⚾ Time For MLB Goliath Vs. Goliath

The Dodgers, Yankees, and Astros are all on the brink of advancing ... just as we expected. [View in browser]( [FOX SPORTS INSIDER WITH MARTIN ROGERS] In today’s FOX Sports Insider: The MLB postseason is about to really get started ... a poker cheating scandal that we can’t take our eyes off of ... and Teddy Bridgewater has a must-see message that will inspire you to start your week. There is a pretty solid chance that after Monday, postseason baseball will pause for breath for three straight days. The reason? Over the weekend, MLB’s heavyweights got down to some serious muscle-flexing and, in the process, took the American and National League Championship Series lineups to the brink of being locked into place. So close to that brink, in fact, that the first day of the new week will see four potential division series-clinching games, as the New York Yankees, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves all race for the finish line. Only five previous times in MLB history have all four division series had a chance at being concluded on the same day – and only once has it actually happened, on Oct. 5, 1996. And, as we’re talking history, rarely in the annals of the game has there been a more dominant collection of teams making their presence felt at this precise point of October. Nothing that has happened over the past week has shaken the reality that the Yankees, Astros and Dodgers are the absolute powers of baseball right now. Going into Monday’s games, they sit at a combined 83 percent to win it all, according to FiveThirtyEight. On the National League side, the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves both lead 2-1, while the Astros and Yankees are seeking to complete comprehensive sweeps. The presumed upcoming collision between the Astros and Yankees in the ALDS has even gotten the New York media already looking past the pair of Game Threes the teams will take part in. “Scary Astros are coming right for Yankees gut,” wrote Kevin Kernan in the New York Post. [STORY IMAGE 1] Things are little more circumspect on the NL portion of the bracket, where both the Dodgers and Braves have had some hurdles to overcome so far. Regardless, there is a strong case to be made that Atlanta rounds out the collection of the four strongest teams in baseball over the regular season, no matter what the standings said. Assuming the teams leading their division series go on to win them, Atlanta would be the joker in the deck when league championship series commence at the end of the week, which seems an extraordinary thing to say about a team that won 97 games. But this is 2019, where anything shy of 100 wins – achieved by half the current playoff field – doesn’t get you entry into the cool kids club. The Braves have scrapped like underdogs, but so, in a slightly different way, have the bluebloods of the postseason – the Yankees and Dodgers. Is it possible to act like both a favorite and an outsider at the same time? Maybe. Both elites feel they have a point to prove and are fueled by disappointment. “Failure is a tough pill to swallow, but it can also be one of your biggest motivators,” Aaron Judge told reporters, referring to falling short of the World Series the past two postseasons. The Dodgers got even closer in 2017 and 2018, losing in the World Series both times. The Yankee lineup has bludgeoned the Twins so far this series to the tune of an 18-6 scoring advantage. Pitching doesn’t seem likely to be the deciding factor in a series pitting two teams that each obliterated the all-time single-season home run record this year. The Dodger-National series may well come down to pitching, as Washington lines up Max Scherzer and Steve Strasburg for the final two games and hopes their aces can keep manager Dave Martinez from calling on his NL-worst bullpen (5.66 earned run average). After getting successful relief outings from Scherzer and Strasburg earlier in the postseason, the ace-reliever strategy backfired Sunday night when Game 1 starter Patrick Corbin was tagged for six runs in the sixth inning as the Dodgers took back homefield advantage – at the very least. [STORY IMAGE 2] Pitching will definitely be the difference in the other series. Tampa Bay tries to dig out of its 2-0 deficit with Charlie Morton, who successfully closed out Game 7 of the 2017 World Series for the Astros. But this time Morton will face Zack Greinke, a likely Hall of Famer who went 18-5 this season. And if the Rays somehow overcome Greinke, they’ll still have to get by Justin Verlander and Gerritt Cole – who have combined 14.2 innings of five-hit, 23-strikeout, scoreless pitching so far this series. It’s little wonder that the Yankee-Astros showdown is ready to take center stage. