By: Kelly Byrnes
AL Wild Card: New York Yankees (Gerrit Cole) at Boston Red Sox (Nathan Eovaldi)
Once again one of the best rivalries in baseball will meet in the postseason, the first time since 2018 and the first time ever in the Wild Card game. They have played pretty even with Boston winning the season series, 10-9. Red Sox have the advantage on the offense, Yankees have the advantage on the pitching side. I’m having a tough time picking a winner in this matchup. I’m not very fond of either team, I know that shouldn’t matter but nothing jumps out at me. Red Sox have the home field advantage and usually I’ll just go with that team when I have trouble deciding but Gerrit Cole is toeing the mound for the Yanks and he seems to comes up big in these types of games. For that reason I’ll go with the Yankees.
NL Wild Card: St. Louis Cardinals (Adam Wainwright) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Max Scherzer)
The Dodgers won 106 games and were rewarded by having to play a winner take all game just to get to the NLDS. It is the most wins ever by a second-place team. The Cardinals won a team record 17 straight wins in September and come into the postseason as one of the hottest teams in baseball. The Dodgers are looking to repeat as World Series Champs and it won’t be an easy road as they start at home against the 40-year-old Wainwright who can spin it. The Cardinals secret weapon could be Jack Flaherty out of the bullpen especially if the Cards can get an early lead. Max Scherzer goes for LA and he didn’t come to the Dodgers to get ousted in early October. Max Muncy getting hurt in Game 162 definitely made in a little bit harder for the Dodgers but they are deep and I still have them advancing and continuing that quest for back-to-back titles.