Our Boston Red Sox are in the 2017 MLB Postseason as the #3 seed in the American League, but the games kickoff tonight with the AL Wildcard.
Can the Boston Red Sox win the World Series in 2017? Yes, but there are lots of talented teams in their way. Here, I’ll make my predictions for the MLB Postseason as a whole. That includes the AL Wildcard game that takes place today, Tuesday, October 3rd. The NL Wildcard game between the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks will take place tomorrow.
While our focus is on Boston, we have to take a look at the postseason as a whole, in order to keep up with potential opponents. Now, I promise I won’t be a homer and I won’t predict that the Red Sox will win every game this postseason. There are going to be games when they stumble and fall, but if they can bounce back they have a great chance to get to and win the World Series. Pitching will be an issue at the back end of the rotation though, so Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz will have to win their games.
Now, let’s start things out with the set of Wildcard games before I get to our Boston Red Sox.
AL Wildcard: Minnesota Twins v. New York Yankees
The Minnesota Twins are extremely lucky to have made the postseason. They aren’t really that good. The Yankees meanwhile, came very close to stealing the AL East title from the Red Sox.
Minnesota does have Ervin Santana on the mound though, so they’ll have a shot. New York is going with Luis Severino. He has the edge in ERA and strikeouts. That’ll be the difference here.
Aaron Judge will probably have a homer in this one, and in the end, I don’t think the final score is that close at all. New York takes this one to head to the ALDS.
Yankees 7, Twins 3
NL Wildcard: Colorado Rockies v. Arizona Diamondbacks
In the National League, the greatly improved Diamondbacks host the Rockies. Jon Gray will be up against Zack Greinke on Wednesday night at Chase Field.
I don’t think either pitcher will have a great game, and batters will have a hell of a day. J.D. Martinez is going to own this game. I’m predicting 2 HRs for him on the night.
The bloodbath will finally end with Arizona on top.
Diamondbacks 11, Rockies 9
ALDS: Boston Red Sox v. Houston Astros
The Boston Red Sox limped to an AL East title down the stretch in September. Now, they’ll face the same team that they ended the regular season with. Houston is certainly the better team, but I think the Red Sox can win this in a full 5-game series.
Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia will really have to lead the way here, but Hanley Ramirez could be huge as well. This team has a flair for the dramatic, so some extra innings or walk off games would not be surprising. This series could be really fun to watch for both fan bases.
In Game 5, Boston may have Drew Pomeranz or Eduardo Rodriguez on the mound. For our sake, I hope it’s Drew. He can get the Sox a win to propel them into the ALCS.
Red Sox in 5
ALDS: New York Yankees v. Cleveland Indians
Sorry, we won’t get another Red Sox – Yankees ALCS. We will, however, get a rematch with the Cleveland Indians. Right now, they’re giving the Dodgers a run for their money as the best team in the majors.
New York has a lot of power, and that will earn them a win in the series, but then Cleveland will shut them down. I expect that bullpen to be on fire once again this postseason.
Indians in 4
NLDS: Chicago Cubs v. Washington Nationals
Bryce Harper could soon be a member of the Chicago Cubs if he chooses to leave the Washington Nationals. For now, though, he will be trying to take the Cubs down.
Max Scherzer is injured, but I still believe Washington is the stronger team. I actually got to see both of these teams play this season when they were in Arizona to face the Diamondbacks. The Nationals can go pretty deep in 2017.
Nationals in 3
NLDS: Arizona Diamondbacks v. Los Angeles Dodgers
The D-Backs are getting better, but they aren’t as good as the Dodgers just yet. It’s going to be clear when LA stomps them in 4 games.
I’m not sure it really matters who the Dodgers play here though. There is no chance they lose this NLDS series.
Dodgers in 4
ALCS: Boston Red Sox v. Cleveland Indians
This is going to be the best series of the 2017 MLB Postseason, as it goes the full 7 games.
Cleveland has had Chris Sale’s number this year, but I think he figures it out to earn 2 wins in this series. Boston will need him to if they really have a chance at taking the Windians down.
The MVP of this series though will be Indians DH Edwin Encarnacion, a man that the Red Sox could have signed to replace David Ortiz. If Boston had Ortiz or a player on their roster that pitchers truly feared when he came up to the plate late in a game, I’d give them the edge. They don’t have that guy to face Andrew Miller and the Cleveland bullpen though. Cleveland has that guy in Encarnacion, that’s why they take this one and knock the Red Sox out of the race for the second straight year.
Indians in 7
NLCS: Washington Nationals v. Los Angeles Dodgers
There’s no slowing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barring a ton of injuries and an unlikely weak performance from Clayton Kershaw, they’re going to the World Series to face the Indians.
LA will win Game 1 with Kershaw, Game 2 with Rich Hill, and Game 3 with Yu Darvish. They won’t get the sweep, as the Nationals push to stay alive, but Kershaw will come in and shut things down in Game 5.
At the plate, Cody Bellinger will be the series MVP, but Kershaw will steal the actual title away. This will be the first time we see Los Angeles in the World Series since 1988 when they beat the Mets in 7.
Dodgers in 5
World Series: Cleveland Indians v. Los Angeles Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw finally gets onto the big stage in the World Series. He is not going to be denied a title when he’s this close to one.
Again, Cody Bellinger is going to be huge for the Dodgers here, and if not for Kershaw he’d be the MVP. Of course, you always have an unlikely hero in the World Series, and that will be utility man Chris Taylor with a huge stolen base in the final game.
Dodgers in 6
Next: A 3-man bullpen for the Boston Red Sox
So, our Boston Red Sox, in my opinion, won’t make it to the World Series this year. They’ll be close though. Another year of this team being together, and maybe one power bat being added could make all the difference. The Red Sox should be 2018 World Series favorites, along with the Indians and Dodgers. But hey, maybe they can prove e wrong in 2017.