Cubs search for a Win

Cubs vs Mets:
    The Chicago Cubs are down in the series 2-0. Tonight, they host game 3 and look forward to receiving a win. If the Cubs lose, they will be sitting in a 0-3 hole in the series which by MLB research, many teams don't come back. On the other hand, the Mets look forward to taking the series at Wrigley by winning 2 of these next 3 at least.

Blue Jays vs Royals

Game 3:
     The Toronto Blue Jays took on the Kansas City Royals in Toronto for game 3. The Royals came into the first inning with hits. They started on top 1-0. Heading into the bottom of the 2nd, the Blue Jays started rallying and got 3 runs. The Royals answered back with a run their-selves in the top of the third. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Blue Jays bats were on fire scoring 6 runs! The score was now 9-2 with the Blue Jays lead. Skipping a few innings and heading into the 9th, the Royals were down 11-4 but didn't give up yet. They scored 4 runs but it came to an end with the result being 11-8 Blue Jays win! The series is now 2-1 Kansas City with game 4 tonight in Toronto.

ALCS; NLCS

     The Chicago Cubs have went up against the New York Mets twice over the weekend. The Cubs are 7-0 against the Mets in the regular season but so far they are 0-2 this postseason against them. The outcome for those games were wins for the Mets. Many believed with Jake Arrieta on the mound, the Cubs would've gotten a W. In this case, Jake Arrieta gave up 3 runs in the first inning; not the typical Arrieta. These two teams battle tomorrow at Wrigley Field for game 3.
    On the other side, the Kansas City Royals match up against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Royals have a 2-0 series lead and battle tonight in Toronto for game 3. The Blue Jays and Royals were down 0-2 in the ALDS so the Blue Jays know what to do to come back in this series.

Pitching Battle For Game 5

    Everyone knew this game would have been a pitching battle, oh boy it was. Both pitches gave up runs in the first inning, but deGrom gave up 2. Greinke sat on that lead until the 4th inning when the Mets used good base running to score on a sac fly to tie the game. Now both pitchers preforming well not wanting to give up a lead. But in the 6th inning Murphy went yard and now the Mets have the lead 3-2. Once the 6th was over the Mets decide that deGrom was done for the day, 6 innings 7K. Greinke was pulled in the same inning he gave up the home run to Murphy. He went 6 2/3 innings with 9K. The Mets will now play the Cubs in the NLDS.  

Two more move on!

   With the Texas Ranger having a 2-0 lead in the series everyone thought that they would win the series at some point. But the Toronto Blue Jays never gave up forcing a game 5, oh boy was game 5 a wild one. Texas was winning until the 6th inning when Encarnacion went yard to tie the game up at 2. That was the 1st game tying home run in a winner take all game in the 6th inning or later since 2003 ALDS game. The 7th inning was a wild one for both teams filed with errors. The Rangers were the first to score in the 7th on a very hard call on a error on the throw back to the pitcher. Then the Rangers had 2 big errors to start the 7th leaving the base loaded, with Josh Donaldson up. He hit a bloop single to score one, but the guy at second was out, up next was the powerful Joey Bautista. He hit a moon shot 3 run home run, the crowd was going nuts! There was a 5-10 minute delay in the game because fans were throwing things on the field. The fans were so loud after the home run that the camera was shaking to make the picture on the TV shake. The Blue Jays went on to win the game 6-3 and move on to the American League championship. 

Another series that a team was up 2-0 and ended up losing, the Houston Astros loss a 2-0 lead in the series to the Kansas City Royals. The Astros were the first team to strike with a two run home run in the second, that put the Royals fan in a nervous mode. But the Royals didn't go down without a fight. In the 4th inning Hosmer hit a solo shot to cut the lead in half. In the 5th  Rois hit a double to score 2 and grab the lead, Zobrist hit a sac fly to score Rois. After the 5th inning the Royals never looked back on there lead. Scoring 3 more runs off a Morales 3 run home run. The Kansas City Royals are moving on the face the Blue Jays in the American League championship. 

Kershaw does it

      The Los Angeles Dodgers were in a lose and done game last night against the New York Mets. All the Dodgers had to do was give a lead the best pitcher in the league and they did. In the 4th inning Gonzales singled to shallow center scoring Hernandez, then Turner doubled to left scoring Kendrick and Gonzalez. That's all the runs Clayton Kershaw needed. But the Murphy hit a solo shot off Kershaw, that was the only run he gave up. After that home run he was mowing batters down. Clayton Kershaw went 7 innings, 3 hits, and 8 K's. The next game for the Dodgers Greinke will get the start vs deGrom and the Mets. He did enough to provide the Dodgers to stay in the playoffs and force a game 5. 

THE CUBS WIN!!!!!!

