Kuzul

The picture of the 2014 MLB playoffs is set—at least for now. Two single-elimination wild-card games are still to be played to determine the final matchups in the divisional series.

A reeling Oakland Athletics team had to fight off a slump down the stretch just to earn the right to play in the Wild Card Round, where they will visit the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. The Pittsburgh Pirates will then play host to the San Francisco Giants in Wednesday’s showcase.

Here is a closer look at the schedule, when and where to catch the commencement of the postseason and predictions as to which clubs will advance.

Oakland Athletics vs. Kansas City Royals

Neither starting pitcher has lost in this season’s series. Athletics star Jon Lester was 3-0 in three starts with a 2.61 ERA, while James Shields was 1-0 against Oakland in two appearances.

The Royals clearly got the better end of things in the regular season with a 5-2 head-to-head advantage, but that can almost be tossed out the window in this win-or-go-home scenario.

A considerable amount of pressure is on for Kansas City to deliver the win. Otherwise, it will be only a temporary playoff foray that’s been long awaited as it is, per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe:

With the importance of starting pitching that tends to come out in the postseason, it would be a shame to see Oakland bow out with the likes of newcomers in Lester and Jeff Samardzija on the roster. Lester appears ready to rise to the occasion after helping the Boston Red Sox win the World Series last year:

The A’s also have superior bats and more long-ball hitters that can change the game quickly. This anecdote from ESPN Stats & Info shows how generally inept the Royals are on offense in key categories:

However, the edge on the basepaths goes to Kansas City, who racked up an American League-best 153 stolen bases in the regular season. If the Royals can get the home Kauffman Stadium crowd into the game early, small-ball tactics may allow the hosts to pull off what should be viewed as an upset.

Lester should be able to keep KC’s multitude of runners in check, thanks in part to his southpaw delivery and tendency to dominate on the big stage.

This should be a gritty, hard-fought, low-scoring battle that sees the A’s edge it out, earning the right to face the Los Angeles Angels.

Prediction: Athletics 4, Royals 3

San Francisco Giants vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

These teams are as evenly matched as can be on paper, with identical 88-74 records, similar offensive production and team ERAs separated by just .03.

Madison Bumgarner gets the nod for San Francisco, while Edinson Volquez will be on the bump to start for Pittsburgh on Wednesday at PNC Park. Bumgarner stepped up to win 18 games, which was key, since Tim Lincecum posted a 4.74 ERA and Matt Cain was sidelined for the season in July.

The turnaround Volquez has had is particularly impressive, as he posted a career-low 3.07 ERA this year. And that came after seeing his ERA balloon to 5.71 in 2013.

The Associated Press’ Will Graves credited Pirates pitching coach Ray Serage in helping Volquez get back on track:

So who has the edge in this matchup of capable hurlers? Ken Laird of TribLIVE Radio in Pittsburgh points out how several key Pirates contributors have had success against Bumgarner:

Pittsburgh is led by the likes of reigning National League MVP Andrew McCutchen in center field, whose presence as a franchise cornerstone has helped turn the organization around.

ESPN analyst Buster Olney highlighted how much of a tear McCutchen has been on in helping drive the Pirates more prominently into the postseason picture:

McCutchen hasn’t matched up quite as well with Bumgarner, yet he’s been able to hit anything in front of him over the past month. The superstar center fielder is the tone-setter and likely won’t be denied, especially playing at home.

Travis Sawchik of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review noticed how well Pittsburgh began to hold down opponents toward the end of the year, too:

Although the Giants are entering with more momentum on the strength of two wins over San Diego, Pittsburgh will bounce back and pull off the victory. This Pirates nucleus was in this wild-card situation last season and defeated Cincinnati 6-2. Now they can press further and gain confidence by knocking off a recent World Series champion.

It will be a tall task to advance further for whichever club moves on, as they’ll have to negotiate the best team in the NL in the Washington Nationals. If the Pirates’ relievers can continue their strong form, perhaps Pittsburgh is in for a surprise run.

Prediction: Pirates 6, Giants 4

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

If Major League Baseball’s postseason means one thing, it’s the opportunity to pick the winner of each series and determine ahead of time which team will be crowned World Series champs.

OK, the actual results matter too, but that doesn’t make predictions any less fun. Which is why you’re inexplicably drawn by the lure of finding out how everything is (possibly maybe perhaps) going to play out, even if Tuesday merely marks the official start of the 2014 playoffs as the Kansas City Royals host the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game at 8 p.m. ET on TBS.

