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The Atlanta Braves can exhale after their exhilarating 4-3 win against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night tied the NLDS at 1-1.

Putting it another way, however, they’ll need to take at least one of the next two games in L.A. to ensure that the series returns to the friendly confines of Turner Field.

Avoiding a mini-slump on the West Coast is easier said than done for a club that underachieved so much on the road during the 2013 regular season. These splits illustrate how much the Braves’ performance wanes outside of Atlanta:

All of the above contributed to the discrepancy in win-loss record: 56-25 at home and 40-41 in foreign environments.

It’s not entirely inexplicable. For example, the Braves lost Jason Heyward to an appendectomy on April 22 and played 16 of the next 22 games on the road before he returned to the lineup. Their record during that stretch was 9-13.

One thing is certain—the 48,966 fans who showed up for Game 2 certainly made their presence felt.

Fans here tonight, you were UNBELIEVABLE! Thank you. Fans at home, we heard you too! #BestFans

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 5, 2013

But let’s be brutally honest. The Braves fanbase perennially disappoints at the turnstile, and this summer was no exception.

According to ESPN.com, Atlanta’s total home attendance was 13th in the majors. That’s despite the fact that Turner Field has one of the largest capacities of any venue. When ranking by percentage of seats filled, the Braves finished in the bottom third, trailing non-competitive, mid-market franchises like the Colorado Rockies and Minnesota Twins.

Therefore, it’s ridiculous to claim that playing in front of supporters is responsible for their dominance during homestands.

More likely, Turner Field’s generous dimensions suit their individuals’ skill sets.

While the distances take away home runs from opposing teams, the Braves aren’t significantly affected. Position players like Evan Gattis and Justin Upton regularly take vicious hacks and willingly accept strikeouts, knowing that making solid contact results in a round-tripper, regardless of the ballpark conditions.

Then there are the intangible-yet-apparent perks of sleeping in your own bed and being surrounded by family and friends.

The probable pitching matchups for Games 3 and 4 at Dodger Stadium are Julio Teheran vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Freddy Garcia vs. Ricky Nolasco. Atlanta is at an obvious disadvantage for the latter contest, as the journeyman Garcia doesn’t consistently provide lengthy outings, nor does he generate swings-and-misses.

Thankfully, Teheran can exploit the element of surprise. The right-hander has posted a 3.20 earned run average this season with nearly four times as many strikeouts as walks, and the Dodgers haven’t been a witness to any of it. That lack of first-hand experience could cost them, whereas the Braves face no such issue with Nolasco, who was a longtime nemesis of theirs in the NL East.

Despite grossly underachieving on the road earlier in 2013, expect the Braves to steal a game in Chavez Ravine thanks to their 22-year-old right-hander. That will give them the opportunity to fend off elimination in familiar surroundings.

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Postseason success can define a baseball player’s career.

Without his three home runs in Game 6 of the 1977 World Series, Reggie Jackson probably isn’t remembered. Conversely, Alex Rodriguez is probably looked at more fondly if he made a better account of himself in the playoffs.

So who’s going to be the hero of this postseason?

It’s still way too early to tell. Fans generally don’t remember a great performance in the ALDS or NLDS. Roy Halladay threw a no-hitter in the 2010 NLDS? So what? It was great and all, but the Philadelphia Phillies ended up losing in the NLCS.

That doesn’t mean some of the biggest stars can afford to fall asleep for a series and then turn it on in the next round.

These four players will have to lead the way for their teams if they hope to advance to the LCS.

Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals

When most people think of Carlos Beltran in the postseason, they immediately jump to him getting frozen by that Adam Wainwright curveball in 2006. It’s an extremely unfair portrayal of a player who’s been otherwise great in the playoffs, via ESPN Stats and Info.

Even at 36 years old, Beltran is a vital part of the St. Louis Cardinals offense. During the regular season, he was first in home runs (24), second in slugging percentage (.491) and third in runs batted in (84).

