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Sunday’s American League Division Series Game 3 between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park was postponed because of heavy rain in Boston, so the teams will meet Monday night with the first pitch scheduled for 6:08 p.m. ET. Now, the Red Sox and Indians know which team awaits them in the American League Championship Series—the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto completed its sweep of the top-seeded Texas Rangers after taking Game 3 in 10 innings. The Jays walked off, ironically, after a throwing error on the back end of a potential double play by Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor. Yes, the same guy who clocked Jose Bautista in the face back in May. It was Toronto that got the last laugh, and now the Blue Jays have some time to wait for the Red Sox and Indians to wrap up their series. 

In Game 2 between Boston and Cleveland on Friday afternoon, Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber blanked the Red Sox for seven innings, and the Tribe would go on to secure the victory by a score of 6-0. As has been the case in his career, David Price came up small in the postseason again in Game 2, giving up five earned runs over just 3.1 innings of work. 

Now, fighting for their season, the Red Sox will have to repeat the daunting task they performed back in 1999—win three straight games in a division series to climb out of an 0-2 hole and topple the Indians. Counting the Red Sox out, however, would be foolish. We vividly remember the astonishing comeback they mounted in the 2004 ALCS. 

Monday night, Boston will turn to Clay Buchholz to try to salvage its season. Cleveland plans to counter with Josh Tomlin as it tries to bury the Red Sox before they can begin to generate any semblance of momentum in this series. 

The keys for the Red Sox lie with the rejuvenation of the newly dormant Boston offense and with Buchholz.

What else is there to say about the Red Sox’s batting performance? The lineup that terrorized baseball from April to September has vanished, and although it might be painfully obvious, Boston’s game plan all year was to run up the score, not win close contests with superb starting pitching and strong relief. The bats are what led the team to outscore its opponents by 184 runs, by far the largest margin of any team in the American League. 

To help put that in perspective, the Texas Rangers, who won 95 games and claimed the top seed in the American League playoffs, scored only eight more runs than the opposition in 2016. 

Although Boston trots out one of the deepest lineups in all of baseball, its best chance to hang some numbers other than zero on Fenway’s manual scoreboard comes from the guys at the top and in the middle of its lineup. And while manager John Farrell will gladly take runs at any time during the game at this point in the series, the Red Sox need to pounce on the Indians early in Game 3, or they run the risk of facing Cleveland’s rested bullpen with a run gap to close. 

As for where the production will come from, the pressure is on Mookie Betts, twilight-of-his-career David Ortiz and Hanley Ramirez. Those guys hit third, fourth and fifth in Game 2, going a combined 1-for-11 with a walk. Another performance resembling Friday’s from those three guys—of all of whom hit at least 30 home runs in the regular season—could very well result in a depressing sweep. 

The other key for Boston is a strong performance from Buchholz, the 32-year-old who has never won a playoff game and pitched to a poor 4.78 ERA in 21 starts this year. Although the numbers aren’t great, Buchholz finished the season by going 4-0 with a 2.92 ERA in his final eight starts.

Against the Indians, Buchholz must keep runners off the basepaths, especially by not issuing walks. Buchholz’s WHIP in 2016 was a subpar 1.33, and if he allows runners into scoring position on Monday, Cleveland has guys capable of coming up with timely hits. 

On Buchholz’s upcoming start, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe gave some telling insight:

Some smarty pants is probably thinking, “Yeah right. Clay Buchholz to save the day? Clay Buchholz to the rescue? Clay Buchholz to do what a 22-game winner [Porcello] and a former Cy Young winner [Price] couldn’t do?” There may not be a lot of logic in the thinking that he could do it, but what logic was there in the Indians beating two pitchers who combined for 39 regular-season wins?

I predict we will find out early on in Monday’s game whether Buchholz is up to the task, and if he isn’t, the Red Sox could very well meet the same fate as the Rangers. 

Despite being up 2-0 in this best-of-five series, the Indians cannot afford to let up. Cleveland has its own set of keys to focus on if it wants to close out Boston, something the Indians were unable to do in the 2007 ALCS, when they led the Red Sox 3-1 before losing in seven games. 

