Preview/Prediction

Making the MLB playoffs is an impressive accomplishment, but with a wild-card berth, the whole year can come crashing down with just one game.

The Houston Astros and New York Yankees will kick off the 2015 MLB postseason with the American League Wild Card Game Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. 

After a long, grueling 162-game season, four MLB teams have earned the exclusive, highly sought-after rights to, well, another game of baseball.

The MLB's Wild Card Games see two American League and two National League teams square off in one-game playoffs. It's a pressure-packed way to begin the postseason and will certainly be a nerve-wracking experience for all involved.

The National League side of the 2015 MLB postseason kicks off on Wednesday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates will host the Chicago Cubs in the NL Wild Card Game.

Despite having the second- and third-best records in all of baseball, the two teams are forced to meet in the do-or-die game after the St. Louis Cardinals claimed the NL Central title with a 100-win season.

When MLB drew up the Wild Card Game, this is exactly what it had in mind. Two great National League Central rivals led by young aces will square off in Wednesday night's win-or-go-home bout between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs.

There are 162 games in a Major League Baseball season, but they're all just a warm-up for what comes next. And what comes next, friends, is happening now.

The postseason has arrived.

Ready or not, you've come to the right place. With the field set for the 2015 playoffs—the American League and National League Wild Card Games kick things off Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively—it's time for a full preview and predictions for what's to come this October.

The MLB playoffs are set, which means everything done to this point means nothing. Any of the 10 remaining teams in the field has a chance to take home a World Series title; the only question is who will it be?

Despite coming up short for the best record in the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays enter baseball's postseason this week atop the odds to win the AL pennant and the World Series at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

The New York Mets are chasing an improbable and long-awaited postseason run, while the Los Angeles Dodgers have some making up to do for last year. When the 2015 National League Division Series is settled, one of the two will head home disappointed.

Few things in sports are more physically and mentally grueling than a 162-game Major League Baseball season, but the long journey will come to a screeching halt Tuesday and Wednesday for the losers of the American and National League Wild Card Games.