Southside Showdown Wild Card Series Predictions

The  Southside Showdown team has their predictions for the Wild Card Series.

The Chicago White Sox are going to the playoffs for the first time since 2008! It has been an incredible ride to watch these guys come along this year and get it done. They have been rebuilding for a very long time now and they are now seeing the fruits of their labor in action. Well, they are going to play against the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card Series. The White Sox are the seventh seed and the A’s are the 2nd seed.

It is certainly going to be a lot of fun to watch these two teams duke it out over a three-game series. This is one of many matchups that is going to be a lot of fun to watch. In the rest of the American League, we have the Cleveland Indians playing the New York Yankees, the Minnesota Twins playing the Houston Astros, and the Tampa Bay Rays playing the Toronto Blue Jays.

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to play the Milwaukee Brewers, the San Diego Padres are going to play the St. Louis Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs will play the Miami Marlins, and the Atlanta Braves are going to play the Cincinnati Reds. They are all very good matchups that should be fun to watch.

Half the fun of playoffs in any sport is making picks. The Southside Showdown team has come up with their picks for each of the first-round Wild Card Series. We have divided it up between the two leagues:

Cleveland Indians (4) vs New York Yankees (5)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

The Cleveland Indians are deep on the mound in both their rotation and their bullpen. With a guy like Shane Bieber matching up against Gerrit Cole in the first round, we are in for a treat here. The Yankees should have a better lineup but pitching plays well in the postseason as we’ve seen in many years past. The Indians take this series in three games.

Samiya Green:

I believe the New York Yankees can expose the Cleveland Indians problem with base runners when they go up against a high quality hitting team. The New York Yankees have American League batting title winner DJ LeMahieu and reigning home run king Luke Voit showing no signs of slowing down which could be Shane Bieber’s kryptonite. The Yankees are also getting back much-needed plate production from Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Hicks who can both dismantle the Indians starting rotation.

Mitchell Kaminski:

Garrett Cole and Shane Beiber should be a fantastic pitchers duel in Game 1. Beiber is going to be the Cy Young winner while Cole has also had a great season, posting a 7-3 record with a 2.84 ERA. The Yankees have been a disappointment this season and the Indians have the best pitching staff in baseball. However, the Yankees have good enough pitching to keep the floundering Indians offense in check. The Indians offense ranked 13th in runs scored while the Yankees ranked first. The Yankees also led the league in RBI’s, OBP, and OPS. They are a scary team that hasn’t reached their full potential yet this season.  Prediction: Yankees in 2

Cody Young:

NY in 3. One of the harder series to predict for me but I think NY will edge them out with pitching.

Jon Michael Walters:

Indians defeat the Yankees – the Yanks have a much better lineup, but the Indians are known to surprise people, plus look at what happened in the movie Major League.

Tampa Bay Rays (1) vs Toronto Blue Jays (8)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

The Tampa Bay Rays have been the best team in the American League for the entire season. A couple of teams have made the number one seed interesting but it is no shock that the Ryas claimed it in the end. The Toronto Blue Jays are a great up and coming team that has a bright future but the Rays have it all this year. They are legit World Series contenders. Rays in 2.

Samiya Green:

I think this is the most interesting series we will see in the wildcard because of how both teams measure up. In the hitting category, the Blue Jays are very talented with a young core of consistent hitters such as Cavan Biggio, Teoscar Hernandez, and Bo Bichette. Aside from their production at the plate, the problem is their pitching rotation. Hyun-Jin Ryu and Taijuan Walker are the best pitchers the Blue Jays have. The Tampa Bay Rays have a better-built starting rotation to give them the edge against the Blue Jays. I think Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Pete Fairbanks, and Josh Fleming will shut down the Blue Jays offensively and win the series.

Mitchell Kaminski:

Not many people expected to see the Rays as the number one seed in the American League. They closed the season with nine wins in their past eleven games. They have a deep pitching staff to complement a solid lineup. They rank second in the AL in team ERA. However, the Blue Jays are a sneaky team with lots of young talent and some power in their lineup. I suspect this will be a close series but I’m giving the edge to Tampa because of their pitching. Prediction: Rays in 3

Cody Young:

Tampa Bay in 2. I think Toronto will put up a fight but Tampa has been the best team in the AL all year for a reason.

