The table is far from set for a pair of league championship series, as the 2015 MLB postseason is producing a memorable divisional round that has every team fighting for their playoff lives.
Things were split across the board in the National League through two games, as the Chicago Cubs snagged Game 2 against St. Louis to even the series before the Los Angeles Dodgers mounted a late comeback over the New York Mets to knot their score up at one apiece. Things are a bit dicier in the American League entering a duo of pivotal Game 4 contests.
Here’s a glance at everything to know as we enter a brand-new week of playoff baseball.
MLB Playoff Schedule: Monday, Oct. 12
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.
Game 3: St. Louis Cardinals at Chicago Cubs
A dominating Game 1 victory from the St. Louis Cardinals made it look like the first-ever playoff meeting between these two bitter rivals would go the way of the team with all the recent postseason success.
Throw in a statement Game 2 by the Chicago Cubs, and we have ourselves a series entering a pivotal Game 3 at Wrigley Field.
The Cubs’ bats finally woke up in the second game of this NLDS series, as Jorge Soler cranked a two-run homer to set off a five-run second inning for Chicago. Dexter Fowler added two more hits while Starlin Castro did the same to lead Chicago to victory.
It wouldn’t have been possible without the bullpen, which shut down the Cardinals late, as ESPN Stats and Info observed:
The bullpen will be the least of St. Louis’ problems come Monday night, when ace pitcher Jake Arrieta gets the ball for the first time this series. He’s fresh off a dominating outing in the NL Wild Card Game that extended his blistering-hot end to the regular season.
Arrieta and the Cubs enter Monday’s contest confident, as Bob Nightengale of USA Today shared:
While the Pittsburgh Pirates’ bats couldn’t solve Arrieta the last time out, it might be jumping the gun to suggest the Cardinals will have the same issues. Their offense has proved opportunistic in the clutch for many postseasons in the past.
With that said, the Cubs couldn’t ask for a better guy to have on the mound Monday night to deal with those opportunistic Cardinals bats.
Game 4: Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers
Just days ago, the Toronto Blue Jays looked like the runaway favorite in the American League to advance to the World Series. In the time since, they have had to mount a Game 3 victory on the road in Texas to keep their season alive.
The Blue Jays can only hope to keep the momentum up as they enter another must-win game Monday against the Rangers. It comes on the heels of a decisive 5-1 victory by Toronto in Game 3 that has made things interesting.
The Toronto offense that led the majors in runs by a wide margin finally woke up Sunday, and it could have a carryover effect, as the Blue Jays official Twitter account noted:
The Rangers offense was putting up numbers at a rate that left Toronto unable to contend early in the series, putting up 11 runs in the opening two games. They couldn’t deal with Marco Estrada’s stuff in Game 3, and will now turn to face R.A. Dickey in Game 4.
While Dickey has been a regular rotation member all season, the same can’t be said of Texas starter Derek Holland—who started just 10 games in 2015. His 4.91 ERA suggests that the Blue Jays’ bats could continue heating up Monday.
If they do, they’ll take a tied series back to Canada for the decisive Game 5.
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