MLB Playoff Schedule 2014: Updated ALCS, NLCS Bracket, Day 8 Predictions

The MLB League Championship Series round got started in thrilling fashion. Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas ended up playing the role of hero for the Kansas City Royals in the 10th inning after the Baltimore Orioles had erased an early deficit.

Baseball fans are in for quite a treat if that's a sign of things to come moving forward. The National League joins the fray Saturday, with the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals both looking to claim their third pennant in the last five years.

It makes for an interesting contrast between the series, with both American League teams seeking their first World Series appearance since the 1980s. Let's check out the roads they all traveled to get to this point, followed by predictions for both Day 8 games.

American League Bracket

Wild Card	ALDS	ALCS
	(1) Angels 0
	(WC) Royals 3
Royals 1		(2) Orioles 0
Athletics 0		(WC) Royals 1
	(2) Orioles 3
	(3) Tigers 0

National League Bracket

Wild Card	ALDS	ALCS
	(1) Nationals 1
	(WC) Giants 3
Pirates 0		(3) Cardinals 0
Giants 1		(WC) Giants 0
	(2) Dodgers 1
	(3) Cardinals 3

Day 8 Predictions

Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles

A main point of emphasis coming into the series was Kansas City's speed going up against Baltimore's power. In Game 1, the Royals had three homers and got caught on their only stolen-base attempt. The Orioles had two steals and no round-trippers.

Joe Posnanski of NBC Sports joked about the unexpected results:

Now the Royals will attempt to grab a 2-0 lead before heading back home. They will send standout rookie Yordano Ventura (3.20 ERA, 3.60 FIP) to the mound to take on Bud Norris (3.65 ERA, 4.22 FIP), who was outstanding to help close out the Detroit Tigers in the last round.

The key for Baltimore in Game 2, and throughout the series, is getting into the bullpen early. The team had some success against Brandon Finnegan, but the shutdown combination of Kelvin Herrera and Wade Davis pitched four spotless innings with six strikeouts before Greg Holland closed it out in the 10th.

It's an understatement to say that the Orioles don't want to head to Kansas City in a major hole. So their backs are against the wall already. Luckily for Baltimore, it has a manager in Buck Showalter who's done a great job of putting his players in a position to succeed. Don't expect that to change.

Prediction: Orioles 5, Royals 3

San Francisco Giants at St. Louis Cardinals

The NLCS kicks off with a marquee pitching matchup. Madison Bumgarner (2.98 ERA, 3.05 FIP) leads the Giants into a clash with Adam Wainwright (2.38 ERA, 2.88 FIP) and the Cardinals. Anything other than a low-scoring duel would come as a surprise.

There was some concern about Wainwright possibly dealing with an elbow issue during the break between series. MLB.com provided the ace's response when asked about it ahead of Game 1.

"It's fine. You know what, it's October. Every team is dealing with with their individual stuff," he said. "The problem that I have is being way overblown. I'll be fine to pitch tomorrow and I'll go out there and battle like I always do."

As mentioned, these teams have enjoyed plenty of recent postseason success. So there shouldn't be any of the big-stage jitters often associated with this stage of the playoffs. It will likely come down to which side can generate more scoring chances against pitching staffs that had an identical regular-season ERA (3.50).

Assuming Wainwright isn't hiding anything when he says his health situation is being overblown, the slight edge in Game 1 goes to the Cardinals. That's especially true if Matt Carpenter continues to thrive atop the order for the home side.

Prediction: Cardinals 3, Giants 2