Only the New York Yankees have some time to relax after their Division Series sweep over the Minnesota Twins. For everyone else in the MLB playoffs, anxiety reigns. Here are the keys for the three remaining series' deciding games.
Atlanta Braves vs. St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday at 5 p.m. E.T. on TBS — In a tightly-contested series, the Cardinals' sluggers, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and outfielder Marcell Ozuna, have carried the load. They're a combined 15 for 33 so far, with four home runs and seven doubles; Atlanta's pitching staff will have to contain them to move on. Meanwhile, Atlanta's middle-of-the-order bats — third baseman Josh Donaldson and first baseman Freddie Freeman — have been quiet. Outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and shortstop Dansby Swanson have picked them up from the top and bottom of the order, respectively, but Atlanta would like its corner infielders to get something going against St. Louis ace Jack Flaherty.
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Washington Nationals, Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. E.T. on TBS — Both starting pitchers scheduled for Wednesday's clincher — the Nationals' Stephen Strasburg and the Dodgers' Walker Buehler — were terrific in their first appearances in this series, and their clubs would be thrilled if they're able to go deep into the night on Wednesday. The Nationals deploy a shaky bullpen, but should have two starting pitchers out there in case, while Clayton Kershaw should be ready for the Dodgers if need be. But this game could come down to whichever starter gets knocked out first.
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Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday at 7 p.m. E.T. on FS1 — The home teams have dominated this series, which heads back to Houston. In addition to being on the road, the Rays have the unenviable task of facing Major League strikeout king Gerrit Cole, who spun 7.2 shutout innings with 15 punchouts in Game 2. The Rays will need to do what they did early in Game 4 against Houston's Justin Verlander and work the count against Cole to try to put more pressure him.
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