First Round Preview of the 2018 MLB Playoffs

The road to the 2018 World Series begins in Chicago on Wednesday night. Here’s a preview of all the first round action, along with our divisional playoff predictions.

It’s early October and that means the Major League Baseball playoffs are set to begin. Here are our predictions for all the first round action.

The Wild Card Games

It’s win-or-go-home as the four lowest seeds swing into action on Tuesday and Wednesday night. In the National League Wild Card game, the Colorado Rockies travel to raucous Wrigley Field to take on the Chicago Cubs. In the AL, it’s the A’s visiting the Yankees in yet another do-or-die game at Yankee Stadium.

In the NL game, both the Rockies and the Cubs need to rebound from losing their divisional tiebreakers. The Rockies have the additional burden of having to travel all the way from Los Angeles. Look for the Chicago bats to give starter Jon Lester just enough early support to eke out a low scoring win.

Over in the American League, two of the best wild card teams in baseball history will square off in Yankee Stadium. With 100 and 97 wins respectively, both the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics have the talent to win it all. This is one of the many reasons that this is a tough game to predict.

The Yankees have more postseason experience on their side, but the A’s come into the game with one of baseball’s best records over the second half of the season. Look for momentum to win out over experience as the A’s advance in a high-scoring game.

The NL Divisional Series