Championship Series - Seattle Mariners v Toronto Blue Jays - Game 1
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The MLB playoffs continue Friday with two massive games as the Los Angeles Dodgers can wrap up a series win over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of the NLCS while one of the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays will leave Game 5 of the ALCS with a 3-2 edge before the series continues Sunday in Toronto. The Brewers have scored three total runs in the NLCS to date, while the road team has won each of the first four games of the ALCS so far.

If you're interested in MLB betting, you need to see what Angelo Magliocca, also known as "Amags," has lined up for Friday's two games. Magliocca, a regular contributor to The Early Edge and CBS Sports HQ, is a seasoned MLB handicapper up 123.5 units over the last three MLB seasons. Here's a look at his picks for Friday.

Best MLB bets on Friday, Oct. 17

ALCS Game 5

The ALCS hasn't been very kind to us, as the Mariners have scored just six total runs at home and they haven't even kept a game competitive in the last two. That's a wonderful way to treat your hometown fans, but not something unfamiliar. The 2023 Rangers were the last team to win two on the road and drop all three games at home, but they went on to win the final two games on the road and advanced to the World Series. Needless to say, but this series is far from over regardless of who wins tonight, and the guarantee of heading back to Toronto should have the Mariners shaking in their boots. 

It won't be the opposing pitchers they'll face that scares them, but rather knowing they couldn't finish the job by essentially just winning a three-game series at home against the Blue Jays. Now they're forced to win the series in a hostile environment, and they've got to be lucky enough to catch this Toronto offense on a bad day once again. That seems unlikely, and even more unlikely, in my opinion, is they win both in Toronto. As such, this feels like the season for the M's. 

I'll reluctantly side with them once more because of the urgency and the fact that Seattle still holds the bullpen edge. In what "should" be a low-scoring affair -- I've thought the same the last couple nights -- that could be the key here. If the Blue Jays crush Bryce Miller and win, they still fly to Toronto, so there's always going to be some hope for Seattle whether the Mariners win or lose here -- it just depends how the vibes are on the flight over. 

Kevin Gausman was trouble for the Mariners back in Toronto, only allowing a run on a Cal Raleigh homer, and a man left on base came around to score once he was pulled in the sixth inning. I'm not trusting any specific M's bats, but I would go back to Raleigh for a home run or hits + runs + RBI based on his stellar performance against right-handed splitters this year, showcased with that home run off Gausman's splitter in Game 1. Because of that home run last time and knowing John Schneider, I think it's a perfect spot to play Raleigh for at least one walk, with a little something on the second walk as well. They'll let Gausman face someone else like the human strikeout machine Julio Rodriguez instead.

NLCS Game 4

Shohei Ohtani is back on the mound for the first time in 13 days and the last start against Philly was more than the Dodgers could have ever asked for -- a six inning quality start, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out nine. The strikeouts were impressive, more so because he had at least four whiffs on four different pitches, registering a 48% whiff rate overall. 

The nine strikeouts were made up of eight left-handers and just one righty, as Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Brandon Marsh all struck out multiple times against him, and that's where my focus is drawn tonight. None of these Brewers hitters aside from Andrew Vaughn have seen Ohtani on the mound, and Christian Yelich has been lost for the last five games with multiple strikeouts in two of his last three games. I think the full game Over 1.5 strikeouts is a solid look here, but I'm going back to my plate appearance ways and taking Ohtani to strike out Yelich the first time through. Jake Bauers also makes for a great first at-bat strikeout option, so I'm taking a shot there as well. The lefties would be the key for me, as Ohtani has bumped his swinging strike rate up to above 16% against them, a truly impressive rate.