The MLB Postseason

Pushing into the postseason
By Ethan Schield

COVINGTON TWP. Pa., Oct. 11, 2024 – This past week kicked off the 2024 Major League Baseball Postseason. October baseball is widely regarded as some of the most action-packed times of the year, and with good reason. This season seems more unpredictable than ever before, with nobody having a clear advantage early on.

Last week’s Wildcard round featured major upsets, with the Detroit Tigers sweeping the Houston Astros being the most notable of the bunch. “It felt like the heroes beating the villains in that game,” said sophomore Cole Glucksnis. “When that ball got through, I realized that the Astros were done for.” The drama Glucksnis was referring to kicked off during game two, when Andy Ibáñez hit a bases-clearing double in the top of the eighth inning. This propelled Detroit to a 5-2 lead that they would ultimately hold onto until the end. As a result, this season marks the first since 2016 that Houston will not be in the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

The matchups for the divisional round of the playoffs are as follows: Detroit will face the Cleveland Guardians, with the New York Yankees battling the Kansas City Royals in the American League. In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers will square off against a fellow Californian team, the San Diego Padres. The Philadelphia Phillies take on the New York Mets in the final series. All games will be best of five to make it to the championship series and then the World Series. For the first time in MLB history, all four series are tied up at one.

Many star-studded lineups are fighting one-another this week, with the most notable matchup being between the Yankees and the Royals. Each team has a potential MVP candidate, with the Yankees having star slugger Aaron Judge and the Royals having speedy shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Through game two however, Witt and Judge have a combined record of 1-17 at the plate, with Judge going 1-7 with two walks and Witt going 0-10. “They are just not postseason performers,” said Matthew Jennings, an avid baseball fan. “Fernando Tatis and Bryce Harper have been performing in the postseason, but they just have not. I do not know why.” The opening game was won on a hit from Yankees outfielder Alex Verdugo, who drove in the third baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. from second base. Game two was blown open for Kansas City on a Salvador Perez home run off of Carlos Rodon.

The Dodgers and Padres are another heavyweight fight between two favorites for the World Series. Japanese superstar Shohei Ohtani started game one off big with a three-run home run in the second inning. The Dodgers won game 1 of the series 7-5. Game 2 was a complete turnaround for San Diego, however. Fernando Tatis Jr. Drove in 3 runs with a multi-home run night. His two homers led the Padres to a crushing 10-2 victory.

Nick Castellanos came up huge for the Phillies in game 2, even after a slow start. The veteran destroyed Mets pitcher Luis Severino’s pitch, tying the game with a huge home run. Later in the game, Castellanos got a walkoff hit, leading the city of brotherly love to a 7-6 win. “He has been picking up the slack throughout the year, and after a down-year last year, he has really done good this year,” Jennings stated. Glucksnis only had to say, “We should have swept them,” after Philadelphia came up short the day before to New York. The series is currently tied at one apiece.

Each team still has a long road ahead, with the possibility looming of everyone needing to play at least 14 games after this series. Baseball is a game of momentum and getting hot at the right time, and there does not appear to be a team with a clear advantage just yet.