In the Wild Card round , I was 1-1 which isn’t bad but I would like to do better. So before the next postseason round begins, I would like to give you my predictions for who I think will win and why.

ASTROS (107-55) VS RAYS (96-66)

Not surprisingly, the “Super” Astros have become even better then they were before since the trade deadline after acquiring Zack Greinke. Even though Grenkie hasn’t been his dominant self just yet for Houston, he still goes long in his starts which allows Houston to save there Achilles heal in there bullpen and not have to use them so much. This has helped relivers like Will Harris, Will Smith, Josh James and Roberto Osuna become better and more reliable. I expect that to continue as the postseason begins for the 107-55 Houston Astros.

As for the Rays, they are riding the Cinderella wave as they are coming off a shocking WC upset of the Oakland A’s. So without further ado, let’s get into the probable pitching matchups for this series that begins Friday (10/4) in Houston.

Game 1: Justin Verlander vs Tyler Glasnow

Game 2: Gerit Cole vs Blake Snell

Game 3: Charlie Morton vs Zack Grenkie

Game 4: Verlander vs Glassnow

Game 5: Cole vs Snell

PREDICTION ASTROS IN 4:

We all know what Verlander can do in the playoffs and as for Gerrit Cole, who has simply been on another level for the Astros, as he has struck out at least 10 batters in every start since August 1st and went a ridiculous 16-0 down the stretch to end the regular season . He has also gone 63 straight innings with at least one strikeout and hasn’t allowed more then a run in that stretch. Cole was this years ERA champ as he had the lowest ERA in baseball at 1.57 in 2019! He also led the league in strikeouts and batters only hit .148 against him this year.

He is the hottest pitcher in baseball and it will be him or Verlander getting the CY Young this year. On a side note, Cole only might lose it because Verlander threw a no-hitter this year and Cole didn’t.

Anyway, the only game I really see the Rays winning is game 3 when they send former Astro Charlie Morton to the mound likely down 0-2 and this will work perfectly for the Rays for game 3 as Morton is 3-0 in elimination games is his career which is the best ever in MLB history.

The Rays will hang tough is these games because of there well-known pitching depth that I have talked several times about. But the problem here for them will be the offense against these Astros hurlers because TB Isn’t exactly known for there power more then there pitching. In the end, I think that Houston is just too good and too strong for the Rays and that’s why I give the edge to them.

YANKEES (103-59) VS TWINS (101-61):

If you like the HR ball, this series is for you! The Yankees and Twins each shattered the 2018 Yankees record of 267 by both getting over 300 bombs with the Twins eking out the Yankees in the last day of the regular season for the HR title 307-306. But that was the regular season and this is the postseason. Both teams got here by unexpectedly notching 100 win seasons, for the Yankees it’s been “Next Man up” all year with an MLB record 30 different players heading to the IL and 39 IL stints in total. For the Twins, it came unexpectedly because nobody expected them to be this good or even make the playoffs despite getting veteran sluggers like Nelson Cruz in the offseason.

Something to consider for this series is the history between these two teams as the Yankees enter this series having won 11 straight postseason games against Minnesota and having knocked them out in 5 ALDS series and in the 2017 WC game at Yankee Stadium. The Twins suggest that they will not be effected by that but if they get down in this series, that might come int there heads.

Without further ado, let’s look at the probable pitching matchups for this series which begins Friday (10/4) at Yankee Stadium.

Game 1: James Paxton vs Jose Berrios

Game 2: Masahiro Tanaka vs Jake Odorozi

Game 3: Luis Severino vs Randy Dobnak

Game 4: TBD Vs TBD

Game 5: Tanaka vs Berrios

PREDICTION: YANKEES IN 4:

Both teams can hit and both teams have similar starting pitching. But the gap between the Yankees and the Twins in my opinion has been the bullpen. The Yankees have arguably the best bullpen in baseball in Chad Green, Adam Ottavino, Tommy Kahlene, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman. Yes the Twins have closer Tyler Rodgers who has been very reliable for them, but with starters like Berrios not known for long leashes, there is not really a bridge to Rodgers which is why I think you will see the Yankees offense pounce in the middle innings during this series. I give the Twins a game here because they will be at Target Field in game 3 and to be honest, I’m not really sure how Sevy will perform because we saw so little of him this season because of his shoulder injury. But in game 4, I say the Yankees step on the Twins throat and bury them en route to an ALCS rematch with the Astros.

DODGERS(106-56) VS NATIONALS (93-69)

This appears to be the first step to another pennant for the Dodgers, as they have just had the best regular season in Franchise history and I don’t really see a team in the NL stopping them en route to there 3rd straight pennant. Yes, there bullpen is a bit shaky which is where I think teams can pounce on them in October but I’m just not sure if teams are strong enough in the NL to do that.

However, one team that can give them a nice run for there money are the Cinderella Washington Nationals who are coming off an epic WildCard win over the Brewers. There staring pitching is good at the top but there are a lot of question marks surrounding them as they enter the NLDS and now have to win a series instead of one game to get there.

The big one is there bullpen, as even though they had a better second half en route to a playoff berth, it has still been bad. They were smart in the Wild Card game by getting Strasburg in there as well as Daniel Hudson to close it out but i still question there bullpen depth. But the reason why I say they can challenge the Dodgers is because they too have a shaky bullpen and these two starting rotations are very similar as you see below.

Game 1: Walker Buhler vs Patrick Corbin

Game 2: Clayton Kershaw vs Stephen Strasburg

Game 3: Max Scherzer vs Hyn-Jin Ryu

Game 4: Buhler vs Corbin

Game 5. Kershaw vs Strasburg

PREDICTION: DODGERS IN 4:

I need to see Washington dig extremely deep to win these Dodgers in this series. I believe they are capable of pushing them to the limit and just maybe pushing them to game 5 if Strasburg can prove he is a playoff pitcher in game 2. But in the end, I just think the Dodgers are too good and will expose the Nationals bullpen more then Washington does to them this series.

BRAVES (92-70) VS CARDINALS (91-71):

I am really excited for this series as these are two very similar teams and I won’t be surprised if this series goes 5 games. They both have relentless offenses, similar starting pitching and bullpen problems as well. Let’s get into the matchups as this series begins along with the Dodgers-Nats series on Thursday (10/3) with game 1 of this NLDS series beginning at beautiful Sun Trust Park in Atlanta.

Game 1: Dallas Keuchel vs Mike Milakos

Game 2: Mike Foltynewicz vs Jack Flahrety

Game 3: Mike Soroka vs Adam Wainwright

Game 4: Keuchel vs Milakos

Game 5: Folty vs Flahrety

PREDICTION: BRAVES IN 5:

This will be a back and forth series and could go either way, but i will give the edge to the home team in game 5 and the Atlanta Braves. I think Ronald Acuna JR and CO oust ST Louis and move onto the NLCS.

REST OF MY BRACKET:

Yankees over Astros in 6

Dodgers over Braves in 6

Yankees win the World Series and defat the Dodgers in 6 games to take home title number 28!