Much has been said about the success and unconventionality of Cleveland’s bullpen, especially because of the way manager Terry Francona navigated the second half of his team’s 5-4 win in Game 1. However, just as the Red Sox will have to rely on their starter, one of the keys for an Indians sweep is Tomlin rising to the occasion—one that will unfold under perhaps the brightest lights of Tomlin’s career. 

Tomlin’s regular-season numbers are not going to astound anyone, but they topped those of Buchholz in most categories. The key for Tomlin relates directly to stopping what Boston’s sluggers need to do—namely, using their power to drive in runs. 

Tomlin’s regular-season ERA didn’t best Buchholz’s by much at 4.40, but what’s most notable is his history facing the Red Sox hitters he’ll see in Game 3. 

Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia are most familiar with Tomlin, as they have each had 17 at-bats against the right-hander. In those meetings, Ortiz tallied three hits, while Pedroia had five. As is to be expected, the younger guys in Boston’s lineup have less experience against Tomlin, although shortstop Xander Bogaerts is 3-7 against Tomlin, while Betts is just 1-6. 

Tomlin’s job will be to mitigate the power of the Boston hitters who are most likely to do damage. If he can do that, as Trevor Bauer and Kluber were mostly able to do in the first two games, Tomlin will, at the very least, put the Indians in a position to be competitive deep into the game. 

As for Cleveland’s offensive attack, the team cannot rely on the home run as it has largely done over the first two games. In Game 1, the bulk of the runs came via three solo home runs over the course of four batters, and in Game 2, the most significant blow was a three-run shot from Lonnie Chisenhall. Along with those homers, the Indians have gotten valuable production from Jason Kipnis, who is hitting .571 with three runs batted in so far in the series.  

The key for Cleveland on offense, though, will be to continue its dominance of Red Sox pitching with runners in scoring position. In Game 1, the Indians went 2-for-3 with RISP and 3-for-7 in Game 2. That is part of a formula for postseason success. 

The home runs have been nice, sure, but it would be unwise for the Indians to depend on the long ball to propel them. Of the four players who have homered for Cleveland in this series, two of them—Roberto Perez and Chisenhall—hit fewer than 10 home runs during the regular season, and Francisco Lindor, who went deep in Game 1, hit just 15. 

The Indians must focus on timely hitting and execution from hitters throughout the lineup as they set their sights on the championship series. Whichever team can achieve its winning hallmarks will have a date with Toronto, which is a daunting prospect at the moment. 

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Many in baseball circles believe that Game 3 of a division series is most important. It makes sense, really.

A Game 3 has one of two scenarios attached to it: Either a team faces an elimination game or has the opportunity to force one.

Both scenarios will play out Monday as the San Francisco Giants find themselves down 2-0 to the Chicago Cubs, and the NLDS pitting the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers is tied at one.

What are the keys for each team to winning this crucial game?

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It’s now or never for the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers.

Both teams are down 0-2 in their respective playoff series against the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays, and they must come up with wins Sunday if they are to remain alive in the postseason.

While the Red Sox are at least back at Fenway Park for Game 3 (and Game 4, if necessary), the Rangers are on the road at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Texas at Toronto, 7:38 p.m. ET, Toronto leads 2-0

That’s clearly a difficult task for the Rangers, but it’s one that is not impossible to overcome. Just one year ago, these same two teams met in the ALDS, and the Rangers took a 2-0 lead by winning the first two games in Toronto. The Blue Jays went on the road for Games 3 and 4 and won both of those games before returning home for Game 5 and winning that as well.

If the Rangers are going to pay the Blue Jays back, it will start with getting a strong effort from starting pitcher Colby Lewis. The Rangers starters have been hit hard by Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki, and that has allowed the Blue Jays to earn early leads and play with confidence.

Lewis, who was 6-5 with a 3.71 earned run average and a 1.126 WHIP, will need to be at his best to keep the Toronto bats in check. 

Aaron Sanchez will be on the mound for the Blue Jays, and he had a sensational 15-2 season with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.167 WHIP. Sanchez was at his best in the regular-season finale when he shut down the Red Sox at Fenway Park, and that helped the Blue Jays earn their spot in the playoffs.