    As you may know its always been opposite for the Cardinals, it's usually them advancing to the NL championship. But last night it changed for the cards. The Chicago Cubs beat a very good St. Louis Cardinals 6-4. The Chicago fans were going crazy, its there first time since 2003 that the Cubs are moving on the the NL championship. It's the first time in franchise history that the Cubs have won a finishing series game at home. With Hammel giving up that two run home run in the first, the Cubs were in the hole early. But once again Chicago wasn't going to go down without a couple home runs form  Rizzo, Schwarber, and Baez. Those home runs were huge for Chicago and the fans loved it. Yelling, screaming, standing, and whistling, that's what the Cubs fans were during the game and it helped. The fans last night were LIT after the game."The fans deserve this" said Anthony Rizzo.

Dinger City

The Cubs, Mets, Cardinals, and the Dodgers combined 12 home runs! That is incredible the Cubs had 6 as a team that is most by a team in a game in the post season.

  The Cubs are the team shocking the world.The Chicago Cubs beat the St. Louis Cardinals 8-6 with the hot bats of the first 6 batters in the Cubs order. The Chicago fans are playing a big role in this playoff run bigger loud and FLYING the W after every win. The dream has finally came true beating the Cardinals in the postseason. They are up 2-1 in the series and they play tonight at Wrigley field. Can the Cubs hit like they did last night and finally put a stop to this slump? Will Jason Hammel be able to shut down the Cardinals and move on?  GO CUBS GO!!

The Mets came out hot and ready to fight for Ruben Tejada. The fans had signs that said win for Ruben. Even though the Dodgers didn't play Chase Utley, the Mets fans didn't like the slide. The Mets didn't give up the lead every since they scored. Matt Harvey was wheeling and dealing on the mound , 5 innings pitched with 7 K's. The Mets offense brought there bats last night and are ready to take the game tonight. Will Clayton Kershaw be able to shut out the Mets fans and get W on the mound tonight?

To Stay Alive In The AL

    The Astros vs  Royals this was a big game for both teams, lose or go home for the Royals. They were both even at 2 until the 5th inning when the Astros scored 1. But then a big 3 run 7th inning from the Astros put all the Royals fans on the edge of there seats. The Royals were not ready to end the year. With the bases loaded in the 8th for the Royals. Cain strikes with a single up the middle scoring one, now Hosmer singles scores one again. Morales grounded into a fielders choice but an error on the short stop scores 2, its tied. Dee Gordon grounded out to second with a RBI scoring Hosmer. In the 9th inning Hosmer hit a two run home run just to secure the lead. The Kansas City Royals survive and win 9-2.

    The Blue Jay vs Rangers was a lose and go home for the Blue Jays and they played like that. The Blue Jays scored a quick 3 runs in the 1st inning, but they weren't done. Toronto scored 7 runs before the Rangers even scored 1 run. Only if the Blue Jays could play like all the time.This game was a blow out win for the Blue Jays 8-4, and force a game 5.

  

All FOUR Teams Play tonight

American League:
     The defending American League Champions Kansas City Royals are in trouble down 2-1 to the Houston Astros. With Yordano Ventura on the bump for the Royals, he already has a loss in the series. Lance McCullers is going to be on the bump for the Astros, he hasn't pitched at all this post season, but he was 6-7 during the year. With Houston having amazing offense during the playoffs and only need a win to move on. Will Yordano be able to slow it down and force a game 5?

     The Toronto Blue Jays take on the Texas Rangers in an elimination game for them. Last night, the Blue Jays knew they needed to bring their A game on the road. They took the game 5-1 and are down 2-1 in the series. Tonight, they are looking forward to doing the same and bringing the series finale to Toronto. R.A. Dickey goes up against the Rangers and Derek Holland pitches for the Rangers.

National League:
     A 1-1 series Dodgers (Brett Anderson) @ Mets (Matt Harvey). With the Dodgers being steamed about Chase Utley slide that broke Ruben Tejada's right leg. It could be a brawl tonight to get back at Utley for that horrible slide. Will the Dodgers be able to get past the high heat of Harvey? Will Brett Anderson be able to pitch good enough for the win?

     Probably the most hyped game for tonight is the Cardinals @ Cubs! The Chicago Cubs are hosting their first postseason game since 2008. It'll be a showdown between Jake Arrieta and Michael Wacha. The series is tied at 1 a piece. The Chicago Cubs are arguably the hottest team in baseball right now. The Cubs are looking forward to taking their first series lead in which they haven't done since 2003.

UPSET in the postseason already?!

   With both road teams and lower seeds winning last night, that means that's a up set baby! David Price got the start for the Blue jays, he was on a 6 game win streaking coming into the game. But hes made 6 career playoffs starts but is 0-6. David Price is now 0-7 with a loss to the Texas Ranger, in the 5th David hit a batter then gave up a home run to seal the lead for the Rangers. But then got a insurance run in the 7th to win 5-3.

