MLB Playoffs 2014: Day 5 Schedule, Updated AL and NL Series Predictions

The National League gets the spotlight to itself during Day 5 of the MLB playoffs after each American League Division Series ended in a sweep on Sunday.

Although the Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels went to extra innings twice, the Royals walked away with all three victories behind offensive resurgences from Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas and incredible defense from center fielder Lorenzo Cain.

In the other series, Games 2 and 3 were both decided by a lone run, yet Buck Showalter's Baltimore Orioles came up on the winning end both times to derail the Detroit Tigers. Both American League Championship Series participants will now receive four days of rest to reset their batteries and rotations.

During Monday's pair of NL showcases, the Washington Nationals can join the Angels and Tigers among the star-studded squads swept. To avoid such a fate, they'll need to top the San Francisco Giants, who will send Madison Bumgarner to the mound.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals are guaranteed to deliver a Game 4, but tonight's outcome will go a long way in determining which of the two foes advances. Here's a preview of Monday's action along with updated predictions.

Away	Home	Series	Time (ET)	TV
Washington Nationals	San Francisco Giants	2-0 SF	5 p.m.	MLB Network
Los Angeles Dodgers	St. Louis Cardinals	1-1	9 p.m.	Fox Sports 1

ALCS	Prediction
NLDS
Kansas City Royals vs. Baltimore Orioles	Royals in 7
Washington Nationals vs. San Francisco Giants	Giants in 3
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals	Dodgers in 4

Day 5 Preview

Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants

Elsa/Getty Images

Hey Washington, the entire 162-game season where you finally filled your untapped potential unfortunately means nothing without a victory Monday night against the Giants. No pressure.

After scoring three runs through 27 innings of baseball, the Nationals now must wake up their slumbering bats against Bumgarner, San Francisco's ace who hurled a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts during Wednesday's play-in game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. 

Facing a left-handed pitcher presents a double-edged sword for the Nationals. On one hand, they're 10th against southpaws with a .399 slugging percentage and 104 weighted runs created plus (wRC+). A few of their hitters have fared particularly well against them this season.

Player	AVG	OBP	SLG	wRC+
Jayson Werth (OF)	.331	.437	.496	164
Anthony Rendon (2B/3B)	.313	.362	.463	130
Wilson Ramos (C)	.325	.345	.475	126
Ryan Zimmerman (3B/LF)	.288	.356	.423	118
Danny Espinosa (2B/SS)	.301	.374	.485	137

Bumgarner, however, also mitigates first baseman Adam LaRoche, who sports a .620 OPS against lefties compared to his .891 mark against right-handers. With their backs against the wall, the Nats need to acknowledge the drastic splits and sit LaRoche.

It's not like they lack an alternative. Although Ryan Zimmerman, who missed two months late in the season with a torn right hamstring, hasn't started yet in the NLDS, the 30-year-old boasts a career .893 OPS against lefties.

ESPN's Jayson Stark heard rumblings about the oft-injured veteran getting the nod.

Zimmerman, who did not return until Sept. 20, addressed his status to The Washington Post's Adam Kilgore.

"

I’m not 100 percent, but I feel like I’m well enough. I think I’m capable enough to run the bases. Am I going to score on a ball to right center that is hard hit off the wall, that I would score on when I’m healthy? Maybe not. It’s hard to burn two players with one move if it’s not the eighth inning or ninth inning.

"

He won't have to exert himself too much fielding first and is not in the lineup to wreak havoc on the basepaths. Against one of the game's premier left-handers, Nationals skipper Matt Williams has no choice but to make the difficult move.

The Nationals have a steep climb ahead of them in order to erase a 2-0 deficit, but their biggest obstacle lies in defeating Bumgarner on the road in Game 3. They'll need Doug Fister to pitch to his 2.41 ERA rather than his 3.93 fielding independent pitching (FIP). Now would certainly be an inopportune time for his peripherals to catch up to him.

Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals

Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

The Dodgers received some terrific news in the form of a healthy Hyun-Jin Ryu. After missing the final few weeks of the season with an ailing shoulder, the 27-year-old will take the mound for Game 3.

He often takes a back seat to Cy Young winners Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, but Ryu is a tremendous pitcher in his own right. With a 2.66 FIP and 4.79 strikeout-walk rate, he's quietly one of baseball's most underrated aces.

Having him pitch in Game 3 is a luxury the high-payroll Dodgers can afford. If he's not up to par early, don't be surprised to see manager Don Mattingly give him a quick hook for Dan Haren, which means Kershaw would pitch Game 4 on three days' rest.

An experienced postseason veteran, John Lackey has produced a career 3.03 ERA through 104 career postseason innings. His 2.94 home ERA in 2014 makes using him in St. Louis the smart choice as well. Lackey is fine but far from unhittable given his 21.7 percent line-drive rate.

Brian Kersey/Getty Images

There's also the question of how long this Cardinals magic can last before finally running its course. This is a team with a plus-16 running differential battling a squad at plus-101. By two advanced models' calculations, St. Louis is a 83-79 team masquerading as a playoff club.

Then again, this is the same series where a game pitched by Kershaw and Adam Wainwright ended in a 10-9 score. Baseball is utterly impossible to predict, especially on a per-game basis.

After hitting eight home runs in 709 plate appearances last year, Matt Carpenter already has two in this series. The Red Birds will need 2013 Carpenter to keep showing up, but the return of 2011 Matt Kemp and a strong outing from Ryu should put the Dodgers ahead.

Note: All advanced statistics are courtesy of FanGraphs.