In addition to getting a top effort from Lewis, the Rangers will need the big hitters in their lineup to pick up their production. Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre are the keys to the Texas attack, as those two combined for 65 home runs this season. Neither player has hit a home run in the first two games of the series.

None of their teammates have hit a home run, either. That needs to change in Game 3.

Prediction: The Rangers should be at their best in this elimination game. Look for them to stay close throughout, but Sanchez can be a shutdown pitcher, and he should get the job done here. He will give the Blue Jays eight strong innings, and Toronto sweeps the series with a 2-1 victory.

Cleveland at Boston, 4:08 p.m. ET, Cleveland leads 2-0

Clay Buchholz will get the ball for the Red Sox on Sunday afternoon, and that’s quite a turnaround for a pitcher who was dropped from the rotation earlier this year.

However, when he got his second chance from manager John Farrell, Buchholz did a much better job in the final weeks of the season. Buchholz made a mechanical change to his delivery, as he decided to pitch from the stretch throughout the game.

After eliminating his windup, Buchholz became a much more effective pitcher. He was 3-0 in his final four starts with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.151 WHIP. Those numbers represent a significant improvement over his season-long numbers that included an 8-10 record with a 4.78 ERA.

Boston starters Rick Porcello and David Price were hit hard in Games 1 and 2, and the Red Sox need Buchholz to give them six solid innings.

They also need their hitters to pick it up after a disappointing performance in Cleveland. Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, David Ortiz, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. need to start hitting the ball well if the Red Sox are going to resemble the team that led the American League with 878 runs scored.

The Indians were the beneficiaries of clutch hitting and excellent pitching performances by reliever Andrew Miller in Game 1 and starter Corey Kluber in Game 2. They are sending Josh Tomlin to the mound at Fenway Park, and if manager Terry Francona can get five or six innings from him before turning the game over to the Indians bullpen, he should be happy.

Cleveland will look to sluggers Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana for offensive production. Both players hit 34 home runs this season and are capable of big games in Boston.

Prediction: The Indians will not fade away on the road, and they will get at least three runs off of Buchholz. However, the Red Sox offense will come alive, and they will hit Tomlin and the Cleveland pitching staff hard. The Red Sox get back in the series with an 8-4 victory.

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Dropped from the pitching rotation in July, Clay Buchholz holds the key to the Boston Red Sox postseason in his right arm.

Buchholz will take the mound in Game 3 Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park as the Red Sox try to stay alive in their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians.

After dropping the first two games of the series at Progressive Field, the heavily favored Red Sox have put themselves in a position where they must win two games at Fenway Park to force a return trip to Cleveland if they are going to survive and advance in the postseason.

The Texas Rangers are in an even more precarious position. They also dropped the first two games of their series with the Toronto Blue Jays, but the Rangers dropped both of those games at home. They have to go to the Rogers Centre in Toronto and win two before they can return to Arlington, Texas, for a potential fifth game of the series.

Cleveland at Boston; Cleveland leads 2-0

The Red Sox need Buchholz to pitch with the same kind of confidence he showed in his most recent starts. Buchholz had a largely forgettable season, as he was 8-10 with a 4.78 earned run average and a 1.328 WHIP.

Buchholz had a hard time keeping the ball in the ballpark, and he was hit hard for much of the year. However, a tip from batting coach Chili Davis helped him turn things around later in the year. 

Davis let Buchholz know that he was much tougher to read when he was pitching from the stretch. It was harder to pick up the ball, and it wasn’t as easy to read his pitches.

Buchholz took Davis’ advice and started pitching exclusively from the stretch. While it did not turn him into a dominating flamethrower, Buchholz is 3-0 in the last 28 days, and his ERA is 3.14 with a WHIP of 1.151.

In years past, Buchholz was one of the Red Sox aces, but injuries regularly kept him from dominating for a full season. That was not the case this season, when he was hit hard for the majority of the year but has remained healthy.

If Buchholz has truly gotten his act together, he can help steady the Red Sox’s starting pitching, which was a major disappointment in the two games in Cleveland.

Boston’s hitters must also come through the way they did throughout the majority of the season. Boston scored a league-high 878 runs this season, but Dustin Pedroia, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley Jr. did not swing the bat well in Cleveland.

It seems more likely that they will find their batting strokes at home.

