Author: MLB Baseball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games

The 2026 Royals season did not go as expected. After back-to-back winning seasons, the Royals felt they had the core of a team that could return to the postseason with a few minor tweaks to the roster. No team in the division won more than 85 games, so even a mediocre season would have put the Royals in the hunt. Instead, they limped to a 69-93 record, the fifth-worst record in baseball.

The record tells you the Royals had a bad season. The numbers can tell you why. Here are the statistics that defined the Royals’ 2026 season.

6.65

No lead was safe when Matt Quatraro called on his bullpen. Royals relievers had a 6.65 ERA in the ninth inning of ballgames, by far the worst in baseball.

In 2025, Carlos Estévez led all of baseball in saves, and the Royals were the only team in baseball not to lose a game they led going into the ninth. But this year, Estévez didn’t look right in spring training. The Royals rostered him anyway, and he immediately blew a lead in his first and only outing. He was quickly placed on the Injured List, never to return. Lucas Erceg and Matt Strahm also struggled mightily, and the Royals scrambled for late-inning options. Royals relievers were atrocious this year with a 5.07 ERA, second-worst in baseball, with 26 blown saves. The bullpen was so thin, the team had to pitch Alex Lange 59 times despite his 6.75 ERA.

64

For the third consecutive year, Vinnie Pasquantino was ice cold in April. The Royals were depending on him to become the run producer he was in 2025 when he drove in a career-high 113 runs. Instead, he hit .165/.274/.320 in the first month, a wRC+ of 64, and the team limped to a 12-19 start.

The cold start may have been due to participating in the World Baseball Classic, and/or lingering injuries. He dealt with lower back soreness early in the year. Then he injured his wrist in June, then re-injured it in July. It wasn’t until August when he really started hitting, batting .289/.366/.617 with 11 home runs in 35 games after returning from the Injured List. If the Royals are going to compete in the future, they need Vinnie to be healthy and produce from the start of the season.

50

The Royals needed to lengthen their lineup, and were counting on their two youngest hitters – Jac Caglianone and Carter Jensen. Those two were terrific this season, combining for 50 home runs. Caglianone went on an absolute tear in August, hitting .411/.429/.684 and winning American League Player of the Month honors. He finished fourth in the American League in batting average, sixth in slugging percentage, and ninth in OPS. He was the first Royals outfielder to hit 20+ home runs in a season since Alex Gordon in 2013.

Carter Jensen also ended the season strong, his .788 slugging percentage in September is the best for any Royals hitter with at least 20 games in that month. He set the Royals rookie record for extra base hits and the most extra-base hits by a rookie catcher since 1947. He is also just the fifth rookie catcher with 25+ home runs and 75+ RBI.

If you would have known that Caglianone and Jensen would each finish with an OPS+ of 120 or better, you probably would have thought the Royals were having a pretty good season. And yet, here we are.

.598

The designated hitter position was created to give the game of baseball more offense, but the Royals did not get the memo. Their designated hitters collectively hit .204/.275/.323, a .598 OPS that was the worst in baseball. It was the tenth-worst OPS by a team at the DH position in the Wild Card era. And this is an ongoing problem – Royals DHs over the last three years are hitting a combined .209/.279/.344, worst in the game. The main culprits this season were Salvador Perez and Carter Jensen – each hit worse as a DH than they did behind the plate. Even Jac Caglianone hit worse in the 12 games he hit at DH. It could be a bit of a fluke, but the Royals can’t turn what should be an offensive position into such a liability.

2.58

A bright spot for the pitching staff was the performance of Noah Cameron in the second half. The lefty had mixed results in the first half, and decided to start calling his own pitches in late July. He allowed just one run over 23 innings in his next three starts, then won American League Pitcher of the Month honors in August with a 1.87 ERA that month. From July 24 on he had a 2.58 ERA, sixth-best in the league. He began using his cutter more and relying more on deception. His strikeout rate was still just 22 percent over that time, but if Cameron can continue his success as a crafty lefty, the Royals will have a solid mid-rotation starter to count on next year.

36

Salvador Perez was signed by the Royals as a skinny teenager 20 years ago. This year he turned 36, and Father Time has caught up to him. Salvy hit some big career milestones this year – he became the franchise all-time leading home run hitter, and became just the fifth catcher ever to hit ten 20+ home run seasons. But overall, he hit just .229/.274/.383, and his 74 wRC+ was fifth-worst among all qualified hitters.

Despite that performance, Matt Quatraro batted him third or fourth in the lineup 117 times. Salvador Perez will return next year for the final year in his contract, and he deserves a proper send off, but the Royals need to have a hard talk about reducing his playing time, such as a potential platoon.

200.2

Michael Wacha was the only pitcher in the American League to reach the 200 innings mark, a sign of how the game has changed in the role of starting pitchers. The 35-year-old continued to be the workhorse of the league, earning the second All-Star nod of his career. He had a team-best 3.32 ERA and had 21 quality starts in 32 games. The Royals have him signed to a very team-friendly salary next year, although some fans wonder if it might be better to get some value for him in a trade considering his age.

1,766

The Royals lost 20 players to 1,766 days on the Injured List, according to data compiled by Spotrac. The key injuries included:

• Carlos Estévez 184 days
• Jonathan India 163 days
• Cole Ragans 145 days
• Kris Bubic 121 days
• Nick Mears 124 days
• Maikel Garcia 80 days
• Kyle Isbel 53 days
• Vinnie Pasquantino 46 days
• Michael Massey 15 days
• Bobby Witt Jr. 15 days

However the Royals were in the middle-of-the-road in terms of total days lost to the Injured List, and a study by Dan Szymborski in August found that the Royals had only lost about 6.5 fWAR of expected production to injury, less than all but ten teams. Aside from Estévez and India, most of the injuries occurred after mid-May, when the Royals had already fallen well under .500.

5.17

The Royals were hoping starting pitching would be a strength, but it quickly turned into a weakness. Some pitchers fell to injury, but Seth Lugo was just ineffective for most of the season, finishing with a 5.17 ERA, worst among all qualified starters.

The Royals signed Lugo before the 2024 season, converting a rubber-armed reliever into an All-Star starter. They were rightly praised for such a shrewd move, but they tried to double down by signing him to a contract extension last summer, and it has gone terribly wrong. Since July 27, 2025, when he signed a two-year, $46 million deal, Lugo has a 5.67 ERA, the worst of any pitcher in baseball with at least 200 innings. He has one more year left on his deal, but he may have a short leash next year if he can’t turn things around.

