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The Cleveland Indians are World Series bound.

Behind a gusty performance from rookie starter Ryan Merritt, the Indians beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-0, to win Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. They captured their first AL pennant since 1997.

In a formula which has worked all postseason, Cleveland struck early with home runs from Carlos Santana and Coco Crisp. After allowing two hits over 4.1 innings, Merritt handed the ball to a bullpen which once again locked down Toronto.

Andrew Miller shut the door with 2.2 scoreless innings before Cody Allen retired Toronto’s star sluggers for the save. Yet another improbable victory sends Cleveland to the World Series, where it will hold home-field advantage against the Los Angeles Dodgers or Chicago Cubs.

FINAL SCORE: Indians 3 – 0 Blue Jays

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Behind dominant displays from Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen, the Los Angeles Dodgers tied the National League Championship Series with a 1-0 Game 2 victory over the Chicago Cubs.

In the best postseason start of his career, Kershaw stifled the Cubs through seven spectacular innings. Although the ace only threw 84 pitches, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts pulled him for Kenley Jansen, who recorded a six-out save with four strikeouts.

Kyle Hendricks limited them to one run despite issuing four walks, but Adrian Gonzalez’s solo home run in the second inning proved all the offense Los Angeles needed. 

Both sides combined for five hits in a quick game which lasted under three hours. After evening the series at 1-1, the Dodgers will now host the next three matchups, starting with Game 3 on Tuesday night.

FINAL SCORE: Dodgers 1 – 0 Cubs

W: Clayton Kershaw (7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)

L: Kyle Hendricks (5.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K)

SV: Kenley Jansen (2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K)

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No matter who wins the upcoming American League Championship Series, the Toronto Blue Jays or Cleveland Indians will inject the World Series with fresh blood.

After winning the title in 1993, the Blue Jays went 21 seasons without a playoff berth until last year. After falling short against the Kansas City Royals in 2015, they have another chance to advance beyond the ALCS.

Cleveland, meanwhile, hasn’t made it this far since 2007, when it squandered a 3-1 lead against the Boston Red Sox.

Which franchise will take one more step toward reversing years of misfortune? Let’s break down the fight for the AL crown after running through the series schedule and updated World Series odds, courtesy of Odds Shark:

ALCS Preview

Cleveland and Toronto finished the season ranked No. 7 and No. 9, respectively, in team OPS. They both flexed their power during American League Division Series sweeps; the Indians went deep five times, while the Blue Jays belted eight home runs.

Yet their stellar pitching especially stands out against tough opponents. The Blue Jays—who led the AL in ERA, one spot ahead of the Indians—limited the Texas Rangers to 10 runs despite both squads hosting games in hitter’s parks.

The Indians faced a steep challenge against Boston’s MLB-best offense without Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, two of their three best starting pitchers.

Challenge accepted.

They held the Red Sox to seven runs and recorded 31 strikeouts.

Without his usual No. 2 and No. 3 starters flanking ace Corey Kluber, manager Terry Francona must continue to rely heavily on his bullpen. In the previous round, he asked star reliever Andrew Miller to deliver a two-inning outing twice.

Miller, who recorded a 1.45 ERA, a 0.69 WHIP, 123 strikeouts and nine walks during the regular season, delivered four scoreless innings. 

In Fox Sports’ studio, Alex Rodriguez called his former New York Yankees teammate “the best reliever in the game”:

Francona‘s usage worked out perfectly, as Kluber and Cleveland’s offense made sure they didn’t need Miller during a 6-0 victory in Game 2. In a best-of-seven series against a deeper Blue Jays rotation and a red-hot offense, though, he might not get as lucky.

Despite hopes of Salazar returning, Francona is not counting on having the explosive righty, per the team’s Twitter account:

That means rookie Mike Clevinger, who posted a 5.26 ERA without making it through the sixth inning of any outing in the regular season, is in line to start Game 4.

The Blue Jays have no such rotation worries. Marco Estrada, J.A. Happ, Marcus Stroman and AL ERA leader Aaron Sanchez offer four trustworthy choices. While the Indians would have to consider using Kluber on short rest if they go down 2-1 or 3-0, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons can comfortably arrange his four options in any order on a normal schedule.

