New York: From pitching powerhouses in Los Angeles and New York to booming bats in Toronto, from upstarts in Chicago and Houston to ageing warhorses in the Bronx, an eclectic cast of clubs gear up for MLB’s play-off extravaganza.
Leading 10 teams into the October spotlight are top seeds St Louis Cardinals (100-62) and Kansas City Royals (95-67), Midwest neighbours on the east and west edges of Missouri, who bring well balanced teams to their pursuit of the World Series.
Headliners poised to perform include the NL West champions Dodgers’ one-two pitching punch of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, and big-hitting Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion of AL East champions Toronto, who are in the play-offs for the first time since winning a second consecutive World Series title in 1993.
The play-offs also offer long-suffering fans of the Chicago Cubs the hope of ending a 107-year wait for a World Series title.
Launching the post-season 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.
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 post-season 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.
St Louis play the winners 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 offence invigorated by the addition of slugger Yoenis Cespedes.
Kansas City will meet the AL wild card winners.
