As the MLB postseason moves into its next stage, it’s going to be difficult to top the drama from the Wild Card Series, which featured three thrilling best-of-three series that were tight into the final innings of the decisive Game 3s. Our MLB experts have dusted off their crystal balls once again to see which teams will survive the best-of-five Division Series format and move on to the American League Championship Series. The votes are in and in a few places, we have pretty strong consensus as to which teams will win. Are we right? We’ll find out soon…

Los Angeles Dodgers (3) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (2)

This is a dream matchup, unfortunately coming one round before the classic best-of-seven format that would ensure maximum opportunities for Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper and the other top players from these star-studded rosters to take center stage. So let’s enjoy these games while they last.

Staff predictions for LA vs. PHI

Mitch Bannon (PHI): “These lineups both bang. The rotations hold similar upside. The only significant difference comes in the bullpens. The Phillies have Jhoan Duran, the Dodgers don’t.”

David O’Brien (LA): “The Dodgers are on a roll after winning their final five regular season games — and nine of their last 11 — and sweeping the Reds in the Wild Card Series. They’ll have Shohei Ohtani to start Game 1. The Phillies have a strong lineup like the Dodgers do, and a solid rotation. But the rotation doesn’t have the injured Zack Wheeler, and that’s enough to give the Dodgers the edge, even with Philly having home-field advantage in the cauldron that is Citizens Bank Park.”

Eno Sarris (PHI): “These teams look like they were built to tussle with each other. Similar strengths and weaknesses. The stars will determine the outcome.”

Katie Woo (LA): “Philadelphia’s unorthodox approach of using three left-handed starters to open the series doesn’t mean much to me, considering those starters are Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suárez. The Dodgers rotation still looks to be full strength, despite Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto starting in the Wild Card Series. The biggest issue for Los Angeles continues to be their bullpen. Can they figure out to close out back-end of games? They better hope so, because that Phillies lineup is dangerous. This is the must-watch series of the postseason for me. If there’s one team that can dethrone last year’s champions, it’s the Phillies.”

Levi Weaver (PHI): “These are not the Reds. Kyle Schwarber led the National League in home runs. Trea Turner is the NL batting champ. Cristopher Sánchez led all pitchers — all of ’em — in bWAR, at 8.0. And perhaps most importantly, the Phillies bullpen contains Jhoan Duran. Whether or not Roki Sasaki is the answer for the LA bullpen, advantage Philly once the starters are out.”

Andy McCullough (LA): “I believe these are the two best teams left in the postseason. Los Angeles gets the nod because of its starting pitching depth.”

Sam Blum (PHI): “The Dodgers may have been the only team to sweep in the Wild Card round, but I feel worse about them than any of the four advancing clubs. Sure, they got Roki Sasaki looking like a bona fide closer. But the rest of that bullpen is just too suspect to sustain a legitimate playoff series. Plus, the Phillies are the NL’s best team, maybe even the best in baseball.”

Jon Greenberg (PHI): “It’s Schwarbs vs. Ohtani. The winner? Baseball.”

Cubs-Brewers is a dream NL Central matchup between two squads that know each other extremely well. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

Chicago Cubs (4) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (1)

The winner of this series gets NL Central bragging rights and a (probably not final) answer as to whether a team is better off with or without Craig Counsell as the manager. Should be a barnburner. And with a relatively short car ride between the home parks, the crowds should be rowdy and ready for a great series. Our experts are expecting a close series, as well, as this is the tightest vote split among the four Division Series.

Staff predictions for CHC vs. MIL

Stephen Nesbitt (MIL): “The Brewers have not won a postseason series in any of their past five playoff seasons. They just don’t have the juice in October. But I can’t quit them. They play such an aesthetically pleasing and fundamentally sound brand of baseball, and if that’s no longer a winning formula in this era, well, I’ll go on record saying that kind of stinks. These teams played evenly during the regular season. They’re a rather good match, two teams with multi-dimensional lineups and plus defenders across the diamond. But this is the Brew Crew’s time.”

