Breaking down the ALCS and NLCS

The Major League Baseball playoffs are already flying by. The Wild Card games and Division Series’ are over and we have our two Championship Series set to start this weekend. In the American League, the matchup is a very surprising one, as the two teams who are in it have not had much success over the past decade. In the Kansas City Royals’ case, they haven’t had any success in almost 30 years, as they haven’t made the playoffs since 1985. The National League matchup is a bit more expected, as these two teams always seem to make noise in the playoffs. This article will breakdown and analyze each of the two series’, as they both should be exciting to watch.

ALCS: Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas City Royals

During spring training and the start of the regular season, it would be difficult to find someone who thought that these two teams would be playing each other for a chance to play in the 2014 World Series. However, both of these teams have been lingering towards greatness over the past few years. The Orioles did not make the playoffs last season, but they did during the 2012 season, in which they showed their fans and others that they were a team to watch out for in the future. The Royals won 86 games last year, which was not enough to get them to the postseason, but good enough to turn some heads. Now, the two teams have finally broken through and put themselves on showcase for the world to see.

The winner of this series is tough to predict, as both teams are playing their best baseball right now. The Royals and Orioles both swept their respective opponents in the Division Series, so there’s not much of an answer to which team is hotter at this moment. Baltimore seems like the better team overall, but the Royals seem to have a huge amount of confidence in themselves right now, so they believe that they can beat anybody in the league. The Orioles may have the edge in this series, but the Royals are no fluke and should not be looked upon as such by anyone. Expect an exciting series that could possibly go seven games with either team having an equal chance to win.

NLCS: San Francisco Giants vs. St. Louis Cardinals

A rematch of the 2012 National League Championship Series in which the Giants won in seven games, this year’s series features two of the National League’s best teams over the past five seasons. The Giants won the World Series in 2010 and 2012, while the Cardinals took the title home in 2011. Neither of these teams had an amazing season, but both teams played well enough at the right times to get into the postseason once again. The Cardinals seemed to be in second place in the National League Central all year long. Then the month of September rolled around and they went on a run to overtake the struggling Milwaukee Brewers and win the division. The Giants could not topple the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West, but they took care of the Pittsburgh Pirates easily in the Wild Card game to coast into the playoffs.

The starting pitching for both teams may play the biggest role in this series, as both teams have solid pitchers taking the mound each night. The number ones for both teams are two of the best pitchers in the National League, that being Adam Wainwright for St. Louis and Madison Bumgarner for San Francisco. “Waino” is scheduled to start game one on Saturday and Bumgarner will most likely be his counterpart in this game, but it is not official yet.

This series is also tough to predict, but leaning towards the Cardinals to win seems valid. They have home-field advantage in this series, which may be important to both teams. St. Louis also has a great coach in Mike Matheny, who has been successful in all three of his seasons at the helm. As long as Matheny is hitting the right switches for the Cardinals, they will be tough to take down. But, the Giants have a track record of postseason success during this decade, so they can never be looked at as a pushover. So, sit back, relax and enjoy another entertaining series that this one should be.