Get set for some excitement because baseball lovers all across North America are about to have a blast. The first days of October are behind us, with four teams already on their well-deserved winter breaks after four different 2-0 sweeps in the Wild Card round.
The Twins, Phillies, Rangers, and Diamondbacks joined the top two seeds from each league to form an eight-team Division series bracket. The best-of-five series in this round starts on Saturday.
The previous three World Series winners are the main favorites to go all the way this time around. Will they justify the tags and survive the divisional round?
We provide a preview for every individual matchup, investigating each team’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of the most important part of the year.
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Minnesota Twins (AL3) vs. Houston Astros (AL2)
The Houston Astros show no signs of slowing down when it comes to entertaining the fans. After six successive travels to the AL Championship Series, the defending champions still have what it takes to dominate the AL West. The Astros just know what to do in crunch games. They possess a strong firepower on display on the offense, and, more importantly, their major stars (read Jose Altruve and Yordan Alvarez) know how to temper the form.
Minnesota had enough to see off the Toronto Blue Jays in two Wild Card games after going through a plethora of injury woes in the regular season. Luckily for their fans, the problems have not affected their dominance in an underwhelming AL Central division where none of the remaining four teams came close to a winning record. With all due respect to them, the Minnesota Twins will need to pull off something special to get past the reigning champions in this one.
Texas Rangers (AL5) vs. Baltimore Orioles (AL1)
If this series were played in different circumstances, we would speak about an evenly matched contest. However, despite sweeping the Rays in the Wild Card round, the Texas Rangers face so many issues that will probably prove them costly against the top-seeded outfit in the league.
By problems, we refer to the Max Scherzer injury, Nathan Eovaldi’s big drop in form after his recovery, and a mess in and around the bullpen department. To make things worse, Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez have really hit the ground running for the Orioles in the last couple of months.
Arizona Diamondbacks (NL6) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (NL2)
Many experts still see the Braves as the top World Series contenders, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have the best record in the competition for the last couple of months. The depth they have on their roster is frightening in every single aspect, whether you want to look at the bullpen or Clayton Kershaw’s supporting crew among the pitchers.
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a young team that sneaked into the postseason action a year ahead of the plans. They’ve done very well to eliminate the Brewers in the Wild Card round, but we are afraid the mighty Dodgers might have too much for them in the Division Series.
Philadelphia Phillies (NL4) vs. Atlanta Braves (NL1)
On paper, this is the most exciting matchup of the round. The Atlanta Braves are the top World Series contenders, but they will run into a very strong challenge right at the start of their postseason journey. The Phillies have made some very successful rotations, moving Bryce Harper to first base. They are now a well-rounded outfit capable of causing chaos on the bases. The momentum is also on their side after a sweep of the Miami Marlins in the Wild Card round.
Philly’s key to success will be preventing Atlanta’s elite offense from thriving. It is much easier said than done, but if their pitchers slow down Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson, and company, they very much stand a chance here, given how average the Braves’ pitching has been since the deadline trade.
The League Championship Series will start on Sunday, October 15, while the World Series begins on Friday, October 27.
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