The LDS (league division series) wrapped up last night in the MLB, as the Houston Astros defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-1 to move onto the LCS (league championship series). With this we now know the four teams that will be fighting for a chance to play in the World Series.
In the American league, the Yankees took no prisoners in their matchup against the Minnesota Twins, defeating them in three games and outscoring them 23-7 in the process. The Yankees bats could not be silenced in this series, even as they went against one of the best offenses in the league in Minnesota.
They will be going against the Astros in the next round, who went to five games against the Rays and had to showcase everything they had to move on to the next round. In this series, no visiting team won a single game, the home team won every game which made for a very enticing series.
For as good as the Rays vs. Astros series was, the Yankees vs. Astros has all the necessary parts to make this series one for the ages. The two best teams in the American league, the two best offenses in the American league and great pitching staffs make this matchup the premier matchup in the championship series.
Even though the Yankees and Astros series has more hype around it with potential of being great, we cannot discount the NL series where the Nationals will be taking on the Cardinals. Both of these teams were the lower seeds in the playoffs therefore making both of these teams’ underdogs who pulled off upsets in their division series.
The Nationals won their wildcard matchup against the Brewers which set them up to face the Dodgers in the division series. The Dodgers, as the number one seed, were expected to wipe the floor with this team, however, this series went back and forth, with the teams trading wins taking it to a pivotal game 5.
This was also a series where both teams held nothing back, starters were brought out of the bullpen to give their teams the best chance to win, this didn’t always work out the way that the teams intended. In game two Max Scherzer came in to pitch the eighth inning where he struck out all three batters he faced. The Nationals won this game 4-2 to even up the series.
Then in game three with the Nationals holding a 2-1 lead in the sixth they decided to bring Patrick Corbin in (game 1 starter) to hold off the Dodgers. This did not happen, and the Corbin gave up six runs in 2/3 of an inning. The Dodgers ended up winning this game 10-4, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 series lead.
Now we get to the pivotal game 5 where both teams used a starter out of the pen, it worked for one and backfired for the other. The Dodgers were up 3-1 in the eighth when they brought in Clayton Kershaw, Kershaw then proceeded to give up two runs on two home runs to make it a tie game. Patrick Corbin was also in the game at this time and he shut the Dodgers down, striking out three batters in 1 1/3 inning. The Nationals ended up winning this game and moving on to the championship series.
They will be facing the St. Louis Cardinals, who also went to game five in their division series against the Braves. This series was about pitching and missed opportunities all the way. In game one, the Cardinals bats came alive in the eighth inning when they were down 3-1, in the next two innings the scored six runs, giving them a 7-3 lead. Closer Carlos Martinez almost let up the lead by allowing three runs in the ninth but managed to close the door and give the Cardinals the win.
In game two Braves pitcher Mike Foltynewicz shut down the Cardinals, going seven innings and allowing 0 runs. Jack Flaherty pitched well too but got no run support to give his team a chance. Game three was another pitching clinic as Mike Soroka for the Braves went seven innings allowing one run. Adam Wainwright was on the hill for the Cardinals and he went seven and one third innings with 0 runs allowed. The closer Martinez blew the game for the Cardinals, allowing three runs in the ninth to give the Braves the game.
Another pitching matchup in the fourth game led to the Cardinals winning the game and forcing a game five back in Atlanta. In game five the Cardinals made history, scoring 10 runs in the first inning, destroying the hopes of the Braves in the process. The Cardinals rode this momentum and never let the Braves into the game, only allowing one run in a 13-1 victory.
Now with these series over we have our championship series matchups set for a seven-game series. In the AL we have the one seed Astros vs. the two-seed Yankees. In the NL we have the three-seed Cardinals vs. the four-seed Nationals. With the NL series starting tonight let’s predict who will advance to the World Series.
Nationals vs. Cardinals
I think it’s fair to say that we did not expect this to be the matchup in the NLCS this year after seeing the Dodgers dominant run in the regular season, but this will be a matchup between two of the starting pitchers’ staffs in the National league.