Toronto’s injury concerns lie elsewhere.

Veteran reliever Joaquin Benoit suffered a torn calf during a bench-clearing scrum against the New York Yankees near the season’s finish.

Per Sportsnet’s Arden Zwelling, he won’t return:

Devon Travis’ prognosis is better. Despite missing the final two games of the ALDS, the starting second baseman said he is “feeling much better” and should play in Friday’s series opener after receiving a cortisone shot in his right knee, per Zwelling.

“Honestly, the biggest thing is pain management,” Travis said. “Hopefully [the cortisone] calms it down. I don’t see why I wouldn’t be able to get through this. This is the playoffs. It’s something we’ve worked all year for. I’m going to get back in there and do my job.”

The offense kept raking without him, but not because of replacement Darwin Barney, who went hitless in both games. Even though he’s rolling, inserting Ezequiel Carrera—holder of a .255/.314/.665 slash line—into the leadoff spot isn’t the best way to set the table for Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion.

Travis, who hit .300/.332/.454 during his second season in the big leagues, provides a sizable boost despite not walking enough for an optimal No. 1 hitter. Then again, Gibbons might stick with Carrera, who is 6-for-16 with two walks and four runs in the postseason.

Prediction

The Blue Jays wield a mighty advantage with their starting rotation, especially if the lineup can get to Kluber. The Indians, on the other hand, can unleash Miller and Cody Allen in the bullpen. They’re also faster in the field and on the bases.

As the Royals proved last year, a stellar rotation isn’t required for postseason success. A solid one helps, though.

With all three star sluggers on fire, look for Toronto’s big bats to inflict more damage on Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin than Boston could impose. Miller and Allen should narrow the gap, but they won’t be able to extinguish all of Cleveland’s fires through seven games.

Pick: Blue Jays win in seven games.

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FINAL SCORE: Los Angeles Dodgers 4 – 3 Washington Nationals

Although Clayton Kershaw didn’t exude his usual excellence Friday, the Dodgers still seized Game 1 of the National League Division Series road matchup against the Nationals.

Kershaw carefully navigated his way through five innings. He allowed three runs, but the Dodgers tagged Nationals ace Max Scherzer for four behind early home runs from Corey Seager and Justin Turner.

It wasn’t the pitcher’s duel promised, but both bullpens kept the score low. Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen shut the door with a five-out save to give Los Angeles the 1-0 series lead.

Washington will look to even the score on Saturday afternoon behind Tanner Roark, who will face Dodgers southpaw Rich Hill at Nationals Park.

Notable Stats

W: Clayton Kershaw (5 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K)

L: Max Sherzer (6 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 2 HR)

SV: Kenley Jansen (1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K)

HR: Corey Seager (1st inning off Scherzer), Justin Turner (3rd inning off Scherzer)

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The National League is the Chicago Cubs’ to lose.

There are no locks in MLB‘s postseason, especially during the best-of-five division stage. Yet there’s no argument over which club is best positioned to reach the World Series.

During a dominant season, the 103-58 Cubs outscored opponents by 252 runs led by rightful NL MVP favorite Kris Bryant. Only the Boston Red Sox and Coors Field-fueled Colorado Rockies scored more runs. The Cubs also allowed an MLB-low 3.4 runs per game with help from a deep rotation and baseball’s best defense.

They will open their postseason Friday night against the San Francisco Giants, who rode ace Madison Bumgarner in Wednesday’s 3-0 Wild Card Game victory over the New York Mets. A heavy favorite to run the table, per Odds Shark, Chicago gets a San Francisco squad that crawled to the finish line after a strong first half.

If the Cubs take care of business, they would then challenge the winner of the Washington Nationals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers series. Although that National League Division Series matchup is much more even, the Nationals are hobbling into the playoffs without at least two key contributors.

After we look at the NLDS schedule and updated World Series odds, let’s take a deeper dive into the Dodgers-Nationals slate.

NLDS Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals

This isn’t going to be a fun series for hitters.

Then again, we could say the same about the entire National League bracket. All five postseason participants finished 2016 atop MLB’s team-ERA leaderboard:

The Dodgers’ pitching also registered a record-setting 1,510 strikeouts this season. Second on the all-time ledger? The 2016 Nationals, who collected 1,476 behind Max Scherzer’s MLB-high 284.

