MLB playoff predictions: are the Dodgers heading for an inevitable fall?

The Pirates could have brought real verve to the postseason with a healthy Konnor Griffin at shortstop and Paul Skenes on the mound. Sadly the team dug too deep a hole in August and, in usual Pirate fashion, didn't give themselves a chance. AK

That has to be the Orioles , which means Pete Alonso's F-David Stearns tour won't see the bright lights of the postseason. The Mets ' president of baseball operations, one with almost all the money in the world at his disposal, who didn't offer a contract to Alonso – who hit 43 home runs, arguably the second-best season of his career – is finally off the hook. That is, at least until a would-be 2027 season. Too bad. DL

The American League's No 2 seed is an 85-win division champion with a plus-11 run differential who FanGraphs suggests was closer to a .500 ball club . The Guardians have the pitching to thrive in close games, but a lineup without a 20-homer batter leaves them little room for error. BAG