MLB Playoff Schedule 2014: Updated ALDS, NLDS Bracket, Day 1 Predictions
The 2014 MLB playoffs kick off Thursday with the American League Division Series.
In the opening contest, the Detroit Tigers will take their formidable pitching staff on the road to face the Baltimore Orioles. After that, the Kansas City Royals will seek to keep their massive momentum going following a wild-card win when they go up against baseball's best team, the Los Angeles Angels.
Friday will feature the second games of the ALDS, but it also marks the start of the National League Division Series, which will feature a battle of 20-game winning pitchers in the St. Louis Cardinals' Adam Wainwright and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Clayton Kershaw.
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The Washington Nationals will host the San Francisco Giants in what should be a competitive showcase, as San Francisco seeks a third World Series crown in as many even-numbered years.
Below is a closer look at the complete playoff schedule, including predictions for what will happen in the first day of action in the ALDS.
Visit MLB.com for an updated postseason bracket.
| ALDS | ||||
| 1 | KC at LAA | Thurs., Oct. 2 | 9 p.m. | TBS |
| 2 | KC at LAA | Fri., Oct. 3 | 9:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 3 | LAA at KC | Sun., Oct. 5 | 7:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 4* | LAA at KC | Mon., Oct. 6 | TBD | TBS |
| 5* | KC at LAA | Wed., Oct. 8 | TBD | TBS |
| ALDS | ||||
| 1 | DET at BAL | Thurs., Oct. 2 | 5:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 2 | DET at BAL | Fri., Oct. 3 | 12 p.m. | TBS |
| 3 | BAL at DET | Sun., Oct. 5 | 3:30 p.m. | TBS |
| 4* | BAL at DET | Mon., Oct. 6 | TBD | TBS |
| 5* | DET at BAL | Wed., Oct. 8 | TBD | TBS |
| NLDS | ||||
| 1 | SF Giants at WSH | Fri., Oct. 3 | 3 p.m. | FS1 |
| 2 | SF Giants at WSH | Sat., Oct. 4 | 5:30 p.m. | FS1 |
| 3 | WSH at SF Giants | Mon., Oct. 6 | TBA | MLB Network |
| 4* | WSH at SF Giants | Tues., Oct. 7 | TBA | FS1 |
| 5* | SF Giants at WSH | Thurs., Oct. 9 | TBA | FS1 |
| NLDS | ||||
| 1 | STL at LAD | Fri., Oct. 3 | 6:30 p.m. | FS1 |
| 2 | STL at LAD | Sat., Oct. 4 | 9:30 p.m. | MLB Network |
| 3 | LAD at STL | Mon., Oct. 6 | TBA | FS1 |
| 4* | LAD at STL | Tues., Oct. 7 | TBA | FS1 |
| 5* | STL at LAD | Thurs., Oct. 9 | TBA | FS1 |
| ALCS | ||||
| 1 | TBD vs. TBD | Fri., Oct. 10 | TBA | TBS |
| 2 | TBD vs. TBD | Sat., Oct. 11 | TBA | TBS |
| 3 | TBD vs. TBD | Mon., Oct. 13 | TBA | TBS |
| 4 | TBD vs. TBD | Tues., Oct. 14 | TBA | TBS |
| 5* | TBD vs. TBD | Wed., Oct. 15 | TBA | TBS |
| 6* | TBD vs. TBD | Fri., Oct. 17 | TBA | TBS |
| 7* | TBD vs. TBD | Sat., Oct. 18 | TBA | TBS |
| NLCS | ||||
| 1 | TBD vs. TBD | Sat., Oct. 11 | TBA | Fox |
| 2 | TBD vs. TBD | Sun., Oct. 12 | TBA | FS1 |
| 3 | TBD vs. TBD | Tues., Oct. 14 | TBA | FS1 |
| 4 | TBD vs. TBD | Wed., Oct. 15 | TBA | FS1 |
| 5* | TBD vs. TBD | Thurs., Oct. 16 | TBA | FS1 |
| 6* | TBD vs. TBD | Sat., Oct. 18 | TBA | Fox |
| 7* | TBD vs. TBD | Sun., Oct. 19 | TBA | FS1 |
| World Series | ||||
| 1 | NL Champion vs. AL Champion | Tues., Oct. 21 | TBA | Fox |
| 2 | NL Champion vs. AL Champion | Wed., Oct. 22 | TBA | Fox |
| 3 | AL Champion vs. NL Champion | Fri., Oct. 24 | TBA | Fox |
| 4 | AL Champion vs. NL Champion | Sat., Oct. 25 | TBA | Fox |
| 5* | AL Champion vs. NL Champion | Sun., Oct. 26 | TBA | Fox |
| 6* | NL Champion vs. AL Champion | Tues., Oct. 28 | TBA | Fox |
| 7* | NL Champion vs. AL Champion | Wed., Oct. 29 | TBA | Fox |
Day 1 Predictions
Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles
Max Scherzer, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner, is on the mound in Game 1 for the Tigers, whose pitching staff has the tools to carry them back to the American League Championship Series for the fourth straight year.