7.0

Bobby Witt Jr. finished this year with 7.0 fWAR, second in baseball only to likely National League MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong. Bobby’s performance came despite his first-ever stint on the Injured List, and a career-low 143 games played. His slugging percentage was a career-low .441, but he finished tenth in the league in batting average (.281), ninth in hits (157), sixth in doubles (33), second in stolen bases (45), ninth in runs scored (94), and led all of baseball in Baserunning Runs. He also led all American League defenders in Outs Above Average with +23 and should be a candidate to win another Platinum Glove.

It’s another great season from Bobby, but it is also frustrating the Royals have squandered another terrific performance from him without making a postseason run.

Past summaries:

• So far, so good through mid-April
• Even better in late April
• May-be they’re just really good
• Late May just good, rather than absurdly awesome
• A June swoon so far
• Awful
• Fake it and maybe make it
• With some luck, back on the horse
• Dwelling in the dog days of August
• All we do is accumulate wins
• Slouching towards the NL East title

In September’s latter half, the Braves did a big thing: they clinched their first NL East title in three seasons (but seventh in nine seasons under the current Front Office). They did so with a sweep of the Astros in Houston, while dropping every other series they played. Of course, that sounds more woeful than it was, as it was really one series win against a contender, one series loss to a contender, and then six meaningless games where the Braves largely played their regulars but goofed around on the pitching end, and didn’t really do anything that well in the process.

So, as a result, the stats from their 5-5 end to the month (after a 7-7 start) are kind of meaningless. The Braves didn’t end their 2026 regular season on a high note, but… no one’s gonna remember that either way, given that the season’s story was pretty much written before these last few weeks, anyway. If the Braves have a postseason run, or if they don’t, these last two weeks won’t really matter to anyone either way.

Probably the biggest thing to note is that the Braves didn’t collapse. Collapsing is kind of hard to do when you win a bunch of games you shouldn’t in aggregate, but there was no karmic payback or anything. The 2026 Braves started with division odds of about 1-in-3, which shot up to 3-in-4 and higher in mid-April and stayed there until late June. They were coin flip-y with a slight edge around the All-Star Break, were up to nearly unity in mid-August, and then bounced around some more in the 70-95 percent range until becoming basically a sure thing once they fended off the Phillies. The clinch was just a formality, really.

How did the Braves do recently?

Keeping in mind that these stats don’t really tell a useful story given that the Braves largely mailed it in for six of ten games in this span, they were:

• 23rd in position player value — 21st in wRC+, 17th in xwOBA, 11th defensively
• 24th in pitching value (inclusive of goofing off, as noted) — 17th in ERA-, 26th in FIP-, and 11th in xFIP-, with no real difference between the rotation and bullpen.

So, what can you say, really? Of the four games that mattered, the Braves were favored in one but won three; if the remaining six, they were favored in five and won two. Eh.

How are the Braves doing on the season?

Well, they won 94 games and clinched the NL East with six games to go. They finished those same six games ahead of the Phillies, whom they’ll play in the Wild Card round best-of-three. 94 wins is good for MLB’s fourth-best record, and they also had MLB’s fifth-best run differential, but just the tenth-best BaseRuns-based record. (Only the Reds, Rays, and Phillies outperformed BaseRuns by more this season.) My own personal amusement is that if you went solely off BaseRuns, the NL playoff field would feature the Dodgers, Brewers, and Marlins as the division winners, and the Cubs, Pirates, and Braves as the Wild Card teams. (Of course, some of that would need to be rejiggered given that the Braves probably don’t goof off for six games if they trail the Marlins by a game.)

The overall team ranks are not kind to the Braves as far as the 2026 season goes.

• 21st in position player fWAR
• 20th in wOBA and wRC+; 14th in xwOBA
• Sixth in defensive value (yay)
• 13th in pitching fWAR (17th rotation, 12th bullpen)
• Fifth in ERA- (seventh, fourth)
• 15th in FIP- (17th, 12th)
• 11th in xFIP- (14th, 11th)

Yeah, this is not really a good team. While anything can happen in a short series, it’s easy to say that when the Braves lost those sets to the Phillies in 2022 and 2023, it was baseball being baseball, and the Braves were a better team. In 2026… sure, one or the other is better by some specific paradigm, but neither seems particularly good at all.

By the way, the 21st finish in position player fWAR was the team’s lowest since it also did so in 2017. The same goes for its hitting outputs (25th in 2017); hitting inputs had their lowest rank since the 2018 team finished 18th. I don’t know what’s going to happen this offseason, but this team needs a clear reinvention of its offensive wheel, with whatever strategic and personnel moves are needed to get there. Changes weren’t warranted from 2024 to 2025, and things somehow got worse this year, which I would never have guessed given how 2025 transpired.

How are the hitters doing?

Yeesh.

Three of the team’s good bats picked it up over these last two weeks. Mauricio Dubon decided to add some wild xwOBA overperformance for fun. Matt Olson could’ve had a better run, but whatever — he ended up with a really rough September in the end. But all the guys that struggled? Well, they pretty much struggled, except for seven PAs of Dominic Smith. Ozzie Albies absolutely collapsed. Austin Riley, Sean Murphy, and Ha-Seong Kim remained mired in their doldrums. Put this all together, and the seasonal lines look kinda nasty for a lot of these ten guys who crossed the 200 PA threshold.

Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, and Drake Baldwin were legit. No complaints about Ronald Acuña Jr. or Mauricio Dubon. I won’t even touch Murphy and Kim, who maybe could’ve solved things with enough time (Murphy’s bat speed is a real problem). But, the inability to do much to help Riley, to play Smith for 300 PAs despite obvious backsliding in his offensive approach that led to him hitting poorly, Mike Yastrzemski running into a career-worst year… like I said, there are a lot of issues to address.

At least almost everyone basically ended up where expected but for Dubon, and no one fell into some kind of horrendous xwOBA underperformance trap.

How are the pitchers doing?

Let’s also include the relievers, I guess.

Everyone got kinda shelled HR/FB-wise these last two weeks, but whatever. Chris Sale was still awesome, everyone else was meh or worse, especially when including the homers.