Both of these teams have potential Cy Young winners on their roster, Max Scherzer for the Nationals and Jack Flaherty for the Cardinals. However, starters are where the good ends for the Nationals, they had the worst bullpen ERA during the season even though they have one of the best closers in the game in Sean Doolittle.
The same could be said about the Cardinals closer who did not look good in the series against Atlanta. Carlos Martinez showed that he was vulnerable in key situations, this is understandable since he was not the main closer this season, in fact he was a starter at the beginning of the year. Without main closer Jordan Hicks their bullpen has taken a major hit.
This could be a problem early on in the series against the Nationals, without Flaherty most likely until game three they will have to rely on Miles Mikolas and Adam Wainwright. This shouldn’t be a huge problem if they can pitch the same way they did against the Braves.
The Nationals, like the Braves, have a very dangerous lineup which could mean early trouble for the Cardinals. If they do get to the starters early though at least the Cardinals have a good bullpen which could reduce some of the damage.
On the flip side, the Cardinals do not a lineup nearly as dangerous as the Nationals do, but their key hitters are getting hot at the right time. Marcell Ozuna did not finish the season hitting well at all but he turned things around in the playoffs where he went 9-21 leading to a .429 BA. They will need Ozuna to remain hot going into the championship series, as they are not the best hitting team in the league.
If they can get early offense in, they will be able to reach a weakness if the Nationals roster, getting to their bullpen. In a seven-game series then weaknesses will be easier to get to than in a five-game series. This is exactly what the Cardinals can take advantage of, but they will need to get past those tough starters first which will not be easy.
The key for the Nationals this series is their starting pitching. They know that they posted the worst bullpen ERA in the MLB this season, therefore they do not want to have to rely on their bullpen. They also cannot rely on starters coming out of their bullpen as often considering this is a seven-game series and they will need all their starters fresh.
This means that the Nationals offense will have to knock the Cardinals starters early, giving the Nationals starters the best chance of staying in the game as deep as possible.
Both of these teams made it to the series against statistically superior teams, so it would not be wise to count either of these teams out, but St. Louis seems to be able to find another gear when it comes to October baseball.
Prediction: Cardinals in seven games
Yankees vs. Astros
This series has the potential to be one of the best postseason series in recent memory. Both teams have loaded lineups and loaded pitching staffs. These are two of the best offenses in the entire league that showcase their greatness in different ways. The Yankees are the bigger power threat but showed that they did not need to utilize all that power in the series against the Twins. The Astros play more gap to gap and station to station, although they can show their power at any moment with their lineup.
The Yankees, winning against the Twins in three games have had more time to prepare for this series, as the Astros had to go five games against the Rays. This will be a different animal for the Yankees though. The Twins did not have a bad pitching rotation, but the Astros have possibly the best in the league.
Zack Greinke will look to bounce back in this series after he did not have the outing he wanted against the Rays. This will be against a much tougher lineup in the Yankees. However, the Yankees will have to face not only Greinke, but also the top two candidates in the AL Cy Young race in Verlander and Cole, no easy task for the Yankees.
We all know the Yankees have a dangerous lineup, but their pitching will be the biggest question mark. They were able to slow down the powerful Twins offense, but the Astros offense is better balanced and can attack at any point in their lineup.
This will be the matchup to watch this series, the Yankees pitchers will need to find a way to slow down this lineup, led by possible MVP Alex Bregman. On the other side the Astros need to get some early offense in against the Yankees.
The Yankees have a very deep bullpen, filled with a lot of top names including Aroldis Chapman, Zach Britton, Adam Ottavino, and Chad Green. If they don’t get some offense in against the Yankees starters, then they may have a tough time to get runs against this Yankees bullpen.
This matchup should live up to the potential as the number one and number two teams meet in the championship series. Two of the most well-rounded teams in the entire MLB will put on a seven-game classic for the viewers to enjoy and this series could easily go to either of these teams. For this I will be taking the team with the better starting pitchers.
Prediction: Astros in seven games