While that home run was big, it’s only one of two hits Beltran has had in nine NLDS at-bats. It’s not going to be a problem if he keeps hitting homers. More than likely, he won’t, so he’ll at least have to find some consistency at the plate.

David Price, Tampa Bay Rays

The Tampa Bay Rays don’t have a great offense. The hitters have been good enough to get Tampa this far. It’s the Rays pitching staff that has had to do the most work.

Although he hasn’t been at his best, David Price is the unquestioned ace of the staff. When Tampa is in a must-win game, it turns to Price.

That’s exactly what the Rays could be looking at on Saturday. Having dropped Game 1, it’s important to get that win before Game 3. That way, you can lock up the series at home and not have to go to Boston for the decider.

Price is 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts against the Red Sox this season. He’ll have to be at his best, because it’s unlikely the offense will give him much help.

Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

Staying with the aces, Justin Verlander looked decidedly unlike Justin Verlander this season. While his strikeout averages have been about the same, his walks and hits allowed have increased.

Before the season, you never would have thought he’d be the third-best starter in the Detroit Tigers pitching staff. In the regular season, Verlander could get away with not being his best and watching Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez do the heavy lifting.

It’s a courtesy he won’t be afforded in the playoffs.

Game 1 between the Tigers and Oakland Athletics has yet to start, so this could end up changing by the end of the night. But much like with Price, it will be vital for Verlander to get that win before going back home.

Detroit was only 42-39 on the road during the regular season. It won’t want to leave its hopes of advancing up to getting a win in Game 5 at Oakland.

Justin Upton, Atlanta Braves

If you have found Justin Upton, please notify the proper authorities. He went missing on October 2 and hasn’t been seen since. His family is very worried about him.

Upton led the team in home runs (27) during the regular season and was second in runs batted in (70). Having a big bat like this absent isn’t going to help the Atlanta Braves going to Los Angeles.

Perhaps you’d be a little less discouraged if the outfielder was making good contact, only hitting it right at people.

Only Upton looks to be really pressing and not hitting the ball well at all, especially through his first six at-bats of the postseason, via FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi.

Whatever is wrong with Upton, he must figure it out before Game 3.

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Mike Minor out-dueled Zach Greinke on Friday night, helping the Atlanta Braves tie the NLDS with a 4-3 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in front of a raucous crowd at Turner Field. 

After giving up a first-inning RBI double to Hanley Ramirez, it appeared as though Minor was intent on repeating Kris Medlen’s performance from Thursday night’s 6-1 drubbing. 

But following that rocky start, he began to deal, allowing eight hits, one walk and just that one run over 6.1 innings while striking out five to get the crucial win.

His opposition on the mound, Zach Greinke, gave up less hits (four) and zero walks through six innings, but the Braves were able to turn those four baserunners into two early runs to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. 

Andrelton Simmons smacked a two-out double to score Evan Gattis in the second. Chris Johnson added a two-out hit of his own—an RBI single to score Freddie Freeman in the fourth. 

Therein was the difference of the game: clutch hitting. 

While the Braves made efficient use of their few runners on base, the Dodgers wasted their opportunities. 

L.A. got leadoff hits to start the second, third, fourth and seventh innings but hit into double plays in three of those frames and weren’t able to manufacture any runs.

The biggest rally-killer came in the seventh inning, as Atlanta still held a narrow 2-1 lead. With Skip Schumaker on third and Michael Young on first (both via infield singles), Carl Crawford came to the plate to face Luis Avilan, who had just come into the game for Luis Ayala. 

Then this happened:

Atlanta added some more clutch hitting in the bottom half of the inning when Jason Heyward smoked a two-out, two-run single. That proved to be important insurance, as Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to cut the lead back to one at 4-3. 

Craig Kimbrel was there to save the day, however, as he came on and shut the door with a four-out save. 

In the end, the Dodgers hit just 2-of-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven on base, while the Braves drove in all of their runs with two outs in a clutch performance to even up the series. 