Jon Michael Walters:

Rays defeat Jays – The Jays did beat them several times in the regular season, but I’ll go with the better team.

Minnesota Twins (3) vs Houston Astros (6)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

The Minnesota Twins had an up and down year in the AL Central. They allowed the White Sox and Indians to stick around but ultimately pulled out the division title by one game. They aren’t as much of a threat as some people believe but they will defeat the Houston Astros who don’t deserve to really even be in the playoffs. Both “at large” teams had a better record than them. Twins in 2.

Samiya Green:

There is not a doubt in my mind that the Twins take advantage of the Astros’ inconsistent batting lineup and their starting rotation. Kenta Maeda is starting the series with great momentum after an impressive regular season and the Astros have been struggling at the plate all season. The Twins have the edge in the hitting department thanks to Miguel Sano and the rest of the Bomba Squad. Unfortunately for the Astros, who’s pitching rotation ended the season with an average ERA of 4.31, they are in for a tough series.

Mitchell Kaminski:

I am surprised to see the Astros as underdogs in the first round but here we are. Minnesota has the best starting pitching depth they have had in a while with Maeda, Berrios, and Pineda. The Houston offense has been struggling all season. The Twins have also disappointed offensively but they have enough firepower to win the series behind their starting pitching. Prediction: Twins in 3.

Cody Young:

Twins in 2. Houston hasn’t looked like themselves all season, while this Minnesota team has been playing consistently well all year.

Jon Michael Walters:

Astros vs. Twins – I have to pass on this one, there are no winners here. Maybe the Twins?

National League

Los Angeles Dodgers (1) vs Milwaukee Brewers (8)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

As much as I want to roll with the Brewers, picking with your heart isn’t smart here. They squeaked into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record and are going up against the powerhouse dodgers. It isn’t fair how good Los Angeles is but they are good. They are a legit World Series pick and will win this series in two games.

Samiya Green:

I think the heavy favorite to win it all, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are too deep in the pitching and hitting department for the Milwaukee Brewers to handle. A.J. Pollock is going into the postseason with a hot bat and Mookie Betts is very difficult to contain at the plate. The starting rotation for the Milwaukee Brewers has a big obstacle to overcome when they go against this team and an even harder task for their hitters to go up against Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw.

Mitchell Kaminski:

This is the biggest mismatch of the wildcard round. The Dodgers are the team to beat this postseason with a ferocious lineup and a deep starting rotation. Clayton Kershaw will not have to worry about fatigue this postseason after a 60-game season while their new addition Mookie Betts has been as advertised. The Brewers have a very underwhelming lineup that won’t be able to do much against Walker Buehler and the rest of the rotation. Prediction: Dodgers in 3

Cody Young:

LA in 2. Too much star power for LA to lose. It gets said a lot but I do believe this could be their year.

Jon Michael Walters:

Dodgers defeat Brewers – well, duh.

San Diego Padres (4) vs St. Louis Cardinals (5)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

The St. Louis Cardinals really turned things around after making it look like they were going to ruin the entire MLB season for us all. Well, they ended up making the playoffs anyway but that will be it for them. The San Diego Padres have too much this year and should be able to take care of the Cardinals in three games.

Samiya Green:

The St. Louis Cardinals are going up against a very starry-eyed and offense heavy team which I think will be too much for the Cardinals rotation to handle. It is very hard to consider Jack Flaherty as a lock to control the Padres batting order because he has been disappointing in his starts on the mound this season. His inconsistency does not mirror his capabilities at all and he’s facing the wrong team to slip up against. I think all the Padres need is for Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, and Fernando Tatis Jr. to do what they do best and take the series.

Mitchell Kaminski:

The Padres are back in the postseason for the first time since 2006. It was worth the wait as they have a very exciting team headlined by Fernado Tatis Jr and Manny Machado. But their pitching is also excellent. Their rotation features Dinelson Lamet, Chris Paddack, Zach Davies. In the bullpen, they added Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals. This team might still be a year away but it loaded up to make a deep run and the Cardinals should be light work along the way.  Prediction: Padres in 2

Cody Young:

SD in 3. I think this will be a hard-fought series but I think SD just has a little too much firepower for STL.

