The MLB wild-card round has quickly come and gone, setting up four intriguing matchups in the divisional round. The red-hot Detroit Tigers will take on the Cleveland Guardians, the Kansas City Royals will go up against the New York Yankees, the New York Mets will face off against the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Diego Padres will battle the Los Angeles Dodgers.

With the ALDS and NLDS set to begin on Saturday, let's take a look at our three favorite series bets for the divisional round.

How to bet the MLB divisional round 

Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers 

Tigers -1.5 games (+220 DraftKings)

There are major "team of destiny" vibes emanating from the Tigers' locker room. Detroit has won 18 of its last 24 games, and it clearly has no issues going on the road after dispatching the Houston Astros in a two-game sweep. 

Tarik Skubal is the most dominant weapon remaining in the playoffs, and he gives the Tigers a major advantage against Cleveland's shaky starting rotation. We'll back Detroit to keep this miraculous run going. 

New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals

Over 4.5 games (+172 FanDuel)

The Yankees are much better than the Royals on paper, but it's hard to trust their starting rotation behind Gerrit Cole. The bullpen also gave away multiple games down the stretch, so this series won't be a walk in Central Park for New York.

Kansas City has a pair of clutch hitters in Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez, and we love their Big 3 of Cole Ragans, Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. The Royals can steal at least two games and possibly win this series.

Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Mets

Mets to win the series (+158 FD)

The Phillies ran through the wild-card round and used that momentum to make a deep run in the playoffs the last two years, but now they're in a much tougher position. It's hard to gear up for playoff baseball after a week off, and now all the pressure is on them to perform.

As for the Mets, they've been fighting for their playoff lives and playing in high-leverage games for a few weeks. They've passed every test in front of them so far, and they won't be scared of an NL East rival they took three out of four against down the stretch of the regular season. 

In the news ...

Falcons take down Buccaneers in overtime thriller — Thursday Night Football normally isn't the best NFL product, but this week was the exception. The Atlanta Falcons came from behind to knock off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime, 36-30, on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to KhaDarel Hodge. Cousins finished the game with a franchise-record 509 yards and four touchdowns in the win. Atlanta is now a +115 favorite to win the NFC South.

Pete Alonso powers Mets to divisional-round date with Phillies — The New York Mets' year looked to be slipping away late in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Brewers, but Alonso saved the season with a three-home home run in the top of the ninth inning. The Mets tacked on one more run and shut out the Brewers in the bottom of the inning to win, 4-2, and advance to the divisional round. New York is a +158 underdog to beat the Phillies in the NLDS. 

Chiefs place Rashee Rice on IR — The bad luck just keeps on coming for the reigning Super Bowl champs, as the Kansas City Chiefs placed Rice on injured reserve this week due to his knee injury. There are no updates about how long Rice will be out of the lineup, but he'll miss at least the next four games. Kansas City is still a +500 favorite to win the Super Bowl.