MLB Playoffs 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions for Day 1

When it comes to the 2014 American League Division Series, nothing is sacred.

With a de-emphasis on free agency and a general leveling of the playing field between smaller-market and big-market teams, the day of the superteam looks to be over. No longer do you see that odds-on favorite everybody's picking to steamroll the competition.

The Los Angeles Angels walked out of the regular season with the best record in the AL, but nobody would be surprised to see them lose to the Kansas City Royals in four or five games. The same could be said of the Baltimore Orioles, who picked up six more wins than the Detroit Tigers.

The nature of short series combined with the competitive balance of the AL make winning Game 1 extremely important. Going behind 1-0 in the LDS isn't a death sentence, but it makes things much more difficult going forward.

Schedule

Series	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV Info	Live Stream	Prediction
ALDS	DET at BAL	5:30 p.m.	TBS	TBS.com/MLB.tv	DET 3, BAL 1
ALDS	KC at LAA	9 p.m.	TBS	TBS.com/MLB.tv	LAA 5, KC 2

Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers

Leon Halip/Getty Images

While the Orioles are the higher seed in this series, the Tigers arguably own the talent advantage. This series will be a nice contrast of a team built around a cadre of stars and one that features more balance across the board.

In six games against Baltimore in 2014, Detroit went 5-1. In addition, the Tigers have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. With pitching at a premium in the playoffs, are you going to bet against Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello and David Price?

Scherzer will start for Detroit on Thursday. He hasn't pitched against the Orioles this year. In six career starts against Baltimore, the veteran right-hander has gone 3-1 with 3.92 ERA.

The Orioles will counter with Chris Tillman, who was responsible for Baltimore's only win over the Tigers. He surrendered one earned run over 8.1 innings in what was a 3-1 victory.

MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm made the case that while his numbers don't show it, Tillman's second-half turnaround this year has earned him a place among the best starting pitchers in the game:

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Since his turnaround, Tillman hasn't just been effective, he has been borderline dominant. He allowed three runs or less during a span of 20 starts from June 10 to Sept. 20. That finally came to an end during his final outing of the season against Toronto when he allowed four runs over six innings, but by then, the California native had already found himself in some elite company.

The 20 consecutive quality starts tied for fourth on the club's all-time list. Left-hander Dave McNally (May 19-Sept. 8, 1968) and Carl Weilman (April 14-Aug. 19, 1914) share the franchise record with 25 consecutive starts of three runs or less while Eddie Plank sits third with 21 straight (June 28, 1916-June 20, 1917).

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Tillman will have a chance to prove himself against a top half of the batting order that is among the best in baseball. Torii Hunter is the weak link, but he still hit .286 with 17 home runs and 83 runs batted in. Most teams would love to have a weak link like that.

Ian Kinsler, Victor Martinez, Miguel Cabrera and J.D. Martinez all posted WARs at 3.7 or higher, according to FanGraphs. Martinez, Cabrera and Martinez provide the power, with all three slugging in the .500s with ISOs of .200 or above.

Scherzer mentioned before the series that the Tigers' previous postseason experience won't count for anything this year, per Steve Melewski of MASNSports.com:

Defense and relief pitching are major concerns for the Tigers, but the top of the order and starting rotation may be enough to give them the series.

Detroit should get off to a quick start with a close win in Game 1.

Prediction: Tigers 3, Orioles 1

Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals

Jeff Gross/Getty Images

Buoyed by Tuesday's dramatic Wild Card win over the A's, the Royals should be competitive in this series. When it comes to their chances in Game 1, however, Kansas City fans should feel a little more pessimistic.

Jason Vargas gets the nod for KC, which was less-than-welcome news for Grantland's Rany Jazayerli:

Jazayerli's trepidation is with merit. Vargas had two no-decisions in two starts against the Angels this year. He pitched 10.1 innings, giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits.

The Angels offense has also been extremely strong against left-handed pitching.

Los Angeles ranks fourth in batting average (.273), seventh in home runs (42) and 10th in runs batted in (186). The advanced stats are a little more kind to the Angels. They rank first in weighted runs created plus (120) against lefties, according to FanGraphs. They're also third in weighted runs above average (31.8).

Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Chris Iannetta have been particularly deadly. You can see their numbers below, courtesy of FanGraphs.

	Avg.	OBP	SLG	ISO	wOBA	wRC+
Mike Trout	.275	.386	.523	.248	.398	164
Josh Hamilton	.330	.367	.516	.187	.383	154
Chris Iannetta	.272	.388	.491	.219	.383	153

One of Vargas' most important tasks will be silencing that trio. Trout, Hamilton and Iannetta will likely have a big say on how the night unfolds.

Jered Weaver will start for the Angels. Although he's yet to face the Royals in 2014, he and Vargas are no strangers to one another. The two were teammates in college, per Arash Markazi of ESPN:

Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register tweeted out that Weaver and Vargas are also planning to vacation with one another during the offseason:

You can bet that whoever wins on Thursday won't let the other guy forget it once the postseason is through.

The key for the Angels will be getting to Vargas early and making Royals manager Ned Yost look to his bullpen.

While Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland have been great this year, Yost has been very rigid in when he uses them. The rest of Kansas City's relievers are more pedestrian. Plus, the more that Herrera, Davis and Holland are forced to work early in the series, the more tired they may be come Games 3, 4 and 5.

This series could very well go the distance, but expect Los Angeles to get an early advantage.

Prediction: Angels 5, Royals 2