Yankees vs. Guardians: Odds. pitching matchups, predictions

The New York Yankees take on the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Division Series that begins Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees had a bye in this year's playoffs. Cleveland won the division but had to play in a Wild Card round. New Yorkers won five of six games in season series. Yankees are heavy favorites to advance to the ALCS. Guardians are underdogs. The last time the teams met in playoffs, the Yankees won in 2020.

Gerrit Cole and Cal Quantrill are going to play each other in the playoffs. Cole had a tough end to the regular season, but he won both of his starts against the Guardians. Quantill won 11 of last 17 games and was sensational at Progressive Field. Cleveland has struggled in postseason play and lost eight of their last 10 games. The Yankees are 11-5 in their home games at Yankee Stadium. The Guardians are a woeful 23-49 in last 72 meetings in Bronx. They have won 15 of the last 18 regular and postseason games, including six straight divisional playoff matchups.

Nestor Cortes (12-4, 2.44 ERA) and Shane Bieber (13-8,2.88 ERA), the Yankees' starting pitchers, are going to face each other in Game 2 on Thursday at 7:37 p.m. Corte had a career year in 2022, he recorded a record of 13 wins, a season-high 12 strikeouts and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 4.3. Bieber has been better at home than on the road, but he had an awful start against the Yanks in the playoffs two years ago.

Luis Severino and Triston McKenzie are going to start for the Yankees in Game 3 on Saturday at 7:37 p.m. against the Guardians. The game is a deciding factor in the American League Championship Series. The Guardians are up 1-0 in their series against Rays. They are one game away from advancing to the next round. New York ranks middle of the pack with 1,391 strikeouts this season. McKenzie has struck out 96 hitters in only 81 1/3 innings at home this year compared to 94 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched on the road.