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about how the Big Three seem set to steamroll their way clear of the pack is that this is a historically excellent eight-team bracket. According to ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle, it is the most high-powered Division Series line-up in history. “The eight teams still in the running for the 2019 World Series won a combined 794 games during the regular season,” Doolittle wrote. “That's more than any other divisional round in postseason history. A few more wins here and there and we'd be looking at an LDS round in which the average team won 100 games.” Certainly, there is nothing average about the Big Three. Yet the best bit about greatness is when it collides with something just as good. The heavyweights are flexing, yes, but that’s just the warm-up for when they start bumping into each other. [STORY IMAGE 3] Here’s what others have said ... R.J. Anderson, CBS Sports: “Twins and Rays fans might be looking for a bright side — a beacon of hope in the history of the five-game series that suggests, ‘yes, a comeback is possible.’ Well, we have good and bad news. The good: A comeback is possible. The bad: It isn't likely. According to the Baseball Gauge, home teams who have taken a 2-0 lead in the 2-2-1 format era have won 28 of the 31 series — or 90.3 percent. A majority (58 percent) of those 31 teams won the series in three games as part of a clean sweep. Only 13 percent of the series reached a winner-take-all Game Five.” Zach Kram, The Ringer: “[The Yankees and Astros] have been on an apparent collision course all season, and that matchup is just a few days from manifesting. Given all the starpower that would be involved, with elite starting pitching, the majors’ two best lineups, and actually reliable bullpens, and given their memorable seven-game ALCS meeting in 2017, expectations are astronomical—pun definitely intended—for that 2019 potentiality.” Thomas Boswell, Washington Post: “The Dodgers are pretty good. No, very good. Okay, they’re just about as wonderful as advertised. Washington has pulled out every unconventional scale-balancing trick it can to narrow the gap between itself and the back-to-back pennant winners from Los Angeles who won 106 games this season and might have tacked on more if needed. But it may not be enough. The Nats have shown resilience all year. But, right about now, after this thumping, they may feel as if they need a bomb shelter.” [IN OTHER WORDS] - [David Hill at The Ringer details]( how a Twitch-streamed no-limit hold’em player found himself at the heart of one of the most fascinating gambling controversies in years. - Charming, yes, but it’s more than that: How Gonzaga built a contender in basketball, and has stayed there, [by Seth Davis at]( [The Athletic](. - After five weeks, [writes Charles Robinson at Yahoo Sports]( the Dallas Cowboys have shown that they are undeniably talented. They’re also soft. [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED] [THE INTERNET IS UNDEFEATED]( We typically don’t like sharing our own content here, because that’s not what this section of the newsletter is about. When Teddy Bridgewater makes us all tear up, though, we don’t really have a choice. The Saints QB came away with a win on Sunday, but his message of humility and appreciation was the real victory. If you haven’t heard Bridgewater’s postgame comments yet, do yourself a favor and take 70 seconds out of your day. You’ll be glad that you did. [VIEWER'S GUIDE] WWE Monday Night Raw (8 p.m. ET, USA) It’s the fallout show from Sunday’s Hell in a Cell — and the last Raw before the WWE Superstar draft. Champion boxer Tyson Fury will have an open mic to address Braun Strowman, and we’ll see if Seth Rollins is done with The Fiend. Cleveland Browns at San Francisco 49ers (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN) The 49ers come off their bye week looking to remain undefeated and atop the NFC West, while the Browns aim to keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North. New York Yankees at Minnesota Twins (8:40 p.m. ET, FS1) Cap an epic day of playoff baseball in which all eight teams are in action as the Yankees look to sweep their way into the ALCS. [BET OF THE DAY] [BET OF THE DAY] Odds provided by [FOX Bet]( Jimmy Garoppolo & Baker Mayfield each to throw 1+ TD and 1+ INT: +275 We could be in for a brouhaha tonight between the 49ers and Browns, with plenty of points and turnovers. [According to Football Outsiders]( both squads feature top 10 overall defenses so far this season, with San Francisco ranked 2nd against the pass and Cleveland ranked 8th, which means we very well could see both QBs end up in both the TD and INT columns. Meanwhile, the Browns are a popular pick to win outright at +188, according to our insights. [WHAT THEY SAID] “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” — Babe Ruth [FOLLOW FOX SPORTS] [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( Download the FOX Sports app for live scores and streaming [App Store]( [Google Play]( Available on: [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] [tvOS] [Roku] [fireTV] [androidtv] [XBOX] [Google chromecast] Forwarded this message? [Sign up](. 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