With unforeseen injuries and unexpected player performances bound to alter the landscape at any time, a lot can change between now and the night the new champions are raising the Commissioner’s Trophy at the end of October.

But if you’d rather have the (potential) results before then, you’ve come to the right place. What follows is one guess as to how everything will unfold between now and the start of the World Series on Oct. 21.

And sure, trying to figure out how the Fall Classic will go this far in advance might seem silly, but we’ll give that a shot too.

After all, our last set of predictions turned out to be on point, so who knows?

Begin Slideshow

The 2014 MLB postseason begins Tuesday, with the Kanas City Royals set to host the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game (8:07 p.m. ET, TV: TBS).

Kansas City captured the top AL Wild Card spot to secure its first postseason berth in 29 years, and came within one game of the division-winning Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

Oakland is returning to the playoffs for the third straight year after finishing one game back of Royals in the Wild Card.

The Royals won the regular-season series against the A’s, 5-2, taking two of three games in Oakland during their first meeting (Aug. 1-3), and then winning three of four at Kauffman Stadium (Aug. 11-14).

Both teams will send their respective aces to the mound Tuesday, with James Shields starting for the Royals and Jon Lester for the A’s in what could be an epic pitcher’s duel.

But which club is best prepared to move on to the ALDS?

Here’s an in-depth look at the AL Wild Card Game matchup between the Royals and A’s.

Begin Slideshow

And so it is down to 10. Also, 250. Ten, as in the number of teams left alive as we enter the 2014 MLB postseason. And 250, as in the number of players (give or take) who will step onto the October stage.

Two of those teams and a handful of those players will meet in the World Series in less than a month. Either the American League or National League will prove its supremacy. 

Until then, it’s fun to ask: Who has the most star power? Of the five NL and five AL squads that will tussle for the Commissioner’s Trophy, who boasts the brightest wattage, the highest skill level, the most intriguing matchups? 

Let’s take a look. We’ll begin by creating a starting lineup and pitching rotation comprised of each league’s top players (leaving out the DH). To qualify, a player must have made the bulk of his starts at the position in question.

We’ll then analyze which talent-laden group owns the edge and which matchups will be the most enjoyable to watch.

Seems like an entertaining enough diversion while we wait for the games to start for real, right?

The Lineups

American League

1B Miguel Cabrera, DET (honorable mention: Albert Pujols, LAA)

2B Ian Kinsler, DET (Howie Kendrick, LAA)

3B Josh Donaldson, OAK (David Freese, LAA)

SS Alcides Escobar, KC (J.J. Hardy, BAL)

LF Alex Gordon, KC (J.D. Martinez, DET)

CF Mike Trout, LAA (Adam Jones, BAL)

RF Torii Hunter, DET ( Kole Calhoun, LAA)

C Salvador Perez, KC (Derek Norris, OAK)

Pitching rotation: Jon Lester, OAK; Max Scherzer, DET; James Shields, KC; David Price, DET; Sonny Gray, OAK

National League

1B Adrian Gonzalez, LAD (honorable mention: Adam LaRoche, WSH)

2B Neil Walker, PIT (Dee Gordon, LAD)

3B Josh Harrison, PIT (Anthony Rendon, WSH)

SS Ian Desmond, WSH (Hanley Ramirez, LAD)

LF  Starling Marte, PIT (Matt Holliday, STL)

CF Andrew McCutchen, PIT (Denard Span, WSH)

RF Yasiel Puig, LAD (Hunter Pence, SF)

C Buster Posey, SF (Russell Martin, PIT)

Pitching rotation: Clayton Kershaw, LAD; Adam Wainwright, STL; Jordan Zimmerman, WSH; Doug Fister, WSH; Madison Bumgarner, SF

Who’s Got the Edge?

There are superstars in both groups, no question. Trout, Cabrera, McCutchen, Puig—these are some of the biggest household names in baseball, familiar to the casual fan or the person on the street. They’re the players and personalities who will draw attention no matter what.

What about statistically? Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, is an imperfect measure of a player’s value, but as a quick and easy metric, it’ll do. 

Of the players listed above, Trout leads the way with an 7.8 WAR, per FanGraphs. McCutchen is second at 6.8. The only others on the list to crack the top ten among MLB position players are Donaldson (6.4), Gordon (6.6) and Rendon (6.6).

