MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL Playoffs pairings complete; three games set Tuesday

The Astros clinched the NL wild card with their win Sunday.
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Now that the postseason matchups are set, it's time for the predictions. Leading off, Odalis Perez.
"If we beat St. Louis, we're going to win the World Series," the Los Angeles pitcher said Sunday. "If we beat them, this is it: Dodgers, champions."
Perez will get a chance to do his part, starting Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium.
Later in the day, Curt Schilling and the Boston Red Sox visit Anaheim. That night, the Minnesota Twins will be at Yankee Stadium.
"We'll be ready to play," New York manager Joe Torre said after wrapping up a weekend in Toronto. "These three days off did us some good after playing such an intense month. We're ready to get back to competition."
Astros at Atlanta
On Wednesday, the other series starts with Roger Clemens and the Houston Astros playing at Atlanta.
The final day of the regular season began with one playoff spot open and all four matchups still to be decided.
Everything got firmed up in the AL once the Twins lost to Cleveland -- there had been a chance Minnesota would meet Boston. When the Astros won to take the NL wild card, all of the postseason pairings were set -- no need for any tie-breakers this year.
The Astros eliminated any need for a one-game playoff with San Francisco for the wild card by beating Colorado 5-3. Houston completed a startling turnaround by winning its 18th straight home game.
"People thought we were dead in the water and we worked all the way back and changed that," manager Phil Garner said. "This is just a great ending to what became an improbable year for us."
Big turnaround
Houston was 56-60 on Aug. 14, about a month after Garner replaced the fired Jimy Williams, and trailed Chicago by seven games in the wild card race.
Now, the Astros face a familiar October opponent -- the Braves beat Houston in the first round in 1997, 1999 and 2001.
Clemens (18-4) faces Jaret Wright (15-8) in the opener. Roy Oswalt, the NL's only 20-game winner, pitches Game 2 for Houston.
"I think we've got them right where we want them," Astros owner Drayton McLane. "I really want those guys. We've done everything unconventional this year. So maybe we'll do it again in the playoffs."
Wild card success
Wild card teams have won the last two World Series titles, with Anaheim followed by Florida. Like the Astros, the Red Sox hope to make a push from the fourth playoff spot.
Schilling (21-6) starts against the Angels' Jarrod Washburn in the opener, then Pedro Martinez pitches Game 2 for the Red Sox.
"I don't think anybody wants to play us," Boston first baseman Kevin Millar said.
The Cardinals had the best record in the majors at 105-57. They went 4-2 against the Dodgers, sweeping them in a three-game series Sept. 3-5 in St. Louis.
"This is going to be a tough series, a fun series," said Woody Williams, who starts the opener for St. Louis. "I look at their team and see a lot of us in them, and them in us."