Player Grades

Zach Greinke, Dodgers: B+

Giving up four hits and zero walks in six innings is usually going to earn a pitcher a win, but the timeliness of those base knocks really hurt Greinke on Friday. 

Still, you can’t really fault him all that much, as his offense failed to provide much support when he was in the game. 

Dodgers fans will take nights like this from their starters every single time. 

Mike Minor, Braves: A-

Minor wasn’t perfect. He allowed nine baserunners in 6.1 innings, which would come out to a fairly ugly 1.48 WHIP. 

But in opposite fashion of Greinke, timeliness was on Minor’s side. He scattered those hits, and when he needed to get double plays or strikeouts, he got them. 

Minor’s outing epitomized the Braves’ team performance as a whole on Friday: clutch. 

Hanley Ramirez, Dodgers: A

Most of the other Dodgers hitters are somewhere in the “D” range, but Ramirez was en fuego at the plate. He hit two doubles in his first three at-bats and then smacked a one-handed two-run homer in the eighth inning to bring L.A. within one run. 

He now has four hits, three doubles and a home run in two playoff games. Not too shabby for a guy who has been recently battling a back injury. 

Andrelton Simmons, Braves: A

On the diamond, he was involved in all three of Atlanta’s double plays, including this one in the third inning where he intelligently charged the ball and was able to get Crawford at second base despite the speedster taking off on the play:

But with Simmons, defensive gems are commonplace. 

More impressively for the best defensive shortstop in baseball, he was able to come through with a clutch two-out RBI double to get the Braves on the board early. 

What’s Next

The series (tied at one game apiece) shifts to Los Angeles. Game 3 from Dodger Stadium is on Sunday at 8:07 p.m. ET. Julio Teheran will take the mound for the Braves, while Hyun-Jin Ryu gets the start for L.A.

Watch postseason baseball live on TBS.com or your mobile device.

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If St. Louis Cardinals fans partied it up on Thursday night in celebration, it’s likely that on Friday night they’re hitting the bottle.

What happened at Busch Stadium Friday afternoon was the polar opposite of Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On Thursday, the Cardinals hit well, pitched well and fielded well while the Pirates did absolutely nothing. On Friday, the Pirates hit well, pitched well and fielded well while the Cardinals did absolutely nothing.

Just like with a win, it’s important to keep things in perspective. What happened Friday was just one game. The same was said about Thursday.

Obviously a split isn’t the ideal situation, but this team has been good at putting a bad day behind them. Manager Mike Matheny said he doesn’t see this as different from any other loss.

While he can’t control their approach, he is confident that they have the mental tools to do what needs to be done to keep the season going.

“They’re going to do what they want to do and think how they want to think, but it would surprise me if they’re doing anything different than just getting ready to go out and put their best effort forward,” Matheny said.

With that said, the Sunday game likely won’t be an easy one. They’ll have to contend with a crowd that is beyond energetic and Francisco Liriano, who has owned the Cardinals in 2013.

During the regular season, Liriano was 3-0 with a 0.75 ERA against the Cardinals. He’s surrendered only 10 hits and two runs over a span of 24 innings pitched.

There are two ways to look at this for the Cardinals. The pessimist would likely say the Cardinals are doomed to go down 2-0 in the series. The optimist, on the other hand, would say that Liriano is due for a bad start against the Cardinals.

A look at his success against other teams shows that Liriano—despite his current appearance—is not Cy Young. He has been shelled by the Milwaukee Brewers (5.52, 14 IP, 9 ER in three starts), the Colorado Rockies (9.64, 10 ER in two starts), the San Francisco Giants (7.20, 8 ER in two starts) and the Cincinnati Reds (0-3, 3.70, 10 ER in 24.1 IP over four starts.)

Each of those teams’ batting averages against Liriano is double (the Giants are triple) what the Cardinals have done when they faced him.

While the Cardinals have struggled badly against left-handed batters, Liriano is beatable. Matheny continues to remind them of that.

