MLB postseason: Which ALDS/NLDS matchup is most intriguing?
After our first taste of the (possible) 2020-only Wild Card round, the MLB postseason has reached the traditional best-of-five Division Series. The ALDS and NLDS will look different than years past, being played in California and Texas as part of MLB's bubble. But one sense of familiarity is the four matchups at hand.Each Division Series pits division rivals against one another. In the NL, the Braves and Marlins dispatched the NL Central's Reds and Cubs, respectively, to advance to their series at the Astros' Minute Maid Park. Similarly, the Dodgers (Brewers) and Padres (Cardinals) beat NL Central clubs to set up an NL West duel at the Rangers' Globe Life Field.In the AL, the Rays took down the Blue Jays and the Yankees beat the Indians, giving us a five-game series at Petco Park between the AL East elite. The A's beat the White Sox in Round 1, setting up a juicy best-of-five at Dodger Stadium against the villainous Astros, who knocked out the Twins.Four series featuring rivals squaring off is sure to be a treat. But which series is the most intriguing? Glad you asked.
Placing this series fourth speaks less to its own intrigue and more to the strength of the other three Division Series matchups. But make no mistake — Marlins-Braves is worth your attention.
On one end, you have Atlanta, winners of three straight NL East crowns. They scored 348 runs in the regular season (second in the NL), which includes a 29-9 win over Miami on Sept. 9. They have NL MVP favorite Freddie Freeman and another candidate in Marcell Ozuna.
On the other end, you have a Miami club that has been doubted ever since returning from its COVID-19 outbreak. The Marlins turned the “bottom-feeders” description — bestowed upon them on the Phillies’ postgame show — into their rallying cry. They have young power rotation arms in Sandy Alcántara and Sixto Sánchez.
The Braves (whose starting rotation struggled in the regular season) and Marlins allowed a combined one run in the Wild Card round. If that trend continues (granted, the Reds and Cubs were struggling at the plate), we could have a tight five-game series. (Atlanta won the regular season set 6-4).
Oh, and the Marlins are now 7-0 all-time in postseason series.
If this were mid-September, a Padres-Dodgers NLDS matchup would have a case for most intriguing. But things have changed in recent weeks to knock it down a peg.
For starters — pun intended — the Padres likely will be without ace Dinelson Lamet (biceps tightness) this week. He and Mike Clevinger (elbow strain) missed the Wild Card round, though Clevinger could be ready for the NLDS. But will he be able to start, having pitched one inning since Sept. 23?
If he can’t, the Padres bullpen proved more than capable of carrying a load in the Wild Card round. San Diego’s relievers threw 21 innings, allowing just four earned runs on 13 hits. No other team’s bullpen threw more than 15 innings — the Dodgers threw six shutout frames.
That aside, the Dodgers and Padres each have deep lineups, highlighted by MVP candidates Mookie Betts, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. The Dodgers won the season series 6-4, perhaps a preview of this series needing all five games to determine a winner.
The Dodgers are hoping to win their first World Series since 1988. Standing in their way are their up-and-coming rivals, making their first postseason appearance since 2006. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Remember when the Yankees were preseason World Series favorites? Well, they didn’t even win the AL East, usurped by the efficient, small-market Rays.
New York dealt with injury trouble all season, to be sure, but Tampa dominated their regular season series 8-2. One of the Yankees’ two wins wasn’t without controversy. On Sept. 1, closer Aroldis Chapman earned his first save of the season, but intentionally threw around the head of Rays first baseman Mike Brosseau during the outing.
Both dugouts cleared after the final out, and Chapman, plus managers Aaron Boone and Kevin Cash, were suspended.
The Yankees lineup is at full strength, which they demonstrated by tearing apart Cleveland’s AL-best pitching staff in the Wild Card round. The Rays finished third in team ERA in the regular season, right behind Cleveland.
Something has to give during this series.
If you want two teams who absolutely dislike one another, the Astros-A’s series is for you. Let’s start in July. A’s pitcher Sean Manaea, acknowledging that Houston is a good team, said “I really don’t have that much respect for any of those guys,” in wake of the Astros’ cheating scandal.
Speaking of that scandal, former Astro and current A’s pitcher Mike Fiers was the whistleblower of the scheme last offseason, bringing the whole thing to the surface.
Flash forward to the regular season, when these two clubs had a bench-clearing incident. A’s outfielder Ramón Laureano charged Houston’s dugout, alleging Astros bench coach Alex Cintrón said something bad about his mother.
The A’s, by the way, went 7-3 against Houston in the regular season, snapping the Astros’ streak of three straight division titles. To top it all off, check out what Astros manager Dusty Baker said entering the series.
“They said they wanted us anyway, so you just have to be careful what you ask for,” Baker said Saturday.
Oh my.
