By: Kelly Byrnes
NLDS: Washington Nationals (93-69) at Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56)
The Nationals are coming off a huge come from behind win in the Wild Card game. They have Patrick Corbin going in Game 1 and the Dodgers have struggled against lefties in the past. After Corbin they have Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg waiting to get their chance at knocking off the Dodgers. The Dodgers will give the ball to Walker Buehler to start the series. He will be looking to continue his postseason dominance from last year. Both teams have great offenses and suspect bullpens. The Nationals are not scared of the big bad Dodgers one bit and will look to knock off the best team in the NL. The Dodgers are on a mission, they have their eye on the World Series Championship and anything less would be a disappointment.
NLDS: St. Louis Cardinals (91-71) Atlanta Braves (97-65)
The Cardinals return to the postseason for the first time since 2015 and will look to knock off the NL East Champs. The Braves are looking to get past the NLDS this year after being knocked out by the Dodgers last season. I don’t think the series will be a sweep as the Cardinals have Jack Flaherty on the bump for Game 2. The Braves have to much for the Cardinals to handle and will make quick work of the Red Birds.
ALDS: Tampa Bay Rays (96-66) at Houston Astros (107-55)
The Astros really do seem unbeatable. Verlander and Cole are the best 1-2 punch in the postseason since Johnson and Schilling in 2001. Not to mention they have Zack Greinke pitching Game 3. The Astros also have one of the best lineups 1 through 9. The one weak spot they may have is their bullpen. No one is giving the Rays a chance but not many gave them a chance against the A’s in the WIld Card game either. They don’t have quite the 1-2-3 punch that the Astros have but don’t look past Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Charlie Morton. The Rays will have to play mistake free baseball to have a chance. As much as I would love to see it happen I don’t think it will. Astros in 4 maybe 5.
ALDS: Minnesota Twins (101-61) at New York Yankees (103-59)
The Twins have been knocked out of the playoffs by the Yankees the last three times they made it to the playoffs, 2009, 2010 and 2017. They look to end this trend and they plan to end it by hitting the ball over the fence many many times. The two teams hit a combined 313 HR’s so I see a lot of balls being put into the stands in this series. The question is whose starting rotation and bullpen can bend and not break as much. I like the Twins rotation a tad more but the Yankees have the better bullpen. The Yankees have the home field advantage that makes me want to pick them but my heart says the Twins will finally get past the Yankees.