The Indians don’t want to change a thing after winning the first two games of the series at home. Cleveland got clutch hitting in both games, and manager Terry Francona used his bullpen in spectacular fashion in Game 1 and got a brilliant start from Corey Kluber in Game 2.

Another bullpen game is likely in Game 3, because starter Josh Tomlin seems quite hittable. Tomlin had a 13-9 record during the regular season, but his 4.40 ERA demonstrates he will give up a few runs. His 1.190 WHIP is quite respectable, but the Red Sox’s big bats should be ready to do some damage.

That’s where reliever Andrew Miller should come into play. He is a powerful left-hander with tremendous stuff and an ability to throw one of the nastiest sliders around. If the Indians stay in touch on the scoreboard or even have a lead, Miller could be a huge difference-maker.

The Indians also need Mike Napoli and Carlos Santana to deliver some big hits at Fenway. Napoli—a former Red Sox slugger—and Santana both hit 34 home runs this season.

Keys for a Cleveland victory: Stay close through the first few innings, get Miller in the game to shut down the big bats and get clutch hits from Napoli and Santana.

Keys for a Boston victory: Take advantage of the home field and get the bats going the way they were throughout the majority of the regular season. Buchholz also must give the Red Sox six strong innings and depart with the lead.

Texas at Toronto; Toronto leads 2-0

It would seem that the Texas Rangers are hanging on by a thread. Even though the Rangers had the best record in the American League and earned home-field advantage throughout the postseason, they lost the first two games of the American League Division Series at home.

The situation might seem hopeless, but there’s this little piece of history to consider: The Rangers and the Blue Jays met in last year’s ALDS, and the Rangers won the first two games at the Rogers Centre and took a 2-0 lead home. However, the Blue Jays bounced back with with two road wins of their own and then took the decisive game on their home field.

Can the Rangers pay the Blue Jays back? If they are going to do that, they are going to need pitcher Colby Lewis to have a standout game.

Lewis had a 6-5 record and a 3.71 ERA, and he is going to need to cool down the Blue Jays’ hot hitters. At the same time, the Rangers are going to have to shake their inconsistencies at the plate and find a way to get to Aaron Sanchez, who was 15-2 with a 3.00 ERA.

Sanchez was dominant for the Blue Jays Oct. 2 when Toronto clinched its playoff appearance with a win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Toronto jumped all over the Texas pitching in the first two games of the series, and it’s clear that the Rangers will need improved starting pitching to slow down hitters like Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki.

At the same time, the Rangers need their big hitters like Rougned Odor, Adrian Beltre, Ian Desmond and Mitch Moreland to suddenly get hot.

A complete reversal of what happened at Globe Life Park is what the script requires. If it doesn’t, the Blue Jays should finish this series in three games.

Keys for a Texas victory: An excellent starting pitching effort from Lewis, with clutch hitting from big hitters like Odor and Beltre.

Keys for a Toronto victory: Stay hot with the bats and continue to get big hits with runners on base. If Sanchez can throw the same type of game he did against Boston last week, the Jays should be ready to advance to the ALCS.

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The Washington Nationals may be allergic to their own home stadium in the postseason.

It seems that way after they dropped the opening game of their National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Nats were on the wrong end of a 4-3 decision, as they were unable to push across the tying run after closing a four-run deficit to one run in the fourth inning.

In the other National League series, the Chicago Cubs are attempting to build off their series-opening 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants as they send ace Kyle Hendricks to the mound against former Cubs starter Jeff Samardzija in Game 2.

The Nationals have a 1-4 record at home in three different postseason series since the franchise relocated from Montreal following the 2004 season. They have to find a way to reverse that in order to avoid going down 0-2 prior to playing Game 3 in Los Angeles.

How? They need to jump out to a lead in the first few innings so they don’t have to rally back against the powerful Los Angeles bullpen.

Kenley Jansen is one of the best closers in the game, and he is that unit’s headliner, but the Dodgers have the weapons in the pen to hold onto a lead at any point once they get past the five-inning mark.

That will require some productive at-bats from Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy. The Nats did not get an RBI from any of those three players in Game 1, and that has to change in Game 2 and beyond.

