MLB Wild Card Game 1s: Props for fun

MLB Postseason is finally here! And with a new format starting this year, featuring four Wild Card best-of-three game series with the home team hosting all three games on consecutive days. Doesn't get more thrilling than this!

We have compiled a few storylines to open up these series as well as always, some additional fun to add as you watch. Pick a side with our Props and see how many you can get correct competing for fun prizes against friends, family, partners, roommates, really anyone. All our Props have nearly even chances of happening, so it doesn't matter how much you know, all can play.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Cleveland Guardians

Yes that is the new team name for Cleveland’s baseball team for those that don’t remember they changed it starting this season. No one expected the Guardians to run away with the AL Central title. They have the youngest team in the league but are winning in old school ways, less with home runs and more scrapping out runs. Led by the presumed AL manager of the year, Terry Francona, they went on an unbelievable run to finish the season with a record of 21-8 in September to seal the division title.

They now face a team that is going in the other direction. The Rays are riding a 5 game losing streak and are 2-8 in their last 10 games which dropped them to the bottom of the wild card. They will turn to their ace and AL Cy Young candidate, Shane McClanahan, to see if he can jump start his team. But the Guardians counter with a former Cy Young winner in Shane Bieber who is also coming off a great year. Will the Guardians stay hot or can the Rays turn things around?

Shane McClanahan to record the Win: Yes OR No

Shane Bieber to allow 2 Earned Runs or more: Yes OR No

Total combined runs score by both teams of 6 or more: Yes OR No

Philadelphia Phillies @ St. Louis Cardinals

The Phillies are finally back in the postseason, their first since 2011. They also can thank a big mid-season turn around for them sneaking into the October dance. Sitting at 22-29 in early June, the team fired established manager Joe Girardi and elevated bench coach Rob Thomson. Since then, they went on a 65-46 run to top the Brewers by a game for the last wild card spot. But it wasn't all Thomson, having the NL home run leader, Kyle Schwarber, and former MVP Bryce Harper on your team doesn't hurt.

The Cardinals are looking for the magic to continue in their send off tour of the most recent member of the 700 HR club, Albert Pujols, and the long time, feels like forever, most games pitched together record, battery mates of Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina. Nobody expected Prince Albert to go on this run of hitting 17 HRs in the last two months of the season and ending the season with almost a .900 OPS. Not to mention they also boast the possible NL MVP in Paul Goldschmidt. Can the Pujols and the Cards continue to defy expectations?

Kyle Schwarber to score 1 Run or more: Yes OR No

Paul Goldschmidt to hit 1 Single or more: Yes OR No

Team to win: Phillies OR Cardinals

Seattle Mariners @ Toronto Blue Jays

Postseason baseball in Seattle! That's something that has not been said in awhile. In fact, this is the Mariners first postseason since 2001, breaking the longest playoff drought in ALL major sports (now that depressing streak belongs to the Sacramento Kings in the NBA). After missing the postseason last year by one game even with a very respectable record of 90-72, they did not want to mess around this year. At the trade deadline they acquired the top pitcher available, Luis Castillo, giving up three of their top five prospects. Now they send him to the mound in game one hoping to put some final validation on the big blockbuster deal.

We have playoff baseball north of the (US) border. Did you know Seattle is actually further north than Toronto? Anyways, enough with geography, one of the top hitting teams in the MLB, both in terms of average and power, it's the pitching that will be the determining factor for the Jays making a deep run. Fortunately they get to play this first round in the comfort of their home stadium and should feel some additional comfort as they send their home grown talent of 6’6” stud pitcher, Alex Manoah to the mound to start them off. Can the bats of the Jays be enough to overcome any shortcomings on the mound?

Luis Castillo to allow 5 or more hits: Yes OR No

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to have 2 or more Total Bases (from hits): Yes OR No

Total Runs scored combined in first 5 innings of 4 or more: Yes OR No

San Diego Padres @ New York Mets

What a turn of events for the Mets who squandered a 10.5 game division lead over the course of the season to finish tied in record with the Braves at the top of the NL East. While winning 101 games is impressive, unfortunately a season ending sweep to the hands of the Braves cost them the head to head tiebreaker and thus a spot in this wild card game. And if that wasn't enough pain, if they go onto win this series they then play the 111 win LA Dodgers. Talk about a rough turn of events. But it's not all bad news. They play this series at home where they owned a 54-27 record this season, and they have the top free agent acquisition of the off-season, Max Scherzer, going in game one, who had he stayed healthy all season likely would've won the NL Cy Young this year. So there is room for optimism.

The Padres are in win now mode. Over the course of the last 2 seasons, they have emptied their farm system by making blockbuster after blockbuster trades. First was their acquisitions of Blake Snell and Yu Darvish in the offseason before 2021 and then came the huge bomb to pry one of the top young hitters, Juan Soto, away from the rest of the league. Throw in the big signing of Manny Machado in 2019 and they look like an all star team. As it turns out, all those stars haven't translated to unfounded regular season success. They are in the wild card finishing only 3 games ahead of the first team out (the Brewers) as Soto failed to find his familiar all-world stroke since his trade. But maybe they are saving the big talent explosion for the most important time of year. Will Darvish, the game one starter, and the Padres be able to send the Mets' fans into a final pit of despair?