Here’s the latest edition of Rant-O-Matic for October 5, 2012:
Cincinnati Reds vs. San Francisco Giants
The Reds and Giants will kick off on Saturday as Johnny Cueto will square off against Matt Cain in a series that should provide plenty of excitement from a pitching perspective. Both teams won their division by a landslide (Reds by nine games and Giants by eight games) and have enough weapons to make a strong run at the World Series.
With Cincinnati winning the regular-season series 4-3–don’t be surprised if they put up a strong fight against San Francisco in this one.
Oakland Athletics vs. Detroit Tigers
This may be the most exciting opening matchup of the playoffs considering how hot both teams were at the end of the regular season. The Athletics pulled off one of the most miraculous comebacks in MLB history by overcoming a 13-game deficit at the end of June and a sweep of the Texas Rangers on the final three days of the regular season to win the AL West. Championships are won by teams playing hot at the right time of year and Oakland certainly has the talent to do so.
As for the Tigers, they’ve been on an impressive run themselves as they overcame a late-season deficit to take the AL Central away from the Chicago White Sox. Detroit has won 11 of their last 16 games and will carry plenty of momentum heading into the postseason after Miguel Cabrera became the first player in 45 years to take home Triple Crown honors.
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