We may not necessarily owe PECOTA an apology after the Cubs beat their now-infamous 79-win projection from the spring (alone in last place in the NL Central), but I certainly think beating it by just five wins and missing the postseason altogether hints at PECOTA being as right as it was wrong.
With the regular season officially behind us, here’s how the NL Central shook out:
- St. Louis Cardinals: 91-71
- Milwaukee Brewers: 89-73
- Chicago Cubs: 84-78
- Cincinnati Reds: 75-87
- Pittsburgh Pirates: 69-93
The St. Louis Cardinals were able to steal away the NL Central from the Brewers, who stole it away from the Cubs last year. Of course, the Brewers will still get a chance to play this October, because they secured the second Wild Card slot in the National League (they have the postseason’s worst record, though (#salt)).
National League
Wild Card 1: Nationals (93-69)
Wild Card 2: Brewers (89-73)
West: Dodgers (106-56)
Central: Cardinals (91-71)
East: Braves (97-65)
American League
Wild Card 1: Athletics (97-65)
Wild Card 2: Rays (96-66)
West: Astros (107-55)
Central: Twins (101-61)
East: Yankees (103-59)
Those AL win totals, man … wowza.
Here’s how the MLB Postseason will play out:
First up: the Nationals will host the Brewers in the NL Wild Card game in D.C. tomorrow night at 7:08 CT. One day later, the Athletics will host the Rays in Oakland at 7:09 CT. The winners of these two games will go onto face the first-seeds from their respective league (Dodgers in the NL, Astros in the AL) this weekend, starting with the National League on Thursday night.
National League Division Series:Â
Thursday:Â WC Winner at Dodgers (Time: TBD)
Thursday:Â Cardinals at Braves (Time: TBD)
American League Division Series:Â
Thursday:Â WC Winner at Astros (Time: TBD)
Thursday:Â Twins at Yankees (Time: TBD)
After all four five-game series, the winners will move onto the League Championship series beginning on Friday October 11th. And the winners from those two seven-game slates will head to the World Series, which starts on October 25th.
My prediction? Oh, thanks for asking:
Wild Card Winner: Nationals
NLDS 1 Winner: Dodgers
NLDS 2 Winner: Braves
NLCS Winner: Dodgers
Wild Card Winner: Athletics
ALDS 1 Winner: Yankees
ALDS 2 Winner: Astros
ALCS Winner: Astros
World Series Winner: Houston Astros