MLB Playoffs 2014: Day 6 Schedule, Updated AL and NL Series Predictions

For the second consecutive day, two National League Division Series take center stage in the sports world. The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals look to secure their spots in the NLCS, while the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers look to force a Game 5. 

Even though we've seen two Major League Baseball playoff series end in sweeps and two others possibly ending in four games, this has been one of the great weeks the sport has ever had. It gets even better when you realize that we are just getting started. 

In a sport where there is so little margin for error, these playoffs have proven that the slightest mistake or non-call or non-move made by a manager is going to turn the tables. It's thrilling and exciting and nerve-wracking, so let's look at what Tuesday has on the docket. 

Time (ET)	Matchup	Network
5 p.m.	Los Angeles Dodgers (Clayton Kershaw) at St. Louis Cardinals (Shelby Miller)	Fox Sports 1
9 p.m.	Washington Nationals (Gio Gonzalez) at San Francisco Giants (Ryan Vogelsong)	Fox Sports 1

Note: Stats via Baseball Reference

Game 4 Predictions

Los Angeles Dodgers at St. Louis Cardinals

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

With their season on the line, the Dodgers are going with Clayton Kershaw on short rest to get them back to Los Angeles. You can't fault manager Don Mattingly for the choice—especially when Dan Haren was the other option. 

The big controversy that arose from Game 1, when Kershaw gave up eight runs in 6.2 innings, was whether he was tipping his pitches out of the stretch. Harold Reynolds brought it up on the television broadcast, then former player Marlon Anderson tweeted this out:

Of course, this brings up the question of why Kershaw is only tipping his pitches with runners on base in the postseason. No one can touch him in the regular season, and the Cardinals weren't lighting him up before the seventh inning started (two runs, two hits, eight strikeouts), so maybe the guy just had a bad inning. 

But using logic doesn't sound as good as igniting theories that make no sense in the context of what Kershaw has done throughout his career. 

The Cardinals are winning in this series because they're doing two things they didn't do in the regular season: hit home runs and get hits with runners in scoring position. They hit 105 homers in the regular season with a .254/.336/.365 when guys were in scoring position, but they have hit six homers and .308 (8-for-26) with runners in scoring position against the Dodgers. 

Shelby Miller takes the mound for St. Louis, proving that Mike Matheny hasn't forgotten the right-hander exists when the postseason rolls around. The second-year hurler turned his season around with a tremendous second half (2.92 ERA, 0.986 WHIP). 

As good as Miller was after the All-Star break, it's impossible to think Kershaw will have another inning as bad as the seventh inning of Game 1. He has to be precise because the Dodgers offense, which isn't getting discussed enough, has fallen apart with four runs in the last two games. 

At least one series is going to a Game 5, so why wouldn't the Dodgers force it on the back of the game's best pitcher?

Dodgers 3, Cardinals 1

Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The only way the Giants lose in October is when they hurt themselves. The Nationals have yet to beat San Francisco when the two teams play a clean game, but credit Matt Williams' team for taking advantage of a Bumgarner error to keep their season alive. 

For Game 4, the Nationals seem to have an edge on the mound. Gio Gonzalez can be electric when he's on. San Francisco's top three hitters have never had success against the left-hander, per Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post:

Ryan Vogelsong was a playoff hero for the Giants in 2012, with a 1.09 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. His numbers dropped off in the second half, though, so the Nationals have the advantage trying to get this series back to Washington, D.C.

Split	ERA	WHIP	K-BB Ratio
1st Half	3.86	1.277	2.94
2nd Half	4.20	1.280	2.19

Neither team is hitting particularly well, with a combined 13 runs scored through three games, though Bryce Harper has left us with a few majestic memories. Since this will come down to a battle of pitching, the Nationals get the edge because Gonzalez is more likely to shut down a lineup. 

Even though I said that there would be at least one series going to a Game 5, it's more fun if both of them do. 

Nationals 3, Giants 2

Early American League Championship Series Prediction

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

There's not much to say in the American League right now because Kansas City and Baltimore don't start playing until Friday. We also don't have pitching matchups set yet, but if there's one area to swing this series, it's in the dugout with the two managers. 

It seems like piling on to always talk about how dumb Ned Yost's in-game strategy so often is, but that's one weakness the Royals can't afford to have since they are going up against arguably the best in-game tactician in Buck Showalter. 

Pedro Martinez roasted Yost after the Wild Card Game against Oakland on the TBS post-game show, saying he hung Yordano Ventura out to dry when Yost brought the rookie in to face Brandon Moss in the sixth inning, via Kevin Draper of Deadspin:

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You can use anybody against Moss, especially making the statement he made in the first inning and hitting the two homers. too bad one of them was against Ventura. But I will say, remember when Aoki was the best hitter in the Kansas City Royals game? Well, that was a panic move, right? Well, I think this is another panic move from Ned Yost. He almost gave the game away. If Kansas City ends up losing that game, Ned Yost would have been the ugly goat heading out of Kansas City today.

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Putting Yost against Showalter is like a matchup of the 2013 Houston Astros against the 1927 New York Yankees. Showalter plays matchups better than anyone on the planet, as Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com noted prior to Game 3 of Baltimore's Division Series matchup with Detroit:

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Already in the ALDS, Showalter has shown he's not afraid to take risks, bringing in late-inning reliever Andrew Miller to face Miguel Cabrera in a pivotal sixth-inning at-bat in Game 1. When lefty Wei-Yin Chen was struggling the second time through the Tigers' lineup in Game 2, Showalter wasted no time bringing in right-hander Kevin Gausman, who was lights out for the better part of nearly four innings. And let's not forget Friday's hero, pinch-hitter Delmon Young, a non-roster invitee this spring who didn't even take a pitch before proving Showalter's decision right with a three-run double in the eighth inning of Game 2.

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These games are going to be close, tight battles that will come down to the bullpen and pinch hitters. This means the managers will ultimately decide who wins the games. If that's the case, all the money should be on Showalter. 

Orioles win in six games

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