The Dodgers received early home runs from rookie phenom Corey Seager and Justin Turner, and that gave Clayton Kershaw an early lead. Since the Dodgers were able to solve flamethrower Max Scherzer, they should be confident against Saturday’s starting pitcher, Tanner Roark.

Scherzer blamed himself for allowing those home runs. 

“It’s pitch execution,” he told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. “I’m accountable for that, and I’ll shoulder that, and I’ll take the blame for that. I know I’m capable of executing pitches at a higher level, and I’ve got to do it.”

The Dodgers will have tricky left-hander Rich Hill on the mound, and while his pitches often look hittable, he can be difficult to decipher. 

Roark went 16-10 this season with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.171 WHIP. The 36-year-old Hill pitched 34.1 innings this season for the Dodgers after coming over from the Oakland A’s, and he had a 1.83 ERA and a 0.786 WHIP in that span.

Prediction: The Nationals need this game and have the steady Roark on the mound. However, they are pressing and won’t be able to do much against Hill. Look for the Dodgers to squeak out a 2-1 victory and take a 2-0 lead to Los Angeles.

San Francisco at Chicago

Javier Baez’s eighth-inning home run was enough to give Jon Lester and the Cubs a 1-0 victory over Johnny Cueto and the San Francisco Giants in the NLDS opener at Wrigley Field.

“That’s classic playoff baseball in the National League right there,” catcher David Ross told Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times. “There was going to be good pitching; we knew that coming in. That’s a really good team.”

Look for more hitting from the Cubs in Game 2 against Samardzija, who does not have the same kind of command that Cueto or Madison Bumgarner has for the Giants.

Samardzija went 12-11 with a 3.81 ERA, but the Cubs should be able to solve him. Expect NL MVP candidate Kris Bryant and slugging first baseman Anthony Rizzo to join Baez by contributing on offense.

On the other hand, the Giants will not have an easy time against the overachieving Hendricks. He led baseball with a 2.13 ERA this season and features three different changeups that can be rough on hitters.

The Giants don’t have a home run-hitting lineup, as Brandon Belt led the team with 17 dingers. If they are going to rally, they will need to string hits together, but that doesn’t often happen against Hendricks.

Prediction: After facing Cueto in Game 1, the Cubs are going to find their hitting stroke against Samardzija. The former Cubs pitcher is unlikely to be as sharp as his counterpart, and the Cubs will take advantage of his mistakes.

Even if the wind is blowing the other way, the Cubs will find the seats and come away with a 5-3 victory and a 2-0 lead in the series.

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After all eight remaining teams were in action during Friday’s MLB postseason action, just the National League will take center stage Saturday in a pair of Game 2s from the division series.

A pair of division winners lead off the day’s play, as the NL East champion Washington Nationals host the NL West-winning Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the series 1-0.

In the nightcap, the San Francisco Giants, who went into Queens and took the Wild Card Game, head back to Wrigley Field down 1-0 to meet the best team in baseball, the Chicago Cubs:

Predictions

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals

Probables: Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA) vs. Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83 ERA)

The headline of this game will be the two men on the mound to start Saturday afternoon.

Los Angeles’ Rich Hill and Washington’s Tanner Roark are both making their postseason debuts after solid seasons.

Roark put up a career-best 16-10 record and 172 strikeouts in his fourth professional season to go with a 2.83 ERA that ranked sixth in the majors.

Hill, on the other hand, just finished his 12th regular season, which began in Oakland with the Athletics. After going 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA as the Athletics ace, Hill, who is a free agent at the end of the year, was dealt at the deadline to a Dodgers team in need of pitching depth after the injury over the summer to ace Clayton Kershaw.

In six starts with the Dodgers, his first stint as a NL pitcher since 2008, Hill posted a minuscule 1.83 ERA.

Having spent most of the past eight seasons in the American League, he’s an unfamiliar arm for a lot of NL teams, including the Nationals.

Only Stephen Drew, Bryce Harper, Jose Lobaton, Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman have faced Hill in their careers, going a combined 5-for-8.

On the other side of the diamond, 10 different Dodgers have faced Roark for a combined 54 at-bats.

Familiarity in big situations can always give one particular team a leg up. In this case, it’s advantage Dodgers, especially with a hot pitcher on the mound like Hill.

