WILD CARD WEEKEND

Evan Davis

The calendar has turned to October, and with that, the MLB postseason is ready to take place. All the spots have been taken, and Friday night will kick off what will be an incredible postseason.

Mariners vs Blue Jays: (Blue Jays in 3)

The Toronto Blue Jays have secured home field advantage in the Wild Card series and are slated to go up against the Seattle Mariners. The Seattle Mariners are in the playoffs for the first time since 2002, and I believe they have the talent to push this series to the distance. They have a rotation of Logan Gilbert, Robbie Ray, George Kirby and Luis Castillo to throw at the Blue Jays.

Along with consensus AL Rookie of the Year in Julio Rodriquez, the Seattle Mariners have the talent on the offensive side of the ball as well. On the flip side, the Blue Jays will counter with Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Ross Stripling and Jose Berrios. They too have a very talented roster, with Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leading the way. This will be a tight series, but the Blue Jays will ultimately prevail.

Tampa Bay Rays vs Cleveland Guardians (Rays in 2)

I feel really bad for the Cleveland Guardians, because they probably would have a better chance at moving on if they were a wild card team. The Tampa Bay Rays are one of the few teams I would not want to go up against when it’s playoff time. Kevin Cash has Shane McClanahan and Tyler Glasnow at his disposal for the two games and that gives me more than enough confidence the Rays can bulldoze their way through Cleveland.

The Guardians are the youngest team to clinch a division title, but I believe the magical season will come to an end very shortly. With them being so young, the Guardians don’t have a ton of veteran leadership and experience in the playoffs, so I give the edge to the Rays to dominate this series.

Philadelphia Phillies vs St. Louis Cardinals (Cardinals in 2)

The Phillies ended a drought of their own, as it is the first time they are in the playoffs since 2011. All that is great, but I don’t think they have the necessities to take down one of the best teams in baseball during the second half of the season. With two NL MVP caliber players in Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, as well as a defensive juggernaut of a team, the Phillies stand no chance.

They have been pretty underwhelming this entire year, and well, the defense stinks in Philly, which is due in large part to the fact that Bryce Harper has had to DH since returning from injury. I love Adam Wainwright at home in the playoffs as well as Jordan Montgomery, who has been a tremendous pickup for this ball club. I see the Cardinals booking a date with the Braves in the NLDS.

San Diego Padres vs New York Mets (Mets in 2)

Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer are pitching these two games at home…enough said. The Padres do have two elite pitchers of their own that they could throw out in Blake Snell and Yu Darvish, but those brothers ain’t Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer talent.

I do think the two games will be relatively close, but with Timmy Trumpet in the back end of this bullpen as well, I don’t see a way in which the Padres can really sneak a win by the New York Mets, especially with all three potential games being on the road.