Major League Baseball Postseason Officially Underway
Image courtesy of MLB.com.
By Anthony Curioso
After an epic week in Major League Baseball (MLB) that culminated with a chaotic day of games on September 28, it is now officially playoff time in the quest to see who will next hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy as World Series champions.
The first round of the playoffs, comprising two best-of-three series known as the Wild Card Series in the American League (AL) and National League (NL), took place from September 30 to October 2.
The top two seeds in both the American League and the National League received byes to their respective division series. The American League Division Series (ALDS) and the National League Division Series (NLDS) will begin on October 4.
In the AL, the following teams earned byes: the 1-seed Toronto Blue Jays, champions of the AL East Division, and the 2-seed Seattle Mariners, champions of the AL West Division. In the NL, the byes went to the 1-seed Milwaukee Brewers, winners of the NL Central Division, and the 2-seed Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the NL East Division.
2025 will mark the first time since 2016 that the MLB postseason will not feature the Houston Astros, who were eliminated from playoff contention on September 27 once the Cleveland Guardians clinched their spot in the field.
One Wild Card Series matchup in the AL featured the 3-seed Guardians, winners of the AL Central Division, playing against the 6-seed and lowest-qualifying wild-card team, the Detroit Tigers. The other matchup featured the top two wild-card teams, the 4-seed and AL East Division runner-up New York Yankees against the 5-seed Boston Red Sox, who finished third in the AL East.
The Tigers won the Wild Card Series against their AL Central rivals by a margin of two games to one. All games were held in Cleveland after the Guardians accomplished a remarkable comeback to claim the AL Central title, despite having been behind the Tigers by as many as fifteen-and-a-half games as of July 9.
In the AL Wild Card Series between the Yankees and Red Sox, with all games held at Yankee Stadium in New York, the Yankees pulled off the victory by a margin of two games to one.
The Tigers will now play against the Mariners in the ALDS, while the Yankees will play the Blue Jays.
In the NL Wild Card Series, one matchup featured the 3-seed Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of the NL West Division, against the 6-seed and lowest-qualifying wild-card team, the Cincinnati Reds, who barely squeaked into the postseason thanks to a monumental collapse by the New York Mets. The other matchup featured the top two NL wild-card qualifiers, the 4-seed Chicago Cubs and 5-seed San Diego Padres.
The Dodgers hosted the Reds for all games of their Wild Card Series at Dodger Stadium. Ultimately, the Dodgers won the series by a margin of two games to none, with both games appearing closer than they actually were. The Dodgers advance to play against the Phillies in the NLDS.
On the other side of things in the NL, the Cubs hosted the Padres for all games of their Wild Card Series matchup at Wrigley Field, where Chicago emerged victorious by a margin of two games to one. The Cubs now advance to face off with the Brewers in the NLDS.
