MLB Playoff Bracket 2014: Updated Predictions After Wild Card Games
Holy Bret Saberhagen—the Kansas City Royals aren't satisfied with simply making the postseason. The team that had been known for its futility over the last 20 years battled through the Wild Card Game with the Oakland Athletics and now has a one-game lead over the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series.
The Royals hadn't been to the postseason since Saberhagen led them to the World Series in 1985.
They could have been happy just being there, but that hasn't been the case. Behind a strong bullpen and clutch hitting, Kansas City is a scary club.
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On Thursday night, Mike Moustakas was the hero at the plate. His homer off Fernando Salas in the 11th inning gave the Royals the 3-2 edge. All-world closer Greg Holland came in and shut the door to earn the save, as he'd done 46 times during the regular season.
Even before Holland worked a scoreless bottom half of the 11th, which featured two strikeouts, six Royals relievers combined to stifle the powerful Angels lineup from the seventh inning on.
Can Kansas City continue its hot streak and upset the Angels?
It's a feel-good story, but the answer is no. At some point, the Angels' bats will wake up in unison. On Thursday, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick and David Freese were a combined 1-for-15 with one RBI.
That group is too good to struggle that way for an entire series. Once the Angels start hitting, the Royals won't have the firepower to keep pace. The Angels scored more runs than any other team in the majors during the regular season. Of the eight teams still alive in the postseason, only the St. Louis Cardinals scored fewer runs than the Royals
Must be a Missouri thing.
There's a lot of pressure on Kansas City's pitchers to be great every night. Before it's over, the Angels will break through and win because they are the better overall team.
Here's a look at the updated bracket, with predictions for each remaining series. Just below that is a look at the other three series in the MLB playoffs.
| Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles | Orioles | Angels | |
| Kansas City Royals vs. Los Angeles Angels | Angels | ||
| St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodgers | Dodgers | Dodgers |
| San Francisco Giants vs. Washington Nationals | Giants |
Beware of B-More
After exploding for eight runs in the eighth inning against the Detroit Tigers in Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday night, the Baltimore Orioles are looking every bit the power-hitting juggernaut they were in the regular season.
During the 2014 campaign, the O's hit a league-high 211 homers.
On Thursday, Baltimore went yard on Max Scherzer twice. Nelson Cruz and J.J. Hardy did the honors. Oddly enough, bloop hits and an error kick-started the big inning, and the Orioles pulled away for the easy 12-3 win.
The O's will send soft-tossing Bruce Chen to the mound to oppose Justin Verlander in search of a commanding 2-0 lead in the series Friday. This matchup isn't the mismatch it would have been two years ago. Verlander is not the dominant strikeout pitcher he once was. His ERA for the season is 4.54, but he was a bit better in September at 3.95.
That said, he didn't record more than seven strikeouts in any game in the season's final month.
Pitching to contact against the Orioles is probably not going to be the best approach. That's why this has the makings of another high-scoring affair, and it's one the Orioles should win.
Once the game gets turned over to the bullpen, the Orioles have the edge and home-field advantage. The 2-0 lead will be too much for the Tigers to overcome.
Experience Will Propel the Giants over the Nationals
The San Francisco Giants have been here before. Many of the key players on the roster have already experienced World Series glory; thus, despite the lower seed in the postseason, they have an advantage over the young Washington Nationals.
The Nats' core of Bryce Harper, Jordan Zimmermann and Adam LaRoche got a sample of the postseason in 2012 when the team went down in five games to the Cardinals, but that doesn't compare to the Giants' recent run.
San Francisco has won two World Series titles since 2010. In this series, that experience will be paramount. Clutch hitting and dominant pitching performances generally win playoff series. San Francisco has the studs to produce both.
In blasting the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-0 in the Wild Card Game, the Giants showed signs of flipping the playoff switch behind ace Madison Bumgarner and an opportunistic and patient offense that saw 156 pitches and took six bases on balls.
The Giants are ready, and they will advance.
The Dodgers Are on a Mission
From top to bottom, the Los Angeles Dodgers are the most complete team in the postseason. Aside from the eliminated A's, the Dodgers are the only team in the playoffs that ranked in the top six in the majors in runs and pitching.
The lineup is stacked with game-changers, and the strong pitching staff is headed by one of the game's most dominant pitchers in Clayton Kershaw.
The weakness for the Dodgers is their defense. The team committed 107 errors this season. If it doesn't do a better job of making routine plays, its World Series plans could be derailed.
The St. Louis offense lacks the firepower to take pressure off a rotation that becomes regular when Adam Wainwright isn't on the mound. After the 20-game winner in the rotation, the Cards turn to Lance Lynn.
That might make the Dodgers' eyes light up. They pounded Lynn for nine runs in two regular-season starts that lasted a total of eight innings.
Look for the Dodgers to advance.
All stats per Baseball-Reference.
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