Cincinnati Reds playoffs

Cincinnati and San Francisco had their respective divisions wrapped up fairly early and while the Reds had a shot at the National League’s top seed, this matchup in the MLB Division Series has been at least written in pencil for a while now. It starts tonight in San Francisco, as the second part of a playoff doubleheader that starts with Oakland-Detroit. The Reds-Giants continue tomorrow and then come to Cincinnati for the final three games on Tuesday thru Thursday.

TheSportsNotebook previews the series by focusing on each team’s ability to get on base, hit for power, along with their starting pitching and bullpen. Then we’ll add in a historical footnote to give these games some context, examine how the bookmakers of Las Vegas see things and conclude with a prediction.