On the season, this was a team with Chris Sale, Tyler Mahle, and a bunch of standout relief performances… and that’s about it. Martin Perez was surprisingly helpful, even if he got there in an annoying way. Some guys were pretty awful; the Braves had the latitude to part ways with Tyler Kinley before he could do even more damage, but JR Ritchie and AJ Smith-Shawver really didn’t take any huge steps forward. Smith-Shawver only had like 30 innings, so not a huge deal, but it was kind of a bummer to not see more from Ritchie despite repeated chances.

If I had to give special shoutouts this season, I’d go:

• Michael Harris II — led the team in both fWAR thanks to his defense, but also WPA despite not having the best overall batting line. Harris had a weird year where he had an insane .442 xwOBA in April but then it declined every month afterwards, dipping under .300 in August… but he bounced back with a pretty big September (.337) despite some underperformance.
• Chris Sale – duh. While WPA does not really “accrue” to the pitcher because it includes defensive plays made behind the pitcher, it’s telling that Sale and the defense had a “shutdown” in 15 of his 27 outings, while only posting any negative WPA in seven outings, and a “meltdown”-level WPA in just three of them.
• Didier Fuentes, who finished second in actual shutdowns and meltdowns, but nonetheless tied Dylan Lee with 2.1 fWAR, which ranks second on the team overall behind Sale.

All that said, with all the various struggles, I do think this was basically the Season of Chris Sale for the Braves, as he was consistently, unequivocally good.

And now, we let the tournament take over.

They are in the playoffs. Let’s not dwell too much on the how; let’s just focus on the fact that they are in. That’s all they need to make some noise in the playoffs.

Three up

Zack Wheeler – Imagine this season without an Ace level Wheeler. He was always going to come back from the injury he had, if only because the trainers and medical staff of the Phillies were never really worried that it would end his career. How he would perform was an altogether different question. Would he be the Ace the team had relied on for many years, or something of a shell of himself? No one really knew until he actually started pitching….and then we knew. He was the one that the team would depend on each and every time. Many people outside of the organization point to the firing of Rob Thomson as the turning point of this season, but the real ones know: once Wheeler returned, that’s when it all changed.

Aaron Nola – I’m not going to get down on a guy that asked for the ball on short rest when the team needed someone to step up. Nola may have gotten blitzed in that start Saturday night, but good on him for wanting to do something to help the team. His resurgence this season was one of the reasons they are still playing baseball. Imagine if he was the bad version of Nola. Does this team make the playoffs at all?

Bryson Stott – The only bat worthy of this tier, Stott was good this week, boosted by his 3 for 3 performance on Sunday. While it will be how the stars fare against the Braves that determines if they are able to advance to meet the Dodgers, the complimentary bats like Stott and Alec Bohm also have to show something of a pulse if they expect to do anything.

Three down

Jose Alvarado – Let’s ask the true question when it comes to Alvarado: was Saturday night the final time we see him in a Phillies uniform? One can argue that there really is no reason to pitch him in the playoffs outside of a mop up appearance. Tanner Banks and Tim Mayza are more than likely ahead of him on the left handed pecking order if a southpaw is needed in the next week, so there really is no reason to call on him when the game is on the line. He might still have decent stuff (I’d argue he doesn’t), but the absolute loss of knowing where that stuff is going means he cannot be put into leverage situations, situations that abound in the playoffs. He was good when they needed him to be, but his time here is at an end.

J.T. Realmuto – Yes he had the big hit Sunday, arguably the biggest one, but boy is he bad right now. One could spin it in a positive direction and say he had bad luck, but that would be strictly looking at data and not watching with your eyes. He is not right at the plate.

Alec Bohm – Another that really isn’t swinging a good bat either, Bohm might be the key to the lineup outside of the big three. Hitting behind that trio, especially against Chris Sale, Bohm is going to have to have a key hit or two if they have a chance to steal Game 1.

Another installment of Yankees-Red Sox in October? Yes, please! 

For the seventh time, these familiar rivals meet in the playoffs and, if the past is any indication, we’re due for more history, another slice of perma-angst for at least one fanbase, and maybe a new pejorative nickname or two. 

In this best-of-three AL Wild Card Series at Yankee Stadium, both teams must cope with injuries to huge hitters. Will Aaron Judge make the Yankee roster? Willson Contreras returned to the Red Sox lineup Sunday after missing eight games, but he’s got a bruised right hand that could hinder his thump.

Runs could be at a premium, because both teams have sharp pitching staffs. The Yanks (93-68) had the best starter ERA in baseball and the Red Sox (87-75) recorded the best bullpen ERA.

It may all come down to who melts in the October cauldron. Or who soars.

Each team has won three of the previous postseason meetings, so perhaps we can consider this a "Game 7" scenario? And nothing interesting ever happens in a Game 7, right? 

It’s so on. 

WHAT THE YANKEES HAVE GOING FOR THEM

Judge usually leads this department, but he’s iffy with a calf injury. He’s pledged to be on the roster, but even if he is, can he be impactful? 

With that swirling, the Yanks’ strength is clearly their starting rotation, led by Game 1 starter Cam Schlittler, the Massachusetts kid who shreds the Sox. You can expect the Twit-wits of New England to seethe at him on social media, but Schlittler seems built to handle online smoke. 

And he can certainly handle the mound. Schlittler, who will win the AL Cy Young Award after an amazing regular season, allowed one run or fewer in 21 of his 33 starts and became the fourth Yankee starter to finish a season with a sub-2.00 ERA (1.95). Over his last nine starts, he pitched to a 1.17 ERA.

Schlittler had a 0.74 ERA against Boston in four starts this season, and you might remember a certain October outing last year in which he was overpowering for eight shutout innings as the Yanks dispatched the Sox in a winner-take-all Game 3. 

The Yanks weighed whether Schlittler should start the first or second game — overthink much, Yankee braintrust? — before making the obvious choice. They’re loaded in Game 2, too, when Max Fried (2.80 ERA in 20 starts) goes. 

If Game 3 is necessary, Gerrit Cole will start. Cole has had some blips this season. But he’s been good his last two starts. Plus, it’s Gerrit Cole. 

