LDS Series are best of five
National League
- Dodgers (91-71)/Nationals (95-67)-
It doesn’t get much better than the game 1 pitching matchup in this series. Clayton Kershaw (12-4, 1.69) will take on Max Scherzer (20-7, 2.96) in that one on Friday at 5:30 on FS1. Kershaw has struggled in his postseason past with a 4.59 ERA, while Scherzer will be looking for his first postseason win with the Nationals.
The Dodgers midseason additions of Rich Hill and Josh Reddick will be keys to the series. Hill gets the ball in game two. Reddick has a .455 career average against Scherzer.
Schedule
- Game 1- at Washington- Friday, October 7th- 5:38 PM- FS1
- Game 2 -at Washington- Saturday, October 8th- 4:08 PM- FS1
- Game 3- at Los Angels- Monday, October 10th- TBD- FS1 or MLBN
- Game 4- at Los Angels- Tuesday, October 12th- TBD- FS1
- Game 5- at Washington- Thursday, October 14th- TBD- FS1
Prediction: Nationals in 4
- Giants (87-74/Cubs (103-58)
The Cubs are coming off a dominant regular season that makes them the favorite to win the world series in the eyes of most people. Despite the great season, this is a matchup that will not be easy. Madison Bumgarner through nine shutout innings to lead the Giants to a win over the Mets in the National League Wildcard game. The good news for the Cubs, Bumgarner will not be available until game 3. The good news for the Giants, they still have Johnny Cueto, Jeff Samardjia, and Matt Moore.
The Cubs have a staff that can match up. Jon Lester and his strong postseason past will take the mound in game one. Kyle Hendricks led all of baseball with a 2.13 ERA, he will take the ball in game two.. A Jake Arieta/Bumgarner matchup will be lined up for game 3, while the Cubs still have John Lackey in game 4. This should be a very entertaining series. I feel like Bumgarner will come out of the bullpen if needed in game five and that may be enough for the Giants to pull off the upset and send Cubs fans to another off season of waiting until next season.
Schedule
- Game 1- at Chicago – Friday, October 7th- 9:08 PM- FS1
- Game 2- at Chicago- Saturday, October 8th- 8:08 PM- MLBN
- Game 3- at San Francisco- Monday, October 10th- TBD- FS1 or MLBN
- Game 4- at San Francisco- Tuesday, October 12th- TBD- FS1
- Game 5- at Chicago- Thursday, October 14th- TBD- FS1
Prediction: Giants in 5
American League
- Blue Jays (89-73)/Rangers (95-67)
These teams have a lot of interesting history in the past year, and much of it has nothing to do with baseball. Not many teams truly dislike each other in 2016, these two seem to really dislike each other. It should be a very fun series as far as baseball goes also. The Blue Jays are coming off a dramatic wild card win over the Orioles. The Rangers won 95 games and cruised to win the American League West by nine games.
The Rangers have the horse at the top of the rotation with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish. The Blue Jays have starting pitching depth and a slight advantage in the bullpen. Both lineups can produce which means it could come down to the bullpens, and is why I am giving the edge to the Jays in a very long and entertaining series.
Schedule
- Game 1- at Texas- Thursday, October 6th- 4:38 PM- TBS
- Game 2- at Texas- Friday, October 7th- 1:08 PM- TBS
- Game 3- at Toronto- Sunday, October 9th- 7:38 PM- TBS
- Game 4- at Toronto- Monday, October 10th- TBD- TBS
- Game 5- at Texas- Wednesday, October 12th- TBD- TBS
Prediction: Blue Jays in 5
- Red Sox (93-69)/Indians (94-67)
The Red Sox have the advantage in many areas over the Indians. So, it should be an easy series, right? Not exactly, the advantage the Indians do have is in the bullpen. The addition of Andrew Miller at the deadline strengthen that and made Cody Allen a tough setup guy.
The Red Sox will need to hope for Rick Porcello to build off his Cy Young caliber regular season and for David Price to change his postseason numbers around. The Indians have injuries to their starting rotation which should help the powerful Red Sox offense to get out in front. If the Indians have the lead after the 6th inning they will be a difficult team to come back against. If the series does get to five games, the Red Sox would have either Porcello or Price available on normal rest, and the Indians would have their ace Corey Kluber available.
Schedule
- Game 1- at Cleveland- Thursday, October 6th- 8:08 PM- TBS
- Game 2- at Cleveland- Friday, October 7th- 4:38 PM- TBS
- Game 3- at Boston- Sunday, October 9th- 4:08 PM- TBS
- Game 4- at Boston- Monday, October 10th- TBD- TBS
- Game 5- at Cleveland- Wednesday, October 12th- TBD- TBS
Predictions: Red Sox in 4