   Now it is time to talk about the Royals and the Astros, the Astros came out hot in the first inning getting a quick 2 runs in the first. Then in the 2nd Altuve singled to right to score one more, he is having a great post season so far. But then Kendry Morales hit two jacks in the game, one in the 2nd and another one in the 4th. But that wasn't enough to stop the Astros high powering offense, hitting two home runs one in the 5th (Spranger) and another one in the 8th (Rasmus). 

    

Astros and Cubs Advance!

     As you may know already, the Houston Astros advance to take on the Kansas City Royals in the ALDS and the Chicago Cubs take on the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS. The Houston Astros vs. New York Yankees was a great game for the Astros because of their offense. The Astros continued to hit well and that showed in the outcome of the game. The Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates game was crazy! Jake Arrieta pitched a complete game allowing only 4 hit and had 11 strikeouts! Things got heated up in the seventh inning when Jake Arrieta was hit by a pitch which caused benches to clear. Overall, the Cubs power hitting and dominant pitching led the win for them as they take on St. Louis in a tough battle.

Cubs @ Pirates

As you may know Nick is a Cubs fan and Austin is a Pirates fan. It is going to be a wild night, texting back and forth and bragging to each other.
 Once again another wild card game for the Pirates that have both times in the wild card round the past two years. But for the Cubs its the first time in the playoffs since 2008. These teams are going to come out battling, its going to be a pitching performance Cole vs Arrieta. These two pitches can be related to the best pitchers in the MLB, both are nominees for the CY young. For Cubs to win they are going to need Arrieta to at least get to 7 innings and need the high powering rookie Kris Bryant to continue his tremendous year. On the other hand the Pirates need to keep Cole on the bump for 7 or 8 innings. Also the all star center fielder Andrew McCutchen needs to play a big role on defense and offense. This is going to be a vary tight game. Battle of the National League Wild Card.       

Astros @ Yankees

Tonight's the first wild card game Houston Astros (Keuchel) @ New York Yankees (Tanaka). We really think this game is going to come down to the team that can score just one run. The two pitchers are incredible, the long they stay in they better chance that team can win. The Astros have been in a real slump towards the end of the year, hopefully they can turn around and provide good offense. Also Kuechel is pitching on a very short rest. Will that make the Astros fall short? The Yankees don't really have a good pitching rotation, but they can hit. We will find out the winner of the wild card tonight @8:00 ET.

MLB Playoff Bracket is Set

MLB Playoffs:
     The MLB playoffs are set in stone! The Houston Astros will take on the New York Yankees on Tuesday the 6th and the Chicago Cubs will play at PNC park on Wednesday, the 7th. The Cubs and Pirates have the 2nd and 3rd best records and whoever wins that wild card game will take on the best record team, St. Louis Cardinals. Many people believe this is wrong considering the Dodgers and Mets have worse records but deserve a series. Below are pictures of our playoff predictions from September 2nd. Nick predicted EVERY single team and seed # in the playoffs a month ago even when the Texas Rangers were down 6 games to the Astros. Austin got the entire American League right but was wrong in the National League.

The Playoff Bracket:

Nick's Predictions:

Austin's Predictions:

AL Wild Card Race

 Right now the Houston Astros have the second wild card sport, but it is not yet clinched. The Angels and the Twins are one game back, but the Twins play the Royals the last 3 games. The Angels have the Rangers the lead of the AL West and clinched birth to the playoffs. Our prediction has the Angels getting the second wild card spot and bumping the Twins out and making the Astros out of the push by a half game. The Astros are just not developed team yet, the Angels have a team that have not good pitching but offensive they are good. Our prediction have the Yankees and the Angels getting the Wild Card spots.

Battle for the Wild Card Spots in the AL

American League:
     Congratulations to the Toronto Blue Jays for clinching their division for the first time in 22 years. The Kansas City Royals have clinched the AL Central as well. Now there is a huge battle for the wild card with only 3-4 games left of the season. The New York Yankees have the 1 spot by 2.5 games and the Houston Astros have the 2nd wild card spot by 0.5 games. The Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins are still in the race as well. Although the Texas Rangers are not in the wild card spot BUT winning their division, they still aren't guaranteed a playoff spot being only 2.5 games above the Houston Astros.

National League Postseason Bracket

National League:
      The National League Postseason Bracket is set in stone. The St. Louis Cardinals have clinched the National League central and the best record in the league causing home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Chicago Cubs will be taking the Pittsburgh Pirates most likely at PNC Park. The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets will face each other in the NLDS but now it's just to see who has home field in Game 5 in that 5-game series.

