2019 MLB Playoffs: Wild Card Round Predictions

Here are my predictions for the Wild Card round of the 2019 MLB Playoffs.

National League
(WC2) Milwaukee Brewers vs (WC1) Washington Nationals- 8:00, TBS: The Brewers should be proud that they're back in the postseason after closing the regular season strong sans losing Christian Yelich for the season due to a broken kneecap. The Nationals are here after a very strong final three months of the season after getting off to a horrendous start. The Brewers offense without Yelich is not bad with the likes of Ryan Braun (who may not play due to calf strain), Keston Hiura, Lorenzo Cain, and Mike Moustakas. The Nats offense is awesome led by MVP candidate Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto, Victor Robles, and Trey Turner. The Brewers are sending Brandon Woodruff on the mound to start this game and it wouldn't surprise me if it winds up in an opener role and they would use their bullpen with the likes of Josh Hader, Brent Suter, Drew Pomeranz, and Junior Guerra. Max Scherzer is getting the ball for the Nationals although he has not been as dominant as usual of late and Patrick Corbin and Stephen Strasburg could be available out of the bullpen if needed. The Nats pen is not dominant what so ever with the likes of closer Sean Doolittle, Fernando Rodney, Daniel Hudson, and Hunter Strickland. That said, Scherzer is the best pitcher that will be pitching in this game and the Nats have the better lineup and I believe they'll get the job done.

Prediction: Nationals 6, Brewers 2.

American League
(WC2) Tampa Bay Rays vs (WC1) Oakland Athletics- 8:00, ESPN: This game was the harder one to pick of the two. The Rays have had an excellent season earning the second Wild Card spot after missing out last season although they did win 90 games last year. The Athletics are in this game for a second straight season and this time around they host the game. The Rays are not a very good offensive team as a whole, but their position players are solid and are capable of having some good at-bats such as Austin Meadows, Tommy Pham, Brandon Lowe, and Avasail Garcia. The A's have the superior lineup led by Matt Chapman, Marcus Semien, Matt Olson, and Khris Davis. The Rays have the superior end of the pitching spectrum with Charlie Morton going for them. They also could have starter Tyler Glasnow available out of the bullpen, but their rest of their bullpen is pretty solid led by Emilio Pagan, closer Diego Castillo, and Colin Poche. The Athletics look like they're sending Sean Manaea to the mound, who is a little over a year removed from Tommy John Surgery and came back in September and pitched well. There is talk that Mike Fiers could start this game, but it should be Manaea. In their bullpen, they have some arms such as closer Liam Hendriks, Jake Diekman, starter Homer Bailey, and youngster Jesus Luzardo. In what should be a close, low scoring game, I like the Athletics to get it done at home with the crowd behind them.
Prediction: Athletics 4, Rays 2.