October is here and with that comes cooler weather, football, tailgating, and postseason baseball. The play-in games did not lack in excitement this year. Both games saw game winning homeruns, one of them was a walk-off from Edwin Encarnacion to defeat the Orioles, and last night's homerun from Conor Gillespie in the top of the 9th. Both Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard had phenomenal pitching performances, but ultimately Syndegaard was taken out and the Mets' bullpen was unable to finish it up for him. So far this postseason has been an exciting one, let's hope it continues. Without further ado, here are my predictions for the upcoming ALDS & NLDS:
Blue Jays vs Rangers: Blue Jays win in 4 games
The first series for the American League will see two rival teams going at it. It could be that they will literally go at it seeing as how they have already gotten into fights with each other this season. The Rangers will have a very slight advantage in hitting, but I don't think they will be able to withstand the Blue Jays' pitching, which has the sixth lowest ERA in all of baseball.
Boston Red Sox vs Cleveland Indians: Red Sox win in 4 games
Cleveland has had a surge in sports teams this year with the Cavaliers winning the NBA Championship for the first time in history, and now the Indians making it to the playoffs and looking like one of the top three teams in the American League. The Red Sox are looking to send "Big Papi" David Ortiz off to retirement as a World Series Champion. For David Ortiz, you couldn't ask for a better way to finish your final season. The Indians have been a scrappy team all year, leading the Central Division throughout most of the year. But they have lost some of the big arms, and the Red Sox are one of the hottest batting teams in the MLB, leading the majors in runs. The Red Sox will be too much for the Indians to handle this time around.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs Washington Nationals: Dodgers win in 3 games
That's right I said it. The Dodgers are going to sweep the Nationals in the NLDS. This should be a very exciting match-up with both of these teams being in the Top 5 in lowest ERA in the majors. Kershaw is looking like himself again, and he isn't playing the Cardinals so he should be fine. Even though the numbers show that Washington has the better bats and arms, I tend to lean toward the Dodgers coming away with a sweep, solely looking at the pitching match-ups.
San Francisco Giants vs Chicago Cubs: Cubs win in 3 games
As much as it makes me sick to my stomach to say anything positive about the Chicago Cubs, I can't help but think they will sweep the Giants in the NLDS. The Cubs have been dominating baseball all year, and I don't see any reason why they would let up now. Even though the Cubs lost it last year to the Mets, and lacked that experience, I feel they will learn from that and be an unstoppable force against the Giants. Even though the Giants have Bumgarner, who is the equivalent to a cyborg that is superior to all human beings in the postseason, I still think the Cubs' bats will have an advantage against the Giants and Bummie.
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