MLB Playoffs 2019: Breaking Down the Updated World Series Bracket

The MLB wild-card round served up plenty of drama, but the 2019 postseason will only get wilder from here beginning with the American League and National League Division Series.

The bar was set high by the Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Wild Card Game Tuesday night. 

The Nats treated their home fans to their first winner-take-all postseason victory since relocating to D.C. in 2005. Left fielder Juan Soto hit a three-run knock e in the bottom of the eighth to secure the 4-3 upset over Milwaukee. 

In the AL's wild-card encore Wednesday night, the Tampa Bay Rays left no room for doubt and dominated the Oakland Athletics 5-1 behind four home runs, which tied for the franchise record in a playoff game.

As a result, here is the updated bracket moving forward: 

Below is a look at the upcoming divisional matchups.

ALDS

Bob Levey/Getty Images

(1) Houston Astros vs. (WC) Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays' bats came to play Wednesday night in Oakland, but the lights-out pitching from Charlie Morton stole the show. The former Astro tossed five scoreless innings with four strikeouts, continuing on from his stellar 16-6, 3.05 regular-season performance.

Morton's emergence has compensated for a down year from reigning AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell (6-8, 4.29), who underwent elbow surgery in late July, and an overall injury-laden rotation throughout 2019.

Tampa adjusted by having 14 different pitchers with at least a 100 ERA+ in at least 40 innings, per SB Nation's Eric Stephen, and being in the habit of using depth in spots rather than riding traditional starters as teams usually do in the postseason could benefit the Rays against a dominant Houston rotation. 

"That's the beauty of this game, there are so many different ways to get the job done," Rays catcher Travis d'Arnaud told John Romano of the Tampa Bay Times. "For us, we may not do things the traditional way of pitching, but we still get wins. Most teams do matchups more in the postseason than normal and we've been doing that all year. Nobody is ready to do that more than us."

It certainly worked in the regular season, but topping the Astros' staff in a seven-game series will be a difficult task:

Justin Verlander led MLB with 21 wins, a 0.80 WHIP and 5.5 hits per nine innings. 

Gerrit Cole led the AL with a 2.50 ERA and the league with 326 strikeouts.

And Zack Greinke, acquired in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks prior to the July 31 deadline, has gone 8-1 with a 3.02 ERA and 1.07 WHIP since joining the team.

In large part because of this, the Astros are the odds-on favorites to win their second championship in three years at +200 ($100 bet wins $200), according to Caesars Sportsbook. Houston fell to Boston, the eventual champions, in the ALCS last year.

Overall, the Rays' rotation finished the regular season ranked second in MLB with a 3.65 ERA. Houston was right behind them at 3.66. Pitching figures to dictate this series.

But it should be noted that the Astros also led the league with a .274/.352/.495 team slash line, while Tampa Bay came it 13th at .254/.325/.431. 

Third baseman Alex Bregman led the way for the Astros at the plate with 41 home runs and 112 RBI, and designated hitter Austin Meadows for the Rays with 33 home runs and 89 RBI. 

Verlander has been named Houston's Game 1 starter, and Tyler Glasnow is expected to start for the Rays.

(2) New York Yankees vs. (3) Minnesota Twins

This series, more than any of the others, figures to be a Home Run Derby with stakes.

The Twins set the new MLB all-time record for home runs in a single season with 307. New York finished second with 306 and would have held the record themselves if not for Minnesota's three dingers in the final game of the regular season.

Twins designated hitter Nelson Cruz led the team with 41 home runs, and 11 players on the roster hit at least 10 homers. New York had 14 players with double-digit home runs, led by All-Star infielder Gleyber Torres' 38.

Minnesota holds as strong an argument as any team as the breakout story from 2019, going 101-61 and winning the AL Central for the first time since 2010. The Twins ascended under the guidance of rookie manager Rocco Baldelli.

At 103-59, the Yankees notched their second straight 100-win season. Given their talent, it wasn't surprising. However, it was surprising in a way because New York set a new league record for most injured players in a season.

Entering the postseason, the Yankees are relatively healthy, with the prominent question mark being designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion's strained oblique that has kept him out since Sept. 12. 

Minnesota, meanwhile, lost center fielder Byron Buxton for the remainder of the season to a shoulder injury on Sept. 10. Rookie second baseman Luis Arraez was diagnosed with a Grade 1 ankle sprain on Sept. 29, and his status remains unclear.

