MLB Playoffs ALCS & NLCS Predictions: Cleveland Guardians vs. New York Yankees & New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The four least-watched World Series all happened within the past four years. 

So if you think the first Yankees-Dodgers World Series since 1981 or the second Yankees-Mets Subway Series clash for all the marbles sounds good, imagine how great such matchups must sound to Major League Baseball and FOX executives in desperate need of some luster being returned to baseball’s jewel event. 

Now imagine how much the Cleveland Guardians would enjoy wrecking those images.

The Guardians are the clear David in a baseball final four otherwise jammed with Goliath-like superpowers. 

Can they crash the World Series party by beating the Yankees in an AL Championship Series beginning Sunday night? And can the Mets’ stunning run continue against the Dodgers in the NL Championship Series starting Monday night? Here’s a look at what to expect as baseball’s semifinals get underway.

Yankees vs. Guardians

With the Astros finally defrocked, the Yankees have their clearest path to the World Series since their most recent title in 2009 (or, as any Yankees fan would tell you, 40 billion years ago). But even a relatively stress-free four-game ALDS win over the Royals underlined the Yankees’ imperfect nature. Aaron Judge was 2-for-13 as players not named Giancarlo Stanton hit .198 while Carlos Rodon and Clarke Schmidt combined to give up six runs in just 8 1/3 innings in the two games not started by Gerrit Cole. But Yankees relievers allowed just one unearned run in 15 2/3 innings as Luke Weaver (three saves) cemented his grip on the closer’s role.

Nobody knows dominant October bullpens like the Guardians, but a group led by Emmanuel Clase posted a 3.24 ERA in a five-game ALDS against the Tigers that featured Clase giving up a three-run homer in a 3-0 Game 2 loss. Manager Stephen Vogt may have no choice but to rely more on a rotation that’s supplied just 18 1/3 innings thus far in the playoffs. If Cleveland can get a little more length from its starters, an underrated lineup sparked by Steven Kwan and Lane Thomas — who combined to hit .425 in the ALDS — could mount an upset bid. But in the end, an awakening Judge and the dominant bullpen help the Yankees do their part to ensure an enticing World Series matchup.

PREDICTION: Yankees in 6

Dodgers vs. Mets

Let’s hear it for the ability of players on teams who are spending more than half a billion dollars in payroll this season to paint themselves as the underdogs! To be fair, the Dodgers have been ravaged by injuries and have almost annually been tripped up by the randomness of October, so Max Muncy wasn’t completely off-base in profanely declaring that “80 percent of the ****ing experts said we were going to lose” to the Padres in the NLDS. And the Dodgers likely would have lost the NLDS if their bullpen hadn’t thrown 16 scoreless innings over the final three games and without the secondary duo of Enrique Hernandez and Teoscar Hernandez homering to provide the only runs in the Game 5 win. 

Then again, the top three hitters in the Dodgers’ order are going to have five MVPs after Shohei Ohtani takes home the NL honors this season, so the little engine that could, this is not.

The Mets, on the other hand, were a legitimately bad team for the first two months and fell 11 games under .500 after being swept by the Dodgers in late May. But they went 67-40 the rest of the way and are now the hottest and happiest team on the planet — one whose run is not fluky. Francisco Lindor would be a worthy MVP in any other season, Brandon Nimmo and Mark Vientos have emerged as stars, and the Mets are getting length and efficiency this month from starters Sean Manaea, Jose Quintana, Luis Severino and Kodai Senga (2.92 ERA over 37 innings and seven starts). David Peterson has also shored up a bullpen that is starting to wear down behind up-and-down closer Edwin Diaz. 

The Mets have already vanquished their Braves and Phillies demons. The Dodgers are next.

PREDICTION: Mets in 6