The Tigers had to win on the final day of the regular season to lock up the AL Central title. Now they have the likes of Scherzer, Justin Verlander and David Price respectively dealing to Baltimore in this series.
Any letdown from Detroit's devastating stable of pitchers could sap its momentum, though. A five-game series can be fickle with Buck Showalter, a two-time AL Manager of the Year, scheming against the Tigers.
"I think we all know what it looks like on paper," said Showalter, per The Associated Press, via ESPN.com. "But there's a lot of things that look a certain way on paper for us that we were able to overcome."
Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com documents an interesting, albeit indirect, retort from Scherzer to that remark:
Considerable pressure rests on Scherzer to put on a brilliant display, and he'll have a tall task to completely shut down Baltimore at Camden Yards. Although he'll pitch well, expect him to yield a few runs to make this one compelling.
In the end, Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit bats will be the difference. Cabrera's goal is quite simple, per SportsCenter:
The emergence of veteran designated hitter Victor Martinez (.335 average, 32 home runs, 103 RBI), in addition to the greatness Cabrera brings to the batter's box, gives Detroit two big threats to change Game 1 with one swing of the bat.
Baltimore can't say quite the same without both Chris Davis and Manny Machado, though they still have capable power hitters in Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones to pick up the slack.
In what should be an evenly matched game between two teams that can slug the ball with baseball's best, Scherzer's outing is to be better than his counterpart in Orioles starter Chris Tillman. Scherzer has played well amid the past two playoffs, while Tillman is making his postseason debut.
That's going to be enough to give Detroit the initial edge in the series.
Prediction: Tigers 5, Orioles 3
Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels
The starting pitcher mismatch is hard to ignore, as Jason Vargas will be on the bump for Kansas City on the road, while Los Angeles ace Jered Weaver will deliver for the home team.
It certainly appears Weaver has the right mentality in this short series, per the Angels' official Twitter account:
This key anecdote from MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez suggests Vargas will stand toe-to-toe with Weaver on Wednesday:
But Vargas has a woeful 6.57 ERA in September, so he's not exactly firing on all cylinders entering the playoffs. Now he has to face baseball's highest-scoring offense during the regular season.
And after the Royals small-balled the Oakland Athletics, stole seven bases and outlasted them in a 9-8 wild-card win, you can bet L.A.'s catchers are preparing accordingly. Take this from Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times:
The awkward, slow delivery Weaver has will afford Kansas City some opportunities to run, which could help keep this game closer than expected in the early going.
You can bet the underdogs will fight as hard as they can. Look no further than this SportsCenter statistic to be confident in that:
However, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols and the rest of the Angels lineup are going to tag the struggling Vargas in front of the friendly fans early and often at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.
The Royals spent so much effort to get the job done in Tuesday's win over Oakland, and there's no doubt that took an emotional toll. Now they'll have to change time zones, upgrade the caliber of opponent they're facing and match the favorites' intensity.
There is a chance this unique, gritty K.C. bunch can gut out a victory in Los Angeles—just not in Game 1.
It will be a shock if Kansas City claws its way out of a 0-1 hole. More likely, the Angels will move on to a compelling showdown with Detroit in the ALCS, where their high-powered offense will take on the Tigers' formidable rotation.
The ALDS could surprise, though, with the aforementioned five-game format lending to a smaller sample size. In this layout, the law of averages doesn't have as much time to play out to crown the superior team.
That will make the division series must-see TV no matter who is playing or how lopsided the matchup might appear on paper.
Prediction: Angels 7, Royals 2
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