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Leading 10 teams into the October spotlight are top seeds St. Louis
Cardinals (100-62) and Kansas City Royals (95-67), Midwest neighbors
on the east and west edges of Missouri, who bring well balanced
teams to their pursuit of the World Series.
Headliners poised to perform the include NL West champion Dodgers'
one-two pitching punch of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and
big-hitting Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion of
an AL East champion Toronto team in the playoffs for the first time
since winning a second consecutive World Series title in 1993.
The playoffs also offer long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs the
hope of ending a 107-year wait for a World Series title.
Launching the postseason are Wild Card showdowns between the
American League New York Yankees and Houston Astros, and the
National League's Pittsburgh Pirates and Cubs in do-or-die games to
reach a best-of-five Division Series.
Last year's Wild Card winners, the Giants and Royals, gave hope to
the longshots by winning their Division Series and best-of-seven
League Championship Series to reach the Fall Classic.
The curtain goes up in New York on Tuesday when the Yankees host the
Astros, sending Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51 ERA) to the mound
against Cy Young candidate Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48), pitching on
three days' rest.
Houston (86-76), in the postseason for the first time in a decade,
blend power and speed in a lineup with emerging young players such
as shortstop Carlos Correa, second baseman Jose Altuve and
outfielder George Springer.
New York (87-75), winners of 27 World Series, counter with a veteran
roster including 40-year-old slugger Alex Rodriguez. They must deal
with the shock of Monday's news that pitcher CC Sabathia had checked
himself into alcohol rehabilitation.
A high-powered Wild Card battle on Wednesday pits Pittsburgh against
Chicago, rivals from the ultra-competitive NL Central Division who
hold the second and third-best records in the majors behind
division-winning St. Louis.
The Pirates (98-64) are appearing in their third successive
postseason after a 21-year absence and going against a visiting Cubs
team (97-65) that last won the MLB crown in 1908.
A dazzling pitchers' duel could be coming. The Pirates will start
Gerrit Cole (19-8, 2.60 ERA), whose stellar numbers pale in
comparison to Chicago's Jake Arrieta.
Arrieta was 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA and red-hot in the second half of
the season. Since the All-Star break he has posted a 0.75 ERA - the
lowest ever registered after the break.
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St. Louis plays the winner of the Cubs-Pirates tilt.
The consistent Cardinals, winners of 11 Fall Classics, have reached
the World Series in two of the last four years and made it to the
League Championship Series the other two seasons.
Relying on strong pitching depth and standout closer Trevor
Rosenthal, the Cards led the majors with a team ERA of 2.94.
The Mets travel to Los Angeles to open their Division Series on
Friday.
New York counter the Dodgers' top pitchers with a vaunted group of
young starters in Jacob deGrom, rookie Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey
and Steven Matz, and an offense invigorated by the addition of
slugger Yoenis Cespedes.
Kansas City will meet the AL Wild Card winner.
The Royals, who used a shutdown bullpen to thrive last year, are
without injured closer Greg Holland, though Wade Davis has filled in
admirably. The development of power-hitting Mike Moustakas and
addition of Ben Zobrist have lifted their offense.
The other AL Division Series has the Blue Jays going against NL West
champions Texas.
Toronto surged after trade deadline deals brought them ace lefty
David Price and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, now coming back from a
late-season injury.
The hard-hitting Blue Jays scored an MLB-leading 891 runs, 127 more
than next-best Yankees.
The Rangers also picked up steam after adding starter Cole Hamels as
they seek a return to postseason success that led to trips to the
World Series in 2010 and 2011.
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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