MLB

They, in all their they-y wisdom, say that great pitching always beats great hitting. It's a notion that at least sounds logical, so it must be true.

We can say one thing, though: With Josh Donaldson, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion leading the charge, the Toronto Blue Jays' offense is pretty well-equipped to disprove that notion this October.

The 2015 postseason, it's now obvious, will be a coming-out party for the Houston Astros. They are the "it" team, poised on the precipice of something special.

If the MLB Wild Card Games were the appetizer—the amuse-bouche, if you're feeling fancy—then the main course is about to be served.

Beginning Thursday and spilling into Friday, the four division series will commence. And boy, what a meaty meal that promises to be.

From Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke to Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Matt Harvey, the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets is all about the aces.

After combing through the numbers and breaking down the matchup on a position-by-position basis, there's one observation that is unavoidable: This is one evenly matched series. Both teams have outstanding starting pitching, but their lineups and bullpens are littered with question marks.

Of all the things that happened in 2015, the Chicago Cubs' winning 97 games with a major boost from a pitcher who came to the team as a throw-in player in a throwaway deal was arguably at the top of the "There's No Way This Is for Real" power rankings.

But after what happened Wednesday night, we now know this: This is for real, all right.

Jake Arrieta's run of dominance continued Wednesday in a National League Wild Card contest as the Chicago Cubs defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-0, to clinch their first NLDS appearance since 2008.

Arrieta pitched a four-hit, complete-game shutout that saw him strike out 11 Pirates batters. According to ESPN's Karl Ravech, Arrieta is operating in truly elite air:

Maybe next year is finally here for the Chicago Cubs.

The snakebitten franchise that hasn't won a World Series since 1908 took the first step toward remedying that drought Wednesday with a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game. Ace Jake Arrieta put the team on his back and only allowed four hits while striking out 11 during a complete-game shutout.

The Pittsburgh Pirates may have gone down in the 2015 NL Wild Card Game without scoring a single run, but they didn't do so without a fight. Both benches cleared in the seventh inning Wednesday night when Pirates reliever Tony Watson hit Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta with a pitch.

No punches were thrown in the melee, but multiple players from both sides were seen pushing and shoving. 

Despite posting baseball's second-best regular-season record and hosting their third consecutive National League Wild Card Game, the Pittsburgh Pirates are heading home after a 4-0 loss at the hands of Jake Arrieta and the Chicago Cubs.

During the Chicago Cubs-Pittsburgh Pirates NL Wild Card Game on Wednesday night, Chi-Town rookie Kyle Schwarber crushed a home run literally out of PNC Park.

It was his third RBI of the game and left Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole visibly frustrated. 

The blast made some Cubs history. Schwarber became the youngest player to homer in the postseason for Chicago in 83 years: