Writers At The Athletic & MLB.com Give Postseason Predictions

MLB.com:

Who will win the World Series? We asked a handful of experts from MLB.com to weigh in, and here are their round-by-round predictions.

Totals

ALWC: Yankees 5, Athletics 4
NLWC: Cubs 5, Rockies 4

ALDS: Astros 8, Cleveland 1
ALDS: Red Sox 4, Yankees 4, Athletics 1

NLDS: Dodgers 9, Atlanta 0
NLDS: Brewers 9, Cubs 0, Rockies 0

ALCS: Astros 7, Red Sox 1, Cleveland 1
NLCS: Brewers 5, Dodgers 4

WS: Astros 5, Red Sox 1, Dodgers 1, Brewers 1, Cleceland 1

Will Leitch
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Yankees
World Series: Astros over Brewers

Richard Justice
ALDS: Red Sox over Yankees; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Athletics*
World Series: Astros over Brewers
[*: ALCS features Astros and Red Sox, but Astros will beat Athletics.]

Jim Duquette
ALDS: Red Sox over Yankees; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Red Sox over Astros
World Series: Red Sox over Dodgers

Mark Feinsand
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Yankees
World Series: Astros over Brewers

Jesse Sanchez
ALDS: Red Sox over Athletics; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Red Sox
World Series: Dodgers over Astros

Anthony Castrovince
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Yankees
World Series: Astros over Brewers

Alyson Footer
ALDS: Red Sox over Athletics; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Red Sox
World Series: Astros over Brewers

Mike Petriello
ALDS: Athletics over Red Sox; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Athletics
World Series: Astros over Dodgers

Jon Paul Morosi
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox; Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Cleveland over Yankees
World Series: Cleveland over Dodgers

The Athletic:

Who'll​ win it all?​ Well, we don't know either,​ but​ that's never​ stopped​ us from​ trying. Ahead​ of​ Tuesday's wild card​​ game, here are our attempts to predict the unpredictable.

Totals

ALWC: Yankees 6, Athletics 2
NLWC: Cubs 4, Rockies 4

ALDS: Cleveland 4, Astros 4
ALDS: Red Sox 5, Yankees 3, Athletics 0

NLDS: Dodgers 7, Atlanta 1
NLDS: Brewers 8, Cubs 0, Rockies 0

ALCS: Cleveland 4, Red Sox 2, Astros 2
NLCS: Dodgers 5, Brewers 2, Atlanta 1

WS: Cleveland 3, Red Sox 2, Dodgers 1, Brewers 1, Astros 1

Ken Rosenthal
ALDS: Red Sox over Athletics in 4; Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Cleveland over Red Sox in 6
World Series: Cleveland over Dodgers

Jayson Stark
ALDS: Red Sox over Athletics in 5; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Red Sox in 7
World Series: Brewers over Astros

Eno Sarris
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox in 5; Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Cleveland over Yankees
World Series: Cleveland over Atlanta

Jim Bowden
ALDS: Red Sox over Yankees in 5; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Red Sox over Astros in 7
World Series: Red Sox over Dodgers in 6

The Red Sox were the best team I saw all season. Their outfield consists of three center fielders who are all significantly above average defensively with plus speed, range, arms, hitting ability and power. Betts is the second best overall player in the game, behind only Mike Trout. J.D. Martinez is ready to take over the postseason with his leadership and dominant bat. The trio of Chris Sale, David Price and Rick Porcello now have enough postseason experience to pull from to finally have playoff success. The bullpen has an impact closer in Kimbrel, and he is surrounded by power arms. Steven Wright will play a big postseason role by eating innings, keeping hitters off-balance and making the arms around him tougher to hit. He's the x-factor, while Martinez will win ALCS MVP and Betts WS MVP.

Emma Span
ALDS: Red Sox over Yankees in 4; Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Red Sox over Cleveland in 7
World Series: Red Sox over Dodgers in 6

For a team that won 108 games, this Red Sox team is surprisingly underestimated, at least outside of New England. True, there are some bullpen concerns, but that offense — clearly the best in the majors this season — can make up for a lot; since Boston's pitching is still among the games' [sic] best, even with the occasional bullpen hiccup, it likely won't have to make up for much.

Peter Gammons
ALDS: Red Sox over Yankees in 4; Astros over Cleveland
ALCS: Astros over Red Sox in 6
World Series: Astros over Dodgers

Joe Posnanski
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox in 4; Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Cleveland over Yankees
World Series: Cleveland over Brewers

Kaci Borowski
ALDS: Yankees over Red Sox in 5; Cleveland over Astros
ALCS: Cleveland over Yankees
World Series: Dodgers over Cleveland