BIG night for the CARDS

    It would be a dream come true to get 100 wins, clinch the NL central, and Clinch home field advantage. This big win now knocks down the Pirates to 1 seed in the wild card, they will face the Cubs. But the Cardinals are big favorites to take the NL title home. Now that they have Adam Wainwright back, but Cardinals manager said he will be coming out of the bullpen and won't rush him back in. The bad thing is for the Cards is the Carlos Martinez got placed on the 60 day DL. I wish the best of luck to the Cardinals and the rest of the teams in the playoffs.  

St. Louis @ Pittsburgh

Cardinals @ Pirates
     Today the St. Louis Cardinals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in a double-header. If the St. Louis Cardinals win one game, they clinch the NL Central. Game 1 happened at 12:35pm central time and the result was an 8-2 Pirates victory. If the Pittsburgh Pirates win game 2 today, they only trail 2.0 games from the Cardinals to take the divisional title. The Pirates are in a do-or-die situation for the NL Central title.

User tony_iossi20's Postseason Predictions

Tony_Iossi20
     As we said earlier, please send in your postseason predictions. We will post them and compare them with ours. Today, user tony_iossi20 sent in his predictions based on the postseason picture as of today. He believed that "This is Our Year" for the Chicago Cubs to win it all. Although, I, Nick, am a Chicago Cubs fan, I don't see them getting past the St. Louis Cardinals as viewed in my post a month ago. The St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball and always seem to do well in the playoffs. I do agree with the Toronto Blue Jays making it to the postseason just like tony_iossi20 did because the Blue Jays pitching has been amazing and their offense is too strong to handle on the defensive side. Furthermore, I could see tony_iossi20's postseason predictions happen. I, Austin, believe the Chicago Cubs won't even get past the wild card round against the Pittsburgh Pirates. I believe the St. Louis Cardinals will pass the Pittsburgh Pirates and take on the New York Mets. Although I am deferring tony_iossi20's national league picks, I agree for most part of the American League, especially the Toronto Blue Jays prediction on making the 2015 World Series.

User tony_iossi20's Playoff Prediction Bracket

American League West Update

AL West
     As you might have heard, the Houston Astros are currently out of the playoffs by 0.5 games. Less than 2 weeks ago they were on top of their division and now NOT EVEN in the playoffs. Last night, the Astros took on the Seattle Mariners on the road and lost 4-6. They were up 4-2 for most of the game until the bottom of the eighth when they came back. The Los Angeles Angels took on the Oakland Athletics at home and won 8-1. This caused the Angels to move up to second place and have the Astros drop to third in their division. There are currently 4 games left in the regular season. The Texas Rangers are on top but could fall to being OUT of the playoffs. The current standings go; Texas Rangers (--), Los Angeles Angels, (-2.0), Houston Astros (-2.5).

MLB Trivia

1. Which team has the most MLB World Series titles?

2. What year did the Toronto Blue Jays come into the American League?

3. What Texas Ranger led the team with 57 home runs in 2002?

4. What division was the Houston Astros in before the American League West?

5. When is the last time the Chicago Cubs won the National League pennant? (year)

Comment below or email us the answers! Give us an anonymous user name and we will post tomorrow about who was right and/or the first to get it correct!

Jake Arrieta's Outstanding Performance

Jake Arrieta vs. Pittsburgh Pirates:

     Jake Arrieta pitched last night against the Pittsburgh Pirates in a game many thought would be his SECOND no hitter on the season! He was pitching lights out until the 7th inning and had a home run himself! He passed Zack Greinke in the race for the Cy Young award. He is now leading the Cy Young race by 10 Cy Young points and is ranked the #1 pitcher in baseball of the year. Many people believe he will be the starting pitcher for the Chicago Cubs in the wild card round since he dominated the Pittsburgh Pirates last night. 

Teams That Clinched the playoffs

     The first team to clinch a playoff spot was the St Louis Cardinals with a record of 97-56. The Pittsburgh Pirates were the second team to clinch a spot with a record of 93-60 and thy got there 10,000 win as a club. The third team to make it to the playoffs were the Kansas City Royal with the record of 89-63. The two best record teams are in the same division, only if they did the seeding by record and not division.

Playoff Bracket (Based on Today) 9-24-15

If the MLB playoffs were to start today, here is what it would look like:

20th win

    Jake Arrieta last night got his 20th win this year, that's the first pitcher this year with 20 wins. He is the 27th pitcher to reach 20 wins in the Chicago Cubs franchise and the first to do so since Jon Lieber back in 2001. Jake is having a fantastic year, pitching a no hitter and having 20 wins. Jake said that when he came out in the 9th inning to pitch last night that the fans were ready. The fans have been great!