Prediction: Dodgers 5, Nationals 3

San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs

Probables: Jeff Samardzija (12-11, 3.81 ERA) vs. Kyle Hendricks (16.8, 2.13 ERA)

It’s not going to matter who the Giants are rolling out on the mound for Game 2 of the NLDS at Wrigley Field as long as his name isn’t Madison Bumgarner, which it isn’t after his complete-game gem in the Wild Card Game against the Mets.

Instead, it’s Jeff Samardzija, who has allowed nine runs in two career starts against his former team.

The Cubs are rolling out Kyle Hendricks, who had the lowest ERA in the majors at 2.13, which was 0.31 points lower than the second-place Jon Lester, who is also Hendricks’ teammate.

Against a Giants offense that was hitless against Noah Syndergaard through the first 5.2 innings in the Wild Card Game, a pitcher who has been as good as Hendricks could be too much for San Francisco to handle. Especially after it was held scoreless Friday night in Game 1.

Having already faced the Giants once during the regular season, Hendricks allowed just one run on three hits in 5.1 innings. However, he did lose the game 1-0, but it was opposite of Bumgarner, who went 7.2 innings, gave up three hits and struck out six.

As long as Bumgarner doesn’t take the mound and Hendricks is on point, the Cubs should win this game.

Chicago has an offense that scored 808 runs in the regular season, third-most in the majors, and it got its power surge from the bottom of the lineup Friday night in the form of Javier Baez, via MLB:

That should be more than enough to head to San Francisco with a 2-0 lead after Saturday night due to an anemic Giants offense.

If not, Bumgarner is looming in Game 3, and a loss at Wrigley on Saturday means all the momentum swings to the Giants as the series progresses.

Prediction: Cubs 6, Giants 1

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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In a best-of-five series, teams that lose the first game find themselves on high alert.

There is little margin for error, and especially in the case of the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants, there is plenty of work to do.

Los Angeles at Washington, Game 2 (Los Angeles leads series 1-0)

Homestanding Washington dropped Game 1 of its National League Division Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers. While the contest was expected to be a razor-sharp pitcher’s duel between Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers and Max Scherzer of the Nationals, neither starter was on top of his game.

The Dodgers took a 4-0 lead in the third inning, but the Nats had closed to within 4-3 by the bottom of the fourth. That’s how the game ended, as the bullpens did not yield any runs.

The Los Angeles bullpen was one of the team’s greatest strengths all year. Dodgers relievers led the majors with a 3.35 ERA (Washington was second with a 3.37 ERA), and manager Dave Roberts used his relief pitchers in an MLB-high 590.2 innings.

Kenley Jansen is one of the best closers in the game, and he was called on with five outs to go in Game 1. While that was a departure from his usual three-out save, Jansen got the job done, allowing just one hit and striking out three.

During the regular season, Jansen recorded 47 saves in 53 chances, a 1.83 ERA and a remarkable 0.67 WHIP.

Los Angeles also has Joe Blanton, Grant Dayton and Pedro Baez, all of whom were superb in Game 1.

“Whatever we’ve got to do to win, right? Those guys are up to the challenge,” Dodgers rookie shortstop Corey Seager said, per the Associated Press’ Howard Fendrich. “And they’ve been up to it all year.”

Therein lies the key for the Dodgers: Get the lead by the fifth or sixth inning and turn the game over to the bullpen.

On the other hand, if the Nationals can take an early lead, that will remove quite a bit of the pressure that Dusty Baker’s team will have on its shoulders throughout Game 2.

Washington needs to have its big hitters come through. Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Daniel Murphy filled the second, third and fourth spots in the Nationals’ batting order Friday, but none of them drove in a run in Game 1.

That has to change if the Nationals are going to tie the series before the two teams head to Los Angeles.

Key for Los Angeles: Get a lead, and get the ball to the bullpen.

Key for Washington: Get run production from Harper, Werth and Murphy.

San Francisco at Chicago, Game 2 (Chicago leads series 1-0)

While the Nationals fell short on their home field in Game 1, the Chicago Cubs did not.

They won a tight, emotional pitcher’s duel 1-0 thanks to Javier Baez’s home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, which ruined a sensational effort by San Francisco starter Johnny Cueto.

