Cleveland Guardians vs. New York Yankees

Cleveland’s lineup came alive at the right time in the Division Series. They scored early and often in Game 1. Had a back and forth affair with Detroit in Game 4 to avoid elimination. And in Game 5 they had a grand slam that put them ahead for good. That grand slam came from Lane Thomas who was acquired at the deadline during the season. He hit his first home run in Game 1 and has 9 RBI in the Postseason so far. Steven Kwan has been the catalyst as the leadoff hitter batting .524 in five Postseason games. Brayan Rocchio is known more for his defense at shortstop, but his .375 batting average has been instrumental as the number nine hitter in the lineup. David Fry drove in 5 runs and Jose Ramirez has been quiet, but should be primed to breakout as we get further into the ALCS. The Guardians bullpen has been phenomenal and aside from Game 2 when closer Emmanuel Clase gave up the game winning 3-run home run in the 9th inning, his 5 and 6 out saves in Games 4 and 5 respectively showed he is still among the best currently in baseball. Tanner Bibee and Matthew Boyd were stellar in their two starts in the ALDS. Neither got a win, but they combined to strikeout 19 batters and gave up only two earned runs. If the bullpen keeps this pace and the lineup stays balanced, they will be a tough out.

The Yankees made short work of the Kansas City Royals in four games. Aside from a rough outing from Carlos Rodon in Game 2, New York’s rotation was solid. Gerrit Cole went 12 innings in his two starts and struck out 8. If Rodon rebounds that will be the ideal scenario for the Yankees. Clay Holmes pitched in all 4 games and didn’t allow a run while getting a victory in one of the ALDS games. Closer Luke Weaver saved all three victories for New York and struck out 5 while walking none. It wasn’t Juan Soto nor was it Aaron Judge who put the Yankees into the ALCS. It was Giancarlo Stanton who had 6 hits, a home run and 4 RBI in the four ALDS games. Gleyber Torres drove in 3 runs and was tied for the team lead with Judge in walks with 5. The patience of the Yankees lineup was the difference as five players had at least 3 walks in the ALDS. If that continues they will be scoring runs in droves for the ALCS.

Guardians in 6 games

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The power of Grimace, yeah it’s real apparently. The Mets have been on fire since the McDonalds character threw out the first pitch of a game at Citi Field many months ago. Now they are in the NLCS after dispatching their division rivals, the Philadelphia Phillies in four games. Mark Vientos was red hot batting .563, hitting 2 home runs and driving in 5 runs against the Phillies. Francisco Lindor hit a grand slam in Game 3 and batted .278 for the series. Brandon Nimmo and Pete Alonso each drove in 3 runs and had 4 walks. J.D. Martinez and Jesse Winker are in a platoon role at DH, but they are doing exactly what they’ve been tasked to do at the plate. The Mets rotation stymied the Phillies lineup with Sean Manaea pitching a gem going 7 innings and striking out 6 in his start. Jose Quintana went 5 innings and striking out 6 in his start. Kodai Senga returned, but was ineffective in his start. He will need to be better in the NLCS for them. David Peterson is finding his time in the bullpen to be beneficial. He didn’t allow a single run in 5-1/3 innings of work. Closer Edwin Diaz will have to better if the Mets want to advance to a World Series.

The Dodgers didn’t allow a single run for the final two games of the NLDS against the San Diego Padres. The bullpen played above their weight class in shutting down the Padres at the end of that series. Anthony Banda, Daniel Hudson, Michael Kopech, Evan Phillips, Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia didn’t allow a single run and they pitched in at least 3 of the 4 games of the series. The rotation has to be better with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty at the top of it. Yamamoto did have a better showing in Game 5 of the NLDS. Shohei Ohtani was kept quiet after hitting his first Postseason home run in Game 1. Mookie Betts was ice cold until the series turned to San Diego and came alive to finish it. Freddie Freeman playing on one good ankle still batted .286 in 4 games. Teoscar Hernandez hit 2 home runs and drove in 7 runs while batting .333 leading all Dodgers hitters. If the likes of Gavin Lux and Enrique Hernandez continue their production from the NLDS into the NLCS then the Dodgers will be playing for another championship.

Dodgers in 6 games