Major League Baseball has had an extremely difficult 60-game regular season. Now, the league is ready for MLB Postseason 2020 with 16 teams taking part in this year’s extended playoffs.
MLB Postseason 2020 begins on Tuesday, September 29th with all four American League series starting. The National League will begin one day later on Wednesday, September 30th, and we will look at those four games on our blog (and corresponding video).
The match-ups for the NL’s Wild Card round will see:
- No. 1 LA Dodgers vs. No. 8 Milwaukee Brewers
- No. 2 Atlanta Braves vs. No. 7 Cincinnati Reds
- No. 3 Chicago Cubs vs. No. 6 Miami Marlins
- No. 4 San Diego Padres vs. No. 5 St. Louis Cardinals.
Futures odds on the team to win the NL are as follows:
*All odds from Bet365
- LA Dodgers +120
- SD Padres +500
- ATL Braves +550
- CHI Cubs +700
- CIN Reds +1100
- MIA Marlins +1300
- STL Cardinals +1600
- MIL Brewers +1700
MLB Postseason 2020: Wednesday, September 30 Picks
The Wild Card round is best of three with the Division Series moving to best of five and the League Champions Series being best of seven games. Due to all the games being played at neutral sites, there are no off days this year.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. LA Dodgers
The Dodgers will throw Walker Buehler against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday. According to MLB.com, the Brewers have not announced which pitcher will start Game 1. Buehler was 1-0 in 2020 with a 3.44 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. Manager Dave Roberts could be resting players with what is set to be a marathon MLB Postseason 2020.
Resting top starters for games down the line is a risky strategy but one that could pay off. The Brewers were the last team to make the playoffs in the NL. They are the only team to finish the campaign with a sub .500 record.
The teams did not play this season due to the scheduling. It is a new season and one in which the Brew Crew could cause an upset. However, don’t expect them to beat the Dodgers in Game 1 on Wednesday night.
Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves
Atlanta finished second in the NL in overall records with a 35-25 mark. The Reds were 31-29. In terms of records, the two clubs are closely matched. Max Fried will take to the hill for the Braves. The left-hander was brilliant in 2020 with a 7-0 record in 11 games. He posted a 2.25 ERA. Cincinnati will put Trevor Bauer on the hill. The right-hander was 5-4 in 11 games with a low 1.73 ERA.
Game 1 is likely to be close. The Braves did lose two straight games before the start of the playoffs. Atlanta’s offseason was excellent during the season. They scored 348 runs, posting a +60-run difference. The Braves should take Game 1 in a thriller.
Miami Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs
Is there an upset on the cards for Game 1 between the Marlins and Cubs? Miami posted a 31-29 record and scored 263 runs. The Cubs topped the Central with a mark of 34-26. They were 4-6 in their final 10 games. The Marlins weren’t much better posting a 5-5 record over the course of their last 10.
The Cubs were +25 in runs this season. The Marlins were -41. With one day to go, neither team has listed their starter. In spite of Zcode’s score prediction, I have got to go against that and pick the Cubs to win Game 1. Why? The Marlins’ run difference of -41 doesn’t give me confidence they can keep the Cubs from scoring runs.
St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres
Let me start by saying the Padres have excited me all season. They have been fun to watch and hopefully, they will parlay their play into the postseason.
The Cardinals finished second in the Central with a record of 30-28. They posted a +11 run difference. KH Kim will take the mound for Game 1. The lefty pitched in eight games in 2020 posting a record of 3-0 and an ERA of 1.62.
The Padres have not listed a starter at the time of this writing. San Diego was 37-23, which was the second-best record in the NL. They posted a +84 run difference and go into Game 1 on a three-game winning streak.
St. Louis could cause an upset, but I like the Padres too much not to go with them. They score a lot of runs and should keep the bats hot in the postseason.
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