But, again, WAR isn’t the final word. Look at those lineups, position by position. The AL probably has the edge at a few spots, but they’re all close. Even in center field, where you’d think Trout would be a shoo-in, the NL counters with its own five-tool stud in McCutchen.

The NL, meanwhile, owns a clear advantage in right field (Puig over Hunter) and catcher (Posey over Perez).

Then there are the arms. Good as the AL’s hurlers are—and they’re plenty good—we’ll take Kershaw and Wainwright over Lester and Scherzer.

The back end of the NL’s rotation is also ridiculously loaded. Zimmerman, fresh off his season-ending no-hitter, is backed by his teammate Fister, who may have had an even better year, and Bumgarner, the San Francisco Giants’ tough-as-nails lefty. 

It’s close, but we’re giving this to the NL on both skill and star power.

The Marquee Matchups

Let’s start with the NLDS showdown between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers. Game 1 of that series will feature what MLB.com‘s Stephen Pianovich correctly called, “One of the best playoff pitching matchups you could possibly imagine.”

Kershaw was unquestionably the most dominant pitcher in baseball this season, finishing with a 1.77 ERA and striking out 239 in 198.1 innings.

Wainwright, though, has the October pedigree. While Kershaw has struggled at times in the playoffs, posting a 4.23 ERA in nine appearances, Wainwright’s postseason line is sterling: 2.53 ERA, 0.990 WHIP, 67.2 IP, 76 SO.

And the Cy Young-caliber foils could meet twice if the series goes deep. 

Over in the AL, maybe the most intriguing early matchup is the AL Wild Card Game. That pits Jon Lester, another postseason-tested ace, against the Kansas City Royals, the least postseason-tested team in baseball.

Lester owns a 2.11 ERA in 13 playoff appearances, which is exactly 13 more playoff appearances than the Royals have made since 1985. Kansas City may be a Cinderella story, but its unhappy ending could come quickly at the hands of Oakland’s hired gun.

“That’s what we got him for,” A’s manager Bob Melvin told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. “That’s why the rotation was set up the way it was. That’s why you have a guy like that. When he takes the mound, the team’s going to feel awfully good about their chances.”

Looking forward, if the A’s do get past K.C., they’d meet the division-rival Los Angeles Angels, the club they grappled with in the AL West for much of the season before the Halos pulled away.

And speaking of California rivalries, the 2014 playoffs might give us the first-ever (ever!) postseason clash between the Dodgers and Giants.

For this matchup to occur, the Giants will need to get past the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Wild Card Game and then defeat the loaded Nationals in the NLDS. The Dodgers would have to dispatch St. Louis.

If it happens, though, oh boy.

It’s impossible to overstate how big that series would be for those old rivals, who have followed each other across a continent and traded blows for more than a century. Imagine popping the cork off a 125-year-old bottle of champagne, and you’ve got some idea.

So we’ll give a slight edge to the NL in the matchup department, too, even if some of these scenarios never play out.

Mostly, this has all the makings of a star-studded, action-packed postseason. Bring it on.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 162-game regular season is gone. The 2014 MLB playoffs are here. Rejoice baseball fans.

The first two playoff matchups are just around the corner, and the do-or-die atmosphere that comes with a one-game Wild Card Round is sure to make these two contests even more intense.

In the American League, you’ve got the Oakland Athletics looking to exercise the demons of their 2013 American League Division Series exit, while the Kansas City Royals are making their return to the postseason for the first time since 1985, snapping the longest postseason drought in the four major sports.

As Sam Mellinger of The Kansas City Star points out, that distinction now belongs to the Toronto Blue Jays:

Over in the senior circuit, the Pittsburgh Pirates are participating in their second straight Wild Card Game against the San Francisco Giants, who are making their fourth postseason appearance in the last five years.

So who will win these matchups, and whose postseason stay will last just one game?

American League Wild Card

First on the docket is Kansas City and Oakland on Tuesday night.

This one will feature on heck of a pitching matchup with the Royals’ James Shields squaring off against Jon Lester, according to Andy McCullough of The Kansas City Star:

Both starters are among the AL’s elite, and both are known as workhorses. This year, however, Lester’s numbers point to an advantage for Oakland in this matchup:

When it comes to the two pitchers in the postseason, the big southpaw has the edge as well:

The man they call “Big Game James” told MLB.com that he’s ready to go and would have been confident regardless of Kansas City’s opponent after Game 162:

In terms of the two teams at the plate, the Royals hold the edge in team batting average, but Oakland finished out front in other important offensive categories:

Finally when it comes to the two teams’ bullpens, Oakland once again has the better numbers:

It’s important to remember, though, that Kansas City did end up finishing ahead of the A’s in the standings, earning themselves home-field advantage for this crucial do-or-die game. 

