Wyatt Cushman, Staff Writer |
The MLB postseason is a wonderful time of the year, and this year has, so far, not disappointed baseball fans. Of the ten teams that started, only four remain. The Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, and Cubs are the four clubs that are still holding onto their dreams of a World Series title. Let’s look at all the potential matchups in the upcoming World Series.
Yankees vs. Cubs
This matchup would be an all-time classic, just because of the history of these two franchises. The Yankees have the most championships of all-time in professional sports, and the Cubs, before last season, owned the longest championship drought of any current team in baseball. The Cubs would own the edge in experience, as they are the defending champions, but there has just been something magical about the Yankees team this season. This matchup would be great for the MLB and their ratings, and baseball fans everywhere would enjoy it (except maybe if you’re a Red Sox or Cardinals fan).
Yankees vs. Dodgers
The Dodgers were the best team in baseball for most of the season, and have carried it over into the postseason. Their number one starter Clayton Kershaw has looked better this October than in the past, and Yasiel Puig has been red hot with his bat thus far. Don’t count out the Yankees though, as they have a few big bats of their own in Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. While both teams haven’t hit incredibly well as of late, they have gotten key hits when they’ve needed them. The biggest key I think would be the bullpens, as is the case for a lot of teams this time of year. The Yankees bullpen is considered among the best in all of baseball, but the Dodgers are undefeated when leading after eight innings this season. Whichever one of these powerhouse pens struggles more will be a deciding factor in this one.
Astros vs. Dodgers
These two ballclubs dominated their divisions this season, and the term “World Series” has been floating around their cities since July. They both had their struggles after the All-Star break, but picked it up late in the season, and leading into this postseason. This one may give us the most offensive firepower of any potential matchup, as each ranked in the top half of the league in runs per game this season. It seems like every person in the Astros lineup has produced in October, and the Dodgers haven’t been too shabby either. If they keep getting hits like Justin Turner’s walk-off home run in Game Two of the NLCS, they’ll be just fine. If you like offense, then this would be the matchup for you.
Astros vs. Cubs
Experience would once again be on the side of the Cubs, but the advantage will go to the Astros in this one. The Cubs starting pitching and bullpen just isn’t the same as it was a season ago, and as mentioned before the Astros lineup is on a different level. The Astros will also have home-field advantage in this series, which could be big as they are undefeated at home so far this postseason. The Cubs have shown they can win on the road though, as they took two road games from Cleveland in the World Series last season. This matchup may not have the New York or Los Angeles markets, but it would still provide us with some great baseball.
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