Some young pitchers are sacrificing longevity for whiffs. Not Scherzer, who sported a 0.97 WHIP through 228.1 innings. Jon Morosi of Fox Sports noted the historical significance of the Nationals ace’s stat line:

He should take the mound in Friday’s opening game. In an interview on ESPN Radio’s McNabb & Custer, via ESPN.com, Nationals manager Dusty Baker ruled out Stephen Strasburg in the NLDS due to a strained flexor mass in his pitching elbow.

Even though Strasburg coughed up six runs to the Dodgers in their only encounter of the season, his absence is a huge blow for Washington. Gio Gonzalez relinquished 19 runs in September, putting the rotation in doubt after Scherzer and likely Game 2 starter Tanner Roark.

It doesn’t help that the Dodgers will counter Scherzer with Clayton Kershaw.

Missing over two months didn’t stop the Dodgers ace from tying Noah Syndergaard for the highest WAR (6.5) among all pitchers. If not for his back injury, he would unanimously win the NL Cy Young Award with one of the greatest lines of all time.

For those who were worried about how he would return, he’s the same old Kershaw. In five starts off the disabled list, the star southpaw has a 1.29 ERA with 27 strikeouts and two walks over 28 innings.

Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt praised his ace to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick:

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The Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers are sure to keep things civil in a friendly American League Division Series rematch that won’t fester any animosity on either side.

Just kidding. Tensions are sure to brew in this bitter rivalry.

Last year, Toronto survived a memorable five-game ALDS over Texas in a bizarre, ugly Game 5 during which fans littered the field with trash after a controversial, yet accurately called play. Texas’ players, however, were more upset over Jose Bautista brashly discarding his bat after ending their season with a game-winning home run.

That animosity boiled into the 2016 season, when he slid past the second-base bag into Rougned Odor in May. The Rangers infielder retaliated by punching him in the jaw. Think both teams will remember that?

Let’s not get too bogged down in their bad blood. Lost in all the craziness, the Blue Jays and Rangers competed in an enthralling series last fall. While the Rangers won an AL-best 95 games in 2016, they did so with a mild plus-eight run differential. Sporting a plus-93 run margin, the 89-73 Blue Jays have a legitimate case for entering as favorites on the road.

Then again, Texas’ offense is rolling into Thursday’s Game 1 with help from some key midseason acquisitions. Let’s run down each position to see which squad has the edge.

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Two American League East clubs will vie for their postseason lives when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles in Tuesday’s AL Wild Card Game.

MLB nearly faced a scheduling nightmare when a four-team tie remained plausible as late as Saturday. If the Detroit Tigers were required to make up a rained-out game Monday, they could have forced another tiebreaker game before playing the actual elimination game.

Toronto and Baltimore, however, made things easy by taking care of business. Behind power-fueled offenses, both squads finished at 89-73 after winning Sunday.

Last year, Toronto ousted the Texas Rangers in a feisty American League Division Series matchup most remembered by Jose Bautista‘s game-winning home run. (OK, probably more the ensuing bat flip). A win Tuesday night would set up a rematch.

Let’s take an early look at the AL’s play-in game.

AL Wild Card Game: Baltimore Orioles vs. Toronto Blue Jays

Where: Rogers Centre, Toronto

Date: Tuesday, October 4

Time: 8:08 p.m. ET

TV: TBS

Live Stream: MLB on TBS

Preview

With both teams needing to clinch a spot Sunday, each side used its most exciting young starter. As a result, Baltimore’s Kevin Gausman and Toronto All-Star Aaron Sanchez are unavailable for the Wild Card Game.

So who will take the mound at Rogers Centre? Neither team confirmed its starter as of Sunday night. J.A. Happ pitched Saturday, so the Blue Jays will turn to Marco Estrada (on three days’ rest), Francisco Liriano or Marcus Stroman. Unless they prefer Yovani Gallardo on short rest, the Orioles can employ Chris Tillman or Ubaldo Jimenez, who is highly erratic despite surging to the finish line.

Regardless of the two choices, it’s not a pitchers’ duel like the National League’s clash between Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner. This game boils down to offense and relief pitching. The starters will do their job by navigating five solid innings.

