MLB Playoffs

On the heels of an entertaining debut to the American League Championship Series, the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays will get right back to it with another showdown at Kauffman Stadium for Game 2.

The dramatics brought by the opening rounds of Major League Baseball's postseason are a necessary appetizer, but nothing compares to the League Championship Series round.

Four teams remain, and each of them has the opportunity to punch its ticket to the World Series by stringing together four wins. Considering the long-suffering clubs still left standing at this point in October, we're guaranteed to have a special conclusion.

The National League Championship Series will begin Saturday night at Citi Field as the New York Mets play host to the Chicago Cubs, with the first pitch of Game 1 scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET.

The Cubs topped the rival St. Louis Cardinals in four games in their division series matchup, while the Mets needed all five games to take care of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with Jacob deGrom leading the team to victory in the decisive Game 5.

The World Series is still on the not-so-near horizon, as the 2015 MLB postseason is only one game into the championship series round. So, it'll be a while before we have a clear picture of October's biggest stars.

But whatever. With 20 games in the books, I'd say we've gone far enough to dish out some props to the postseason stars who are deserving of some props. Wouldn't you? Of course you would.

It's up to David Price to stop the Toronto Blue Jays from tumbling into yet another 0-2 hole.

While the American League East champs will be calling on the October underachiever in Game 2 of the AL Championship Series, Yordano Ventura gets the nod for the Royals as the home team looks to claim a commanding lead at Kauffman Stadium.

The biggest key to this Game 2 matchup will be Price's performance, but the Jays will also need some help on the health front if the visitors are going to earn a split before heading north of the border.

The Kansas City Royals have taken Game 1 of the American League Championship Series with a 5-0 win over visiting Toronto.

Kansas City scored twice in the third inning on a pair run-scoring hits, upped the lead to 3-0 in the fourth on Salvador Perez's solo home run and then added two more in the eighth for insurance.

Edinson Volquez threw six shutout innings for Kansas City, while Kelvin Herrera, Ryan Madson and Luke Hochevar followed to combine on a three-hit shutout. 

Marco Estrada took the loss for Toronto, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings.

Four teams remain in the MLB playoffs, and no matter who wins, it will be a celebration a long time coming.

The Toronto Blue Jays won a World Series in 1993, making them the most recent champions of the four squads left in the 2015 race. The New York Mets (1986) and Kansas City Royals (1985) have each been waiting a long time as well, although nothing compares to the Chicago Cubs with a drought since 1908.

The top two clubs in the American League showcased their resiliency in a pair of five-game division series thrillers, and now the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays will clash in the ALCS for a spot in the 2015 World Series.

The two lovable losers of baseball will face off with a chance to go to the World Series as the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs battle in the National League Championship Series.

While both teams entered the year with promising young talent, few actually believed either would reach this stage so soon. But they both kept winning in the regular season and reached the playoffs, where they pulled off impressive upsets in the division series.

The National League Championship Series (NLCS) field is officially set, as the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets both came away victorious in their respective division series.

The Cubs bested the rival St. Louis Cardinals in four games in what was the first postseason meeting between those two teams.

This is the first time the Cubs have made the playoffs since 2008 and the first time they have advanced to the NLCS since 2003. They will now be looking for their first NL pennant since 1945.