The rotation is backed by a bullpen that had a strong regular season as Paul Blackburn (1.69 ERA) and Brent Headrick (2.18) emerged behind closer David Bednar. Will Warren will move from the rotation to the bullpen and could provide key length. Going into Game 1, the Yanks will have had three consecutive days off, thanks to last weekend’s Nor’easter, and the rest might mitigate some of the relief workload concerns that have bloomed late. 

With Judge only playing 66 games, Ben Rice (41 homers, .897 OPS) was the key cog in an offense that was eighth in runs per game (4.59). 

WHAT THE RED SOX HAVE GOING FOR THEM

Boston has both the best bullpen in baseball by ERA (3.00) and enough quality starters — Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suárez — to make things very difficult for the Yankees. 

The Yankees never seemed to know what to do with Gray when he was a Yankee from 2017-18, but he’s been terrific everywhere else and tied for the MLB lead with 18 wins this year and had a 2.72 ERA. The mustachioed Tolle, a lefty who pitches with a nifty joie de vivre, allowed one run and four hits over 13 innings in two starts against the Yanks. Suarez, another lefty, had a 3.22 ERA during the regular season, but the Yankees bashed him (6.06 ERA in three outings).

Without Judge, the Yanks’ lineup tilts too left-handed, which theoretically should make them vulnerable to lefty starters. But they were 35-20 in games started by a left-hander. 

The Boston rotation usually features Garrett Crochet, who put the Yankees on the brink of a quick exit last October with a masterful Game 1 performance. But after an injury-plagued year, he won’t start in this series. Problem is, he could be part of the Sox bullpen arsenal, which is already lethal. 

Ageless closer Aroldis Chapman (remember him?) is still dishing heat and hard looks. He had 35 saves, a 1.92 ERA and a 12.4 K/9. Garrett Whitlock, whom the Sox plucked from the Yankees in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, has a 1.72 ERA. The Red Sox bullpen gave up the fewest home runs of any relief corps in the majors this year.

THE YANKEES WILL WIN THE SERIES IF…

Their rotation continues to thrive and their power plays. The Yankees hit 223 home runs during the regular season, second in MLB to only the Houston Astros, despite missing Judge for so long. Home runs can dwindle in October, but they can also wreck a series, and if Rice slugs, watch out. If he doesn’t, there were 10 other Yankees who hit double-digit home runs this season and that doesn’t include Luis García Jr., who hit seven of his 30 with the Yanks after a deadline trade from Washington. 

Could Giancarlo Stanton finally return from injury and hit a big October laser? He’s done it before. 

Of course, as any Yankee fan will tell you, the pinstriped offense sometimes sputters if the ball isn’t soaring out of the park. But they’re capable of the speed game, too, after finishing sixth in stolen bases. Jazz Chisholm, Jr. had 41 steals and José Caballero added 34, so perhaps they can manufacture runs if their lightning sags.

THE RED SOX WILL WIN THE SERIES IF…

Yanks-Sox is fertile ground for a mega breakout (see Schlittler, Cam, from last October) and one of the most talented players on either team is Roman Anthony, the 22-year-old Red Sox outfielder. He’s had an injury-marred season but this might be his chance. Anthony had a 1.008 OPS over his final eight games. What if he goes bonkers at the Stadium? 

As noted, the Red Sox can really pitch. And they play strong defense, too — they were sixth-best in Baseball Savant’s Fielding Run Value. Can they score enough, though, especially if their best hitter, Contreras (.901 OPS) is compromised? Will Anthony help provide the answer? 

PREDICTION

Yankees in three. 

This is rivalry business, so there’s little chance of a sweep. Each team will face the brink, but the Yankees will shove the Red Sox over it by, well, shoving. Pitching, we mean.

The Red Sox averaged the second-fewest runs (4.25) of any playoff team and they’ll have a hard time plating enough against the Yanks.

The Yankees are comfortable at the Stadium, where they were 46-34 this season and 4-2 against the Red Sox, including winning three of four in late August.

Is that real intel or real insignificant? We’ll see, but it’s compelling that the Yankees blew out the Sox twice in that series and also won a 1-0 game that was started by, you guessed it — Schlittler.

The Cincinnati Reds just wrapped up the 21st regular season since the above note was penned by the then-new ownership group. It was a five-point plan built on the back of nebulous subjectivity aside from the one concrete declaration emboldened at the top – We will bring championship baseball to Cincinnati.

After 21 seasons, there are only two ways with which you can grade that singular, objective declaration. The ownership group, spearheaded by the Castellini family, is either officially lying, or officially a failure.

By no definition of championship baseball have they approached achieving said goal. Even if you squint, reduce the assertion to the divisional level, and parse through the annals of baseball history, you need to go back fourteen seasons to even find the Reds atop their own. There have been no World Series appearances, let alone titles. There have been no National League Championship Series claimed, and zero appearances there. They have not won a playoff series since back in 1995, which also coincides with the last time the team actually won a home playoff game in their own park.

Cincinnati hasn’t won a playoff game in Cincinnati in 31 years. Frank Viola turned 66 years old this year, and that 66 year old man played on the team that last won a playoff game in Cincinnati – in a stadium that was reduced to rubble 25 years ago.

This is not rekindling the Reds Nation spirit. This is the literal definition of resting while we are unhappy.

They have built one of the least respected organizations in baseball.

Sell the team, Bob and Phil.

Astros fans, after 162 games, your team is once again the champion of the American League West.

So how are you feeling? Excited? Relieved? Optimistic? Still concerned? Or are you simply hopeful that this team has another October run left in it?

Whatever your answer, here’s what matters most:

They’re in.

And once you’re in, you have a chance.

It certainly wasn’t pretty. This Astros team clawed, scratched, fought and struggled its way to the finish line. There were times when they looked exhausted. There were times when the pitching staff appeared to be running on fumes. There were stretches when the offense couldn’t find consistency and moments when it looked like all the energy required to dig out of another early-season hole had finally caught up with them.

But when they absolutely had to get it done, they did.

The Houston Astros are American League West champions.

Now the question changes. Can they get hot? Can they go on another October run? Can they somehow add another chapter to this incredible Golden Era of Astros baseball?

I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility.

Get In and See What Happens

The Astros aren’t entering the postseason as some flawless juggernaut. Far from it.

We’ve spent an entire season talking about their shortcomings. The roster construction. The revolving door in the outfield. The injuries. The inconsistent starting pitching. A bullpen that carried an enormous workload and at times looked completely out of gas.

