The Major League Baseball playoffs begin Oct. 1 with the National League wild card game, and the American League wild card game is Oct. 3. Here are my predictions.
Let’s begin with the National League. The wild card game is between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds. This will be the Pirates first playoff appearance since 1992. The Pirates will host the game, giving them the advantage right off the bat. It will be a pitching battle with the Johnny Cueto going for the Reds and Francisco Liriano for the Pirates. Since the Reds have a slightly better lineup, I have them winning in a close, low scoring game.
The next round is the NLDS, a best of five series. The Reds will be facing the Cardinals and the Dodgers will be up against the Braves, with the Braves and Cardinals claiming home-field advantage. In the series between the Cardinals and Reds, I have the Cardinals winning in four games, 3-1. With Adam Wainwright, Lance Lynn, and Shelby Miller atop the rotation and Edward Mujica to close games out, the Cardinals will outmatch the Reds from the mound. In the Braves and Dodgers series I give the edge to the Dodgers. My reason is that the Dodgers have Clayton Kershaw to start game one. The option to pitch him in two out of the possible five games could be the difference in this series. I’m saying the Dodgers win in four games.
The NLCS is a best of seven series, and the Cardinals will claim home-field advantage. With their powerful offense of Adrian Gonzalez, Hanley Ramirez and Yasiel Puig, I think the Dodgers will get to the Cardinals’ pitching staff early and not allow them to get to closer Edward Mujica. The Dodgers also have a very solid staff behind Kershaw — Hyun-Jin Ryu, Zack Greinke, and Ricky Nolasco. This will be a close series, but I favor the Dodgers in seven.
In the American League wild card game, the Tampa Bay Rays will travel to Cleveland to face the Indians. The Rays have the upper hand with Matt Moore starting the game, and I also think that the Rays’ lineup is much stronger. Once the Rays win, they will travel to Boston to face the Red Sox in the ALDS. Boston's strong lineup and depth in their pitching staff gives them a huge advantage. The Red Sox take the series in four games. In the other ALDS, the Oakland Athletics will have home field advantage against the Detroit Tigers. The difference in this series will be the 3-4-5 hitters for the Tigers: Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder and Victor Martinez. I pick the Tigers in four games as well.
The ALCS will be between the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox, with the Red Sox claiming home-field advantage. This is the only advantage the Red Sox will have, as the teams are evenly matched. If Justin Verlander can return to Cy Young form, the Tigers will win the series handily. That being said, I’m confident Verlander will match his teammate and All-Star starting pitcher Max Scherzer in shutting down the Red Sox offense. The Tigers will win a thriller of a series in seven games.
The last time the Dodgers were in the World Series was 1988 (when they beat the Oakland Athletics in five games). The Tigers have been twice since 2006. With a lot of playoff experience and home field advantage, I give the edge right away to the Tigers. In the playoffs, defense wins championships. The Tigers are the 5th best defensive team in the majors while the Dodgers ranking 27th. This will play a big factor in the series. Also, the Tigers addition of Joaquin Benoit in the closer position gives the Tigers they boost they have been lacking for the past couple of years. It will take all 7 games for the Detroit Tigers to take the World Series crown back to Detroit for the first time since 1984.