MLB Playoffs

For all their successes in recent seasons, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Nationals enter their National League Division Series matchup as relative strangers. They have not met in the postseason despite combining for seven division championships in the past five seasons.

The Dodgers' two NLDS battles against NL East champions came during the two campaigns (2013 and 2015) where Washington was sitting at home.

After a brilliant 11-game winning streak in September allowed them to move into first place and clinch the American League East title, the Boston Red Sox (93-69) played indifferent baseball in the final week of the season and lost five of their final six games.

That allowed the American League Central champion Cleveland Indians (94-67) to take advantage and finish with a better season-long record than the Red Sox and earn home-field advantage in their American League Division Series.

After an exciting September that featured tightly contested postseason races in both leagues, the 2016 MLB playoffs are finally upon us with the field already set despite the regular season ending on Monday.

Two American League East clubs will vie for their postseason lives when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles in Tuesday's AL Wild Card Game.

MLB nearly faced a scheduling nightmare when a four-team tie remained plausible as late as Saturday. If the Detroit Tigers were required to make up a rained-out game Monday, they could have forced another tiebreaker game before playing the actual elimination game.

Sometimes sports can be cruel, and the American and National League Wild Card Games are perfect examples. 

Major League Baseball's 162-game regular-season schedule is a serious commitment for players and fans alike. The players must grind through the dog days of summer and all the peaks and valleys that come with them, while the fans must devote significant chunks of their time to watching, attending and following such a large number of games.

No one knows how the 2016 MLB playoffs will end, but we know how they'll begin: with a clash of titans.

Technically, the first postseason game will be Tuesday's American League wild-card tussle between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays. That should be a solid matchup between powerful AL East foes.

After battling for the East Division title throughout the summer, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles won the two wild-card spots in the American League playoffs on the final day of the regular season.

The two teams clinched their playoff spots as the Orioles beat the New York Yankees and the Blue Jays defeated the A.L. East champion Boston Red Sox.

All six division titles have already been celebrated around baseball, which leaves just the two wild-card spots in both leagues up for grabs during the final days of the regular season. There are a total of seven teams still battling for those remaining postseason berths.

All six MLB divisions are settled. 

That doesn't diminish the chaos in store for the season's final four days, though.

Every division is wrapped up, but all four wild-card spots have yet to be determined. Don't be surprised if bonus baseball is needed to settle a tiebreaker on Monday.

Less than a week remains in the 2016 MLB regular season, and there are still a handful of playoff spots up for grabs.

On the American League side, the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers have clinched their respective divisions, and the Boston Red Sox have locked up a playoff spot with their magic number at one to clinch the AL East.