Neither team's starter has been announced for Game 1, but the health of Yankees' southpaw James Paxton should be monitored, even though manager Aaron Boone told George A. King III of the New York Post that Paxton's nerve irritation felt on Sept. 27 "is not going to alter anything for him moving forward."

Paxton led the rotation with a 3.82 ERA, and his career-high 15 wins were second to Domingo German's 18. German will be unavailable as he was placed on administrative leave through the 2019 World Series amid domestic violence allegations.

The Twins' rotation was led by Jake Odorizzi at 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA. Jose Berrios followed him at 14-8 and 3.68.

NLDS

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

(1) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (WC) Washington Nationals

The Dodgers are the odds-on favorites to represent the NL in the World Series at +225 ($100 bet wins $200) to win it all behind only the Astros, according to Caesars Sportsbook, which would mark their third consecutive World Series appearance. 

However, L.A. hasn't won it all since 1988. 

This Dodgers team has all the components necessary, though, having won a franchise-most 106 games in the regular season behind balanced baseball.

It all starts with outfielder Cody Bellinger, who leads MLB in overall WAR at 9.0. The two-time All-Star batted .305/.406/.629 at the plate with 47 home runs and 115 RBI. 

From a pitching perspective, L.A.'s starting rotation led MLB with a 3.37 ERA in the regular season. Three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw led the team in wins (16), while 2019 All-Star starter Hyun-Jin Ryu led in ERA (2.32). 

It will be Walker Buehler (14-4, 3.26) starting Game 1 against Washington's Patrick Corbin (14-7, 3.25). 

The Nationals' decision to start Max Scherzer in the wild-card game nearly cost them, as the three-time Cy Young winner allowed three earned runs across 5.0 innings despite leading the team with a 2.92 ERA in the regular season.

Stephen Strasburg, who tossed 3.0 scoreless innings of relief behind Scherzer, went a team-best 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA, and the Nationals' starting rotation ranked 13th at 4.27. 

Offensively for the Nats, third baseman Anthony Rendon figures to be the difference-maker. The 29-year-old All-Star cranked 34 home runs and a league-leading 126 RBI on a .319/.412/.598 slash line. Rendon is the highest-ranking National in offensive WAR at 6.4, which is just behind Bellinger's 6.6 

In their regular-season matchups, L.A. slightly edged Washington 4-3. 

Rendon doesn't care about any past results, though:

If not for an error by Milwaukee's Trent Grisham, it could well be the Brewers and Dodgers in a rematch from last year's NLCS. But as it stands, given the way the Nationals found themselves in this series, momentum is perhaps the best weapon they have against a team as stout as the Dodgers. 

(2) Atlanta Braves vs. (3) St. Louis Cardinals

The Braves and Cardinals' regular-season contests were as evenly matched as the Dodgers and Nats. Atlanta went 4-2 against St. Louis but only outscored the Red Birds 29-27. 

Now, though, injury could be the deciding factor in the NLDS. 

The Braves' biggest concern will by far be the availability of reigning NL Rookie of the Year Ronald Acuna Jr., who exited Atlanta's game on Sept. 24 with a groin strain and hasn't played since. If not for that, the 21-year-old could have become the fifth player ever in the 40-40 club as he finished with 41 home runs and 37 stolen bases. 

While Acuna will likely play, even if restricted, the Braves have ruled out outfielder Ender Inciarte (hamstring) for the series. First baseman Freddie Freeman has been dealing with right elbow soreness, too.

As for pitchers, the Braves made the splash signing of Dallas Keuchel, who has gone 8-8 with a 3.75 ERA since joining the team in June. Keuchel will start Game 1 against Miles Mikolas (9-14, 4.16). However, it has been 21-year-old Mike Soroka who has broken out for Atlanta—leading the team with a 2.68 ERA. 

St. Louis' best weapons on the mound figures to be starter Jack Flaherty (11-8, 2.75) and closer Carlos Martinez (4-2, 3.17, 24 saves). 

On the injury front, the Cardinals' concern surrounds second baseman Kolten Wong. The 28-year-old hasn't played since Sept. 19 with a hamstring strain, but he told Fox Sports Midwest's Jim Hayes on Wednesday he will be ready for the NLDS.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference unless otherwise noted.