The MLB playoffs are in full swing. With the Wild Card and Divisional Series now in the past, let’s recap the big winners and losers of the playoffs so far. What teams were surprise exits, and which ones are looking like favorites to contend for the pennant?
The third year of the 12-team MLB postseason started with an exciting slot of four wild-card games between eight teams vying for their spots to continue on the road to the World Series. Three teams, the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Houston Astros, were swept in the wild-card round, with the San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers advancing to the Division Series. The only three-game series featured the New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, clashing in a hard-fought contest that ended with the Mets’ Pete Alonso crushing a ninth-inning three-run homer, allowing them to move on.
“I wanted to be in that spot […]. I wanted to deliver for my team. I want to contribute in a positive way,” said Alonso after playing in what could have been his last game for the Mets.
The Mets would display dominance in the division series, continuing their winning streak against the heavily favored No. 2 seed, the Philadelphia Phillies, whom they knocked in Game Four at Citi Field in a best-of-five. They advanced to play the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were victorious in their closely contested NLDS Game Five versus the Padres. The New York Yankees, after taking a 3-1 series win against the Royals, faced the Cleveland Guardians in the ALCS, following their 3-2 ALDS victory over the Tigers.
“We talked about this series. It was going to test us, and we fought […]. We didn’t relent, not one time, and I just couldn’t be more excited for this ballclub,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts following the final game of the series against the Padres.
The Yankees have won their best-of-seven series 4-1 against the Guardians. Their initial Game 1 5-2 victory commenced with a Juan Soto homer to center field and was finalized with a booming Giancarlo Stanton home run to left-center in the bottom of the seventh inning. After stumbling in Game 3, due to a 5-7 Guardian win, the Yankees bounced back, winning their next two games. Game 7 featured an extra-inning go-ahead homer from Juan Soto to take a three-run lead in the 10th inning, allowing the Yankees to make their first World Series appearance since 2009.
“It’s the best feeling you can ever have. That’s what you play for,” Soto said. “Now, we are the best team in the American League.”
Soto’s impressive performances so far in the postseason will undoubtedly affect his contract negotiations with the Yankees this summer.
The NLCS series ended in Game 6 with a high-scoring Dodgers win against the Mets. After a dominant Game 1 9-0 Dodgers win with nine hits across the team, the Mets bounced back to take Game 2 7-3. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, a standout player throughout the postseason, homered to center in the first inning, followed by a Mark Vientos grand slam, leaving the Mets up 6-0 by the end of the second inning. The Mets would survive with a second win in Game 5, but would succumb to the Los Angeles powerhouse in Game 6, losing 10-5.
“Just to be able to do it in front of our home crowd is everything,’’ said Dodgers infielder Enrique Hernandez, expressing his gratitude for the sellout crowd as they stayed in their seats to celebrate their NLCS victory.
“They come in, they show up for us year in, year out on a daily basis, we lead baseball in attendance yearly. I can say that our fan base travels as good as any fan base in all of baseball. Anywhere we go, there’s a huge section of blue in the stands. And to be able to do it at home kind of means everything to us because we get to celebrate with them,’’ Hernandez said.