Yogi Berra Dies at Age 90

     I woke up this morning and checked my Twitter when I was devastated by the news of Yogi Berra's passing. He died at the age of 90. Yogi Berra is arguably one of the greatest players to play the game of baseball. He mainly played for the New York Yankees in the 1940's-1960's. He ended up finishing his career as a New York Met. He managed the Yankees and Mets as well. He ended up becoming the coach for both teams and eventually with the Houston Astros. Yogi was an 18x all star, 13x world series champion, and a 3x AL MVP. Yogi Berra joined WWII to help out our country and later returned to play baseball again. He served as a gunner's mate on the D-Day invasion. One of his most famous sayings is, "When you come to a fork in the road, take it." Below is a video of Yogi Berra and his highlights.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cDabcSfIZA

Home Run Leaders!

     As the season is coming to a close with 15 games or below left, we decided to post about the league leaders in home runs currently in the MLB. There is a 3-way tie in fourth between Josh Donaldson, Mike Trout, and Nolan Arenado with 39 a piece. Sitting at the 3 spot is Bryce Harper, debate-ably the NL MVP, with 40 home runs. Nelson Cruz has 42 home runs and is behind the first place leader by one home run. The league leader in home runs is Chris Davis with 43 home runs!

Are The Astros Done?

What are the Astros doing? They gave up a 7 game lead to the Rangers. The young Houston Astros, were 4th in runs batted in up till the all star break. In August they were 25th and in September they were 16th. Now they are second in the Wild Card on 1.5 games ahead on the Twins. Will the young players be able to make a turn around and keep being in the playoff picture? What team will take advantage of the mistakes of the Astors?  

Chicago Cubs @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Cubs @ Pirates:
     The Cubs have been playing the Pirates at PNC Park the past few days. Today is the last day of the 4 game series with the Cubs leading 2-1. Last night, The Cubs and Pirates went into extra innings. The outcome of the game was a 3-2 Cubs win with some key plays in the game as well. These games matter so much since the season is coming to a close. For the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning this game today would help them creep up to first, being 3 games back if the Cardinals lose too, in the division while the Cubs are trying to hold their wild card spot and possibly contend for the NL Central title. Will the Cubs take the series 3-1 or will the Pirates tie it at 2 a piece?

Link to the Cubs double play:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v484312483

Link to the Pirates throw from left field:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v484479983

Rangers Take the Lead in the AL West

Astros @ Rangers:
      The Houston Astros and Texas Rangers have faced off twice in a four game series. Last night, the The Rangers started off hot scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Astros responded quickly to score 3 runs in the top of the second inning. Further on the game became tied at 5 a piece. In the bottom of the ninth, the Rangers scored the winning run by a sacrifice fly ball! The Texas Rangers now lead the AL West!

Predict the Winner for each Award!

Pick one player for each league and vote for each category! Send it to nickaustin532@gmail.com

Rookie of the Year:  
AL-                  
NL-

CY Young:  
AL-    
NL-

MVP:          
AL-
NL-

THIS COULD BE POSTED ONTO OUR BLOG!!!

Cy Young Race

Cy Young Race:
    The race for the Cy Young Award is very close in the National League while the American League basically has it's winner, Dallas Keuchel, since he is nearly 50 projected points above Felix Hernandez. In the National Leauge, Zack Greinke leads with 198.7 projected points with Jake Arrieta, 10 points away, and Clayton Kershaw only behind 20 points. The National League holds many great pitchers than the American League. Zack Greinke leads the NL Cy Young Race with a 17-3 record, 1.61 ERA, 182 K, 36 ER, and has pitched 200.2 innings. The AL Cy Young Race leader, Dallas Keuchel, is leading with a 17-7 record, 2.22 ERA, 192 K, 51 ER, and has pitched 206.2 innings.

Send us an email about your opinions and we could post them onto our blog.

AL West Update

This week is a big week in the AL West, the Rangers are .5 games behind the Astros. The Ranger host the Astros tonight and the Astros will have their aces on the mound the next night too. But can the Rangers be able to perform like they did last night and beat the Astros?  But last night the Rangers got the win. With Prince Fielder's two run bomb to break up the tie gave the Rangers just enough runs to beat out the Astros. The Astros manager said “ We aren’t just battling for the AL West, we are battling for the best team in Texas.” Will the Astros pitching be able to slow down the Rangers bats? We will see in this 4 game series!


Please go take our survey, and send you're opinions to our email nickaustin532@gmail.com

New York Mets Winning Streak

New York Mets:
Yet again, the New York Mets have made our blog. The Mets have been unstoppable lately. Since they have acquired Yoenis Cespedes, they have been 30-11. Last time we blogged about the New York Mets was 12 days ago when Cespedes hit his 10th home run as a New York Met. Today he has 17 home runs with them. That’s right…He has hitten 7 in the past 12 days! The New York Mets are now on top of the NL East by 9.5 games making it a tough challenge for the Washington Nationals to come back and take the division title. The Mets have won 8 in a row and been 9-1 in the past 10 games! Talk about a team red-hot team!

