PLAYOFF CAPSULES

Game 2: Friday, Angels (Escobar 18-7) at Red Sox (Matsuzaka 15-12), 8:30 p.m., TBS

Game 3: Sunday, Red Sox (Schilling 9-8) at Angels (Weaver 13-7), 3:07 p.m, TBS

Game 4: Monday, Red Sox (Beckett 20-7) at Angels (Lackey (19-9), 9:37 p.m., TBS, if necessary

Game 5: Wednesday, Angels (Escobar (18-7) at Red Sox (Matsuzaka 15-12), 8:37 p.m., TBS, if necessary

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Season series: Red Sox won, 6-4 (5-2 at home, 1-2 on road)

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Statistical comparison

(AL ranking in parentheses)

Angels Category Red Sox

.284 (4) Average .279 (5)

822 (4) Runs 867 (3)

776 (5) RBI 829 (3)

123 (12) Home runs 166 (8)

4.23 (5) ERA 3.87 (1)

1156 (3) Strikeouts 1149 (2)

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Matchups

RF Guerrero vs. Red Sox: .371, 6 runs, 7 RBI

LF Willits vs. Red Sox: .300, 3 runs, 6 K's

SS Cabrera vs. Red Sox: .308, 8 runs, 2 SB

1B Kotchman vs. Red Sox: .343, 6 2B, 4 RBI

RHP Rodriquez vs. Red Sox: 2 saves, 1-0, 1.80 ERA

DH Ortiz vs. Angels: .361, 16 RBI, 10 runs, 4 HR

3B Lowell vs. Angels: .361, 5 2B, 9 RBI

SS Lugo vs. Angels: .361, 8 runs, 3 SB

RF Drew vs. Angels: .382, 6 runs, 4 RBI

RHP Schilling vs. Angels: 2-1, 20 IP, 12 K's, 4.05 ERA

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Predictions

Red Sox will win: King (5), Smallwood (5), Conlin (5)

Angels will win: Hofmann (5), Hagen (4), Hayes (4), Donnellon (5)

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NEW YORK (94-68) VS. CLEVELAND (96-66)

Series schedule

Game 1: Tomorrow, Yankees (Wang 19-7) at Indians (Sabathia 19-7), 6:30, TBS

Game 2: Friday, Yankees (Pettitte 15-9) at Indians (Carmona 19-8), 8:30, TBS

Game 3: Sunday, Indians (Westbrook 6-9) at Yankees (Clemens 6-6), 6:30, TBS

Game 4: Monday, Indians (Byrd 15-8) at Yankees (Mussina 11-10), if necessary

Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 10, Yankees (Wang 19-7) at Indians (Sabathia 19-7), if necessary.

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Statistical comparison

(AL rankings in parentheses)

Yankees Category Indians

.290 (1) Average .268 (7)

968 (1) Runs 811 (6)

929 (1) RBI 784 (4)

201 (4) Home runs 178 (5)

.366 (1) On-base pct. .343 (5)

4.49 (8) ERA 4.05 (3)

1009 (12) Strikeouts 1047 (T-7)

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Matchups

3B Rodriguez vs. Indians: .333, 6 HR, 13 RBI

DH Giambi vs. Indians: .500, 4 HR, 6 RBI

RF Abreu vs. Indians: .440, 9 RBI, 3 SB

SS Jeter vs. Indians: .400, 6 runs, 3 RBI

RHP Mussina vs. Indians: 1-0, 7 2/3 IP, 2.35 ERA.

C Martinez vs. Yankees: .333, 1 HR, 7 RBI

DH Hafner vs. Yankees: .667, 1 HR, 3 runs

1B Gomez vs. Yankees: .364, 1 run, 0 RBI

SS Peralta vs. Yankees: 1-for-22, 10 K's

RHP Westbrook vs. Yankees: 0-2, 12.46 ERA

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Predictions

Yankees will win: Hagen (4), Conlin (4), Hayes (5), Donnellon (5), Hofmann (4), Smallwood (4)

Indians will win: King (3)

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ARIZONA (90-72) VS. CHICAGO (85-77)

Series schedule

Game 1: Today, Cubs (Zambrano 18-10) at Diamondbacks (Webb 18-10), 10:07 p.m., TBS

Game 2: Tomorrow, Cubs (Lilly 15-12) at Diamondbacks (Davis 13-12), 10:07 p.m., TBS

Game 3: Saturday, Diamondbacks (Hernandez 11-11) at Cubs (Hill 11-8), 6:07 p.m., TBS

Game 4: Sunday, Diamondbacks (Owings 8-8) at Cubs, 1:07 p.m., TNT, if necessary

Game 5: Tuesday, Cubs at Diamondbacks, 10:07 p.m., TNT, if necessary, if it's the only game being played, gametime shifts to 8:30 p.m.

Season series: Diamondbacks won, 4-2 (2-1 at home, 2-1 on road)

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Statistical comparison

Diamondbacks Category Cubs

(NL ranking in parentheses)

.250 (16) Average .271 (7)

712 (14) Runs 752 (8)

687 (14) RBI 711 (8)

171 (7) Home runs 151 (11)

.321 (T-15) On-base pct. .333 (9)

4.13 (4) ERA 4.04 (2)

1088 (9) Strikeouts 1211 (1)

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Matchups

LF Gonzalez vs. Cubs: .333, 0 HR, 1 RBI

1B Jackson vs. Cubs: .350, 1 HR, 3 RBI

3B Byrnes vs. Cubs: .250, 0 HR, 1 RBI

RHP Webb vs. Cubs: 0-1, 7 IP, 2.57 ERA

LHP Davis vs. Cubs: 1-0, 7 IP, 1.29 ERA

3B Ramirez vs. D-backs: .174, 1 HR, 7 RBI

1B Lee vs. D-backs: .250, 1 HR, 2 RBI

LF Soriano vs. D-backs: .091, 0 HR, 0 RBI

RHP Marquis vs. D-backs: 1-1, 13 IP, 4.85 ERA

LHP Lilly vs. D-backs: 0-1, 6 IP, 3.00 ERA

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Predictions

Diamondbacks will win: Hagen (5), Conlin (5), King (4), Hayes (5)

Cubs will win: Donnellon (4), Hofmann (5), Smallwood (4)