LOS ANGELES, CA — Attempting to make predictions for the playoffs in baseball is like telling everyone that your Aunt Stella, with the crooked fingers, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch in the World Series, and it will be a perfect strike! You can use logical information, or, like a fortune-teller, make a wild projection.
So let the ‘Crystal Ball’ be rubbed.
I will only look at the four best-of-three Wild Card Series today and will start with the least likely teams out of the way first. The Reds snuck in because the Mets had one of the most embarrassing collapses in years. Now, can Cincinnati beat the powerful Dodgers in LA? They are 1-5 against them this season, and unless the unpredictable Dodger bullpen implodes again, the Reds will have an early exit from the playoffs.
Game 1 scheduled for Tuesday night in LA will mark Elly De La Cruz’s MLB postseason debut – Image Credit: Bill Menzel and Francisco Rodriguez/Latino Sports
Next are the Cubs and the Padres at Wrigley. These teams played six games way back in April and stand at 3-3 for the season. They have both been at the top of their respective divisions all year and, obviously, have made changes to their rosters over the long season due to injuries, disappointments, and surprises from what they’ve gotten out of their rosters. Chicago has a starting lineup who have hit 166 home runs this year, while the Padres sit at 109 for their top six in the order.
This will come down to starting pitching, and the Cubs have the better rotation. Cubs in three.
Can the Padres pull off a run similar to their 2022 postseason where San Diego reached the NLCS? – Image Credit: Bill Menzel and Emma Sharon/Latino Sports
The Cleveland vs. Detroit series is easy to forecast. The Guardians are the hottest team in baseball right now, and they don’t look like they are cooling off. The Tigers are in a downward spiral with the earth coming up fast.
Have a nice offseason, fellas.
The Tigers and Guardians, AL Central division rivals, are set to clash in the AL Wild Card beginning Tuesday night in Cleveland – Image Credit: Larry C. Arreguin and Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
I saved the best for last. Yankees hosting the Red Sox in the Bronx. MLB couldn’t have asked for a better anchor to the Wild Card Series. The Red Sox are 5-2 at Yankee Stadium this year and have a 9-4 record overall against their hated rival. That being said, it still is one of the best rivalries ever in baseball. When players put on those uniforms, something magical happens that transforms even lesser players into All-Stars for a few games. Don’t let a Yankee record of 2-5 in their own ballpark fool you.
The 94-68 Yankees closed the regular season with an eight-game winning streak, while the Sox were 5-3 in their last eight games.
In one of, if not, the biggest rivalries in all of sports, the Red Sox and Yankees will meet in a best of three AL Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium starting this Tuesday night – Image Credit: Amber Douglas Rodriguez and Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The top-10 in the Yankee lineup have an incredible 257 home runs this year, to Boston’s 146 for their top-10 hitters. I believe New York will take advantage of that with the short right field porch to the delight of the right field ‘Bleacher Creatures.’ But hold on a second, my friends, the Sox starting pitchers will have a say in all of that Yankee power.
The Yankees, lined up with Max Fried (19-5, 2.86 ERA) and Carlos Rodón (18-9, 3.09 ERA) in Games 1 and 2, respectively, will see Garrett Crochet, (18-5, 2.59 ERA) and Brayan Bello, of Samana, Dominican Republic (11-9, 3.35 ERA). That will test the Yankees, but I give New York a slight edge with home field advantage, feeling it will be a whole three-game series.
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Julio
September 30, 2025 at 2:08 pm
Excellent breakdown from a veteran that knows baseball.