Baseball

With MLB's Wild Card Round in the books, the playoffs will kick off in a more traditional sense Thursday as just eight teams remain in contention for a World Series berth.

Both the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs kept their hopes alive by winning wild-card games, but things won't get any easier as both the American and National Leagues are stacked with quality teams that are all capable of making a deep run.

After 162 games, the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs will meet in a National League Division Series comprised of NL Central foes.

On paper, both the Cardinals and Cubs have what it takes to advance to the National League Championship Series. Over the next few slides, we'll break down the upcoming series position by position to try to determine which team has the upper hand. 

Following two days of MLB wild-card drama, the American League will kick off the division series Thursday without fear of immediate expulsion.  

Don't let any friends, family, pundits or random strangers on Twitter declare these as "must-win" games. Taking Game 1 would sure be swell, but that's not how math works. Everyone is at least afforded some breathing room in a best-of-five showdown.

NEW YORK — Michael Cuddyer played in the postseason five times with the Minnesota Twins.

The only series they won was the first one.

Cuddyer was 23 years old, most of his teammates weren't much older (Torii Hunter and David Ortiz were both 26), and the Twins were playing in October for the first time in 11 years.

"And we had to play Game 5 in Oakland," Cuddyer said last month. "It wasn't easy."

They, in all their they-y wisdom, say that great pitching always beats great hitting. It's a notion that at least sounds logical, so it must be true.

We can say one thing, though: With Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion leading the charge, the Toronto Blue Jays' offense is pretty well-equipped to disprove that notion this October.

The 2015 postseason, it's now obvious, will be a coming-out party for the Houston Astros. They are the "it" team, poised on the precipice of something special.

Jake Arrieta's run of dominance continued Wednesday in a National League Wild Card contest as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0, to clinch their first NLDS appearance since 2008.

Arrieta pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout that saw him strike out 11 Pirates batters. According to ESPN's Karl Ravech, Arrieta is operating in truly elite air:

Maybe next year is finally here for the Chicago Cubs.

The snakebitten franchise that hasn't won a World Series since 1908 took the first step toward remedying that drought Wednesday with a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game. Ace Jake Arrieta put the team on his back and only allowed four hits while striking out 11 during a complete-game shutout.

The Pittsburgh Pirates may have gone down in the 2015 NL Wild Card Game without scoring a single run, but they didn't do so without a fight. Both benches cleared in the seventh inning Wednesday night when Pirates reliever Tony Watson hit Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta with a pitch.

No punches were thrown in the melee, but multiple players from both sides were seen pushing and shoving. 

FINAL SCORE: Cubs 4-0 Pirates

The Cubs are moving on.

In a game that had pitcher's duel written all over it, Jake Arietta answered the call and helped lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game on Wednesday night.

Arrieta was masterful, twirling a complete-game four-hitter while striking out 11 Buccos. He worked through the game unscathed until the Pirates rallied the bases loaded in the sixth inning. However, Starling Marte ripped into a double play to end the threat.