Despite the fact that the League Division Series' officially started yesterday, I needed to get on and make my predictions as to what the first round may entail. After the one-game playoffs Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights, the field of the final eight MLB teams standings is finally set. As I accurately predicted, David Price led Tampa Bay to a win over Texas Monday night in Arlington, eliminating the Rangers from postseason contention. I also correctly called the outcome of Tuesday night's game in Pittsburgh, as the Pirates ousted the Reds and moved on to match up with the Cardinals in the NLDS. Wednesday night, however, was a different story, as the Indians failed to cash in on a number of great opportunities and were ultimately shut out by Alex Cobb and the Rays, eliminating Cleveland and advancing Tampa Bay to play the Boston Red Sox in the ALDS. So for the one-game playoffs I went 2/3, not too bad! Let's see how I can do in the Divison Series round.
ALDS - Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox
This has been a great battle all season long between two division rivals, which saw the Red Sox win 12 out of the 19 games in which these teams faced each other during the regular seasons. Of course October is always a different story, as teams will just have five games to fight it out in the ALDS. The Rays pitching has carried the team through the season's final month and first two playoff games, and the Red Sox hitting has been the best in baseball. This series poises to be a classic matchup of great hitting versus great pitching. The old adage in baseball is that pitching will always win in the end, but I give the advantage in this series to the Red Sox, with how dominant their bats have been and how well they've handled the Rays. It will definitely be close, but my prediction is that the series goes back to Fenway Park for Game 5 and the Red Sox win on their home field. Red Sox in 5.
ALDS - Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics
A rematch of last year's ALDS pits the low-budget Athletics against the star-studded Tigers. The story of the season has been the dominance of the Tigers pitching, but the Athletics suprised many by winning a second consecutive division title. Last year's ALDS was full of drama, with both teams winning walk-off games and the series ultimately coming down to a decisive Game 5, with Justin Verlander shutting down the A's bats and leading Detroit to the ALCS. Despite the Tigers tremendous pitching, and Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder leading the offense, I believe that this has been and will continue to be a special season for the Athletics. With Verlander and the AL wins leader Max Scherzer scheduled to pitch the first two games for the Tigers in Oakland, I see the A's splitting the first two in Oakland, splitting two in Detroit, and coming home for a Game 5 for the ages and winning it in front of their home crowd. Athletics in 5, setting up a Red Sox-Athletics ALCS.
NLDS - Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
The Dodgers were a great story of 2013, coming back from a 9-game deficit in the NL West to win the division by 10 games. Carried by fantastic rookie seasons from the electric Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu, an incredible offensive comeback season by Hanley Ramirez, and Clayton Kershaw having one of the greatest pitching seasons in recent memory, the Dodgers are ready and loaded for playoff baseball. However, the Braves stand in their way, who exepectedly cruised to an easy division title in the NL East and have home-field advantage against LA. The Braves have had incredibly solid team play all season, with no real stars, other than the emerging Freddie Freeman and baseball's most dominanat closer, Craig Kimbrel. Despite the Braves having home field advantage, the Dodgers pitching staff led by Kershaw and Zach Greinke will be a nightmare for a team to beat in a 5 game series. Depending on how Don Mattingly sets up his rotation, in order to win you will have to beat Kershaw/Greinke at least once and possiby twice to win the series. I don't see that happening. Dodgers take care of business and send the Braves on a long flight home to Atlanta from L.A. after Game 4. Dodgers in 4.
NLDS - Pittsburgh Pirates at St. Louis Cardinals
This sets up to be, in my opinion, the most interesting of the first-round series. The Pirates and Cardinals battled for the division title all season long, with the Cardinals ultimately coming out on top of the division despite the Pirates edging them in the season series 10-9. The Pirates unexpected season has been led by NL MVP-favorite Andrew McCutchen, slugging from NL home-run leader Pedro Alvarez, and great pitching performances, especially in the back end of the bullpen (aka the "Shark Tank"). The Cardinals continue their winning ways, as they put together one of baseball's most well-rounded teams season after season. The Pirates are back in the postseason for the first time in 21 years, and the city of Pittsburgh couldn't be more excited. Tuesday night's Wild Card game against the Reds was highlighted by an absolutely packed PNC Park decked out in black and loud as can be, which many believe got inside the heads of Johnny Cueto and other players on the Reds. If the Buccos can manage to split the first two games in Busch Stadium, I believe the atmosphere and momentum that they carry back to the 'Burgh just might be enough to pull off the upset at home. A packed PNC Park and the Pirates in 4, setting up a Dodgers-Pirates NLCS.
The picks are in. Now let's PLAY BALL!
(author's note: This post was written after the first 2 games of the NLDS series' and the first game of each ALDS series, however, all of my predictions were my original predictions from before the games began. Both NLDS series' are tied up, I picked the Cards and Pirates to split but did not think the Braves would beat Greinke, so that series definitely has a chance for an upset. I'm worried about the Athletics after a game one loss, they desperately need to beat Verlander tomorrow to stand a chance. The Red Sox look well on their way towards winning the series after a game one beatdown, they could easily do it in less games than my predicted 5. We'll see!!)
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