“Hope the mindset is they can’t wait to get back out there and compete regardless of who they throw out there against us,” Matheny said. “We’ve had some matchups with some guys that have had success against us in the past, and they’re able to get past what the projections are and just play the game.”

“So, that’s what I’ll be encouraging.” 

The reality of the situation is that because they are tied, what the Cardinals face now is basically a three-game series where they don’t have home-field advantage. However, the first pitcher they will face is more mediocre than his numbers against the Cardinals indicate.

If the Cardinals can keep their heads on straight, focus on what they can change and ignore their history with Liriano, they could turn this series around in a hurry on Sunday.

Hang in there, Cardinals fans.

Stats are from Baseball Reference and are current through Oct. 4, 2013.

All quotes obtained firsthand by the author.

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The Boston Red Sox rolled over the Tampa Bay Rays to kick off the American League divisional round with a bang on Friday.

Game 1 was a nightmare for the Rays, as they were battered, 12-2, behind 14 hits by the Red Sox and sloppy defensive play. They posted a grand total of four hits against Jon Lester and Co. while allowing seven different Red Sox players to register at least one RBI.

But the Red Sox aren’t out of the woods yet. They still have to beat the Rays two more times before advancing to the next round of the playoffs.

The Rays and Red Sox will battle it out to start Friday’s action. The Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics will follow.

Here’s the broadcast information, complete with my predictions. 

*Watch postseason baseball live on TBS.com or your mobile device.

Tampa Bay Rays at Boston Red Sox

Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Mass.

When: Saturday, Oct. 5 at 5:37 p.m. ET

Watch: TBS

The Boston Red Sox rolled over the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday to take a 1-0 series lead.

But Saturday is a new day.

I expected the Red Sox to defeat the Rays on Friday. Sure, it wasn’t to the extent I imagined, but given the presence of Jon Lester and the inexperience of Matt Moore, it also wasn’t a great surprise that Boston racked up run after run.

But on Saturday, the Rays start some dude named David Price. This is the same David Price who has posted a 2.48 ERA against the Red Sox this season. That includes allowing just two runs in 16.1 innings to the Red Sox at Fenway Park (both wins).

Now, consider that the Red Sox are starting John Lackey on Saturday. Lackey has allowed nine runs in two starts against the Rays this season. He lasted all of 10 innings in those starts.

Lackey also posted an ERA of 4.98 in September. In his last start against the Colorado Rockies on Sept. 24, he allowed four runs in six innings as the Red Sox were defeated, 8-3.

The Rays aren’t the kind of team to simply lie down. They beat the Texas Rangers in a one-game tiebreaker to advance to the playoffs, then beat the Cleveland Indians in the wild-card game. I think they will bounce back in Boston on Saturday.

Prediction: Rays 5, Red Sox 4

Detroit Tigers at Oakland Athletics

Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, Calif.

When: Saturday, Oct. 5 at 9:07 p.m. ET

Watch: TBS

The Athletics have given baseball yet another reason to praise Billy Beane this season, finishing with 96 wins in the regular season.

I also like what manager Bob Melvin did, starting rookie Sonny Gray over clear No. 2 starter Jarrod Parker.

It all adds up to a win over the one and only Justin Verlander on Saturday in Oakland.

The easy thing to say when assessing this matchup is, “Justin Verlander is great and he’s a six-time All-Star and he won the 2011 AL Cy Young and he posted a 2.22 ERA in the playoffs last year.”

Well, that is all correct, but I can’t ignore a few things.

One, the Athletics posted the second-best home record in the AL during the regular season (52-29). 

Two, they swept the Tigers at Comerica Park in August.

Three, one of those games they won in August was against Verlander, who surrendered five runs (three earned) in five innings on Aug. 27.

Four, Verlander was great in the playoffs last year, but he holds a career postseason ERA of 4.22. He wasn’t that great in 2006 or 2011.

Five, Gray was the better Game 2 choice for Oakland because a) the Tigers have never faced him and b) he holds a 1.99 ERA in six home starts this season.

