Major League Baseball's postseason begins tomorrow. As of now, the AL bracket is set, as the Yankees claimed the top seed with 94 wins, followed by Cleveland with 92. The NL? Pending the outcome of the 2nd game of today's Braves-Mets doubleheader, either Atlanta or Arizona, last year's NL champion, will advance. We'll have the NL bracket tomorrow.
American League preview:
Wild Card:
Kansas City @ Baltimore:
Once upon a time, both teams were in a position to win their divisions. The AL Central was that wide open for most of the year, absent the historically putrid Chicago White Sox. Baltimore collapsed late, enabling the Yankees to win the division.
The question, of course, is can the Orioles recover? Kansas City hasn't seen the postseason since beating the Mets in 2015, so they're hungry. There'll be some Royals fans here in the home district, as manager Matt Quatraro grew up in the 518, and graduated from Bethlehem High. You can argue that this would make the Royals a sentimental favorite in some corners of this region.
However, Baltimore, galvanized by last year's run, will be prepared to go further.
Pick: Baltimore in 3.
Detroit @ Houston:
The Astros won another AL West title, but not in as dominant fashion as per normal. No, they had to get up off the deck, and overtake Seattle to claim the title. Detroit was one of those teams that was in the AL Central hunt most of the season, and even led at one point. Like the Royals, the Tigers are young and hungry. Houston advancing is not guaranteed, but......!
Pick: Houston in 3.
The Division series pairings will be decided by the two wild card series. The way we see it, it'll be Baltimore renewing hostilities with the Yanks, while Houston goes to Cleveland.
We'll see if that does come to pass. Of course, I could be wrong.
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