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Friday night at Nationals Park, we’ll see something we haven’t seen in more than 30 years: playoff baseball between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals. 

Of course, the last time these two teams met in the postseason, in the 1981 National League Championship Series, the Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos.

Nationals manager Dusty Baker was a 32-year-old star for the Dodgers that season, while Dodgers manager Dave Roberts was nine years old. Most of the players about to partake in the National League Division Series between the two clubs had yet to be born.

It’s been a long time.

How do these two clubs stack up? Which team will be the last one standing when the NLDS comes to an end? Let’s take a look.

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Thursday’s Game 1s in the American League, which featured some of the most potent offenses in all of MLB, didn’t lack the firepower we’ve come to expect from the the teams that have been doing it all year. The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Indians grabbed 1-0 series leads over the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox, respectively, with frightening combinations of quality pitching and overwhelming power at the plate. 

The series between Toronto and Texas is a rematch of the 2015 American League Division Series. A year ago, the Blue Jays dropped the first two games in the best-of-five series at home before heading to Texas. Toronto won both games on the road to force a decisive Game 5, which it would win at home.

The 2016 division series began differently for Toronto, which secured its date with the Rangers by sinking the Baltimore Orioles at home on Tuesday following a walk-off, three-run home run in the 11th inning from Edwin Encarnacion. 

Despite embarrassing the Rangers at their home park on Thursday by a score of 10-1, the Blue Jays know all too well that there is an arduous road ahead that leads to the American League Championship Series and continues at 1 p.m. ET on Friday. 

Neither the Red Sox nor the Indians were participants in the 2015 postseason—Cleveland won 81 games a year ago, while Boston claimed just 78 victories. Each team’s story was substantially different in 2016, with both teams winning more than 90 games. 

Cleveland edged out Boston by one game over the course of 162, and the Tribe took Thursday’s Game 1 at home 5-4. The two teams combined to jolt six solo home runs, but it was Jason Kipnis’ RBI single in the fifth inning that made the difference.

After one game, it wouldn’t be surprising to see this series go the full five games. However, Cleveland and Boston cannot look past Game 2 on Friday at 4:30 p.m ET. 

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Given the quality of starting pitching in the National League this season, both National League Division Series openers, which will see three of the four teams’ aces on the mound, should be high on excitement.

Don’t expect high-scoring affairs. But do expect every ground ball, relay throw and double play to matter.

Such is the case in playoff baseball, where everything is scrutinized. But while every stat will be dissected heading into these games, can you guess what’s most important to each team’s success?

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With the Wild Card Games now complete, the 2016 American League Division Series is set to begin Thursday, with the league’s final four teams vying for the AL pennant.

Each contest will have its own spotlight, as the Game 1 slate features an afternoon showdown followed by a nightcap. Regardless, Thursday should yield some spectacular baseball, as both sets of teams appear evenly matched.

Take a look at Thursday’s start times below, as well as the television and live-streaming schedules. The full 2016 MLB playoff schedule is available at MLB.com.

The most newsworthy AL series is between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. These two teams do not like each other after a hostile series last postseason, and the bad blood carried over into this past regular season with a brawl in May.

Both teams are downplaying the rocky relationship ahead of the series, but it remains to be seen if cool heads will prevail when the intensity ramps up at game time. Texas’ Rougned Odor, a key figure in the feud, said Wednesday that his team is just focused on the game, per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi: “That’s over already; we’re just trying to win this series and win how we play.”

Toronto’s Jose Bautista echoed this sentiment, per Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith:

In Game 1, Cole Hamels will get the start for the Rangers against Marco Estrada in a matchup that appears slightly uneven on the surface. Hamels turned in a stout season with a 15-5 record and a 3.32 ERA. On the other hand, Estrada struggled in the win department in 2016 with a 9-9 mark, but he did sport a solid 3.48 ERA.

Pitching in the National League for the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, Hamels does not have a ton of history against Toronto’s lineup, as he has yet to face Josh Donaldson in the majors. Furthermore, key Blue Jays such as Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Troy Tulowitzki have fared well against Hamels in their careers, per ESPN.com:

On the other side, Estrada has a relatively favorable history against some of Texas’ top hitters:

Hamels has more playoff experience with 15 career starts for a 7-5 record and 3.03 ERA, but Estrada has been good under the bright lights, too. He is 2-1 with a 3.20 ERA in seven appearances. Regardless, Game 1 will be crucial, as each team will want to earn an early lead in a five-game series, and the numbers indicate that it could go in either squad’s favor.

In the other ALDS showdown, it figures to be an offensive battle between two teams with potent lineups.

