After playing games almost every night for six months, some might argue that MLB's latest postseason format actually disadvantages teams that earn byes.
This testimony held true for much of Game 1 of the ALDS between the Yankees and Royals.
After allowing Kansas City to strike first, the Bombers had to regain the lead three times after six days of rest.
Now that things have settled down, I expect the starting pitching to tighten up in Game 2 with Carlos Rodon and Cole Lagance.
Rodon led MLB in Stuff+, which measures the physical characteristics of a pitch, and held the Royals to a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings.
The only thing that bothers me is that it's been 10 days since Rodon last pitched. Say what you will about it, but the 31-year-old last appeared in the playoffs in 2021. This was the only start of his career in which he was trailed in the third inning and recorded a loss.
Rodon can draw swings. He significantly increased his strikeout rate per nine innings from 2023 to 10.03.
However, in Game 1, the Royals had the second fewest strikeouts, with seven strikeouts to the Yankees' 11.
According to his Statcast profile, which reflects lower percentiles in both hard hits and barrel rates, Rodon remains surprisingly sensitive to high exit velocities and launch angles.
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The Reagans will look to build on the momentum they had in their postseason debut on Tuesday, when they stunned a powerful Orioles lineup with six shutout innings and eight strikeouts.
In a game against the Yankees on September 11, he pitched six innings, allowing only four hits and striking out seven batters.
Lagance's strong batting profile poses a challenge to the No. 1 home run batting lineup. He only received 0.69 long balls per nine innings on the road.
It needs a push, but I know this Royals offense could knock balls out in play and end up tied with the Yankees with 9 hits in Game 1, so I'm a big fan of this pitcher's money. I see the value of the line more convincingly.
The Play: Royals ML (DraftKings, +130)
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Sean Trepedi is handicapped by the NFL, NHL, MLB, and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to reduce risk.
