MLB Postseason Wild Card Preview
With the 2016 Major League Baseball Postseason looming, a large amount of predictions are being thrown around on which team can claim the name of 2016 World Series Champions. As the postseason runs all the way through October, we will provide a bit by bit series preview and reasons why each team could win their series.
However, every postseason in Major League Baseball begins with two wildcard games - a one game series deciding which team is to face the top seed in their league. So, we will begin these series of articles by covering these intense, heart-racing winner take all scenarios.
AL WILDCARD
Blue Jays vs Orioles: Winner Faces Texas Rangers
With this game showing off one of the more exciting rivalries of the past few years, it is the battle of the birds to determine who heads down to Texas. From the perspective of the Blue Jays, it is as if they are looking in the mirror, preparing to beat their former selves. This is because in the previous season, the Jays dominated the league in terms of power hitting, leading all the other teams by a long shot in offensive statistics, yet their pitching was sub-par at best. Now, they face the Orioles, who not only have the league leader in Home Runs Mark Trumbo (with 47), but also have Manny Machado and Chris Davis, trailing not far behind, contributing to a near 250 mark of Home Runs for the team in the regular season. However, it could be argued that the Orioles’ pitching is far more worse than of the Blue Jays’ last year, having swapped out many pitchers from their starting rotation throughout the year. On the other hand, the Jays have only used 7 pitchers to start games, one of the least amounts in all the league, but their offense has struggled this year, especially in the recent months, and is one of the main worry points of this team.
Starting Pitchers
Blue Jays - SP: RHP Marcus Stroman 9W-10L 4.37 ERA
Orioles - SP: RHP Chris Tillman 16W-6L 3.77 ERA
The Orioles Win If:
They keep doing what they have done all year long. Hit home runs productively and keep hitting well against Marcus Stroman. Then they can hand it over to their bullpen, who can shut down nearly any team, especially with Cy Young Award Candidate Zach Britton at their disposal.
The Blue Jays Win If:
Their pitching comes through for them (again) and they don't try and overthink the hitting. If the Jays are patient and wait for Tillman or the bullpen to make a mistake, they will find themselves in a great position to win.
NL WILDCARD
Giants vs Mets: Winner Faces Chicago Cubs
Quite frankly, the Mets are lucky to even be in playoff contention to begin with. It was the pitching of Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz that helped them get to a World Series final last October. Now, in this season, 3 of those 4 pitchers are injured and out for the season, leaving Syndergaard as the ace of the staff for the postseason. However, some may argue that there is no bigger postseason obstacle existing than the Giants. They always seem to find a way in these games to pull out a victory, and with one of the best pitchers in the game in Madison Bumgarner on the mound for them, it doesn't get any better for the Mets. It is also noted that the San Francisco Giants have won the World Series in every even numbered season since 2012. They are hoping to continue that trend starting Wednesday by getting one step closer with a victory.
Starting Pitchers
Mets - SP: RHP Noah Syndergaard 14W-9L 2.60 ERA
Giants - SP: LHP Madison Bumgarner 15W-9L 2.74 ERA
The Mets Win If:
Syndergaard is able to cope with the pressure of being the ace of the staff and pitch a phenomenal game. The offense will have to attack Bumgarner patiently, as history shows he has struggled against the Mets this season. The Mets need to take the bad pitches away and focus on finding their pitch to smack. If a decent lead is made for the Mets, Jeurys Familia, who led the league in saves this season, should end this game quite nicely for the Mets.
The Giants Win If:
Madison Bumgarner pitches a great game against a team he tends to struggle with. Then the offense needs to continue the situational hitting they have demonstrated in their past World Series victories and definitely down the stretch. Without a decided closer to end off games, if you're a Giants fan, you hope Bumgarner goes as long as heavenly possible in this game so there is less of a chance for blunder from the Giants bullpen.
