MLB Playoffs 2014: Day 7 Schedule, Updated ALCS and NLCS Predictions

The 2014 MLB playoffs have been thrilling, to say the least.

The teams remaining in the American League are far different from the teams in the National League. The Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles are newcomers to this stage, having not made it to the World Series since 1985 and 1983, respectively. Kansas City hasn't made the playoffs at all since then, while the Orioles were were there in 2012.

In contrast, the National League Championship Series is what we've come to expect. The St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants have continually proved that they are the class of the Senior Circuit. St. Louis has now appeared in NLCS four straight years, while the Giants are looking to continue their trend of winning the World Series in even years (2010, 2012).

But which league will prevail? Before we get that far, we have to look at how the current round is going to shake out.

Below is a schedule for Day 7 of the playoffs, as well as predictions for each highly anticipated series.

Date	Time (ET)	Teams	Pitchers	TV
Friday, 10/10/14	8 p.m.	Royals @ Orioles	James Shields vs. Chris Tillman	TBS

ALCS

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

Kansas City and Baltimore are two very different teams.

Offensively, the Orioles raked, hitting the most home runs in baseball this season (211). The Royals finished dead-last (95).

Baltimore has big boppers who can easily clear the fences. Nelson Cruz, Adam Jones, Steve Pearce and others need to be pitched carefully by the Royals pitching staff. The tides of the game can easily change if any of those sluggers gets a hold of one.

The Royals may not hit the ball particularly far (despite already hitting four homers in the playoffs), but they can run like crazy. Tops in the league with 153 steals, Kansas City doesn't wait around very long on the bases. ESPN's Britt McHenry provided a quote from Mike Moustakas:

Others have chimed in about their speed, too. Fox Sports' Jon Morosi was one of them:

The Orioles are good at preventing the run. Caleb Joseph and Nick Hundley are strong behind the plate, but a lot of their success in limiting steals has to do with their pitching staff varying hold times and being quick to the plate overall. ESPN's John Buccigross tweeted about the success of Chris Tillman in doing so:

It will be interesting to see which philosophy prevails. Buck Showalter, a very good manager, relies on the long ball because of how his team is built. Ned Yost, a sometimes questionable decision-maker, plays small ball and puts constant pressure on opposing pitchers.

Both teams have been scorching hot, so this series will certainly go the full slate of seven games. Because of the reliability of small ball, it's hard to pick against the Royals.

NLCS

Ben Margot/Associated Press

MLB's official Twitter account noted that the Cardinals and Giants have absolutely dominated the National League since 2010:

It's amazing to think that other teams haven't caught on about how to construct a roster, as these two clubs have clearly been doing things right over the past five years or so. Strong pitching, clutch hitting and gritty ballplayers are just a few aspects that make these teams great.

Of course, the Giants have to be considered the favorites. MLB also tweeted that the Giants haven't lost in the postseason in quite a long time:

Madison Bumgarner, Tim Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong were very good against the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series. The Nationals offense was better than the Cardinals offense this year, meaning Bumgarner and Co. should find success again.

That said, the likes of Matt Carpenter and Matt Adams have done unspeakable things to the baseball so far this postseason. As a team, the Cardinals have cranked out seven home runs in the playoffs—the most in baseball.

This is unlike the Cardinals, who generally rely on manufacturing runs to score, so we'll see if they go back to that philosophy in the NLCS.

It's going to be a tough series, but one the Giants take care of in six games.

Follow Kenny DeJohn on Twitter: @KennyDeJohn_BR