Preview/Prediction

The 2015 World Series matchup will be set soon enough. After Wednesday's Championship Series action, one participant for the Fall Classic has been determined.

Nobody likes to lose, and getting swept, as the Chicago Cubs were by the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series, only makes losing sting that much more. While feelings of disappointment are to be expected, there shouldn't be a Cubs fan moping around the streets of Chicago.

The Toronto Blue Jays need to have a short memory and a long memory when they take the field at the Rogers Centre Wednesday afternoon for Game 5 in the American League Championship Series.

They need to forget the beating they took in Game 4, as the Kansas City Royals bludgeoned them on their home field by a 14-2 margin after the Royals jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back.

In baseball’s long history of epic playoff moments and fantastical series comebacks, only once has a team come back from an 0-3 deficit to win a series. The 2004 Boston Red Sox gave many a team hope in the toughest of situations, but replicating their magic is next to impossible.

Both the American League and National League Championship Series looked extremely close on paper following the division series, but they have been anything but that thus far.

The Kansas City Royals hold a 3-1 advantage over the Toronto Blue Jays entering play Wednesday, while the New York Mets are just one win away from sweeping the Chicago Cubs at 3-0. It doesn't take much to shift momentum in a series, though, which is why both are far from over.

It’s hard to assume something wide sweeping about sports as a whole, but if there was ever a more emphatic response to a loss than Kansas City’s, I haven’t seen it.

After losing 11-8 on Monday night in Toronto—a game that was largely decided early, even though Kansas City made a late push—the Royals answered in force, beating the Blue Jays 14-2, scoring nine runs in the final three innings and taking a 3-1 lead in the ALCS.

After pounding the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 4 of the ALCS, the Kansas City Royals are one win away from returning to the World Series. 

After spotting the Kansas City Royals two games in the American League Championship Series, the Toronto Blue Jays returned home for a three-game set at Rogers Centre. The two American League finalists are in the middle of a three-games-in-three-days set that could ultimately decide which team represents the AL in the World Series.

The New York Mets started off the National League Championship Series with a bang, riding dominant pitching in Games 1 and 2 at Citi Field to a 2-0 series lead. 

The series shifted to Chicago and Wrigley Field Tuesday night, but the hometown Cubs had their hands full with Mets ace Jacob deGrom. After giving up a home run in the first inning, deGrom morphed back into his normal self—the one who's nearly impossible to hit.

The New York Mets are one win away from advancing to World Series for the first time since 2000, and in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series the squad will be calling on yet another rising ace.

After the trio of Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom hammered the Chicago Cubs in the first three games of the set, Steven Matz will be looking to slam the door on the NL wild-card winners.

With the season on the line, the Cubs will call on Jason Hammel, who didn't even make it through the fourth frame in his lone outing during the NL Division Series.