None of those concerns suddenly disappear because Houston won the division, but neither does everything this team accomplished.

They were knocked down repeatedly and kept getting back up. They dug themselves another enormous hole and somehow climbed out of it. They reached the finish line battered and bruised, but they reached it as division champions.

There’s something to be said for that, and now none of the struggles that came before matter.

It’s October.

You Have the MVP

Here’s a pretty good place to start if you’re searching for reasons to believe:

The Astros have the American League Most Valuable Player. Yordan Alvarez has been the centerpiece of this offense all season, and now he gets the opportunity to do it on baseball’s biggest stage.

In October, one superstar can change a series. One swing can change a game. One hot hitter can carry an entire lineup for a week. The Astros have that guy.

The rest of the offense doesn’t need to suddenly become the greatest lineup in baseball. It just needs to continue doing enough around Yordan to score runs and give this team an opportunity to win.

That’s what they’ve done for much of the season. Now they need to do it when the games matter most.

It All Comes Down to Pitching

For all the discussion about the offense, I believe Houston’s postseason fate ultimately comes down to one thing: Pitching.

Which starting pitchers can Joe Espada trust? Who can give him five, six or seven quality innings? Who has the ability to take the baseball in a postseason game and dominate? Perhaps most importantly, which bullpen arms still have enough left in the tank?

The last question is the one that concerns me most.

The Astros asked an enormous amount from their bullpen this season. Those relievers were forced to cover innings when starters couldn’t get deep into games, and they helped keep this season alive while Houston fought its way back into contention. Now they’re being asked for more.

Postseason baseball magnifies the importance of every bullpen decision. Managers are quicker to pull starters. Matchups become more important. High-leverage relievers can be asked to pitch on consecutive days, and sometimes the difference between advancing and going home comes down to which bullpen can record the final nine outs.

Houston doesn’t need every reliever to suddenly become dominant, but it needs enough of them.

Give This Team Its Credit

I’ve been critical of this team throughout the season. I’ve questioned the roster. I’ve questioned the front office. I’ve questioned whether the bullpen could survive its workload and whether the Astros had enough left in the tank to finish the job. Those questions were fair.

But so is giving this team credit now. I’m proud of the fight they’ve shown. I’m proud of the veteran leadership that helped get them here. I’m proud of the way this group refused to allow its season to disappear when it easily could have.

Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Yordan Alvarez and the other veterans in that clubhouse know what October baseball feels like. They know what it takes to win when every pitch matters. That experience means something now.

Joe Espada deserves credit, too.

He took an imperfect roster, navigated injuries, survived an inconsistent rotation and an overworked bullpen, and somehow got this team across the finish line as division champions.

That’s an accomplishment.

Why Not the Astros?

Do I think this is the best Astros team we’ve seen during this Golden Era? No. Do I think they’re entering October without legitimate concerns? Absolutely not.

But that’s not the question anymore. The question is whether they’re good enough to win a postseason series. Then another. And maybe another.

There’s a part of me that looks at the experience in this clubhouse, the presence of the American League MVP and everything this team survived just to get here and believes they have enough to at least make another run at the American League Championship Series.

After that? Who knows?

That’s the beauty of postseason baseball.

You don’t have to dominate for six months anymore. You have to be better than the team in the other dugout for a few days. The Astros survived 162 games. They won the American League West. They gave themselves a chance.

Now let’s find out if there’s one more October run left in this Golden Era of Houston Astros baseball.

Astros fans, how are you feeling?

Are you simply happy they survived and got in? Do you believe this team can make a run to the ALCS, or do you think they have enough left to go even further?

October is here.

Why not the Astros?

It is time for our predictions for the Wild Card Series. Yes, we will have Game Threads. One thread a day, unless they run too long. The games are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (if needed).

Pick your winner in each of the three series and the number of games. And guess the total number of runs scored in all the games to be used as a tie-breaker.

Throw in any other predictions you would like to make.

The Wild Card Series start tomorrow. We have:

White Sox @ Houston. All their games are 5:00 Eastern starts. Both teams list TBD as starters. Former Jays Anthony Kay Seranthony Dominguez and Randal Grichuk play for the White Sox. Daulton Varsho is on the IL.

Red Sox @ Yankees. Their games are all 8:00 Eastern starts. Schlittler starts for the Yankees. TBD listed for the Red Sox. Can I pick both to lose? IKF plays for the Red Sox.

Phillies @ Braves. Their games are 2:00 Eastern starts. Chris Sale starts for the Braves. TBD for Padres. Tim Mayza plays for the Phillies. Lane Thomas is on the IL for the Braves.

Cubs @ Padres: Their games are 10:00 Eastern starts. Michael King starts for the Padres. TBD is listed for the Cubs. Matthew Boyd and Kevin Gausman play for the Cubs. Ty France, Robbie Ray and Will Wagner (on the IL) play for the Padres.

My picks?

Astros in 3.

Red Sox in 3, because someone has to to win and I’d be hit by lightening if I even picked the Yankees.

Braves in 2.

Cubs in 2, because I want to see Kevin Gausman in the World Series.

And lets go with 64 total runs.

Your turn.

Phillies turn to Jesús Luzardo in Game 1 despite not knowing ‘what to expect' originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

ATLANTA — Three weeks ago, Jesús Luzardo needed 109 pitches to shut out the Atlanta Braves. On Tuesday, the Phillies won’t know how many they’ll be able to ask of him.

In a best-of-three National League Wild Card Series against Chris Sale and the Braves, Philadelphia has an opportunity to steal Game 1 with Cristopher Sánchez lined up for Game 2 and Aaron Nola working toward a potential Game 3.

But after needing every last game of the regular season to clinch its fifth consecutive postseason berth, the Phillies have had to get creative with their pitching staff.

They arrived at Truist Park for Monday’s workout without an announced Game 1 starter. No pitcher was scheduled to speak afterward, an unusual arrangement on the eve of a postseason series.

Then interim manager Don Mattingly sat down at the podium and delivered the answer everyone had been waiting for.

“Zeus,” he said.

“I should say open,” he quickly clarified.

Luzardo will take the ball for his first start since Sept. 7, when he threw the first complete game of his career against these same Braves. How long he stays on the mound is another question.

