According to Out of the Park Baseball 18, the 2017 Major League Baseball playoffs will unfold as follows:
[Press Release is provided from OOTP Developments)
Wild Card
American League: The Yankees beat the Twins 6-5, coming back from a 4-3 deficit by scoring 3 runs in the 7th on an Aaron Judge home run.
National League: The Diamondbacks outslug the Rockies 10 to 7. Both starting pitchers exit before the fifth inning, when Arizona takes a 7-6 lead that holds up to the end. Each team hit 3 home runs.
Division Series
American League (Indians vs. Yankees): The Indians advance to the ALCS by beating the Yankees 3-1. The Yankees took game 1 behind a good C.C. Sabathia performance and a Judge HR, but it was all Cleveland afterwards, winning the next three games 6-4, 8-4 and 10-7. José Ramirez dominated the series, hitting .500 with 2 HR and 5 RBI.
American League (Red Sox vs. Astros): This series went the distance, with the Astros beating the Red Sox in game 5 by a score of 3-2 in 10 innings in dramatic fashion, thanks to a Brian McCann walk-off home run against Craig Kimbrel. José Altuve has a great series, hitting .450 with 2 HR and 3 RBI.
National League (Diamondbacks vs. Dodgers): Arizona continues to be a thorn in the Dodgers side this season, winning the NLDS 3 games to 1. Clayton Kershaw wins game 1 with 8 shutout innings and 9 K’s, but Arizona wins the next three games, 11-6, 1-0 and 3-2 to clinch with Zack Greinke allowing just 2 ER in 8 IP to go along with a J.D. Martinez 2-run HR.
National League (Cubs vs. Nationals): The Cubs return to the NLCS for the third year in a row, ousting the Nationals 3 games to 1. Chicago storms back from a 1-run deficit to steal Game 1 6-5, only to fall to a strong Stephen Strasburg in Game 2 2-1. Jake Arrieta and José Quintana combine to win Games 3 and 4, and the Nationals are once again eliminated early in the postseason.
Championship Series
American League:The Indians’ magic late-season run comes to an end, as the Astros win 4 games to 1, despite another huge performance by José Ramirez (.524, 4 HR). The Astros win both of Justin Verlander’s starts, as he allows just 2 runs in 14 innings pitched. George Springer wins the ALCS MVP with 3 HR, 6 RBI and a .348 AVG.
National League: The Cubs advance to their 2nd straight World Series, beating the Diamondbacks 4 games to 1. Cubs pitching holds Arizona to just 10 runs in the 5 games, and José Quintana wins MVP honors after going 2-0 with a 0.59 ERA in 15.1 IP (16 K’s, 4 BBs). Anthony Rizzo hits .350 with 2 HR and 5 RBI.
World Series
The Houston Astros defeat the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 3 in a classic World Series, winning the first title in franchise history in front of their home fans.
The Cubs win the opener thanks to a complete game win for Jake Arrieta. Houston wins the next two, but then Chicago roars back to win the next two and take a 3-2 series lead back to Houston.
World Series Game 6 has the Cubs up 4-2 and ready to celebrate in the 9th inning – until disaster strikes. Yuli Gurriel hits a home run off Wade Davis, followed by back-to-back doubles by George Springer and Alex Bregman. That set the stage for a walk-off José Altuve single to win it for Houston and send it to Game 7.
In that seventh game, Houston goes up 5-1 early as Lester only lasts 3 innings. The Cubs start clawing back, however, to close the score to 5-4 heading to the 9th. Ken Giles shuts Chicago down, striking out Ian Happ to end the game and the World Series for Houston. Dallas Keuchel gets the win in game 7 (6 IP, 3 ER) while Alex Bregman and José Altuve (each 3 H and 2 RBI) provide the offense.
The Cubs’ Jason Heyward wins the World Series MVP in a losing effort, hitting .481 (13 hits) with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Jake Arrieta goes 2-0 with a 1.06 ERA in 17 IP for the Series. Houston’s bats stayed rather cold, with José Altuve only hitting .250 with 6 RBI.
“It’s a huge thrill to have the MLB Network reveal our postseason predictions,” said OOTP CMO Richard Grisham. “We are huge fans of the network and watch every day. The baseball postseason is simply the best month of the year. We can’t wait to see how closely Out of the Park Baseball’s simulation engine matches the actual outcome.”
