The Royals start their ace, James Shields. Shields was 14-8 on the year with a 3.21 ERA. Oakland counters with Jon Lester, 16-11 with a 2.46 ERA, a trade deadline pickup from the Boston Red Sox. The winner on Tuesday night will take on the LA Angels. All of the ESPN experts are picking the Athletics to advance. My prediction is Kansas City with the relief pitching of the Royals saving the victory for Shields.
Read the ESPN story
The San Francisco Giants will travel to Pittsburgh, PA to meet the Pirates in the one game National League Wild Card matchup. Madison Bumgarner, 18-10 and a 2.98 ERA is scheduled to start for the Giants against Edinson Volquez of the Pirates. Volquez was 13-7 on the year with a 3.04 ERA. The Giants finished 6 games behind the LA Dodgers in the NL West, while the Pirates had a chance to force a one game playoff with the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central, but the Pirates lost and the Cardinals won, so the Pirates finished 2 games in back of the Cardinals. The winner of this game will take on the Washington Nationals. The experts are split over this game. My prediction is that the pitching of the Giants will overcome the streaky hitting of the Pirates
Read the ESPN story of the National League matchup.
Sporting News MLB Video Preview of Wild Card Games