Eno Sarris (CHC): “The Cubs are one of the few teams that can neutralize the Brewers’ defensive edge, and their power bats will claim supremacy over the contact and run offense in Milwaukee.”

Chad Jennings (MIL): “The Brewers have to win a series at some point, right? They’ve been a good organization for quite a while now, and this team feels pretty complete. Their lineup doesn’t have a ton of star power, but it doesn’t have many holes either. I think they have enough pitching to get through this round.”

Grant Brisbee (CHC): “The Cubs catch the ball up the middle. The Brewers have thrived this season because they’ve been so good at hitting ’em where they ain’t, but also because their team speed forces the other team to screw up. The Cubs are a good match for that.”

Tyler Kepner (MIL): “My head says the Cubs, after watching how their pitchers stifled San Diego. But the Brewers have been the best team in MLB this season, and one of these years they’ll break through in October. It’s time to stop doubting them.”

Jon Greenberg (CHC): “Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker are showing signs of life. If they get hot, Cubs in four. If one gets hot, Cubs in five.”

Chris Kirschner (MIL): “The Brewers have a major pitching advantage. They should keep the Cubs’ offense in check.”

Sam Blum (CHC): “Both teams kind of limped to the finish line this season, but the Cubs potentially got something back in what I would argue was an upset Wild Card win over the Padres. Milwaukee has lost five straight playoff series. I’m not sure if there’s some underlying reason for it, but until they win one, I won’t predict it.”

Andy McCullough (MIL): “The Brewers are rested and ready, and facing an opponent that torched its bullpen to survive the Wild Card Series.”

Cal Raleigh will be the big name behind the plate in this series, but Dillon Dingler is coming off a Wild Card Series to remember himself. (Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)

Detroit Tigers (6) vs. Seattle Mariners (2)

The Tigers have put their fans through a tidal wave of emotion the past month, first making them suffer through the agony of a blown division lead, only to watch them dispatch the team that overtook them in the AL Central in a thrilling three-game Wild Card Series. Our experts don’t see the Tigers extending their fans’ misery, however, as they are unanimous in predicting a Mariners’ victory and their first trip to the ALCS since David Justice broke Seattle’s hearts in 2001.

Staff predictions for DET vs. SEA

Levi Weaver (SEA): “Rotation: check
Bullpen: check
Thrive on the homer: check
Vibes: check

Even if you didn’t already know which team I picked, if you read those words above, then looked at the Tigers and Mariners … you’d know which team I was talking about. You would.”

Sahadev Sharma (SEA): “Will a layoff cool down the Mariners hot offense? I’m guessing even if it does, the pitching will shine for Seattle and carry them to the ALCS.”

Chandler Rome (SEA): “The Tigers have the best manager and starting pitcher in the series. Everything else belongs to the Mariners, a team that should be able to exploit Detroit’s thin bullpen and struggling lineup. The only thing that could stop Seattle is that dreaded six-day layoff.”

Stephen Nesbitt (SEA): “Tarik Skubal can only start so often, and the Tigers have proven over the past month that much of their pitching staff is at constant risk of implosion. The good news from the Wild Card Series was that they had traffic on the bases at almost all times. The bad news is it took them 26 innings to figure out how to bring some of those runners home. The Mariners lineup is relentless, and their pitching staff is nails. They will not provide the Tigers with the second, third and fourth chances that Cleveland did. The Mariners will seek and exploit the Tigers’ swing-and-miss troubles. And the bats will tear apart the Tigers bullpen, in particular.”

Katie Woo (SEA): “Pick your poison: Logan Gilbert, George Kirby or Luis Castillo? That’s to say nothing of Bryan Woo, should he be available. It’s an arm’s race, and it’s the Mariners with the huge advantage.”

David O’Brien (SEA): “The Mariners are a clearly better team than the Tigers have been for the past month, notwithstanding Detroit’s opening-round win at Cleveland. The atmosphere in Seattle will be electric, and this is the year of Cal Raleigh in the AL. And Seattle’s pitching is far superior to Detroit’s other than Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.”