“He’s been pitching me inside. I was just waiting for him to make a mistake, and he left it over the plate,” Baez said, per the Associated Press (via the Los Angeles Times).

Chicago starter Jon Lester earned the win, and fireballing closer Aroldis Chapman picked up the save.

Game 2 figures to feature more hitting—for one team, at least. Former Cub Jeff Samardzija will start for the Giants, while Cy Young Award candidate Kyle Hendricks will take the mound for the North Siders.

Samardzija was 12-11 this season with an unremarkable 3.81 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, and he gave up 8.4 hits and 1.1 home runs per nine innings. It would not be a surprise if Chicago—after facing the dominating stuff of Cueto in Game 1—got its offense going against “Shark.”

Look for Baez, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo to take good swings against Samardzija and put at least five runs on the board.

San Francisco, which ranked 28th in the majors with only 130 home runs during the regular season, may have a hard time against the sensational Hendricks. The right-hander had a 16-8 record with an MLB-best 2.13 ERA and 0.98 WHIP and features two different changeups. While his pitches—including an 87.8 mph fastball—often look hittable, opposing batters just can’t figure him out.

Hendricks may not be a hard thrower, but he still struck out 170 hitters in 190 innings this season.

The Giants need to play their best game to get a split at Wrigley Field. The lineup has to figure out Hendricks, and Samardzija and the bullpen must be on point.

Key for San Francisco: Play near-perfect baseball.

Key for Chicago: Hit Samardzija hard.

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Following a tight Wild Card Game, the 2016 National League Division Series is set to kick off Friday with a doubleheader featuring a quartet of legitimate aces.

San Francisco’s Madison Bumgarner continued his otherworldly postseason dominance with a complete-game shutout against the New York Mets on Wednesday, but the Giants will still trot out a star hurler in Game 1 of the NLDS in Johnny Cueto. The remaining three teams playing Friday are also expected to send out top-options, which could make for some low-scoring affairs.

Take a look below at the Game 1 start times, in addition to the television and live streaming schedules, for the NLDS. The full 2016 MLB playoff schedule can be found at MLB.com.

One would be hard-pressed to find a heavyweight pitching matchup like the one expected at Nationals Park, as Clayton Kershaw will battle Max Scherzer.

Kershaw is well established as arguably the premier arm in the game, and he was on his way towards a possible fourth Cy Young honor before a back injury hampered his 2016 season. He was 11-2 with 1.79 ERA before he missed the entire months of July and August. Kershaw went 1-2 in five starts since his return on Sept. 9, but he only allowed four earned runs in that span. 

The 28-year-old finished with 172 strikeouts and a staggering 11 walks allowed, which gives him the best such ratio ever for a starting pitcher, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

Scherzer was certainly comparable, finishing 20-7 with a 2.96 ERA while leading the majors with 284 strikeouts. This put Scherzer, who is challenging for his second ever Cy Young Award and first in the NL, in historic company as well, which MLB Network’s Jon Morosi noted with some help from the network’s research team:

However, both pitchers have not brought their best stuff in the postseason. 

Kershaw is 2-6 with a 4.59 ERA in 13 playoff appearances. He put together a decent run with a 1-1 mark and a 2.63 ERA in two starts last year, but he posted ERAs of over 6.00 in the 2013 and 2014 postseasons.

Scherzer is 4-3 with a decent 3.73 ERA in 12 appearances, but he was rocked for five earned runs in his last playoff start in 2014. Each star will be looking to make a statement on Friday, which could result in a fierce pitching duel.

As for the late game, Cueto takes the hill as he looks to bring his solid playoff performance with Kansas City last season to the Giants. He takes on a bonafide ace in Jon Lester, who finished second in the majors this season behind teammate Kyle Hendricks with a 2.44 ERA.

In his lone start against Chicago this season, Cueto allowed only one run on five hits in seven innings, but he did not earn a decision in the Giants 3-2 loss on Sept. 9. Lester was 1-1 this year against San Francisco, totaling six runs and nine hits allowed in 11.2 innings. He also posted a porous strikeout-to-walk ratio with five punch-outs and five walks.

