Baseball

In the process of setting the 2015 World Series odds for MLB's four league championship contenders, there is one observation that is inescapable: Everyone left standing has an excellent chance of winning a ring.

The Kansas City Royals have the October experience, and the Toronto Blue Jays have the collection of unreal bats. But the New York Mets and the Chicago Cubs have the rising stars who are poised to take over the postseason.

LOS ANGELES — Good morning, good afternoon and good night.

By the time Jacob deGrom passed the ball to Noah Syndergaard and Syndergaard forwarded it to closer Jeurys Familia, there were singe marks throughout Dodger Stadium. Skid marks on the backs of those pristine white Dodgers uniforms. The place smelled like burning rubber.

For a time, 2015 seemed like the year the Los Angeles Dodgers finally had things figured out. After four years of trying under the current ownership group, their magic formula for winning the World Series looked like it was on the right track.

In the end, however, the Dodgers find themselves going back to the drawing board yet again.

The Chicago Cubs already had a spot in the NLCS locked up following Tuesday's Game 4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals, but the New York Mets secured their place with a dramatic 3-2 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday evening.  

With the matchup set and a pennant on the line, here's a preview of when and where you can catch all the NLCS action between two championship-starved franchises:

After the Los Angeles Dodgers failed to meet expectations for the third consecutive season, falling in five games to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series, you can be sure that changes are coming to the team.

In a somewhat surprising move Thursday, the Chicago Cubs officially named Jon Lester their starter for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, per MLB's official Twitter account. Cy Young candidate Jake Arrieta will start Game 2.

FINAL SCORE: Mets 3 - Dodgers 2

The Mets are moving on!

Daniel Murphy put his team on his back and New York used a strong effort from its bullpen to edge out Zack Greinke and the Dodgers, 3-2, in Game 5 of the National League Division Series on Thursday night.

After two dramatic American League Division Series that went five games, the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals are set to square off in the ALCS.

Which team will come out on top? What are the keys to advancing to the World Series?

It should surprise absolutely nobody that a winner-take-all Game 5 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets in the National League Division Series will come down to two of the best aces in baseball.

Zack Greinke gets the ball for the Dodgers at home, while Mets star Jacob deGrom takes to the mound in a Thursday night showdown that will decide who advances to face the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS.

A Toronto Blue Jays fan was arrested and charged with mischief Wednesday night for his role in an ugly scene that saw some in attendance at the Rogers Centre throw debris toward the field during Game 5 of the American League Division Series.