As the baseball season winds down here is a look at five matchups that could happen this MLB Postseason.
5). Freddie Freeman VS the Braves
Following the footsteps of Chipper Jones, it looked like Freddy Freeman was set to join the pantheon of greats in Atlanta. But, it wasn’t to be. After winning the World Series he signed a six-year, $162 million contract to join the Los Angeles Dodgers, his hometown team. Then, there was a whole scandal involving Freeman’s agent potentially not sharing a final offer from the Braves. This was followed by the emotional regular season matchup in Atlanta. Suddenly a lot of people including his own teammates thought he would rather be in Atlanta. Now, if the Mets win the division, Freeman and the Dodgers will play the Braves in the second round. If the Braves win the division, they could face each other for the pennant. Either matchup will be a referendum on Freeman’s choice to leave Atlanta and join the Dodgers.
4). Max Scherzer VS Juan Soto
Following his blockbuster trade to the San Diego Padres, the Washington Nationals officially finished dissolving their 2019 World Series team. Scherzer and Trea Turner were traded to the Dodgers last year. Now Scherzer is on the Mets. If the Braves win the division, they will face the Padres in the first round. According to stathead they have faced each other six times but never in the Postseason. Soto walked three times and went one for three with a homer and three walks. With Tatis Jr. out San Diego is going to have to hope their new star keeps hitting his old teammate well. Scherzer vs Soto is one of the best head-to-head matchups that could happen this postseason.
3). NY Mets VS Citi Field
The New York Mets were the best team in the National League East for almost the entire season. However, they have been caught by the Braves for the NL east division lead with two games left before the postseason. This might help them more than you might think. When you look at teams’ offensive stats according to RotoGrinders, the New York Mets have the worst home OBP and the second worst home OPS in the entire league. Oddly, they are in the upper third of the league hitting statistics on the road. So, even though they won more home games this season they hit the ball much better on the road. The Mets are hoping they can keep winning at home without good production this postseason.
2). Dodgers and Astros VS Recent MLB Postseason History
According to Action Network, 2013 is the last year that the pennant winners also had the best record in each league, the Cardinals VS the Red Sox. In that span, two wild card teams also won the World Series. Recent history says that it is unlikely that we get a storied rematch of 2017 between these two teams that have dominated this era of baseball. A world series rematch would be electric even if most of the names are different this postseason.
1). Albert Pujols VS Left Handed Pitching
“The Machine” has everything tuned up late in the season and is absolutely crushing left-handed pitching. According to baseball reference, Albert has a slugging % of .435 vs righties and is slugging .746 vs lefties nearly three hundred points higher. Albert just passed seven hundred home runs for his career and currently sits eleven behind Babe Ruth for second all-time. It will be unlikely that “The Machine” catches “The Babe”, but stranger things have happened and maybe getting close can convince him to come back for one more season. Either way, these wild split stats make his every-at-bat vs LHP must-see television this MLB Postseason.
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