Chad Jennings (SEA): “Dodgers vs. Reds felt like the most lopsided wild card series, and it was. This feels like the most lopsided division series, and I think it will be. The Mariners have their usual pitching staff, and this time they’ve built a lineup that can actually provide some run support.”

Mitch Bannon (SEA): “The Mariners have a deeper rotation and a better lineup. Seattle might get more offence from its catcher than the entire Detroit lineup will provide. As long as the Mariners can survive two Tarik Skubal starts, they shouldn’t fall in this series.”

Only a tiebreaker separated the Yankees and Blue Jays in the AL East this season. (Kent J. Edwards / Getty Images)

New York Yankees (4) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (1)

That team the Mariners faced in the 2001 ALCS is playing in the other Division Series, looking to defend their AL pennant after a rousing wild-card win over the rival Red Sox. New York was the first team in the best-of-three wild-card format to lose Game 1 and go on to take the series. Now they get another AL East foe, the Blue Jays, who squeaked out a division title over the Yankees on the last day of the regular season. Can the Blue Jays finally advance in a postseason series? Or will New York move on and potentially recreate the 2001 ALCS? In a year where Ichiro was elected to the Hall of Fame, our experts see another NYY/SEA series on the horizon.

Staff predictions for NYY vs. TOR

Chandler Rome (NYY): “Aaron Judge has yet to have his signature moment. Max Fried should’ve had one before being pulled too early. The Yankees won’t see a better starter than Garrett Crochet for the remainder of the playoffs. What they did to every other Red Sox pitcher should frighten the Blue Jays.”

Mitch Bannon (TOR): “The Jays won eight of the 13 meetings against the Yankees this year. They put relentless pressure on New York’s defence and it gave out often. This is a much different Yankees team, though, with fielding holes filled at third base and seemingly shortstop. There are still areas to expose New York, if the Jays can make enough contact to find them.”

Katie Woo (NYY): “Rogers Centre has not been kind to the Yankees, who lost six of seven games in Toronto this year. Still, experience matters in the postseason, and the Yankees have the clear advantage there.”

Melissa Lockard (TOR): “I picked the Yankees to win the World Series but the Yankees are coming out of an emotional series against the Red Sox, which could leave an opening for the Blue Jays to steal the first two games of the series at what will be a raucous Rogers Centre. The Jays’ rotation hasn’t performed as well as expected down the stretch but the veteran arms have a way of raising their game in big moments and the Jays have a lot of postseason experience among their starters.”

Andy McCullough (NYY): “The Yankees and the Jays each won 94 games, but the run differentials suggested the Yankees were a 97-win team and the Jays were an 88-team. We shall see what happens, but New York is going to be flying high after an emotional triumph over Boston.”

Stephen Nesbitt (NYY): “No team in the majors did more damage in the regular season than the Yankees. The questions looming over them have largely revolved around their bullpen woes and defensive lapses. By now, I am a believer. The Yankees appeared to have a clue what to do with their mitts in the Wild Card Series. Their bullpen withstood the Red Sox. And after witnessing the star turn of Cam Schlittler it’s hard not to like the Yankees’ top three starters. The Blue Jays pitching staff cannot expect to contain the Yankees lineup. They must hope to win a battle of the bats.”

Tyler Kepner (NYY): “The Yankees enter the series on a high after coming back to beat Boston. They have more power and a big edge on the mound.”

Chad Jennings (NYY): “I just don’t believe in the Blue Jays pitching staff. Their lineup is good, but I just don’t think they have the arms. Honestly, I would have picked either team from that Wild Card Series — either the Red Sox or Yankees — to beat the Blue Jays in the division series.”

Sam Blum (NYY): “It’s kind of amazing how often it feels like the Yankees and their fans completely crash out. Yet, here we all are, watching them make another postseason run. Cam Schlittler proved the Yankees have three very viable starting pitchers. That’s a formidable thing for any team to overcome in October.”

Jon Greenberg (NYY): “Aaron Judge earns his pinstripes with an MVP series.”

(Top photo: Emilee Chinn / Getty Images)