The Boston Red Sox led the majors by a sizable margin in scoring with 878 runs and team batting average at .282. The Red Sox boast a slew of dangerous bats, including three studs in the middle of the lineup, as noted by MLB.com:  

Meanwhile the Cleveland Indians finished fifth with 777 runs and sixth with a .262 average. The Indians feature a deep order that may not overwhelm with power, but they possess four guys (Francisco Lindor, Jason Kipnis, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana) who finished the regular season with an on-base percentage over .340.

Cleveland does have a slight pitching advantage, though, as the Indians sport a 3.84 team ERA compared to Boston’s 4.00 mark. The Indians also have a stellar bullpen led by Cody Allen, Andrew Miller and Danny Otero.

Rick Porcello will take the hill for Boston after posting a 22-win regular season, but he has not been as good in the postseason during his career. Porcello has a 4.41 ERA in only 16.1 innings pitched but is taking on Cleveland hurler Trevor Bauer, who has never started a playoff game. 

With that in mind, Thursday’s uncertain pitching factors could lead to a high-scoring affair in Game 1.

Statistics are courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise noted.

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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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Following the AL and NL Wild Card wins by the Toronto Blue Jays and San Francisco Giants, respectively, the MLB playoff bracket is officially set, and both the ALDS and NLDS are about to kick off and begin the road to the World Series.

There are intriguing matchups galore on both sides of the bracket, such as the continuation of the rivalry between the Blue Jays and Texas Rangers, as well as Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona facing his former team in the Boston Red Sox. Also, the favored Chicago Cubs will look to hold off a Giants team that is seemingly unbeatable in October.

The 2016 MLB playoffs have already been filled with drama, and they have all the makings of a classic postseason. Before the start of the ALDS and NLDS, here is a look at the full bracket and predictions for how each series will play out.

MLB Playoff Bracket (via MLB Network)

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

There is no shortage of history and bad blood between the Blue Jays and Rangers, dating back to last year’s ALDS when Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista’s bat flip after a key home run in Game 5 led to a war of words and dust-up between the two teams.

That carried over to the 2016 regular season when Bautista and Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor fought after Bautista slid hard into the bag, as seen in this photo courtesy of SportsCenter:

Despite the obvious issues between the teams, Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre insisted the Blue Jays don’t get under Texas’ skin and that the main focus is to simply beat Toronto and advance to the ALCS, according to Scott MacArthur of TSN:

They don’t frustrate us. I don’t care how other people or teams act. Our job is to find a way to beat them. That’s the bottom line. They’re a really good team, there’s no doubt about that but I don’t think we care about how they act and the swagger they have.

I think sometimes we go back to it because you guys ask and you guys make a big deal out of it. These guys over here, obviously we know what happened. There’s no denying that. There was an altercation. It’s in the past and our job is to make sure all those guys in the clubhouse are thinking about finding a way to beat those guys.

While the Rangers came close to knocking off the Blue Jays last season, they may be even better equipped to do so this year.

Toronto boasts a remarkable lineup headlined by Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson, but Texas has as good of a one-two pitching punch as anyone in the playoffs with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish.

Darvish wasn’t available for the Rangers last postseason, but he could be the X-factor this time around, especially since he may pitch two games should it go the distance.

Great pitching tends to beat great hitting in the playoffs, which is why the Rangers have the advantage and will reach the ALCS.

Red Sox vs. Indians

The Indians once appeared built to make a run to the World Series, but due to key injuries in their starting rotation, they enter their series with the Red Sox as underdogs.

Neither Carlos Carrasco nor Danny Salazar are available due to injury, which shifts the pressure toward Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber to carry the team on their backs from a pitching perspective.

Bauer will be the Game 1 starter, and Francona believes the former reliever is very much up to the task, according to MLB.com’s Jason Beck:

Kluber is the undisputed ace of our staff. Everybody knows what he’s been through, and it’s easier for him to pitch in Game 2. I don’t think anybody has any trepidation about letting Trevor pitch in Game 1. I think he’s been waiting for this his whole life. And we also think he can bounce back and pitch on short rest and do just fine.

Bauer struggled after the All-Star break and had an ERA of 6.39 in September and October. He has also been dominated by the Red Sox over the course of his career, going 0-2 with a 12.91 ERA in two starts and three appearances overall.

Unless Cleveland manages to sweep the Red Sox, it will most likely need Bauer to pitch twice, which doesn’t seem to be a recipe for success against Boston’s dominant lineup.

The Red Sox wear out pitchers with the likes of David Ortiz, Mookie Betts, Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts, and their merciless approach at the plate will take them one step closer to the World Series.