“I don’t think we really know what to expect,” Mattingly said. “Been down a while. Pitched an inning, albeit short, yesterday. We kind of wanted to get, hoped to get the game off on a good foot, a good note, and see where it goes.”

Sunday’s appearance gave the Phillies enough reason to believe Luzardo was ready for the assignment, even if it lasted considerably less time than anyone could have anticipated.

The left-hander had been sidelined by shoulder inflammation since his Labor Day shutout and hadn’t faced live hitters in nearly three weeks. The Phillies initially wanted him to throw a simulated game Saturday, but doing so would have made him unavailable for Sunday’s must-win regular-season finale.

Instead, they kept him available out of the bullpen. When Mattingly called on him against Tampa Bay, Luzardo needed just four pitches to retire three hitters.

And according to J.T. Realmuto, those four pitches were quite a contrast to what he’d seen moments earlier.

The catcher was standing in the batting cage preparing for his next at-bat, watching Luzardo warm up on a monitor.

“He didn’t throw a single strike,” Realmuto said Monday. “We were actually talking in the cage as hitters, like, how are we going to get through this? ‘Sus hasn’t thrown a strike yet and he’s warming up.”

Luzardo was still rusty during his warmup pitches on the mound. Then the inning began, and he retired the side so quickly that Realmuto never got a chance to call one of his most effective pitches.

“I wanted to call an 0-0 sweeper just to get one in there and see how it looked,” Realmuto said.

Instead, he started the third hitter with a sinker, expecting to work the sweeper into the at-bat. One pitch later, the inning was over.

“I guess that’s how the game works,” Realmuto said. “His stuff looked good.”

For Realmuto, there had been some initial uncertainty about Luzardo’s recovery. But after the first few days, as the left-hander began reporting steady improvement in the clubhouse, the catcher grew increasingly confident that he’d be ready for the postseason.

The bigger question Sunday was how Luzardo would handle a role he had rarely, if ever, been asked to fill.

“It was more for me less about him coming off the IL,” Realmuto said. “He had never been out of the bullpen before that I know of and hadn’t seen him work in that capacity, and that can be a lot different for starting pitchers. It was definitely encouraging to see how well he threw coming into that spot.”

The Phillies received another encouraging update Monday. Luzardo reported no issues after his appearance, clearing the way for Mattingly to give him the ball against Atlanta.

“We wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t come out feeling normal,” Mattingly said. “He felt good.”

It’s hardly the way the Phillies envisioned using a pitcher who finished the regular season 14-5 with a 2.85 ERA and 221 strikeouts across 29 starts.

Luzardo’s last full outing was among his finest. He struck out 12 Braves, walked nobody and allowed just two hits in a 1-0 victory at Truist Park. In four starts against Atlanta since joining Philadelphia, he owns a 1.01 ERA, with opponents batting .185.

Under different circumstances, he would have been a candidate to start Game 1 without any uncertainty about his workload. But the Phillies’ difficult final week left them with few conventional options.

Nola started Saturday on two days’ rest, and Zack Wheeler had to pitch six innings Sunday to secure their postseason berth. Mattingly acknowledged that neither development was particularly conducive to lining up a postseason rotation.

“The bullpen games haven’t went great for us this year, but that’s where we’re at,” he said. “Obviously what we had to get in and what we had to do with Noles the other day, all that kind of led to what we’re doing tomorrow.”

Rookie Andrew Painter could play a significant role behind Luzardo.

The right-hander is expected to be available out of the bullpen Tuesday, although the Phillies haven’t committed to a specific plan for the innings after their opener. Mattingly wants to see Atlanta’s lineup before deciding how to arrange his pitchers.

Painter spent the final days of the regular season available in relief as the Phillies tried to clinch, but the club never found an opportunity to use him in that role. He has made two bulk appearances out of the bullpen this season, so entering behind another pitcher wouldn’t be entirely unfamiliar.

His improved command during his second stint in the majors gives the Phillies more confidence in asking him to cover multiple innings, although pitching in his first postseason game presents another challenge.

And with Luzardo’s workload uncertain, Painter could be needed much earlier than a traditional bulk reliever.

“We haven’t sat down and really tried to script it yet,” Mattingly said. “We don’t know what their lineup looks like or anything else, so we’ll see tomorrow.”

The Phillies at least have some clarity beyond the opener. Sánchez is scheduled to start Game 2 on regular rest, while Nola is working toward a potential Game 3. Mattingly also left open the possibility of using Wheeler in a deciding game, depending on how he recovers from Sunday’s outing.

But getting through Tuesday won’t be straightforward, particularly against a Braves lineup that has seen plenty of Philadelphia’s pitching staff.

Realmuto acknowledged that familiarity creates an additional challenge for a catcher trying to guide his pitchers through a postseason game.

“There’s almost, feels like there’s a little more of the cat-and-mouse game of we can’t do the same things we’ve done all season,” he said. “Even if they’ve worked, there’s times you’ve got to go away from things.”

That familiarity works both ways, though. Luzardo’s success against Atlanta is well documented, and the Phillies have seen Sale four times this season. They know what they’re facing, even if they’re still figuring out exactly how they’ll approach it.

Luzardo’s availability wasn’t the only roster question Philadelphia resolved Monday.

Mattingly confirmed that Luis Arraez will not be on the Wild Card roster. The infielder has continued to make progress from the left ankle sprain he suffered Thursday, but he attempted to take swings Monday and was unable to do so.

Otto Kemp will take his place, and the Phillies will carry three catchers in Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs and Rafael Marchán. Mattingly pointed to Stubbs’ versatility as one benefit of that arrangement, noting that he can pinch-run and play several positions if needed.

Jonathan Bowlan will also be on the roster after recovering from a groin injury. The Phillies considered using him during Sunday’s clincher but held off because of the wet mound at Citizens Bank Park, which Mattingly feared could create unnecessary risk for a pitcher returning from that particular injury.

Bowlan’s return gives Philadelphia another option in the middle and late innings. How those options fit together will depend largely on what Luzardo can provide at the beginning of the game.

Mattingly isn’t promising a traditional start, and Sunday offered only a brief look at a pitcher who hasn’t worked a full game in three weeks. But Luzardo got through his appearance, felt good the following day and is ready to take the mound against the last team he faced before his injury.

“This is how we got here,” Mattingly said. “We’re walking into it like this. We’re going to show up and play, and we’ll see where it goes.”

