Preview/Prediction

There might not be a better opening-round series in the MLB playoffs than the St. Louis Cardinals against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

After logging 2,001 regular-season games, Oakland Athletics designated hitter Adam Dunn is finally set to make the first postseason appearance of his career in Tuesday's American League wild-card game against the Kansas City Royals. Per ESPN Stats & Info, Dunn will no longer sit atop the list for most games without a playoff appearance among active players.

Despite a 22-33 record over the past two months as well as injuries and inconsistency, the Oakland Athletics secured the second American League wild-card spot in the season’s final game.

The MLB playoff bracket may not unify the nation for three weeks like the NCAA tournament bracket does in March, but it still represents one of the most exciting times on the entire sports calendar. 

The MLB playoffs have finally arrived after the annual 162-game gauntlet. Four of the 10 teams are in danger of only playing a 163rd game, with MLB's expanded playoffs allowing for a high-stakes, one-game wild-card round.

For those that wish to clear their social schedule in October—and part of November—and devote their attention to America's pastime, knowing the full playoff schedule in advance can be a huge benefit.

What does slogging through a brutal 162-game schedule that spans the entirety of an American summer (and then some) earn you in MLB's expanded-playoff era?

If you're a wild-card team, it earns you the right to play at least one more game. The San Francisco Giants will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Wild Card Game to decide which team moves on to the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals.

Here's something that might sound weird coming from a guy who's supposed to know baseball:

I have no idea who's going to win the 2014 World Series.

Of course, I will make a pick at some point. What the heck. Everyone else does. But picking a winner this year presents a unique challenge. One that, as we'll get into later, hasn't come around in a while.

The picture of the 2014 MLB playoffs is set—at least for now. Two single-elimination wild-card games are still to be played to determine the final matchups in the divisional series.

If Major League Baseball's postseason means one thing, it's the opportunity to pick the winner of each series and determine ahead of time which team will be crowned World Series champs.

OK, the actual results matter too, but that doesn't make predictions any less fun. Which is why you're inexplicably drawn by the lure of finding out how everything is (possibly maybe perhaps) going to play out, even if Tuesday merely marks the official start of the 2014 playoffs as the Kansas City Royals host the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game at 8 p.m. ET on TBS.

The 2014 MLB postseason begins Tuesday, with the Kanas City Royals set to host the Oakland Athletics in the American League Wild Card Game (8:07 p.m. ET, TV: TBS).

Kansas City captured the top AL Wild Card spot to secure its first postseason berth in 29 years, and came within one game of the division-winning Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

Oakland is returning to the playoffs for the third straight year after finishing one game back of Royals in the Wild Card.