Baseball

Despite falling just short of making the postseason, the Seattle Mariners had an exciting 2014 season.

The Mariners were in contention for the AL Wild Card until Game 162 of the year and were relevant well into September for the first time in several seasons. The wild-card race provided several thrilling moments for a fanbase that hasn't had much to cheer for in quite some time.

Keep it locked right here for live coverage of the MLB playoffs! 

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While all eyes will be on the marquee players like Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner in Wednesday's National League Wild Card Game at PNC Park, there are a few players who may steal the spotlight and have huge games to help their team advance into the division series. 

One of them is Pittsburgh's Josh Harrison.

With two stud pitchers on the mound in Jon Lester for the Oakland A’s and James Shields for the Kansas City Royals in the American League Wild Card Game, it can be expected that runs will come at a premium for either side on Tuesday in Kansas City.

Unfortunately for both teams, that has already been the theme for quite some time.

One thing that defines Major League Baseball's postseason is the unpredictable nature of the short series. Even though the regular season is built on three- and four-game series, it's harder to pin down what happens now because the separation between the best and worst teams is minimal. 

Tuesday's American League Wild Card Game will feature two extremely different teams as the Kansas City Royals host the Oakland Athletics.

Both teams will be backed by excellent starting pitchers, with "Big Game" James Shields going for KC and former Boston Red Sox star Jon Lester taking the hill for Oakland.

Aside from that, though, each club will rely on a unique set of strengths in order to move on and face the Los Angeles Angels in the AL Divisional Series.

Despite a 22-33 record over the past two months as well as injuries and inconsistency, the Oakland Athletics secured the second American League wild-card spot in the season’s final game.

One thing the Major League Baseball postseason teaches us is that after 162 games, we still don't know anything about this game that's so near and dear to our hearts. Looking at regular-season records and stats is only a guide, because once games start it's all up in the air. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates have one chance to get it right if they want to advance to the National League Division Series.

It's playoff time in Major League Baseball. Since the adoption of a second wild card team in each league, there's also a greater sense of urgency when the postseason begins because you have only one game to get everything right.

There are a lot of myths surrounding playoff baseball, not the least of which is this idea of momentum. We've seen teams with 85 wins capture a World Series, so how much forward movement did those teams really have?