Getting runners in scoring position could be a difference in this matchup. Cueto sports a 9.82 ERA in 44 innings pitched with runners in scoring position in 2016, while Lester posted a 7.44 mark in 42.1 innings pitched.

Both teams were mediocre in this category offensively. The Cubs finished 21st in the majors with a .252 team batting average with runners in scoring position, while San Francisco came in a spot behind the Cubs with a .250 mark.

With Cueto having inferior numbers in this situation than Lester, and with Chicago being marginally better here at the plate, the Cubs should have a slight edge Friday at Wrigley Field.

Statistics are courtesy of MLB.com.

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The Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox are in fairly urgent situations. Both lost their American League Division Series openers and know that dropping a second straight game would not be good for their postseason aspirations.

The Rangers will try to even their series with the Toronto Blue Jays by sending Yu Darvish to the mound Friday afternoon (1:08 p.m. ET, TBS) against 20-game winner J.A. Happ.

Game 1 of the series was disastrous for the home team. The Blue Jays scored five runs in the top of the third inning and then rolled to a 10-1 victory over Texas ace Cole Hamels. The big bats of Jose Bautista (three-run home run) and Troy Tulowitizki (bases-loaded triple) were booming for the Blue Jays, while Texas could do very little with Marco Estrada.

The Toronto starter pitched 8.1 innings before manager John Gibbons pulled him after giving up four hits, striking out six and not walking a batter.

More than anything, the Texas offense will need to come alive. The Rangers were a resounding 53-28 at home this season, as players like Ian Desmond (22 HR, 86 RBI), Carlos Beltran (seven HR since being traded at the deadline by the New York Yankees), Adrian Beltre (32 HR and 104 RBI) and Rougned Odor (.502 slugging percentage, 33 HR) were able to come up with key hits on a regular basis.

Happ will not be easy for the Rangers to solve. He was 20-4 with a 3.18 ERA and a solid 1.169 WHIP, and he also was an impressive 9-2 on the road.

Darvish was 10-7 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.261 WHIP in his 22 starts this year. The 30-year-old Japanese pitcher was 6-2 at home this year, but his ERA jumped to 4.26 at Globe Life Park.

The Red Sox are depending on David Price to even their series with the Indians after Game 1 starter Rick Porcello gave up three home runs in the third inning and Boston dropped a 5-4 decision.

Price comes into Game 2 of the series (4:38 p.m ET, TBS) with a 2-7 lifetime postseason record, which almost certainly means that there will be some uneasiness in the Red Sox dugout.

Price was somewhat inconsistent throughout the first half of the season but was much better after the All-Star break, going 8-3 with a 3.58 ERA.

Price told Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe that he was unconcerned about his unimpressive postseason record:

I just want to help this team win.That’s the bottom line. That’s the mind-set I want to take out there on the fifth day. And that’s the mind-set I want my teammates to have. I want to be dominant. I want to have that really good postseason game and I know that I’m capable of doing that and I’m excited to pitch [Friday].

Price’s opponent will be Cleveland ace Corey Kluber, who was 18-9 with a 3.14 ERA and a sharp 1.056 WHIP.

The only issue for Kluber is that it has been nearly two weeks since he last pitched as a result of a quadriceps strain. Kluber said he is feeling good and told Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe that he is not worried about being rusty.

The Rangers and Red Sox are not in must-win positions just yet, but both teams need to pick it up considerably after coming up with less than their best efforts in the first games of their respective series.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com.

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The National League Division Series field is set after the San Francisco Giants knocked off the New York Mets in the Wild Card Game, setting up the Giants for an NLDS meeting with the Chicago Cubs.

Madison Bumgarner put the Giants on his shoulders once again in the elimination game, twilring a four-hit shutout to improve his already legendary postseason resume.

Now the Giants will have to take on baseball’s best team, as the Cubs wrapped up the regular season at 103-58 with a staggerling plus-252 run differential.

The Cubs took the season series 4-3, taking three of four at home in September after dropping two of three at AT&T Park in May.

This NLDS matchup will begin Friday at Wrigley Field in Chicago, with first pitch of Game 1 scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET.

Before the series gets underway, let’s take a position-by-position look at how the two teams match up and make a quick prediction for who will come out on top.

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