Poll Who Will Win The Wild Card Series

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The 2025 regular season is in the books, and the baseball world is now gearing up for what might be a wild postseason. It took until Game 162 to finalize the full slate of playoff teams and matchups, but now we know the eight clubs who will take part in the wild card round that begins on Tuesday, as October baseball gets started a bit early this year on September 30. All WCS matchups are best-of-three, and will take place entirely in the home ballpark of the higher-seeded team.  The  Guardians  will meet the  Tigers  again after Cleveland posted a 5-1 record against Detroit over a pair of series in the last two weeks, contributing to the AL Centrals epic shakeup. The Tigers held a 9.5-game lead in the division before going 3-13 over their last 16 games to barely eke out a wild card slot. The Guards, meanwhile, went 19-4 over their final 23 games to overtake Detroit and claim Clevelands third division title in the last four years.  After all of that, the two clubs find themselves facing off in the postseason for the second straight year. The Guardians needed the full five games to oust Detroit in the 2024 AL Division Series, as last season the Tigers were the team surging into the playoffs after a late-season hot streak. All of the momentum is on the Guardians side at this point, and even though the Tigers will have  going in Game 1, Clevelands pitching has been on such a roll that the Guards have the overall pitching advantage. The Guardians held an 8-5 record against the Tigers in regular-season play this year.  One of baseballs greatest rivalries will be renewed again in October when the  Yankees  host the  Red  J.d. Davis Jersey Sox  at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees lost the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Blue Jays to fall just short of the AL East crown, despite an eight-game winning streak to finish the regular season. New Yorks rotation and homer-heavy offense seem to be clicking at the right time, yet the Sox had seemingly had the Yankees number this year, with a 9-4 record in head-to-head play.  After falling short to the Dodgers in last years World Series, the Yankees are eager to return the Fall Cla sic and finally win the first championship of the  era. Boston hasnt quite been the same since  was lost to an oblique injury in early September and the rookie stars status for postseason action. However, the Red Sox have a well-rounded roster and an ace of their own in  , plus the organization is hungry for postseason succe s in their first playoff trip since 2021.  The  Cubs  have also just ended a mini-drought in reaching October for the first time since the shortened 2020 season, as Chicago stepped up to win 92 games after posting 83-79 records in both 2023 and 2024. Theyll now host the  Padres  in the first postseason meeting between the two clubs since 1984, when San Diego fought back from a 2-0 series deficit to win a best-of-five NLCS and deny Chicago a trip to the World Series. Forty-one years later, its the Padres who might feel slightly more cursed at the moment, since the club has yet to advance beyond the NLCS in their three previous playoff trips in the last six seasons.  Theres plenty of pre sure on the Friars to finally reach the pinnacle of this era of succe s, though Chicago is hoping for more than just a playoff appearance after its win-now trade for  last winter. After starting 38-22, the Cubs have been more okay than elite (54-48) over the better part of the last four months. The series Wrigleyville locale could be impactful, as the Padres were only 38-43 on the road this season.  The  Dodgers  host the  Reds  in a matchup of two teams with very different recent postseason histories. Los Angeles has won 12 of the last 13 NL West titles, and is looking to become baseballs first repeat World Series champ since the 1998-2000 Yankees pulled off the three-peat. Cincinnati, meanwhile, is in the playoffs for just the fifth time in the last 30 years, and the Reds havent won a playoff series since all the way back in 1995  when they beat the Dodgers in the NLDS.  Winning only 93 games counts as a relative disappointment by the Dodgers standards, and the club will need to navigate an extra playoff round. This puts more pre sure on the beleaguered L.A. bullpen, and  s participation is a question mark due to a hairline fracture in his right hand. The rotation is on a roll, however, and naturally theres a lot of built-in playoff experience for the reigning champs. The young Reds gained some seasoning in beating out the Mets for a wild card berth, and of course manager Terry Francona is no stranger to October. Cincinnatis rotation and bullpen will need to continue their excellent form to counter  and company, and the wild card series would be a great time for the inconsistent Reds lineup to get on track.  Which four teams do you think will reach the Division Series? Vote now in our polls:  Nestor Cortes Jersey