Buoyed by Mark Trumbo’s MLB-high 47 home runs, Baltimore rounded the bases more than any other MLB team this season. Although Bautista missed some time, only the Orioles, Seattle Mariners and St. Louis Cardinals went deep more than the Blue Jays.

It’s imperative for the Blue Jays to avoid a deficit entering the final inning. They shouldn’t want to take their chances against closer Zach Britton, who allowed four earned runs all season. Stats guru Ryan M. Spaeder noted the reliever’s historic season:

The path to Britton, however, is not as stable as earlier in the season. Brad Brach, who earned an All-Star nod with a 0.91 ERA, inflated his second-half mark to 3.94 after relinquishing four runs Saturday. Darren O’Day is no longer an automatic late-inning option after an ineffective (3.77 ERA) and injury-plagued campaign.

Baltimore could instead peg Dylan Bundy as a high-leverage bullpen option. Although the worn-down rookie yielded five runs in four of his last eight starts, he submitted seven strikeouts in 2.1 relief innings to earn a rotation spot in July. That culminated a string of 14.1 scoreless frames over which he tallied 22 strikeouts.

Meanwhile, foolish baseball shenanigans cost Toronto its hottest reliever. Since arriving from Seattle, Joaquin Benoit allowed one run over 25 appearances. On Sept. 26, he tore a calf muscle while running from a bullpen to join an on-field altercation against the New York Yankees.

“It felt like something hit me,” Benoit said, per an Associated Press report, via USA Today. “I won’t be able to get on the mound anytime soon, so personally this is really disappointing.”

Days later, Jason Grilli and Roberto Osuna blew a lead to Baltimore by allowing three runs over the final two frames.

“It was big,” Tillman said after Wednesday’s rally, per Reuters. “I think that could push a team a long way, those kind of wins. It was a big team win, and everybody played a part in it.”

Devon Travis also jammed his recently surgically repaired left thumb in the ruckus, but he looked fine when homering on Sunday. After debuting in late May, the 25-year-old second baseman hit .300/.332/.454 with 11 long balls in 432 plate appearances.

The Blue Jays were assembled to out-hit everyone, but Bautista, Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin have fallen shy of expectations. Not Edwin Encarnacion, who remains one of the game’s sturdiest sluggers. In perhaps his final season with the club, the pending free agent belted 19 of his 42 homers after the All-Star break.

Home-field advantage could give Toronto a major boost, as Baltimore is the only AL playoff team with a losing record (39-42) on the road. Toronto also gained a narrow season edge in head-to-head meetings (10-9), but Baltimore stayed alive by winning two of three at Rogers Centre last week.

No stat or trend in the world will unearth the answer to who claims a winner-take-all baseball game. Especially not when the similarly constructed participants exited 162 of them with identical records.

Anything can happen in the Wild Card Game, but viewers should expect plenty of offense during a close contest. Orioles backup catcher Caleb Joseph went the entire season without recording an RBI, so he’ll probably come off the bench to drive in the winning run.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

All six MLB divisions are settled. 

That doesn’t diminish the chaos in store for the season’s final four days, though.

Every division is wrapped up, but all four wild-card spots have yet to be determined. Don’t be surprised if bonus baseball is needed to settle a tiebreaker on Monday.

Excluding the Chicago Cubs, who have clinched home-field advantage throughout the National League stage, the other division champions can all alter their positions to secure more home cooking.

As examined below, a grueling season has left some teams hobbling into October. They might not have anything left in the tank when it matters most.

Playoff Brackets

World Series Odds

Injury Bug Spreading

The Washington Nationals finally lived up to their promise this season. A year after the World Series favorites missed the playoffs, they stormed past the New York Mets to reclaim the NL East. Their 92 wins and plus-148 run differential both trail only the Cubs in the NL.

There’s one problem, though: They suddenly have a lack of healthy players.

Daniel Murphy, who has followed last postseason’s power barrage with an NL-best .596 slugging percentage, hasn’t started since Sept. 17 because of a mild buttocks sprain. Bryce Harper has missed the last three games with an injured thumb after reportedly playing through a shoulder injury, according to Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated.

