Philly Leader

Every day throughout this postseason, a preview of the next day's action will be provided, focusing on the major storyline from each game. Here are the top storylines from Saturday's Division Series openers.

The Detroit Tigers will face off against the Cleveland Guardians at 1:08 p.m. ET on TBS. The Tigers have undergone significant changes since the Trade Deadline, parting ways with several veteran players and losing Javier Báez to injury. Despite these challenges, they managed an impressive turnaround with a 34-19 record after July 30. However, their AL Central rivals, the Guardians, have not faced this revamped team since July 30 when they won 5-0. "One of the primary reasons for the Tigers’ shocking run has been what manager A.J. Hinch calls 'pitching chaos,'" said Hinch. With Tarik Skubal set to pitch in Game 2, the Guardians will experience this strategy firsthand in Game 1.

The New York Mets will take on the Philadelphia Phillies at 4:08 p.m. ET on FOX. The Mets are coming off one of their most historic runs but still need to win more games to secure their first World Series title since 1986. They face Zack Wheeler, a former Met who has been dominant recently with a 1.89 ERA over his last 11 starts and a lifetime postseason ERA of 2.42. "The Mets are floating on air right now," but Wheeler might change that.

At 6:38 p.m. ET on TBS, the Kansas City Royals meet the New York Yankees. The Royals had strong pitching against the Orioles in their Wild Card Series sweep but struggled offensively with only three runs and one extra-base hit over two games. Facing Gerrit Cole and a Yankees lineup featuring Aaron Judge and Juan Soto presents a formidable challenge for Kansas City's struggling offense.

Finally, at 8:38 p.m. ET on FS1, the San Diego Padres play against the Los Angeles Dodgers. This series is notable for Shohei Ohtani making his postseason debut after signing with the Dodgers this offseason. "Ohtani is a baseball creation like nothing any of us have ever seen in our lifetimes," and his participation adds significant interest to this matchup between two Southern California rivals.

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