MLB Playoffs

The 2016 MLB playoffs commenced in grand fashion Tuesday when the Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings in the American League Wild Card Game, but there are several more intriguing matchups on tap moving forward.

An exciting start to the 2016 MLB postseason should have fans ready for even more in the coming days.

If Tuesday's drama-filled American League Wild Card Game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles was an indication of what's to come in the 2016 MLB playoffs, baseball fans are in for a treat.

Edwin Encarnacion played the role of hero with a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning, propelling the Blue Jays past the Orioles 5-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and pushing them to a date with the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series.

If you're a fan of the long ball, then the American League Wild Card Game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays is right up your alley. Baltimore led baseball with 253 regular-season home runs, while Toronto finished fourth with 221 outfield fence-clearing blasts.

With more than 450 homers between the two clubs—and 57 combined bombs in the 19 regular-season games in which they faced off (28 for the Orioles, 29 for the Jays)—it's entirely possible the AL Wild Card Game will more closely resemble a home run derby than playoff baseball.

The wild-card chase represented the only real drama during the stretch run of the MLB regular season with all six divisions getting wrapped up early. Now the four teams that survived the crowded battles are set for an immediate must-win game to keep their World Series hopes alive.

The 2016 MLB playoffs get underway later Tuesday with the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles kicking off the first of two Wild Card games.

The AL East compatriots each clinched their spots without trouble, winning their regular-season finales Sunday to set up the head-to-head. Their series over the 162-game slog could not have been any closer. Toronto earned a 10-9 advantage and the right to host Tuesday night's game.

The Major League Baseball postseason is something that's supposed to build to a crescendo, with the most memorable note being sounded in the seventh game of the World Series.

The National League Wild Card Game is anything but a warm-up or an appetizer. It is a full-fledged marquee matchup between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets, featuring two of the best pitchers in the league: Madison Bumgarner vs. Noah Syndergaard.

Two familiar foes will square off Tuesday in the American League Wild Card Game, when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles as -150 home favorites (bet $150 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The teams just played each other last week at the Rogers Centre, with Baltimore winning two of three but losing 10 of 19 meetings overall this year to surrender home-field advantage.

Major League Baseball's postseason predictions are a lot like blind dates: We've all tried them at some point, but man, they rarely goes right.

But that doesn't stop us from trying, right? So below, I've attempted to predict the entire 2016 postseason, knowing fully well that I'll probably get everything all wrong. The MLB postseason is funny like that, but hey, maybe this is the year it all goes according to plan.

With the 2016 MLB regular season officially wrapped up and the 10-team playoff field now set, this week's power rankings are going to be a little bit different than what you may be used to.

Looking at last week's performance is not necessarily the best indicator of which direction each of these teams is headed, as some of them clinched prior to last week and were resting guys and setting up their playoff rotation, while others were battling just to make it in.