Oakland also stumbled into the postseason, posting a record of 10-16 in the month of September, compared to Kansas City’s 15-12 mark, which should dissuade the notion that this one should be a win for Oakland.

Ultimately, this one should be as close as the final standings—in which these teams were separated by just a game—indicate.

Prediction: Oakland may be struggling heading into the one-game playoff in Kansas City, but with Lester being so dominant in the postseason, and the slight edge they hold offensively and in the bullpen, Oakland should advance to play the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Oakland 3, Kansas City 1

National League Wild Card

Just one night after the first matchup, it will be the National League’s turn to shine.

The Wild Card matchup between the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates should also be a tight one.

This one will see the Pirates’ Edinson Volquez face off with the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner:

When it comes to these two starters, Bumgarner has to be favored to help his team into the NLDS.

With all due respect to Volquez, this is his first real standout season since 2008, while Bumgarner has developed into a legitimate staff ace over the course of the past few years.

Across the board, the southpaw has been better than Volquez this season:

The fact that Bumgarner also has a respectable postseason ERA of 3.79 and WHIP of 1.23, while Volquez only has one playoff appearance in which he gave up four earned runs in just 1.2 innings also points to the Giants holding a big advantage.

Pittsburgh will need its offense to play its best ball and take advantage of the few opportunities that Bumgarner may concede.

They’ll also need all the support they can get from the “blacked out” crowd:

Prediction: Starting pitching is the name of the game in the postseason, and Bumgarner gives the Giants too big of an edge to pick against them.

San Francisco Giants 6, Pittsburgh Pirates 2

Regardless of your opinion of the two-team Wild Card format, it provides an incredible amount of excitement and intensity.

With the AL’s participants separated by just a game and the NL’s two clubs having identical 88-74 records, this season’s sudden-death matchups should be incredible affairs.

Jon Reid is a correspondent for Bleacher Report. Follow him on twitter @JonReidCSM.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

You’re a fan without a nation. 

The 2014 MLB Playoff field is set, and while you mourn your beloved New York Yankees from your home probably nowhere near New York, you need a surrogate team. Well, the Washington Nationals bandwagon is accepting applications, and no other franchise makes a better case for your temporary affection. 

The single biggest selling point for Washington isn’t its National League-best 96-66 record, but the way in which those 96 games were won. 

And the only way to truly understand the grit that defines the Nationals is to take an uncomfortable trip down memory lane.

The Nationals don’t play with a chip on their shoulder, they carry around a family-sized bag that they picked up from a 2013 season that can only be qualified as an abject failure.

Washington was coming off a 2012 campaign that saw them earn the best record in baseball, and the core of that season’s roster was still intact for 2013. But the Nationals under-performed from the get go, finding themselves in the conversation for “baseball’s most disappointing team,” according to an article by SportingNews’s Justin McGuire that year. 

The individual parts were a disappointment – i.e. Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg – and their sum was a disappointment. 

It is for that reason that Washington is taking nothing for granted this year, and it’s made the Nationals the most fun team in baseball to watch. And from top to bottom, every member of Washington’s roster wants to win every game. 

And they want it bad.

In a season that spans 162 games across five-plus months, two distinct moments during the summer of 2014 can be pointed to as evidence of that spirit. 

In middle-to-late August, Washington matched its franchise-record win streak of 10 games. 

That’s not the impressive part. 

Half of those games were won in walk-off fashion. The Washington Post’s Neil Greenberg calculated the likelihood of a run like that to be around 0.0977 percent. 

That’s the kind of season 2014 has been for Washington. The Nationals are extremely talented, and they’ve won the games they’re supposed to win, which should have been good for six or seven of those 10 games. 

The remaining wins in the streak? Baseball giveth and baseball taketh away, and the Nationals have made good on the former this year.

The other instance that encapsulated what Washington has been able to do this year fell on the very last day of the season.

Jordan Zimmerman’s no-hitter in game No. 162 of the year saw him exercise complete dominance over helpless Marlins hitters, until the very last out. 