Watching a player on film only does so much for you. You have to face him to truly get a feel for him. Gray obviously has the kind of stuff to be a difficult pitcher to face at first. It’s one of the reasons why he has 67 strikeouts in 64 innings this year, while registering a 1.11 WHIP. The A’s didn’t draft him at No. 18 overall in 2011 for nothing.

The Athletics will bounce back in Oakland on Saturday.

Prediction: Athletics 4, Tigers 3

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The Tigers traveled to Oakland to take on the A’s in Game 1 of this ALDS matchup. The A’s sent Bartolo Colon the hill with Max Scherzer on the bump for the Tigers.

The Tigers got to Colon early tonight, striking for three runs in the top half of the first inning. Colon has settled in since then, but three runs could be enough for Max Scherzer and the Tigers.

Those three runs proved to be the deciding factor in tonight’s game as Scherzer was on top of his game through seven strong innings. Although he allowed a two-run homer off the bat of Yoenis Cespedes, Scherzer managed to stifle the A’s through much of the game, allowing just three hits and two walks while striking out 11.

Colon lost control of his pitch count early on tonight and although he was able to take it down a notch, he still racked up plenty of pitches and the A’s elected to relieve him in the seventh, in favor of Dan Otero.

Otero and Sean Doolittle pitched 1.1 and 1.2 innings respectively, in relief of Colon. The two combined to allow zero hits and zero walks, while striking out three over the game’s final three innings.

The Tigers’ bullpen, a shaky unit in the regular season, matched them stride-for-stride over two solid innings in relief of Scherzer. Drew Smyly turned in 0.2 innings of work allowing no hits and no walks, striking out two.

Joaquin Benoit came in to close the game out and earn a rare four-out save. The 35-year-old closer got his out in the eighth, and then went on to strike out the side in the ninth, earning a save in his first appearance of the 2013 postseason.

The Tigers took it to the A’s early, but even with this early display of offense, this one was very much a pitching duel.

That’s it for Game 1 of the ALDS here in Oakland, but these two teams will meet again tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. ET. Goodnight everybody!

Final Box Score

DET 3, OAK 2

W: Max Scherzer: 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 11 K

L: Bartolo Colon 6.0 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, 0 BB, 4 K

SV: Joaquin Benoit: 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K

2B: A. Jackson (1), V. Martinez (1)

3B: Y. Cespedes (1)

HR: Y. Cespedes (1)

Be sure to tweet along with the game so I can get your thoughts integrated into the blog. You can follow me on Twitter at @TylerDuma, and I’ll do my best to post them here.

If Twitter’s not your thing, leave your thoughts in the comment section below to spark some discussion.

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The Boston Red Sox took advantage of some defensive miscues by the Tampa Bay Rays to grab an early ALDS lead with a dominant 12-2 win at Fenway Park on Friday afternoon. 

Rays youngster Matt Moore was cruising to start Game 1, giving up zero hits the first time through Boston’s formidable lineup. After getting solo home runs from Sean Rodriguez and Ben Zobrist, Moore carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning. 

That’s when things fell apart. 

After Dustin Pedroia led off the inning with a single, David Ortiz appeared to hit a routine (but towering) fly ball. There was miscommunication in the Rays outfield, and rookie right fielder Wil Myers let the ball harmlessly drop for an odd ground-rule double in what turned to out to be the major turning point of the game:

Two batters later, Jonny Gomes crushed a double off the top of the Green Monster, driving home Pedroia and Ortiz to tie the score.

ESPN’s Buster Olney had this explanation from Myers regarding the play:

After Jarrod Saltalamacchia struck out in what should have been the third out of the inning, Stephen Drew drove home Gomes (yes, from second base) on an infield single, and Will Middlebrooks hit an RBI double. Moore got another strikeout—this one of Jacoby Ellsbury—to seemingly end the inning, but a passed ball from Jose Lobaton extended the nightmare and Shane Victorino hit a single to drive in another run. 

