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Heyman: Royals Quickly Becoming America's Underdog

BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports baseball insider Jon Heyman joined Andy Gresh and Scott Zolak Tuesday afternoon on 98.5 The Sports Hub to discuss the MLB playoffs.

Heyman started off discussing the Los Angeles Dodgers decision to start ace Clayton Kershaw on three days rest. "You probably have to do it," Heyman admitted.

He also went on to discuss how the St. Louis Cardinals are really the ones dictating what the Dodgers are doing. The Cardinals are once again off to another great postseason start being up 2-1 in the NLDS with Game 4 tonight at home. He finished with saying how it's been a great run since 2011 for the Cardinals in the playoffs, but he still believes Los Angeles is the better team this year.

Dan Shaughnessy, however is sick of the Cardinals rolling deep into the playoffs year after year and he'd like to see the Dodgers clear up their bullpen issues. Heyman agreed that the Dodgers' bullpen is a main reason they are down a game in the series and will be a big issue going forward.

As for the American League Championship Series, the Baltimore Orioles will be hosting Kansas City for Game 1 starting Friday. Both teams are coming off three-game sweeps of their ALDS opponents, but probably the more surprising of the two was the Royals' sweep of AL-best Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

Their big three, Albert Pujols, Josh Hamilton and Mike Trout, all struggled mightily during the series. However despite his struggles, Heyman thinks Trout will bounce back easier than the other two. After having the best record in the American League, the Angels struggled to stay with the Royals feisty offense and speedy defense. The Royals are a hard team to sell to the fair-weather baseball fans, but Heyman says that the games have helped keep fans watching.

With three straight extra inning victories and then a great home victory in Kansas City, the Royals have quickly become America's underdog. They are exciting, fun, and entertaining to watch, which will continue to help the postseason ratings in a championship series that lacks the star names or dominant franchises.

Listen below to the full discussion!

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