Steven Souza Jr. took over in left field before the start of the ninth inning, making just his 21st big-league appearance of the season, and made arguably the catch of the season to preserve the first no-hitter in franchise history.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Baseball may be the game of summer, but the real excitement comes when the fall air gets crisper and the pressure of every single pitch is magnified.

The long and grueling 162-game slate of the MLB season leads to the playoffs, and ever since the sport instituted an additional wild-card team for each league, there is even more postseason baseball to enjoy.

Here is a look at the entire 2014 playoff schedule, courtesy of MLB.com., followed by a breakdown of the formats for the early rounds.

*Denotes the game may not be necessary.

Wild Card Round 

In the recent past, the three division winners from each league and the team with the best record that didn’t win its division made the playoffs. It meant there were four teams on the American League side of the bracket and four teams on the National League side.

However, MLB added a second wild-card team to each league in 2012, and the two wild-card teams from each league play each other in a single-elimination contest. Whichever team wins advances to the Divisional Series against the No. 1 seed from the respective league.

No pressure or anything.

This season, the Oakland Athletics will travel to Kansas City to take on the Royals, and the San Francisco Giants travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates. The American League game is in Kansas City because the Royals finished with a better record than the Athletics, and the National League game is in Pittsburgh because the Pirates beat the Giants in four of their six head-to-head matchups this year.

Interestingly, former Atlanta Braves star Chipper Jones was against the new wild-card format in 2012 in comments via David O’Brien of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

I think it’s stupid, to be honest with you. But Major League Baseball wants a bunch of teams in the playoffs. There’s nothing like cut-throat baseball for the fans. And people love that 163rd regular-season game. They’ve loved it in the past. I’m sure that’s probably what’s promoted a second wild-card team.

You say to yourself, we could possibly have the second- or third-best record in the National League when the season’s over and we have to play a one-game playoff just to get in. That doesn’t seem fair because anything can happen [in one game]. Now if you were to say the two wild-card teams will play a best two-out-of-three [series], I’d be OK with that. We play three-game series all the time, and we concentrate on winning those series all the time. I think it’s more fair from a standpoint that anything can happen in one game – a blown call by an umpire, a bad day at the office … at least in a two-of-three-game series you have some sort of leeway.

While Jones’ opinion was certainly influenced by where the Atlanta Braves were in the standings at the time, he certainly has a valid point. Baseball has a much longer regular season than the NHL, NBA, NFL and major college football and basketball, yet the top wild-card team could be sent home in a single three-hour evening. 

All it would take is one bad break or one incredible pitching outing, and those 162 games basically wash away in one night.

Divisional Series

The winner of each wild-card game advances to the Divisional Series to face the No. 1 seed from the respective leagues. The other Divisional Series takes place between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds, which are both division winners themselves.

The Divisional Series is a best-of-five affair, and the team with the better seed hosts Games 1, 2 and 5. The top seed in the National League awaiting either the Pirates or Giants is the Washington Nationals, while the top seed in the American League is the Los Angeles Angels.

Quick Look Ahead

Pitching takes center stage in every postseason, especially in the wild-card scenarios where it is a one-game, winner-take-all situation. 

Oakland will send Jon Lester to the mound (16-11), while the Royals will counter with James Shields (14-8). The MLB pointed out why that matchup could be a problem for Kansas City from a statistical standpoint, while Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post noted that the Royals have enjoyed the upper hand in this matchup unless Lester pitches:

In the National League game, the Pirates will send Edinson Volquez (13-7) to the dish to face Madison Bumgarner of the Giants (18-10). Volquez has been absolutely dominant in the second half of the season and has not allowed a run in 18 innings. In fact, his ERA is 1.85 in his past 17 starts, which dates back to June.

Regardless of who wins in the Wild Card Round, it will be a tall order going against the top-seeded Nationals and Angels. That is especially the case because the wild-card winner will have already used one of its best pitchers previously, which could be problematic in a short, five-game series in the Divisional Series.   

Look for pitching depth to play a major role in the early going and throughout the postseason.

Follow me on Twitter:

Follow @ScottPolacek

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The 2014 MLB playoffs begin for 10 teams on Tuesday, but that number will be reduced to eight by Wednesday evening. The Oakland Athletics are set to take on the Kansas City Royals, and the San Francisco Giants meet the Pittsburgh Pirates in single-elimination contests to determine which two teams will move on to the best-of-five Division Series.