Per MLB.com’s Jamal Collier, general manager Mike Rizzo said ace Stephen Strasburg (elbow) is unlikely to pitch in the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“I think it would be kind of pushing it,” Rizzo said. “I think that’s fair to say. Again, I haven’t seen him after he did his throwing program today, but just the calendar, it’s unlikely that he’d contribute in that first series.”

The most serious of them all, though, is catcher Wilson Ramos, whose season is over because of a torn ACL. He was hitting .307/.354/.396 with the highest weighted runs created plus (124) of any catcher with at least 300 plate appearances, per FanGraphs.

ESPN.com’s Buster Olney emphasized that Ramos’ absence will particularly hurt during the NLDS:

The Dodgers won’t take pity on their upcoming opponents. They have overcome their share of bad luck during a season in which they tied an MLB record by placing 27 players on the disabled list. Yet with Clayton Kershaw and Rich Hill healthy, they’re closing the season strong.

Washington’s divisional foe can relate to its woes. A year after riding a stacked rotation to the World Series, the Mets are fighting for a wild-card bid without Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz. If they need to use Bartolo Colon and Noah Syndergaard over the weekend, Robert Gsellman or Seth Lugo would have to start the Wild Card Game.

Per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, the Mets may rearrange their rotation to avoid such a scenario:

Tying the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals for the second spot would negate those efforts. Nevertheless, they have capitalized on a favorable schedule by scoring 64 runs in their last seven games against the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins. They’ll close the season with a three-game series at Philadelphia.

Like the Mets, starting pitching was supposed to mark the Cleveland Indians’ strength. The superb trio of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar led them to their first American League Central title since 2007, but the team might not have any of them for the postseason.

Having last pitched Sept. 9, Salazar is attempting to return in time for the playoffs. But the 26-year-old right-hander would have to shake off considerable rust after accruing a 7.44 second-half ERA.

“His health is the first priority,” manager Terry Francona said, per Cleveland.com’s Zack Meisel. “He’s not rushing into anything. This is not a speed-up program.”

Carrasco is done for the year because of a broken hand. After he left his last start early, Kluber‘s status is also in question. The Associated Press’ Tom Withers presented a timetable, which could rule the ace out for the American League Division Series’ first two games.

The Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and whichever team survives the wild-card ruckus are all stacked offensively. Countering with Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin will diminish Cleveland’s chances of winning its first World Series since 1948.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Baseball lost an exuberant young star who would have frequented the top of pitching leaderboards for years.

On Sunday morning, Jose Fernandez and two other men were killed in a boating accident. The Miami Marlins pitcher, who was 24, had far more greatness on and off the field to offer.

It wouldn’t be right to leave out Fernandez when discussing 2016’s premier performers. His 2.86 ERA doesn’t fully depict his domination. Some better indicators of his pitching awesomeness include his 12.49 strikeouts per nine innings (K/9) and 2.29 fielding independent pitching (FIP), both of which lead all qualified starters. 

Yet those numbers are obsolete compared to the joy he brought everyone. As others fought over baseball’s unwritten code, he smiled. When things didn’t go well, he still smiled. 

His tragic death has created a massive void nobody can fill. As a result, the final look at the season’s category leaders features fewer pitching stats. It’s not the same without Fernandez. 

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Fantasy baseball’s finish line is well in sight.

One week remains on MLB‘s schedule. Although keep in mind that any tiebreaker game—a real possibility in both leagues’ wild-card races—classifies as a regular-season contest. As a result, any stats accrued count in fantasy leagues.

Without any long-term ramifications, managers should feel no loyalty to anyone. Don’t like a decent pitcher’s matchup? Dump him for someone scheduled to tussle against a lesser adversary. 

Unsure about someone such as Alex Bregman, who has missed a few days but isn’t ruled out for the season yet? Don’t hold out hope for two games. Go get someone who will play six or seven.

Heading into the final week, the last batch of waiver-wire recommendations will focus heavily on matchup plays. That makes pitchers a larger focus.

It’s also important for gamers to know their circumstances. Which categories still contain potential for mobility? Is there an innings limit, and if so, how many frames remain before reaching it? 

For the final time this season, here’s a look at the top adds available in over half of Yahoo Sports leagues. 

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