Yes, the White Sox did end up snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory by falling from the No. 2 seed into the No. 6 and final Wild Card spot at the end of the season, and their punishment is extreme: Having to spend additional time in Texas.

Worse, due to the compressed nature of the playoffs and the desire to play as few games in snow flurries as possible, there is not even time for a travel day in the Wild Card Round so that both teams get at least one home game (in the minors, three-game postseason series start with the lower seed getting Game 1 at home, then the better seed hosting Game 2 and a possible Game 3). Thus, the entire series is played in Houston, essentially one more “normal” series tacked on to the regular season in order to winnow the playoff teams down to a proper four.

As expected, the White Sox will not be in prime time, a consequence of both the middle-ground Central Time Zone and “disinterest” in the White Sox and Astros nationally. Yes, Chicago is the third and Houston the sixth media market in the country, but, you know, those other Sawx have brain control over MLB and, I don’t know, “the Cubs.”

But the White Sox have a consistent spot, with 4 p.m. Central Games 1 and 2 in Houston, then a possible time shift for a potential Game 3 depending on which of the other three series have already wrapped up.

And sadly, for those of you not enslaved by the Universal Corporation/NBC with your streaming, that is where the entire Wild Card series lands this year, with no local broadcasting beyond Steve Stone sneaking into the Peacock booth to provide color commentary.

So, if the White Sox and Astros go three games along with every other Wild Card series, here is how things will shake out:

Game 1 (Tuesday, September 29) White Sox at Astros, 4 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)
Game 2 (Wednesday, September 30) White Sox at Astros, 4 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)
Game 3 (if needed, and all four series are still active) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 4 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)

Game 3 (if needed, and Atlanta-Philadelphia is finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 1 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)
Game 3 (if needed, and Padres-Cubs is finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 4 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)
Game 3 (if needed, and Yankees-Red Sox is finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 4 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)

Game 3 (if needed, and Atlanta-Philadelphia and Padres-Cubs are finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 1 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)
Game 3 (if needed, and Atlanta-Philadelphia and Red Sox-Yankees are finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 1 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)
Game 3 (if needed, and Red Sox-Yankees and Padres-Cubs are finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 1 p.m. CT (Peacock and NBCSN)

Game 3 (if needed, and all other three series are finished) (Thursday, October 1) White Sox at Astros, 7 p.m. CT (NBC and Peacock)

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For you baseball hounds who want to watch every game, or have a secret other favorite baseball team you want to keep hidden from your sisters and brothers at South Side Sox, here’s the full slate of Wild Card broadcast games, per MLB:

The MLB postseason is here.

There are 12 teams headed to the playoffs including the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies, who needed wins in Game 162 to punch their respective tickets to the dance. But now, records reset to 0-0, and all 12 teams have an equal chance to win the World Series.

At least in theory.

But some teams are in a better position than others as the playoffs beckon. Here are the 12 teams in the MLB Playoffs, ranked by their chances of winning the World Series.

12. Houston Astros (81-81)

The Houston Astros became the first team in MLB history to win the division without a winning record.

This is a team that can mash, as the Astros led the majors with 226 home runs, 42 off the bat of MVP candidate Yordan Alvarez. Four other members of the lineup topped 20 home runs as well: Christian Walker, Jeremy Peña, Isaac Paredes, and Cam Smith.

But the problem is pitching, as the Astros were 24th in MLB in ERA and 21st in WHIP. Closer Josh Hader was solid in the second half, racking up 16 saves and posting a WHIP of 0.682, and Bryan Abreu has been dependable in front of him, but the bullpen has been inconsistent beyond those two.

So if the rotation cannot pitch deep into games, that will be a problem.

11. Chicago White Sox (84-78)

After losing more than 100 games in each of the past three seasons, the Chicago White Sox were one of baseball’s best stories this year, leading the AL Central for much of the season before sliding into the playoffs with a Wild Card spot.

Chicago is powered by a lineup that features three players with more than 30 home runs — Munetaka Murakami, Colson Montgomery, and Miguel Vargas — and as a team the White Sox posted an OBP 0f .320, second only to the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League.

However, the problem in the playoffs might be starting pitching. As a staff the White Sox starting pitchers posted an ERA of 4.60 this season (26th in the majors) and a WHIP of 1.34 (25th in the majors). That sets up a tough matchup, starting with the Wild Card Series against Houston.

But, they do have the Pope on their side.

10. Philadelphia Phillies (88-74)

The Philadelphia Phillies cut their magic number for a playoff spot to one with a win over the Milwaukee Brewers last Tuesday.

They lost their next four games by a combined score of 23-3, needing a win on the final day of the season to book a postseason berth.

Philadelphia did that on Sunday, clinching the final Wild Card spot in the NL with a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, and this star-laden team now gets a series with the Atlanta Braves to prove everyone wrong. Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Trae Turner bring the star power, and Jhoan Duran remains one of the best closers in baseball. Philadelphia also has Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez leading the rotation; however, manager Don Mattingly was forced to use Sánchez in the season finale, complicating his availability this week. Then there is Aaron Nola, who is coming off a spot start on short rest on Saturday and needs to play a big role despite some struggles this season.

Can a weary rotation, and a bullpen that has endured its own share of struggles in front of Duran, get the job done? That is the big question.

9. Cleveland Guardians (85-77)

While the Chicago White Sox were one of the biggest surprises of the MLB season, in the end the Cleveland Guardians clinched the AL Central, and a first-round playoff bye.

Their reward? After the bye Cleveland will have home-field advantage against the winner of the Houston-Chicago series, and they will avoid any of the AL East teams until a potential ALCS matchup.

The Guardians are led by their pitching, as Cleveland boasts both a strong rotation and a stellar bullpen. Gavin Williams and Parker Messick pace a starting staff that produced the ninth-best ERA among starters and the bullpen, led by closer Cade Smith and the trio of setup arms Hunter Gaddis, Eric Sabrowski, and Tim Herrin was even better, with the sixth-best ERA among bullpens in the majors.

If Cleveland gets enough production from the offense, that pitching staff could power them to the ALCS, where anything can happen.

8. Boston Red Sox (87-75)

After a brutal start cost manager Alex Cora his job, the Boston Red Sox used a 32-5 stretch to push into playoff contention.