When the damage was finally done, the Red Sox had put up a five spot in the truly bizarre inning. 

Moore couldn’t recover, as Boston tacked on three more in fifth, and he had to be taken out after giving up eight hits, two walks and eight runs (seven earned) over 4.1 innings. He struck out four. 

An eight-spot was more than enough insurance for Jon Lester, who settled into an impressive groove after giving up those two early solo homers. Lester retired 11 in a row at one point and finished with an efficient line: 7.2 innings, three hits, two walks, two earned runs and seven strikeouts. 

Red Sox reporter Brian MacPherson had this note on Lester’s stellar performance:

The Red Sox would add four more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to put an exclamation mark on the emphatic, message-sending victory over their AL East rivals. 

Player Grades

Matt Moore, Rays: C

Usually when you see a guy give up eight hits, two walks and seven earned runs through 4.1 innings, you’re going to see a big fat “F” next to his name. 

But Moore had some bad luck. 

If Myers would have caught Ortiz’s fly ball instead of letting it drop for a double, Moore (assuming everything else stayed the same) would have escaped the fourth inning with one earned run (zero if Pedroia doesn’t score from first on Gomes’ double). 

While Moore wasn’t razor-sharp by any means, the defense behind needs to be much crisper. 

Jon Lester, Red Sox: A-

A bit of a slow start (two home runs) and finish (two walks in the eighth), but Lester was on his game on Friday. 

The Rays mustered just one hit outside of those two long balls and were 0-6 with a runner in scoring position.

This was an “ace” start from Lester, and if he continues to anchor this pitching staff like that, the Red Sox are going to be incredibly difficult to beat in a five or seven-game series.

Jonny Gomes, Red Sox: A

The Red Sox compiled 12 runs and 14 hits, so you can give credit to a lot of players here. Victorino had three hits and two RBI, while Ellsbury, Pedroia and Saltalamacchia also added two hits. 

But let’s focus on Gomes. 

While his game-tying two-run double off the top of the Monster will probably be the hit everyone remembers, his hustle two batters later might have been more impressive. 

When Stephen Drew legged out an infield single, Gomes never stopped running, as he showed alert base-running skills and scored all the way from second base. 

He also added a walk and another run scored in the solid all-around performance. 

What’s Next

Game 2 will be on Saturday at 5:37 p.m. ET. John Lackey is scheduled to face David Price. 

Watch postseason baseball live on TBS.com or your mobile device.

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How a player performs when the games matter most could have an affect on his overall value, which is of greater importance to those who are eligible for free agency at season’s end. 

While a majority of these players will not stand out in a good or bad way, there are a handful of them who will. As a result, the price tag could rise or fall, at least slightly. A pair of 2012 postseason stars, Marco Scutaro and Anibal Sanchez, each cashed in after boosting their value greatly with strong playoff performances. 

Here are six players off to either a great start or a very poor start, or in one case, already done for the season after a wild-card loss. 

Begin Slideshow

Cincinnati Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton is only 23 years old and has just 13 games of MLB experience under his belt.

In spite of that, manager Dusty Baker should utilize the youngster as much as possible in Tuesday evening’s National League Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

While this would normally sound like a rather reckless strategy considering Hamilton’s lack of proven ability at pro baseball’s highest level, the matchup and situation make a strong case for Hamilton to play a lot.

Hamilton is a speed demon on the basepaths and stole 13 bases in his brief regular season action while only getting caught once.

The Reds are going up against prolific southpaw Francisco Liriano, who won 16 games and had an ERA of 3.02 in 2013.

What makes Liriano most dangerous, though, is that he is 8-1 at PNC Park this season with a 1.47 ERA. Liriano has destroyed left-handed hitters, too, yielding a .131 batting average.

Those numbers have to look ominous for Cincinnati, which has a lineup dependent on lefties Joey Votto, Jay Bruce and Shin-Soo Choo to produce the big hits.