Giants vs. Cubs

The Giants and Cubs will essentially be a clash of opposites, as San Francisco has won three World Series since 2010, while Chicago hasn’t done so since 1908.

Although the Cubbies were Major League Baseball’s best team during the regular season and enter the playoffs as the prohibitive favorites to win it all, there is reason for concern regarding the Giants’ recent history of playoff success.

As pointed out by Jim Rome of CBS Sports Radio, San Francisco has a penchant for coming through on the biggest stage:

Even so, the Cubs may have an advantage due to the fact that the Giants had to use ace Madison Bumgarner in the NL Wild Card Game. That means he won’t be available for Game 1 of the NLDS.

The Cubs have great pitching in their own right with a rotation that features Jake Arrieta, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. That type of depth is hard to come by, and it ensures that Chicago will have a legitimate chance to win every game.

In addition to that, Cubs pitching handled Giants hitting without much of an issue during the regular season, per MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat:

The Cubs also have a clear advantage in terms of their lineup, as big hitters such as Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell come at opposing pitchers in waves.

Chicago is the definition of a complete team, and even though the Giants have postseason magic on their side, it won’t be enough to overcome the Cubs’ top-to-bottom excellence.

Dodgers vs. Nationals

The NLDS between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals is perhaps the most overlooked series of the playoffs, but everything is in place to make a highly competitive affair that could go the distance.

With Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer set to clash in Game 1, pitching will undoubtedly be the talk of the series. As pointed out by Eric Stephen of True Blue LA, no two pitching staffs dominated opposing hitters more than L.A. and Washington during the regular season:

Both teams are fairly evenly matched in the pitching department, but the depth of the Nats lineup is what could set them apart and decide the series.

The loss of catcher Wilson Ramos due to injury hurts, but Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner are a tough run of hitters to handle, even for a rotation as solid as what the Dodgers boast.

Murphy essentially put the Mets offense on his back last postseason and carried them to the World Series, and while a repeat performance isn’t likely, look for his heroics to be the biggest difference in a Washington win.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Manager Terry Collins didn’t hesitate to use his All-Star closer like his counterpart Buck Showalter did, but the results for New York Mets were the same as they were for the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card Game—an abrupt end to a promising season.

That the Mets even reached the playoffs, considering the significant injuries the team suffered over the course of the year, should be celebrated. But after being shut out by San Francisco in the National League‘s play-in game, a long offseason awaits the club.

Collins will most assuredly be back in the dugout next season. How the roster he’ll be managing will look, however, is anyone’s guess.

What follows is an overview of some of the decisions that the team will have to make—and some of the players they may look to—in order to bolster the roster for a return trip to the postseason, and perhaps the Fall Classic, in 2017.

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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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The waiting is just about over for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers. The Toronto Blue Jays just want to pick it up from where they left off Tuesday night.

The Blue Jays won their Wild Card Game against the Baltimore Orioles when Edwin Encarnacion launched an Ubaldo Jimenez pitch into the second deck in left field with two runners on in the bottom of the 11th inning at the Rogers Centre, giving the Blue Jays a 5-2 walk-off victory.

Toronto at Texas

The Blue Jays go to Texas Thursday night, where the Rangers will send Cole Hamels to the mound to face Marco Estrada.

These two teams met in last year’s ALDS, and Toronto had the home-field advantage and won the series in five games.

This year, the Rangers have the home-field edge, and they will get to play the fifth game in the best-of-five series in Texas if the series goes that far. The two teams engaged in a memorable confrontation in May when the Rangers’ Rougned Odor punched Toronto’s Jose Bautista.

The Blue Jays would love to get the jump in the series and win Game 1 on the road. For that to happen, they may need to get to Hamels early. The left-handed Hamels had a 15-5 record for the Rangers this year with a 3.32 earned run average.

His WHIP was a vulnerable 1.306, but he struck out 200 batters in 200.2 innings. They need to get to Hamels early because he is their No. 1 pitcher, and his momentum will build the longer he holds the free-swinging Blue Jays in check. However, Hamels was more effective on the road this season, where he recorded a 10-3 record and opposing batters hit .216 off him. 

Hamels was 5-2 at home, and batters were much more successful, hitting .274 off of him.

The Rangers were comfortable playing at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. They were 53-28 at home this year, and they were at their best in close games. Texas had a remarkable 36-11 in one-run games, and that was by far the best record in the majors.

Obviously, manager Jeff Banister would love to see his Rangers get off to a big lead in Game 1 and roll to an easy win, but the Rangers are comfortable in close games. 

