Our hometown favorites have nabbed a Wild Card spot for the 2019 MLB Post Season. After 162 hard fought games, it all comes down to nine innings to decide if they can slide into the playoffs. If they do make it, there are very high hurdles ahead. For those in the hunt, there are four “100 win” teams to contend with, a powerhouse Dodgers team, a currently hobbled Cardinals team that won’t stay down for long, and upstart Braves organization that just might surprise everyone this year. Here we lay out our best guesses for the upcoming MLB Post Season.
The 2019 MLB regular season has come to a close. The Houston Astros finish the season with 107 wins, tops in either league. Three other teams won 100 or more games: The Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, and the stunning surprise of the season, the Minnesota Twins. Speaking of those Twins, they were indeed the surprise of 2019. They won 56 games on the road and set the Major League record for home runs in the season by one team. So how about the postseason?
National League Wild Card Game: Nationals vs. Brewers– The Brewers picked the wrong time to lay an egg. The Cubs handed them a gift the final weekend of the season, and the Brewers just couldn’t keep the wins going. Milwaukee heads to D.C. to face Max Scherzer for a one game Wild Card battle.
American League Wild Card Game: Athletics vs. Rays- Two small market teams with unique approaches to the game will face off in this one. Expect both teams to use a lot of pitchers.
National League Postseason
Divisional Round
Dodgers vs. Nationals- The Dodgers cruised through the entire season without much of a test. They will get one here by facing Strasburg twice, and Scherzer once. At the end of the day, this should be a well-pitched series across the board, and the Dodgers should pull it out at the end.
Braves vs. Cardinals- Two weeks ago fans were ready to pick the hard-charging Cardinals to win the World Series. This last week has shown cracks in that consesus. The Cardinals are going in reverse at the wrong time. The Braves have a lot of talented young arms. Braves could pull this off in four games.
Championship Series
Dodgers vs. Braves- This one comes down to those young arms for Atlanta. Can they handle the bright lights of the National League Championship Series? If they can, it’s going to be an amazing series. That is a big “if” though. If not, then the Dodgers cruise back into the World Series. The final result will fall somewhere in the middle. The Dodgers could take this in six games.
American League Postseason
Divisional Round
Astros vs. Rays – This one isn’t going to be much of a contest. The Astros are an awful match up for the Rays. Houston most likely advances in a sweep.
Yankees vs. Twins- The Twins could make this postseason very interesting if they keep up the pace and “ding dongs”. With their ability to win road games and that strong offense, they can take anyone down anywhere, on any day. One missing piece of their “armor” is that they got the voodoo in their head when they go to New York these days. Yankees will probably take the series in five games.
Championship Series
Astros vs. Yankees- The series we’ve been waiting for all season. Two powerhouse teams going head to head in a titanic grudge match. The difference in this series is going to be those two battle-tested hurlers at the top of the Astros rotation, Zach Grienke and Justin Verlander. We pick the Astros to advance in seven games.
World Series
Astros vs. Dodgers- Here Will this be the rematch of perhaps the best World Series of the last 25 years? Fans have to take into account that the Astros went from being baseball’s great experiment, to being baseball’s great prophecy. Can they do it again? These two teams match well. This one is a push that could go either way. Our resident sports “Guru” T.J. Bryce picks the Astros, in seven amazing games.