The Athletics and Royals have met seven times this season (all in August), with Kansas City emerging victorious in five of those contests. The Giants and Pirates have faced off six times in 2014, with Pittsburgh taking four wins. Will we see those trends continue in the postseason?

With each team’s ace set to take the mound in these win-or-go-home clashes, we’re certainly in for some compelling baseball. As we await the onset of this year’s Wild Card contests, here’s a look at all of the pertinent viewing information, followed by predictions for each.

Viewing Information

Predictions

Athletics vs. Royals

When talking about a powerhouse team at the plate, chances are that conversation isn’t about the Royals. Ranked 14th in the league in runs, 16th in on-base percentage and 19th in slugging percentage, this isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut.

But what Kansas City lacks in power, it makes up for in efficiency. The team’s batting average is .263, and it leads the league in stolen bases with 153. The Royals will need to continue playing small ball and manufacturing runs to win against the likes of Jon Lester.

MLB gives a good look at the lefty here:

Oakland’s offense has been in a huge slump since trading away Yoenis Cespedes in a deal which gave them their new ace. Despite a slacking offense, Lester came up huge for the Athletics, dropping his ERA to 2.35—it was 2.52 in Boston. He’s had success in the postseason, and he’s exactly who Oakland will want on the mound in an elimination game.

Lester allowed three runs to the Royals on two occasions this season and shut them out once. Expect him to be in top form on Tuesday, as he propels his team into October with another brilliant showing on the mound.

Prediction: Athletics 4, Royals 2

Giants vs. Pirates

The Pirates are projected to go with the hot hand on Wednesday, as Edinson Volquez will be sent to the mound. Volquez finished the 2014 season with a career-low 3.04 ERA, but even more impressively, he’s only allowed one earned run in his last 21 innings pitched.

Pittsburgh hasn’t been sluggish at the plate this season, either. The team finished 2014 ranked 10th in runs, fifth in batting average, third in on-base percentage and seventh in slugging percentage. The Pirates have a great mix of power with Andrew McCutchen and Neil Walker, along with the efficiency and speed of Starling Marte.

Here’s a look at how clutch McCutchen is for Pittsburgh, via ESPN Stats & Info:

Madison Bumgarner should take the mound for San Francisco in an effort to quell the Pittsburgh offense. Jake Peavy was another option, but it’s clear why the southpaw got the nod: he’s produced wins in six of his last seven starts.

Bumgarner will need some help on the offensive end to get past a Pittsburgh team that can put up some runs. This could be a slight issue without Angel Pagan in the fold, and the team will need a big performance from Buster Posey. We’re sure in for a close contest here, and the Giants are a good road team, but home-field advantage will be the final difference-maker in this one.

Prediction: Pirates 6, Giants 5

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

In what is their penultimate game of the 2014 regular season, the Los Angeles Dodgers entertained the worst-case scenario for a short time after Hanley Ramirez exited Saturday night’s game against the Colorado Rockies in the fourth inning.

Ramirez looked to have injured his leg after fouling the ball off his left kneecap. While he finished the at-bat, manager Don Mattingly replaced him with Miguel Rojas, per Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register:

Entering the night, the three-time All-Star boasted a slash line of .283/.369/.449 with 13 home runs, 71 runs batted in and 14 stolen bases. According to Baseball-Reference.com, his 3.5 WAR was fourth on the team.

Having come to within two games of the World Series, the Dodgers only have eyes for the franchise’s seventh title.

While Ramirez isn’t the most important offensive team, Los Angeles doesn’t have a wealth of run-producers offensively. It can ill afford to lose the shortstop now.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to go into the playoffs as healthy as possible, but this could be a problem with Matt Holliday coming out of Saturday’s game early.

Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com noted the roster move in the team’s matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks:

The team’s official Twitter account later reported the problem: 

Considering he was able to play six innings before coming out, it does not seem like this situation will be too serious. Instead, this is likely a precautionary measure to make sure he is healthy before the start of the postseason.

Holliday has been one of the Cardinals’ top hitters this season, drilling 20 home runs and a team-high 90 RBI. Although his .272 batting average will likely end up being a career low for the veteran, he is still a key member of a lineup that has been inconsistent in 2014.

The outfielder hit four home runs last postseason and will need to come through again if St. Louis plans on making another run to the World Series.

If he is forced to miss time, the Cardinals will likely continue to put Peter Bourjos in center field and Jon Jay in left field, where he has played 20 games this season.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest breaking news and analysis.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com