With the four American League teams finally confirmed for the playoffs proper, it's time for our annual prediction post. Usually this post pops up just after the Blue Jays season is over, but this time we'll get a chance to predict a series that Toronto actually finds themselves in! Excitement! Feel free to pick whoever you want, but you'll receive a two-year ban if you pick a team that shares their mascot with a New York hockey team.
To get the rules out of the way, you're required to enter the winner of the two ALDS series' along with the number of games it will take for your chosen winner to advance. To avoid any issues with ties, you'll need to include the amount of runs scored over the course of the entire series. Also as a fun little extra, include the series 'MVP' in your comment and don't be afraid to get a little creative with it (cough Dalton Pompey cough). Also, please REC all of the prediction comments so they're easy to keep track of. Since I have the power to post my prediction in the body of this post, I will choose to exercise it.
Blue Jays vs. Rangers
Before a playoff series sometimes everything seems so clear and you feel as though you can predict exactly how it's going to go. That's how I feel about the first Blue Jays ALDS appearance in 22 years. The first game sees Yovani Gallardo matching up against David Price, which is certainly advantage Blue Jays. Gallardo has had success this year against the Jays sure, but he's escaped the sixth inning in just one occasion since July meaning his impact on the game will be relatively small for a starting pitcher. On the other hand, David Price has been dominant during his time with the Blue Jays and should figure to go deep in the game giving the Blue Jays the edge. Game two sees one of the best pitching matchups you can dream of as Cole Hamels goes up against Marcus Stroman in a true David vs. Goliath battle in both size and playoff pedigree. It could go either way, but you'd have to back the postseason experience of the southpaw on Friday afternoon.
I see the two games in Texas being offensive battles, with the Blue Jays coming out on top in both as they face off against a pair of mediocre lefty starters for the Rangers. Toronto should be able to out-slug any team in the league and the high-powered Texas lineup is no exception. One of these two games in Arlington could end up with a scoreline of 11-9, but it should be in the Jays' favour.
Prediction: Blue Jays in four
Runs scored: 40
Series MVP: Edwin Encarnacion
Royals vs. Astros
Despite stumbling down the stretch run, the Astros are a fine team and should give the Royals a rough go of it in this series. After his dominating performance against the Yankees in the Wild Card game last night, Dallas Keuchel should win his start that in all likelihood occurs on Sunday afternoon. The rest of the series could go either way, but I see the 'Stros being the so-called 'team of destiny' this season who make a run after sneaking into the playoffs a la the 2014 Royals. The series should be a fun one to watch with the flamboyant and flashy Houston squad going up against the faux tough guys in Kansas City.
Prediction: Astros in five
Runs scored: 39
Series MVP: Colby Rasmus (you can't hate him, don't even try)
That's what I have to say about the two ALDS series', now it's your turn. Post the required predictions in the comments and we'll announce the winner when the ALCS teams are set. The prize is nothing because we at Bluebird Banter avoid dealing with the legal process as best as we can, but you will get a serious amount of internetz respectz.