Get ready, because today might be the last day of 2024 with more than one Major League Baseball game.
On Friday, the Los Angeles Dodgers are playing against the New York Mets in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, while the Cleveland Guardians face off against the New York Yankees in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. Thursday was wild with an epic first game—Game 3 of the ALCS could be the best playoff game yet—and then a Dodgers blowout.
What surprises await us on Friday? Let’s dive into it!
Dodgers vs. Mets Showdown
Jack Flaherty and David Peterson take center stage. Flaherty had some ups and downs after joining the Dodgers but mostly did well, striking out plenty in his regular-season starts. He wasn’t great against the Padres in NLDS Game 2 but shone brightly in NLCS Game 1 with seven scoreless innings. Will playing at home help Mets see him better this time? They hadn’t faced him for years before that first game.
Peterson boasted a solid 2.90 ERA during regular season play. His September was a mix of excellent and poor performances, but he started strong in playoffs until Dodgers got to him for three runs early on in NLCS Game 1.
The prediction: Dodgers will score over 3.5 runs (-145).
The Dodgers have been unstoppable lately, scoring tons of runs throughout their series games—24 during NLDS and another impressive total across four NLCS games! Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts are on fire right now too! Fans might think it’s hard for anyone to stop them at this point.
Yankees vs. Guardians Evening Clash
Luis Gil faces Gavin Williams under bright lights tonight! Gil led all pitchers with walks this season but also struck out many batters; however, his recent form isn’t great as he struggled toward end-of-season matches without appearing yet during playoffs either… The Guardians remember how they won when facing him back mid-August despite giving up several hits & walks within just three innings pitched back then!
Williams hasn’t pitched since late September; his stats show struggles especially when playing at home where he hasn’t won any games yet… Facing Yankees earlier didn’t go well either although road performance seemed slightly better overall compared home stats alone…
The prediction: Aaron Judge will achieve over 1.5 hits + runs + RBI (-115).
Judge has been smashing homers lately—even hitting one off Emmanuel Clase recently! He tends hit them often once starts rolling like five-game streak late September where managed eight hits including five homers across those days alone!
And guess what? Judge already homered against Williams back August too!
So what do you think about these matchups? Are you excited or nervous about your favorite team’s chances tonight?
