MLB Playoffs 2014: Day 10 Schedule, Updated ALCS and NLCS Predictions

Both championship series are in full swing as the 2014 MLB playoffs roll along, but the duo of upcoming Game 3 affairs have very different feels to them.

The American League Championship Series features a Royals stranglehold, as Kansas City continued its improbable postseason run with two road wins at Baltimore to open the series. A looming Game 3 on Monday could tilt the series in the Royals' favor for good and give them a suffocating 3-0 advantage.

Things are a bit more tight on the National League side, with the Cardinals having evened the score at 1-1 after a 5-4 Game 2 win over the San Francisco Giants. Two NL powerhouses accustomed to playoff success will have the chance to go up a commanding two games to one in Game 3.

Here's a look at the complete Day 10 playoff schedule and an outlook for both series.

Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Game 3: Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals	8:07 p.m.	TBS

Note: Game 3 between the Orioles and Royals was postponed until Tuesday at 8:07 p.m. ET due to rain. 

ALCS: Royals vs. Orioles

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

When the Kansas City Royals broke into the postseason for the first time since 1985, they made it clear they weren't satisfied there. But nobody expected this.

From the AL Wild Card Game to the cusp of the World Series, the Royals have not lost a single game in the playoffs. One win over the Athletics, three over the Angels and now two over the Baltimore Orioles, the Royals return home to a rocking Kauffman Stadium that expects nothing less than another resounding victory.

Kansas City was the worst home run-hitting team in the majors this year, but that's taken a 180 in the playoffs, as the Royals lead all teams with eight postseason jacks, including four in this young ALCS series. Add that to the gritty offense and magnificent defense that got them in the playoffs to begin with, and you have a virtually unstoppable team.

But as the Royals learned throughout Game 1, the O's offense can explode at any time, and although they'll have to do it in a raucous environment, Baltimore likes its chances.

"I believe that we'll come back," Nelson Cruz told MLB.com's Bryan Hoch. "What's important is what we believe in here. it doesn't matter what people think outside from this door. That's my only answer."

Baltimore will strut out Wei-Yin Chen to start Game 3. The Orioles will hope he doesn't have a repeat performance of his postseason debut, when he threw 3.2 innings and allowed five earned runs in a game he was fortunate enough to have end in a no-decision.

The Orioles' best arms won't come around again until late in the series—if they're lucky enough to make it that far. Baltimore isn't hitting poorly with a .291 team clip for the ALCS, but the pitching hasn't been there, and it should only get worse with the Royals' confident bats going back home and the O's getting deeper into the rotation.

Plus, with fielding like this, per the Royals' official Twitter account, Baltimore's offense won't go far anyway:

Baltimore boasts enough talent and determination to keep from getting swept, but the Royals are simply hitting too well—.329 as a team—to give up a 2-0 lead.

Prediction: Royals advance in five games

NLCS: Giants vs. Cardinals

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

From the day that the San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals both clinched spots in the NLCS, it figured to be hotly contested and go down to the wire. 

That hasn't changed one bit, as the series heads west to AT&T Park for Game 3 knotted up at 1-1.

San Francisco looked poised to match the Royals with a furious run of its own after blanking the Cardinals on the road in Game 1, but Mike Matheny's squad responded like you'd expect from the reigning NL champions. That came by way of Kolten Wong, who hit a game-winning home run to clinch Game 2.

Now it's a series, as the Cardinals' Twitter account demonstrated:

But the Cardinals' Game 2 win doesn't change the fact that the series is going back to San Francisco—nor does it do too much to quell the success the Giants have had so far this postseason.

After going cold late in the NLDS against Washington, the Giants' bats have awoken against top competition. They notched three early runs to beat Adam Wainwright in Game 1 before scoring in four of the last five innings in Game 2 despite the defeat.

What's more, catcher Yadier Molina strained his oblique in Game 2, according to The Associated Press (via ESPN.com). One of the Cardinals leaders both at the plate and behind it will be hampered greatly, if he can go at all.

The Cardinals have proved able to generate runs when it matters most, but the lineup is hitting way too inconsistently in this postseason. That's no match for a Giants pitching rotation that should see Madison Bumgarner and Jake Peavy make cameo appearances if the series goes far.

Prediction: Giants advance in seven games