Here is a video about Yoenis Cespedes Home Run Swing:

http://m.mlb.com/video/v480051583

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Weekend Review

    Well it wasn’t the biggest weekend in baseball but it was for the Pirates. This weekend the Pirates swept the Brewers and the Cardinals went 1-2 against the Reds. That means that the Pirates are 2.5 games back from the Cards. This Week the Pirates play the Cubs if they manage to stay hot maybe we could see a change in the division lead. The games between the Cubs and Pirates should be a great pitching match up with all their best pitchers pitching. But what team will have the bats to pull out the win? Another big thing that happened this weekend was David Ortiz hit his 500th career home run. CONGRATS BIG PAPI!!!!!!!!!!  


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZF3CZxV5J1Y

Showdown in the AL East

   The New York Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays in a 4-game series. These games matter for both teams considering the Toronto Blue Jays are only 1.5 games above the New York Yankees in the AL East. If the Yankees sweep the Blue Jays this weekend then they will take the lead in the AL East. The Yankees have to go up against David Price, R.A. Dickey, Marco Estrada, and Marcus Stroman. The Blue Jays have a dominant pitching rotation for this weekend. While the Blue Jays have to face off against Ivan Nova, Luis Severino, Michael Pineda and Mashairo Tanaka. Both teams are looking forward to winning this weekend more than this entire season since these games could affect the outcome of the division champion.

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Cubs vs. Cardinals

     The past three days the Chicago Cubs have taken on the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. This match-up is one of the key match-ups for both teams. In game 1, it was a duel between Dan Haren and Lance Lynn. Dan Haren went seven innings and gave up seven hits while Lance Lynn gave up seven hits but was pulled in the second inning. The Cubs were hitting very well and ended up receiving the W by the score of 9-0. In game 2 of the series, Jason Hammel and Michael Wacha went head-to-head in a pitching battle. Austin Jackson for the Cubs played extremely well. He had two hits with two runs to add to it. The Chicago Cubs were winning 8-0, scoring 17 straight runs, but in the seventh inning, the Cardinals went off. They scored 5 more runs and gave St. Louis fans hope. Nothing happened after that, giving the Cubs a win 8-5. In game 3, Jonathan Broxton and Clayton Richard were the starting pitchers. In the fifth inning, Coghlan made a SportsCenter top 10 play by diving into the stands! The Cubs were up 3-1 for most of the game 'till the bottom of the eighth when the Cardinals scored 3 runs. If you are a Cubs fan, you saw that coming since the bullpen always seems to let up in late innings. The Chicago Cubs travel to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania today with Jake Arrieta as pitcher. The St. Louis Cardinals go up against the the Reds in Cincinnati, Ohio with Jaime Garcia.

Chris Coghlan's Catch in the Fifth Inning of Game 3 (9/9/15):

http://m.mlb.com/chc/video/topic/135309324/v466985883/?c_id=chc

Labor Day Match ups

Labor Day Weekend:

• Twins @ Astros- The Houston Astros host the Minnesota Twins in a AL battle. The Twins are battling for the wild card and the Astros are trying to hold on to the AL central division lead. The Houston Astros are hope that Collin McHugh can carry over his success from August and for Dallas Keuchel to stay hot this year. If the Twins can get 3 big wins it would help them move up in the Wild Card. But Miguel Sano is going to have to keep having a great rookie year and lead the Twins to the Wild Card. Will Collin McHugh and Dallas Keuchel be able to take down the very talented rookie?

• Pirates @ Cardinals-  The St. Louis Cardinals are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates in a NL Central battle. This series is very important to the Pirates since they are 6.5 games back from the Cardinals. If the Pirates could possible sweep or just not split the series it would be to catch back up. The Pirates have two hottest pitchers on the mound for them for two games in the series. But will it be hot enough to slow down Yadi Molina and Matt Carpenter?

 

• Rangers @ Angels- The Los Angeles Angels are taking on the Texas Rangers in a three game series at Angel Stadium. The Texas Rangers stand in place as the second wild card team and are only 2.0 games back from the AL West behind the Houston Astros. The Los Angeles Angels sit in third place in the AL West by 5.5 games and are 3.5 back from the Rangers for the second wild card spot. The Texas Rangers need to win this series to keep their placement in the wild card race and maybe take over the division depending on the Astros-Twins series. The Los Angeles need these wins to make the wild card spot come closer towards them. Prince Fielder can help the Rangers this weekend considering be bats .500 against Rougned Odor and Josh Hamilton has been cleared now for a few weeks. But it looks like the Angels have a better chance of winning this series considering it’s at home and they are 8-4 against the Rangers this year. Shane Victorino can lead the Angels to victory this weekend since he is 1.000 against Perez.