All of them have at least 20 home runs, but struggle far more against left-handed pitchers. Choo has batted just .215 against lefties this year, while Votto hits .251 as opposed to .332 versus right-handed hurlers.

It’s not as though Hamilton has proven himself against left-handed pitchers, but he can at least provide a spark as a right-handed hitter in facing the lefty Liriano.

If the entire 162-game sample size on Liriano, Choo and Votto is any indication, the Reds are going to have to rely on small ball to win on the road.

Liriano can be quick on his pickoff moves, which will hold any prospective baserunners in check. Only Choo is even in double digits in terms of stolen bases other than Hamilton, and that’s a weakness that forces the Reds to rely on power hitting from their left-handed trio.

There isn’t anyone better to stretch a single into a double, to swipe a base at a pivotal moment or cross the plate on a single from second base than Hamilton on the Reds’ roster.

That doesn’t mean Hamilton should start. Sitting Choo or anyone else at this point would be blasphemous. After all, Hamilton batted only .256 in Triple-A baseball this year, per Baseball-Reference.com.

But he also stole 155 bases in the minor leagues in 2012, per MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, and Hamilton has shown no signs of slowing down in his brief stint in the big leagues.

Having said that, this isn’t a postseason series. It’s one game, and it’s win or go home. The Reds would be wise to insert Hamilton if at all possible should Cincinnati’s lineup, driven by left-handed batters, struggle against Liriano.

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Bring on the playoffs.

With a memorable baseball season in the books, eight teams still have dreams of World Series glory to chase, and the parity in this year’s postseason is impressive. Just seven wins separates these eight teams, and just five wins separates the particularly tight American League. 

Let’s take a closer look at how the wild card and divisional rounds will play out.

Wild Card Round

Any one-game playoff is incredibly difficult to predict, because, well, it’s baseball, and crazy things can completely affect the outcome of a single game. 

In the National League, each team has certain advantages. The Pittsburgh Pirates are at home, for instance, and went 11-8 against the Cincinnati Reds (including a three-game sweep to end the season). The momentum lies with the Pirates.

But momentum in baseball is the next day’s starting pitcher, and for the Reds, that falls on Johnny Cueto, who has pitched just twice since going on the disabled list in June. Meanwhile, the Pirates will go with Francisco Liriano, their ace this year.

Everything points to Pittsburgh in this one. 

In the American League, the Indians come into this game red-hot, having won 10 in a row and 15 of their last 17. They’ll avoid David Price after he pitched against the Texas Rangers on Monday and Matt Moore as well, though Alex Cobb did beat them in April. 

Still, I like the Indians to survive the one-game series. 

Prediction: Pirates and Indians move on.

Divisional Series

The Detroit Tigers are my World Series pick, so I have to stick to my guns here. For as solid as the Athletics rotation is, I don’t think Oakland has an answer for Detroit’s top three of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez.

Add in the fact that nobody in baseball has an answer for Miguel Cabrera, and I see the Tigers winning in five.

The Indians have had a wonderful season, but their run will end against the Boston Red Sox. Boston has too much balance in its lineup and a good enough rotation to get past an Indians team that is only going to get better as their young stars gain experience. Boston takes it in four. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to handle the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta can’t match LA’s one-two punch of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, though the Braves bullpen is excellent. Oh, and before you worry about Matt Kemp being shelved for the duration of the season, remember that the Dodgers were 42-8 without him this year.

The Dodgers win in four. 

Finally, we turn to the Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, with Pittsburgh holding the slightest of advantages in the season series, 10-9. The balance of the Cardinals is pretty impressive, and having Adam Wainwright potentially for Game 1 and Game 5 could be the difference. 

The Pirates have an excellent pitching staff, but would it be enough to quiet the bats of the dangerous Cardinals? St. Louis is plenty familiar with the postseason, and that experience gives the Cards the edge here. They take it in five.

Prediction: Tigers, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cardinals advance.

Here’s a full look at the bracket and schedule for this year’s postseason:

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