Estrada went 9-9 during the regular season with a 3.48 ERA, and he finished even stronger, with only two runs allowed over his final 19 innings pitched, with 19 strikeouts across those three games.

Toronto Key: Get to Hamels early and make the Rangers fight from behind.

Texas Key: Keep the game close and depend on the home-field edge and the ability to win close games.

Boston at Cleveland

Boston won 11 games in a row in September, and that winning streak allowed the Red Sox to gain control of what had been a tight American League East race. They were able to clinch the title with several days to spare.

The Indians have been in control of the American League Central for most of the season. They depended on strong pitching and the clutch hitting of Mike Napoli (34 HR and 101 RBI) and Carlos Santana (34 HR and 87 RBI) to gain control and put away the Detroit Tigers and the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals.

While the Indians had sensational starting pitching at one point this season, they are at a disadvantage as the players get underway. While they have Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer in their rotation, Carlos Carrasco (fractured bone in hand) and Danny Salazar (forearm) are both injured and will not be available for manager Terry Francona. 

As a result, Bauer will get the ball in Game 1 for the Indians. He had a respectable 12-8 record, but his 4.26 ERA and 1.311 WHIP means he may be in over his head against a slugging team like the Red Sox.

Boston manager John Farrell will counter with Rick Porcello, who is a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate after going 22-4 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.009 WHIP.

Porcello did a remarkable job on the road for the Red Sox, going 9-3 and holding batters to a .219 average.

Bauer would seem to have a difficult job in holding a Red Sox lineup that includes Dustin Pedroia (.318 batting average, 201 hits), Mookie Betts (31 HR, 113 RBI, 26 stolen bases), David Ortiz (38, 127 RBI) and Hanley Ramirez (30 HR, 111 RBI) in check.

Boston key: Make Bauer work hard by getting deep in the count and lashing the ball all over Progressive Field.

Cleveland key: Don’t get frustrated if Boston gets off to a lead. Keep attacking Porcello and don’t try to pull every pitch. Get clutch hits from Napoli and Santana. 

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The Boston Red Sox were remarkable in the month of September and took control of what had been a tight American League East when they won 11 games in a row.

That streak enabled them to get the best of the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles, and while they lost five of their final six games, they still won the division comfortably.

The Red Sox open the American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians on the road, but they appear to have an edge over their hosts because of the powerful lineup that manager John Farrell has to unload.

The Red Sox scored an MLB-high 878 runs, and they have a powerful lineup that features Dustin Pedroia (201 hits; .318 batting average), David Ortiz (38 home runs), Mookie Betts (214 hits; 113 RBI) and Hanley Ramirez (30 HR; 111 RBI).

The Indians feature the slugging of former Red Sox Mike Napoli (34 home runs) and Carlos Santana (34 home runs), but it will be difficult for manager Terry Francona’s team to match Boston’s production.

Rick Porcello will start for the Red Sox, and the 22-game winner has an edge over 12-game winner Trevor Bauer. The Cleveland starter had a 4.26 earned run average, and he was hit hard by the Red Sox during the regular season—10 hits and six earned runs in six innings.

Prediction: The Red Sox are battle-tested and have won three World Series in the Ortiz era. With Big Papi retiring, the Red Sox should play their best baseball in October. It should be good enough to overcome Cleveland in Game 1 of the ALDS.

Toronto Blue Jays at Texas Rangers

With one swing of Edwin Encarnacion’s powerful bat in the bottom of the 11th inning, the Toronto Blue Jays wiped out the Baltimore Orioles Tuesday night and advanced to the ALDS against the American League West champion Texas Rangers.

These two teams have a colorful recent history. The Blue Jays eliminated the Rangers in last year’s ALDS in five games. Earlier this season, the Rangers’ Rougned Odor landed a right-hand punch to the jaw of Jose Bautista. That May brawl is a leading storyline of the series, as CBS Sports MLB noted:

Bautista had memorably flipped his bat after hammering the series-winning home run in the seventh inning of the final game of the 2015 ALDS.

There should be several gallons of bad blood along with two excellent teams competing in this series.

With Cole Hamels on the mound for the Rangers, the Blue Jays are going to have a difficult time trying to scratch out a win on the road. Hamels was 15-5 this year, and the Rangers were 53-28 at home with a remarkable 36-11 record in one-run games.

While Toronto manager John Gibbons has not named his starter as of Wednesday night, 20-game winner J.A. Happ is likely to get the call.

Prediction: The Blue Jays will make this an excellent series, but the Rangers are strong at home, and they will take Game 1 by jumping out to an early lead and building on it.

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