Jon Michael Walters:

Padres defeat the Cardinals – this one could be close but the Padres have youth on their side.

Chicago Cubs (3) vs Miami Marlins (6)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

The Chicago Cubs had a weird season. They started 13-3 and then were average to below average after that. Most of their star players had terrible years and were carried offensively by Jason Heyward and Ian Happ which is pathetic for their stars. Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks should be good enough to win them a short series against the Marlins. Once again, the Cubs get lucky and get the team that wouldn’t even sniff the playoffs if it were a full season. Cubs in two.

Samiya Green:

I think the Chicago Cubs have the upper hand in every area against the Miami Marlins. It’s not a matter of if they’ll win, the Cubs will take advantage of the mismatches on the mound against their hitters and win the series. Sandy Alcantara has not been successful in the pitch control department and that is something Anthony Rizzo, Ian Happ, and Kyle Schwarber can take advantage of. Yu Darvish and the rest of the Chicago Cubs starting rotation is expected to be nothing less than solid.

Mitch Kaminski:

This looks like an easy matchup on paper for the Cubs, but do not sleep on the Marlins. They are a young and hungry team with some veterans playing on one-year deals mixed in. That is a dangerous combination for a Cubs team that struggled to score the last month of the season. However, I think the Cubs championship experience along with their starting pitching will be enough to get them past round one. Prediction: Cubs in 3

Cody Young:

Cubs in 2. Miami is probably the most surprising team in this year’s playoffs. However, even with all of their struggles, I think the Cubs put it together in this series.

Jon Michael Walters:

Cubs sweep Marlins – in “Back to the Future” the Cubs sweep Miami, so I think that will happen in real life.

Atlanta Braves (2) vs Cincinnati Reds (7)

Vinnie Parise – Site Expert:

For winning a division and being the number two seed, this is a tough draw for the Atlanta Braves. The Reds went into this season with a lot of hype but failed to meet expectations for a good chunk of the season. Well, they turned it on late and got in the playoffs. Now, they went from a team that looked like they were going home to legit World Series contenders. Reds in three.

Samiya Green:

I think this is another interesting wildcard matchup we will see because the Atlanta Braves came into the regular as high favorites and now at the ending of the regular season, roles have reversed. Trevor Bauer has been an absolute flamethrower this year for the Reds and the Braves have been slightly declining in the hitting column while struggling pitch-wise most of the season. Also, to be competitive they must have Ronald Acuna play to his potential. The Reds have a pitching big three with Bauer, Castillo, and Gray. The Braves can count on Max Fried to have a solid outing for them but it’s not certain if Kyle Wright or Ian Anderson can hold up for the Braves in the postseason. I think Wright will have the most trouble containing the Reds hitters with his 5.21 ERA coming into his wildcard start.

Mitchell Kaminski:

Game 1 should feature another great pitching matchup this season. Trevor Bauer and Max Fried are both Cy-Young candidates with Bauer likely to take home the award. However, outside of game 1, the Reds don’t have much of a shot to win a game. It took a late-season surge for them to sneak into the postseason and they are facing a loaded Braves roster. Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna Jr will all receive MVP votes while the Braves bullpen has four pitchers- Shane Green, A.J Winter, Darren O’Day, and Chris Martin- with ERAs below 1. Good luck coming back against that bullpen. Prediction: Braves in 2

Cody Young:

Braves in 3. Cincinnati was another somewhat surprising team to be in this postseason but the Braves have been there and I think are poised for a deep run.

Jon Michael Walters:

Reds defeat Braves – this is a tough one to choose but THERE’S A DEEP DRIVE BY CASTELLANOS REDS WIN!

That is it for the Southside Showdown Wild Card Round predictions. It seems like there are a few disagreements but most of us seem to be on the same page with most of the picks. Which eight teams do you believe will make it out of this round?