Marquee Matchup - Dodgers vs Mets

The final series to get underway is the marquee matchup of the first round, pitting two teams in the Dodgers and Mets which should mean plenty of primetime exposure.

Dodgers (88-74) vs. Mets (97-65)
The Mets and Dodgers finished the 2nd half with the 6th and 7th most wins respectively. The East champion Metropolitans finished 6th in the majors in pitching, though they slipped to 14th in the 2nd half of the season. They were paced by a bullpen that ranked second in the majors in both ERA and strikeouts. Offensively, New York's lineup is the National League equivalent to the Yankees in terms of star power. Jose Reyes, David Wright, Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and Shawn Green helped the Mets rank in the top 10 in power and speed categories like homeruns, slugging percentage and stolen bases.

The Dodgers, like many of the other playoff teams, rely on a strong pitching staff. The starting rotation was the class of the group, finishing 6th in the majors with a 4.29 ERA. Three of those starters finished with 15 or more wins, giving the Dodgers unmatched depth. The offense did its part by ranking in the top 10 in batting average, on base percentage, runs, and stolen bases.

Prediction: Despite the injury to Pedro Martinez, the Mets offense is too strong and the bullpen too good. Mets in 5