• Rays @ Yankees-The New York Yankees host the Tampa Bay Rays in an AL East rivalry. The New York Yankees are in second in their division behind the Toronto Blue Jays by 1.5 games. The Tampa Bay Rays are in third place but in a deep hole being 10 games behind the division leader, Toronto. The Yankees hold the first wild card spot while the Rays need to get on a winning streak since they are 4.5 games back to take the second wild card spot. These two teams go head-to-head in a three game series this Labor Day weekend. The New York Yankees are heading towards a long stretch against other AL East teams which are key for them to make the playoffs. Stephen Drew will be a great help for the Yankees this weekend. He has been batting .750 in the past four games with two home runs and nine RBI’s. Other known players that can help the Yankees get the wins this weekend are Carlos Beltran and Greg Bird. Beltran has a long hitting streak going at home and Greg Bird has seemed to show that he is worth starting at first base. For the Tampa Bay Rays, they need to sweep the Yankees in New York to really help them qualify for the playoffs. Players such as Evan Longoria and Logan Forsythe can benefit the Rays for this weekend. Longoria has been cranking home runs and Forsythe has been batting 0.786 in the past four games. Overall, this weekend can affect these teams for the better and the worse.

Toronto Blue Jays Update

Toronto Blue Jays:  

As you may know the Blue Jays had one of the best trade deadlines in history of MLB baseball. Before the trade deadline the Blue Jays were 50-50, now they are 76-57, that's 26-7 since the deadline. The last two times the Toronto Blue Jays reached a point of a 76-57 record, they went on to win the 1992 and 1993 World Series. They were 7.0 games behind the Yankees in their division, now they are 1.5 ahead of the Yankees. The Blue Jays got David Price, Troy Tulowitzki, and Ben Revere out of the trade deadline. The Blue Jays pitching rotation ERA is 1.87 in August. Last night, (9-2-15)  RA Dickey pitched a complete game and only gave up one run, he is 7-0 since the trade deadline. The Blue Jays have 153 home runs in the season that's the most in the MLB as a team, 76 of those home runs came from Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, or Jose Bautista. You could say the Blue Jays are one for the hottest teams in the MLB right now.   

New York Mets Update

Philadelphia Phillies @ New York Mets:

The New York Mets hosted the Philadelphia Phillies last night in an extraordinary game. In the bottom of the second, Ruben Tejada lines one into right field. The Phillies right fielder, Domonic Brown attempts to stop the ball but flips over the fence allowing Ruben Tejada to score an inside-the-park homerun. In the bottom of the third, Michael Conforto hit a home run to opposite field as he continues his hot streak. Later on in the game, Yoenis Cespedes hits his tenth home run as a New York Met in style. The New York Mets went on to win easily 9-4. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the New York Mets go deep in the playoffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8o_2i5bxc0M

Nicks' Postseason Prediction

     Nick's Prediction- 
          National League: Once the season is over, I believe that this is what the playoff bracket will look like. In the National League, I agreed with Bleacher Report and chose the St. Louis Cardinals as the number one seed. The reason why I agreed is because the St. Louis Cardinals have the best record in baseball by 4.5 games. Also, the St. Louis Cardinals have been 8-2 in their past ten games and have a 47-19 record at home which is the best home record. All in all, the St. Louis Cardinals have been red hot than any other team which allows them to take the number one seed. Furthermore, in the National League West I had the Los Angeles Dodgers winning their division and holding a better record than the New York Mets. The reason of this being is because Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw pitch lights out. Many people have the thought of the New York Mets having a great pitching rotation, which they do, but I still don't see their pitching as good as the duel of Greinke and Kershaw. Bleacher Report had the same idea of what seeds either team would get. To conclude the National League playoff picture, I had the Pittsburgh Pirates playing the Chicago Cubs in Pittsburgh. Since the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs are two teams with the top four records in the MLB, following the St. Louis Cardinals and Kansas City Royals, I believe it will be a great matchup not only because of their records but because they both are rivals in the National League Central. The reason why I chose the Chicago Cubs over the Pittsburgh Pirates is because I believe the Cubs will come with Jake Arrieta as pitching. Jake Arrieta is an unstoppable pitcher with a record of 17-6. Also, the Chicago Cubs have so much young talent like Kris Bryant for example. In the National League Divisional round, I have the Chicago Cubs going up against the St. Louis Cardinals in a best of five game series. The St. Louis Cardinals are the best team in baseball so I chose them to beat the Cubs easly, even though I'm a Cubs fan. In the other NLDS game, I have the New York Mets going against the Los Angeles Dodgers which I believe the New York Mets will take it because of their pitching rotation and I feel there will be an upset somewhere in the playoffs. To conclude the National League, I have the New York Mets going against the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cardinals coming out with the W in best of 7 game series.

