What will happen in the MLB wild-card games? Here are our predictions

The stage is set. After a grueling 162 games, four teams will have one chance to prove they deserve to continue playing baseball deep into October.

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees will kick things off in the AL wild-card game on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN. The game features Cy Young hopeful Dallas Keuchel and Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka. The Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates meets in the NL wild-card game in Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on TBS. Young Pirates ace Gerrit Cole will take on Jake Arrieta, the hottest pitcher on the planet.

One-game playoffs are generally unpredictable, as a pitch that barely touches the corner, or a ball that skims the chalk can decide which club goes home. We here at The Stew are undaunted, though. Joined by Yahoo Sports MLB columnists Jeff Passan and Tim Brown, our writers picked which teams will win each wild-card contest, and even provided a “wild” prediction for one of the games.

Let’s see what we’re thinking:

AL: The Astros came from 111 losses just two seasons ago for this, a trip to the Bronx and a single game to continue their journey to relevance. They’ll arrive with the pitcher many believed was the best in the American League, that being Dallas Keuchel, whose 16 innings against the Yankees this season looked like this: 0 runs, 21 strikeouts, 1 walk. Even on three days’ rest, he beats the Yankees and Masahiro Tanaka.

NL: The Pirates continue their streak of opposing behemoths over three consecutive wild card games, with Jake Arrieta following Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto. Arrieta will be every bit the handful Bumgarner was. The Cubs advance to the division series.

One Wild Prediction: Joe Maddon lightens the pre-game mood by sous-cheffing the omelet bar.

AL: Behind the arm of Dallas Keuchel, the Houston Astros will beat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The short porch in right might be a problem for most pitchers, but Keuchel has one of the best ground ball rates in the game due to a killer two-seamer. He leads the Astros to the next round.

NL: Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant don’t care about history. The two will find a way to lead the Cubs past Gerrit Cole and the Pirates during the NL wild card game. It helps that the Cubs may only need to score one run to win since Jake Arrieta is on the mound.

One Wild Prediction: Evan Gattis triples in a couple runs at some point during the game.

AL: We can see the headlines already: Fear the beard, Keuchel pitches Astros to win. Dallas Keuchel has been dominant for Houston all season. There’s no good reason to believe he won’t come through in the AL wild-card game against the Yankees and get the Astros into the division series for the first time since 2005.

NL: For the third straight year the NL wild-card game is in Pittsburgh, and we know the crowd will be hyped. It won’t be easy going up against Jake Arrieta and the Cubs, but Pirates starter Gerrit Cole and Pittsburgh’s bats are ready for the challenge. They’ll get an early lead and Cole will do enough to hold off Chicago’s offense for the Pirates to raise the Jolly Roger at PNC Park on Wednesday night.

One Wild Prediction: Not only will Gerrit Cole outshine Jake Arrieta on the mound, but he’ll do some damage against the Cubs right-hander in the batter’s box. A career .171 hitter in the regular season, Cole will come up with an RBI knock off Arietta in a big spot and send the Pittsburgh crowd into a frenzy.

AL: Sorry, New York, but it’s hard to have much confidence in a Yankees team that lost six out of its last seven games heading into the postseason. And a team that doesn’t have the pop of Mark Teixeira’s bat anymore. The Astros have blemishes too, but they’re good at hitting the ball out of the park and I have more faith in Dallas Keuchel than Masahiro Tanaka at this point.

NL: Jake Arrieta is a fine pitcher and he’s understandably getting a lot of the hype leading into this game, but Gerrit Cole ain’t no slouch, folks. These aren’t the Pirates that trotted out Edinson Volquez to start their wild-card game last year. The Pirates won 98 games this season with good reason. I see Cole and the more experienced Pirates lineup edging the upstart Cubs here. It’s probably going to come down to one run, but these Pirates are hungry for a deep October run and won’t be denied.

One Wild Prediction: Jose Altuve, the Astros’ 5-foot-5 spark plug, hits a homer to put the Astros on the board first.

AL: Never before has Dallas Keuchel thrown on three days’ rest, and even though his last start consisted of six innings as taxing as something Grover Norquist would support, and the Yankees haven’t scored on him this season, asking him to win this game is a risk. It’s one worth taking, too, and considering Keuchel’s groundball-heavy arsenal and platoon advantage against a lefty-heavy New York lineup, the Houston Astros will scrape together enough offense against Masahiro Tanaka to advance to the ALDS against Kansas City.

NL: Jake Arrieta vs. Gerrit Cole. The sort of matchup made for a one-game playoff. While it’s unfair that one of the three best teams in baseball this season gets bounced in a coin-flip game and the winner gets to face a 100-win team as a reward, Chicago and Pittsburgh should provide riveting theater, with the Cubs prevailing in a close game and inching closer to an exorcism that would fascinate the whole country.

One Wild Prediction: The NL wild card will go to extra innings with the score 0-0. This isn’t an indictment on either offense as much as it’s a testament to the strength of the starting pitchers as well as their teams’ bullpens. And while the Pirates’ finished the regular season with the best ERA in baseball at 2.67, the Cubs will touch them up for a run in the 11th and secure the matchup everyone wants to see against St. Louis.

AL: Though Dallas Keuchel is more comfortable at home, he’ll be the difference at Yankee Stadium. The Cy Young candidate has enjoyed a true breakout season, even starting in the All-Star game, but this sets up to be his big breakthrough on the national stage. He won’t let that opportunity slip away, and the Astros will ride his work to victory.

NL: The Pirates got two looks at Jake Arrieta in September, but managed to score just one run on seven hits total. Some might suggest the extra looks will help them find a comfort level on Wednesday, but Arrieta is too locked in for it to really matter. If anything, Pittsburgh will go in knowing the margin for error is slim, which could have them playing from behind before the game even starts.

One Wild Prediction: First of all, Anthony Rizzo will get hit by a pitch. Also, I’m feeling a breakout game for one young Chicago star in particular. It’s not Kris Bryant and it’s not Kyle Schwarber. It’s actually Addison Russell. I’m predicting two home runs and one memorable web gem as he takes charge on the big stage.

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