MLB analysts Nolan Peterson and Chandler Yu lay out and predict results of the League Championship Series.
Nolan Peterson & Chandler Yu | Staff Reporters
Hover over the blue dots to hear our predictions for the MLB League Championship Series.
ALCS: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Kansas City Royals
After both American League Division Series went the distance, the favorites emerged. The Toronto Blue Jays will head to Kansas City on October 16 after both teams narrowly survived major upsets from the Lone Star state ballclubs.
The Toronto Blue Jays dropped the first two to an underrated Texas Rangers team, but managed to get it together and scrape out a final three victories thanks to a plethora of home runs. The Blue Jays hit eight home runs as a team over a five-game span, with Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista combining for half of that total. Before the series, it was known that the Blue Jays could hit. What wasn’t expected was how terrific the pitching has been. Unsung hero Marco Estrada has pitched phenomenally well, earning his start for Game 1 of the ALCS due largely in part to 6 ⅓ innings of one run ball in his only start. Also surprising is how effective the bullpen managed to be. When Brett Cecil went down with a torn calf muscle, many were wary of how well 20-year-old Roberto Osuna would manage to close out games with such little experience. He silenced the crowd by throwing 1 ⅔ of an inning to shut the door against the Rangers in Game 5.
The Kansas City Royals, on the other hand, didn’t look too impressive against a Houston Astros team that barely made the playoffs as the second wild card team. The Royals were very close to elimination in Game 4 until they scored five runs with six potential outs left in their season to stay alive. What’s more alarming is how much the Royals starting pitching struggled during the series. ALDS Game 1 starter Yordano Ventura only threw a combined eight innings in two starts, giving up six earned runs and two long balls. Johnny Cueto was very impressive in Game 5 of the ALDS, throwing eight innings and only giving two runs after one simple mistake pitch to Luis Valbuena. The only problem is Johnny Cueto can’t start every game for the pitching-less Royals, and Kansas City doesn’t have an answer besides Cueto for an unbelievably powerful Toronto lineup.
Prediction: Toronto wins the series 4-2
NLDS: Chicago Cubs vs. New York Mets
For a second straight year, the National League wild card winner advances to the league championship. The Chicago Cubs took out the 100-win St. Louis Cardinals in a decisive four games thanks to the Cubs up and coming superstars. Rookies such as Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Jorge Soler, and Javier Baez have led an offensive charge, with the team totalling twelve home runs through the Wild Card game and the division series. These aren’t home runs that barely clear the fence either–Kyle Schwarber hit a ball so far at Wrigley Field that it stayed up atop the scoreboard. However, the man the Mets should be scared of is Jake Arrieta, as it’s almost a guaranteed victory for the Cubbies every time he starts. The last time Arrieta lost, Cole Hamels no-hit the Cubs/ Arrieta has thrown 14 ⅔ innings so far this postseason and has only allowed four home runs and a 2.45 ERA. Cubs fans are hoping 2015 is the year their team snaps their 108-year dry spell.
Not so fast, say the New York Mets. It came down to the wire, but the Mets were able to take out an evenly-matched Los Angeles Dodgers team in the final inning of Game 5. The biggest question all season for the Mets was if they had enough offensive to make a deep postseason. For a while, Yoenis Cespedes was the savior that led a struggling New York offense that so desperately needed to put runs up on the board for their lights out starting pitching. That’s where second basemen Daniel Murphy comes in to be the hero. Murphy hit two home runs off MLB’s best pitcher Clayton Kershaw in his two spots, and hit the go-ahead solo homer in the decisive 3-2 win to send the Mets back to the NLCS. Murphy has been hitting the ball so hard, one of his home run balls against Kershaw had his name imprinted on the ball from the bat. This series will be a slugfest matched with lights out pitching. Who ever shows the first sign of weakness from a defensive standpoint stands no chance against remarkable offenses.
Prediction: This series will go the distance, but Chicago heads to the Fall Classic after a 4-3 series win.
