an alleged incident near the Connecticut locker room after Game 1 in Minneapolis ramped up animosities between the teams. Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve didn’t like how vocal the Sun’s postgame celebration was, and security had to diffuse the situation.

So imagine the postgame scene after the Tuesday night game, when one team will see its season end and the other will move on to the WNBA Finals. Might not be a lot of friendly handshakes.

Lynx star Napheesa Collier has postseason averages of 27.2 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The regular-season MVP runner-up had 29 points and 13 boards in Minnesota’s Game 4 loss.

Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner are Connecticut’s stars, but Tyasha Harris led the Sun with 20 points in Game 4. She had played 12-plus minutes in the series without scoring a point before that splurge. 

Sun +4.5 spread, -110 (FanDuel)