Preview/Prediction

If the MLB postseason follows the same course the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles traveled Tuesday night, October will be a month to remember.

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.

When the 2016 MLB season began, few people figured the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants would be here.

Sure, a majority of baseball pundits and fans expected both teams to be playing in October. But most thought they'd be respective division winners readying for the National League Division Series—not participants in the Wild Card Game.

Sometimes, the baseball gods just don't smile down upon you.

Baltimore's season came to a brutal end in extra innings, as Edwin Encarnacion's three-run blast off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 5-2 victory over the Orioles, who are now 2-8 in their last 10 playoff games dating back to 2012.

If the San Francisco Giants (87-75) are going to win their fourth World Series title in seven years, they will need to get through the defending National League champions first on Wednesday when they visit the New York Mets (87-75) in the Wild Card Game.

The matchup is listed as a pick’em at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark, with each team hoping its ace can do the job and earn a shot at the Chicago Cubs.

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.

This season, the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles couldn't have played each other closer.

In 19 games, Toronto won 10 and Baltimore nine.

Each team protected its home-field advantage. The Orioles went 5-4 at Camden Yards, while the Blue Jays were 6-4 at Rogers Centre. MLB couldn't have hand-picked two better teams to pit against one another in the American League Wild Card Game.

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.