MLB Playoffs 2014: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions for Day 2
The 2014 MLB postseason is three days old, and it's completely bonkers already.
Granted, there have been a couple of duds in terms of excitement, but the Kansas City Royals alone are making up for that with back-to-back extra-innings wins. Manager Ned Yost keeps on finding a way for his small ball to get the job done.
In the other American League Division Series matchup, the Baltimore Orioles took care of the Detroit Tigers, feasting on a weak bullpen for a 12-3 victory.
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With the LDS only being five games, taking Game 1 is no small feat. Both the Los Angeles Angels and Tigers have their backs against the wall.
The San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals will all hope to avoid a similar fate when the National League Division Series kicks off on Friday.
You can view a full schedule for Friday's action below, courtesy of MLB.com.
| ALDS | DET at BAL | 12 p.m. | TBS | TBS.com |
| NLDS | SF at WSH | 3 p.m. | FS1 | Fox Sports Go |
| NLDS | STL at LAD | 6:30 p.m. | FS1 | Fox Sports Go |
| ALDS | KC at LAA | 9:30 p.m. | TBS | TBS.com |
Note: All MLB playoff games are available to live stream on Postseason.TV.
Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers
So maybe bullpens are really important in the postseason.
The Tigers bullpen has always been a concern, but few could've foreseen how badly it would perform on Thursday night. In the span of 0.2 innings, Detroit relievers surrendered seven runs on five hits. On ESPN.com, Joba Chamberlain's postseason ERA is "INF."
In keeping with the narrative of everything going wrong for the Tigers, they also recorded two errors. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Detroit had the second-worst defensive efficiency in the league:
Sports Illustrated's Jay Jaffe found the simple equation that will likely decide this series:
Although the Tigers are starting Justin Verlander in Game 2, their margin for error seems so small. As ESPN.com's David Schoenfield pointed out, Detroit almost needs him to go eight innings at a minimum to secure the victory:
Verlander's postseason record is solid, if a little unspectacular. In 15 playoff starts, he's 7-5 with a 3.28 ERA. Solid won't cut it on Friday, the 2011 American League MVP needs to be nearly perfect. Anything less, and the Tigers could be staring at a 0-2 series deficit.
With the way in which Detroit's flaws were exposed, it's hard to pick against the Orioles.
Prediction: Orioles 5, Tigers 3
Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants
The trouble with starting Madison Bumgarner in the Wild Card Game for the Giants is that he's unavailable for the first game of the NLDS. Jake Peavy has done well since arriving in San Francisco, but a FIP of 3.03 and xFIP of 4.01 with the Giants, via FanGraphs, make you question how much of his 2.17 ERA with the team is down to pitching in AT&T Park.
The Giants offense wasn't exactly explosive during the regular season, and with the absences of Angel Pagan and Mike Morse, San Francisco could be in danger against what is the best starting rotation in the postseason.
Stephen Strasburg will have a lot to prove after he was famously shut down prior to the 2012 playoffs. He'll want to make the most of his playoff debut.
Prediction: Nationals 6, Giants 1
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals
In a battle between Clayton Kershaw and any other starting pitcher currently plying his trade, it's probably a safe bet to pick Kershaw—even if the opposing pitcher is Adam Wainwright.
As if the motivation that comes with pursuing a first World Series title isn't enough for the presumptive National League Cy Young Award winner, he's also looking to make up for last year's poor National League Championship Series performance against St. Louis.
In two NLCS starts, he went 0-2, giving up seven earned runs in 10 innings.
The 26-year-old ace admitted that the poor performance weighed on his psyche for a while.
"I had to wait a long time for that next one,' Kershaw said, per ESPNLosAngeles.com's Mark Saxon. "Thankfully, it came. It's not like I thought about it every day in the offseason, but it's not like one day you shake off things. It takes a while."
The Cardinals scored 619 runs during the regular season, tied for 23rd in the league. According to FanGraphs, they also finished with a .308 weighted on-base average and a 95 weighted runs created plus, both of which are in the middle of the pack.
Considering runs will come at a premium against Kershaw, St. Louis will have a hard time stringing enough hits together to stifle the ace.
Prediction: Dodgers 3, Cardinals 1
Los Angeles Angels vs. Kansas City Royals
Talk about a Pyrrhic victory. The Royals may have won the first game against the Angels on Thursday, but they might have also lost Kelvin Herrera in the process. According to Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star, the reliever suffered tightness in his right forearm:
Bleacher Report's Will Carroll provided some insight for how the Royals might handle Herrera from here:
That's all the bad news for Kansas City; the good news is that it got past Jered Weaver and has Yordano Ventura and James Shields starting over the next two games.
A lot had to go right for the Royals to take Game 1, namely right fielder Nori Aoki's two catches to save runs. Even center fielder Lorenzo Cain was shocked he caught the first one, via MLB GIFs:
Mike Trout and Albert Pujols also went a combined 0-for-9 in the game, and that's unlikely to happen again.
Los Angeles should right the ship in Game 2.
Prediction: Angels 4, Royals 2
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