After both wild card games turned into taut, thrilling affairs, the first series of the MLB postseason will get underway on Thursday night as the American League kicks off their pair of Division Series showdowns.
The first will feature a rematch from the 2015 postseason, as the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers will square off. Last year’s matchup was highlighted by Jose Bautista’s epic bat flip after a home run, and the bad blood has continued to simmer this year as Roughned Odor and Bautista got into an epic fight after a collision earlier this season.
In the nightcap Thursday, the Boston Red Sox will travel to Ohio to take on the Cleveland Indians in a battle of division winners. Indians manager Terry Francona won two World Series titles with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007, but this time he is hoping to turn the tables and beat his former team.
The two National League series will get underway on Friday, with the Washington Nationals hosting the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs welcoming the San Francisco Giants to Wrigley Field.
Before the four playoff series get underway, there is one question that needs to be answered: who will win, and who will go home?
Without further adieu, here are our picks for the first round of the postseason.
American League:
Chicago Baseball
Blue Jays Over Rangers, Four Games
The Rangers have the best record in the American League, but we’re going to go with the Blue Jays in an upset here. With power hitters like Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion (who hit the walk-off home run to get the Jays into this series) and Bautista, Toronto has a highly potent offense, and although Texas has an excellent pitching staff, we still feel confident that the friendly hitter’s park at Globe Life Park and the power hitters in the Blue Jays’ lineup should carry them to a series victory.
Red Sox Over Indians, Five Games
The Red Sox are likely one of the best teams in baseball, and outlets like ESPN have picked them to win the World Series this season for a reason. With a slew of young talent and excellent starting pitchers like David Price and Rick Porcello, it’s hard to see a compelling reason that the injury-depleted Indians can beat them, but it should still be an entertaining series.
National League:
Dodgers Over Nationals, Four Games
The Nationals have all of the necessary components to go on a good playoff run, including a solid offense and a good starting rotation, but the Dodgers are one of the scariest teams in the postseason. Loaded with talented pitching and with an offense that’s capable of generating runs when they need to, we like them to upend the slightly favored Nationals and advance to the NLCS.
Cubs Over Giants, Four Games
Madison Bumgarner’s outstanding performance surely unnerved some Cubs fans after the wild card game, but the Cubs are the most complete team in baseball and are World Series contenders for a reason. With a dynamic pitching staff (including Kyle Hendricks, whose 1.32 ERA at Wrigley Field this season makes his Game 2 start must-watch television), one of the best defenses in recent memory, and a potent offense that has power threats (Kris Bryant) and contact hitters (Ben Zobrist), the Cubs can beat teams in a million different ways, and it would seem that they can do just that against the vaunted Giants.