    American League: In the American League side, I believe the Kansas City Royals will take the one seed since they are the best team in the AL. I don't see them going ice cold later on in the season. For the two seed, I got the Toronto Blue Jays because they have been ON FIRE! After their pickups of David Price and Troy Tulowitzki, their team has been unstoppable. Their offense is very powerful now, even before the Tulowitzki pickup. Even though the Houston Astros are winning the AL West, I feel the Texas Rangers can make a comeback with Adrian Beltre and Mike Napoli leading the way. For the wild card, I got the New York Yankees as the first wild card team making it, since they always seem to find a spot in the postseason. For the second wild card team, I believe the Houston Astros will still make it since they have a great record so far this season. The New York Yankees will beat the Houston Astros at Yankee Stadium easily with Alex Rodriguez being as hot as he has been this season. In the ALDS, the number one seed Kansas City Royals will take the four seed New York Yankees. I have the New York Yankees, yes the New York Yankees, upsetting the Kansas City Royals! I believe the Kansas City Royals are still a great team but don't have the capability of going further in the playoffs like last season. On the other side of the bracket is the #2 Toronto Blue Jays taking on the #3 Texas Rangers. The Toronto Blue Jays have a better offense and defense so I believe they will take it easily. In the ALCS the Toronto Blue Jays will play the New York Yankees and like I said, the Toronto Blue Jays are still the best team since the All Star break so I have them in the World series as well.

   World Series: In a close battle between the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays I got the Toronto Blue Jays winning the world series in game seven! First of all, the Toronto Blue Jays are very good at hitting and have one of the best team chemistry in baseball, in my opinion. Plus, who doesn't like to see an upset? The St. Louis Cardinals have been in three World Series in the past ten years. The Toronto Blue Jays haven't been in the World Series since 1993. Overall, the Toronto Blue Jays will take the World Series ring this year.

Bleacher Report's Playoff Picture

     Unfortunately we were not able to find Bleacher Report's filled out bracket but we did find numerous articles of what they believe the playoffs will look like when the season is finished.

Austin's Postseason Predictions

    Austin Prediction- I choose the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 1 seed in the National League because I believe they can catch the St. Louis Cardinals with there hot pitching. I have the Pittsburgh Pirates losing in the NLDS because the past few years they've made the playoffs, they've lost first round they place. I have the Mets winning the pennant because they have the best pitching starting line up in the MLB. In the American league no one will take over the one seed from the Kansas City Royals. But I do believe that the Kansas City Royals are going to choke in the post season, because they don't look like the same team as last year. The Astros are going to clinch the Wild Card, and lose in the American league championship. I believe the Toronto Blue Jays will win the pennant and the World Series because of their trade pickups of Troy Tulowitzki and David Price. The Toronto Blue Jays have been one of the hottest teams since the All Star break as well. (Click on photo below to view).  

NL Central Battle For The Post Season

NL Central

The last couple of months you have been hearing about the NL Central and how there is a tight race. Well in the last 10 game the cardinals are 7-3 with their hot hitting offense lead by Matt Carpenter. The Pirates in last 10 are also 7-3 with there hot pitching lead by Garrett Cole 2.44 era and Francisco Liriano is unstoppable at home. Finally, last night the Chicago Cubs went head-to-head against the Los Angeles Dodgers. One player rose above others as Arrieta got his first career no-hitter. After the All Star break last season, Arrieta started to show his dominant pitching with the Cubs. This year he is showing the same skill as the Chicago Cubs make a postseason push.

National League

The race for the two wild card playoff spots in the National League aren’t very close, considering The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates are two teams that have the top four best records in the MLB. The Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants have a better chance of taking the pennant within their division. The Washington Nationals are 6.5 games back from the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants are only 2.5 games back from the Los Angeles Dodgers. The St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago Cubs are battling for the the NL Central. The winner of that division has the best chance of taking the number one seed in the National League Postseason.

American League

The race for the two wild card playoff spots in the American League are up for grabs by pretty much every team.The New York Yankees are in first place in the wild card hunt while the Texas Rangers are in second place as wild card team but only by 0.5 games. The Los Angeles Angels and Minnesota Twins are battling to take that position. The division leaders are the Toronto Blue Jays, Kansas City Royals, and Houston Astros.

All About Us

Hello our names are Nick Mulholland and Austin Kalar. We are students at Bettendorf High school in Iowa, right on the border of Mississippi River. Nick plays baseball and tennis, while Austin plays baseball and football. The Chicago Cubs are Nick's favorite team while Austin likes the Pittsburgh Pirates. We created this blog to inform viewers about the race to the MLB Postseason. This blog is opinion based but has a variety of information to back it up. We try to post every day to keep our viewers up to date as we count down the days till the playoffs.