National League Championship Series Predictions: Our experts make their picks

After a hard-fought battle with the San Diego Padres, the Los Angeles Dodgers will – as some, but not many, predicted – face the New York Mets (who…were also not favored by our team in the last round) in this year's National. League Championship Series. Look, we never said it was easy, but that won't stop us from trying to make the decision on who will emerge from the penultimate round of the postseason.

It's a fascinating setup: Both coasts compete as teams from America's two largest markets in a best-of-seven situation. Anything could happen. Let's see where our team ended up.

Note: Playoff seed in parentheses.

Go deeper

Dodgers vs. Mets NLCS preview: Predictions, pitching matchups and more

Eno Sarris (Los Angeles): From what I've looked at, the roster is actually the most important piece of the puzzle heading into the postseason. And this Dodgers lineup is special right down to the bottom.

C Trent Rosecrans (Los Angeles): A shorter series would benefit the Dodgers, and with the team's offense, they can do it. The longer the series lasts, the better the Mets' chances are.

Stephen Nesbitt (Los Angeles): Entering the season, the Dodgers had a 25.7 percent chance of winning the NLCS; the Mets were at 2.2 percent. However, the Mets are not Cinderella at this point. They have been fantastic since the beginning of the summer and have already quickly defeated two division winners this postseason. But that’s where the Mets’ run ends. (Sure, I said that before the last series, but this time I'm sure of it!)

The Dodgers just committed a major illusion. They were on the verge of elimination and then let the Padres' bats disappear. Phew! Now to the next act: snuffing out the Mets' magic. The Dodgers have the hitters to eventually crack Sean Manaea and the Mets' team, and with Jack Flaherty, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and a bullpen used to heavy lifting, they'll be able to tame the Mets' lineup just enough in the NLCS .

Go deeper

Francisco Lindor rockets Mets past Phillies into NLCS: Takeaways

Andy McCullough (Los Angeles): Good news, Mets fans: I picked against your team last round, too. This should be a great series.

Sam Blum (New York): Sure, the Dodgers have three MVPs on their roster. But with the Mets, Grimace holds the playoff pumpkin.

Go deeper

How the Mets and McDonald's use the “Grimace Effect.”

Chad Jennings (Los Angeles): Look, at this point I'm just going to assume I'm wrong, but there's still nothing – except the left side of the infield – that I can point to and say, “The Mets are clearly better here.” Yes , the Mets are on a run, but the Dodgers won more games in the second half and narrowly beat the red-hot Padres. Their bullpen is deep, their lineup has power, and I'm picking their depleted rotation to give just enough to move forward.

Will Sammon (New York): It's hard to beat the Mets these days. They have a suspect bullpen, but have fixed it up with starter David Peterson doubling as ace reliever. Speaking of bullpens, the Mets' lineup has dominated them in this playoff run. So given the Dodgers' pitching situation, I'm giving the Mets the preference.

Go deeper

Kiké Hernández pushes Dodgers past Padres into NLCS: Takeaways

(Top photo: Adam Hunger / Getty Images)