But Boston cooled off after that torrid summer, and there are some questions facing this team as the playoffs loom. One is the health of the lineup. Ceddanne Rafaela is back after missing 16 games with a quad injury, but will Willson Contreras be fully healthy after getting hit by a pitch on his right hand in the final week of the season? A second question? Can the lineup bounce back after a difficult September. As a team, Boston posted an OPS of .651 in the month of September.

Which was dead last in the majors.

Pitching is not a question. The trio of Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suárez is one of the best left standing, and Aroldis Chapman has been dynamic at the back of the bullpen yet again. Boston could even get Garrett Crochet back from injury in a relief role, and Tanner Houck — who started Game 162 more than 500 days after his last MLB appearance, after working back from Tommy John surgery — could be in the mix out of the bullpen as well.

Which version of the Red Sox shows up, however, is the ultimate question.

7. Chicago Cubs (89-73)

The Chicago Cubs have one of the best offenses in baseball, led by MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong, the first center fielder in MLB history to produce a 40/40 season. This is a lineup that led the majors with a team OPS of .767, and a team slugging percentage of .428. Beyond Crow-Armstrong, Alex Bregman, Ian Happ, Michael Busch, and Seiya Suzuki all put 20 home runs on the board this season.

The Cubs also have one of the best defenses in baseball, again with Crow-Armstrong leading the way. The outfielder posted a Fielding Run Value (FRV) of +26 this season, tops in the majors, and the Cubs led all teams with a FRV of +72 this year, ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals who posted a +45.

The problem? Pitching. The Cubs starters posted a team ERA of 4.27 this year — worst among NL playoff teams — and only two teams gave up more home runs than the Cubs this year. And a staff that has been hampered by injuries faces another question on that front as the playoffs loom, as Kevin Gausman was injured on a tag play last week and suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder. Craig Counsell would love to have him for the series against the San Diego Padres.

The Cubs have the offense and the defense to win games, but do they have the pitching to win a series or two?

6. San Diego Padres (91-71)

If momentum could be measured, the San Diego Padres might be off the charts.

The Padres went 17-11 in August, and then 18-6 in September, to lock down a Wild Card spot. This was quite the turnaround for a team that was flirting with being sellers at the trade deadline. Leading the way was outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr., who did not homer over the first 55 games of the season but finished with 25 home runs and 38 steals, thanks to a torrid closing stretch. Jackson Merrill overcame a slow start of his own to finish with 26 home runs and 27 steals, giving the Padres their first 25/25 duo.

As a lineup, the Padres were second in both OPS and slugging percentage after the All-Star break, behind only the Cubs.

San Diego also has one of the best bullpens in baseball, with closer Mason Miller in form behind setup men Adrian Morejon and Bradgley Rodriguez.

They’ll host the Cubs in the Wild Card Series, and while Chicago won the season series 5-1, that was before San Diego’s late-season turnaround.

5. New York Yankees (93-68)

When the New York Yankees lost Aaron Judge for an extended period of the regular season, the lineup stepped up in his absence. While Judge played just 66 games and hit 18 home runs, the Yankees managed to belt 223 home runs, finishing second in the majors.

But with his status in question for the Wild Card Series against Boston, the rest of that lineup will need to step up yet again. And the matchup against the Red Sox will be a tough one, as Boston will likely throw Payton Tolle, Sonny Gray, and Ranger Suárez against them — a strong start — and the Red Sox have one of the best bullpens in the game.

And that matchup will be even tougher without Judge’s bat in the lineup.

We have a deeper preview of this series here.

4. Atlanta Braves (94-67)

While the Atlanta Braves would have loved a first-round bye, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers out of striking distance Atlanta was able to set their rotation for the Wild Card Series over the final week of the season. Chris Sale made his final start of the regular season last Wednesday on extra rest, and will be on extra rest when he gets the ball for Game 1. The same goes for Tyler Mahle, who will have extra rest ahead of an anticipated Game 2 start.

Plus the Braves get the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Series, who gave their fans something to worry about over the final few days of the season as they did not clinch a spot until Game 162.

3. Tampa Bay Rays (98-64)

Few people gave the Tampa Bay Rays a chance when the season began.

Leading with me, who put the Rays in the “True Longshots” category when the year began, along with the Diamondbacks, the Athletics, and the Twins.

But here are the Rays, the winners of the AL East and the team to beat in the American League. MCP candidate Junior Caminero has put up massive numbers for Tampa Bay — he slashed .276/.360/.524 this year along with 42 home runs — and is at the heart of a lineup that punishes pitchers from top-to-bottom. As a team the Rays hit .258 this season, the best number in the AL and tied with the Brewers for the top number in the majors, and the Rays also posted a team OPS of .728, behind only the Houston Astros in the American League.

Add in a staff that posted an MLB-best team WHIP of 1.14, tied with the Dodgers, and you have the recipe for a deep playoff run.

2. Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62)

The Los Angeles Dodgers got off to their annual hot start, endured a mid-season slump that raised more questions than answers about their chances at a three-peat, but enter the playoffs having found some of those answers.

Kyle Tucker’s season-long slump seems to be ending just in time for a post-season run, as he slashed .266/362/.557 in the month of September, his best stretch of the season by far. Shohei Ohtani and Will Smith are both back in the lineup, Edwin Diaz seems to have found his stuff — he was flawless in September, allowing just one hit in four appearances and striking out eight — and Mookie Betts is back to being Mookie Betts, as he slashed .345/.447/.690 in September, also putting up his best numbers of the season.

When you’ve won a pair of titles, you know when to turn it on.

The Dodgers seem to have done just that over the last month.

1. Milwaukee Brewers (103-59)

The Milwaukee Brewers top these rankings, as they topped 100 wins for the first time in franchise history.

But for this team, the real test comes in October. The Brewers have now won the NL Central for four consecutive years, and in five of the last six campaigns. What do they have to show for that? Two playoff wins, including a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the NLCS a year ago.

Jacob Misiorowski gives them a bonafide ace, as the big right-hander led the majors in ERA (1.86), ERA+ (225), WHIP (0.803), and K/9 (13.1) this season, and Logan Henderson has developed into a solid No. 2 for Milwaukee. If Kyle Harrison somehow recovers his first-half form (he was 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA before the All-Star Break, but went 3-3 with a 7.31 ERA in the second half of the season) this team could finally break through to the promised land.