With the MLB Divisional round concluding we saw the Philadelphia Phillies upset the Atlanta Braves, the San Diego Padres upset the No. 1 seed Los Angeles Dodgers and the Seattle Mariners get swept by the Houston Astros in the final game, which took 18 innings to decide the winner. 

Seattle vs. Houston:

The series between the Seattle Mariners and the Houston Astros is a tough one for Seattle fans. For the first time in 21 years, the Mariners made the Playoffs and in game one they had a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks to Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez producing three of the four runs. The Mariners scored four runs in the first two innings.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Astros hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to two. In the bottom of the ninth with two outs and two runners on, the Mariners put in pitcher Robbie Ray to pitch to Yordan Alvarez, one of the best home run hitters in the league. After a strike from Ray, which was hit hard and far but foul, Alvarez sent the next pitch out of the field and walked it off for the Astros who took game one. Game two was more of the same, Seattle got the lead, then Alvarez hit a home run to take the lead and never looked back. Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo went seven innings and allowed three runs on five hits, a quality start, but the Mariners offense could not produce runs and fell 2-0 in the series heading to Seattle. 

The final game in Seattle was the first home playoff game for the Mariners since 2001. This game took an MLB record-tying 18 innings to decide the winner. In the top of the 18th, Astros rookie Jeremy Peña hit a solo home run to give the Astros the confidence they needed to close the game out and sweep the Mariners. 

Phillies vs. Braves:

The series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves may be a shocking result to some. Philadelphia was a Wild Card team and the Braves were the No. 2 seed in the National League and reigning world champions. However, the Phillies’ regular season record does not indicate how good they actually are, as they took down the Braves to advance to the NLCS. 

Game one saw the Phillies put up seven runs in the first five innings in Atlanta which gave the Braves fans no energy. It was not until the bottom of the ninth when the Braves scored three runs to give their fans hope. But it was too little too late and Philadelphia took the 1-0 series lead. 

Game two saw Atlanta answer back with a 3-0 shutout to tie the series 1-1. All three of the runs came in the bottom of the sixth. Heading to Philadelphia for game three saw the Phillies rout the Braves 9-1. A six-run third inning led Philadelphia to a 2-1 series lead. 

The Phillies ended the Braves’ season in game four in Philadelphia with an 8-3 victory. Philly had 13 hits in the game and allowed only four from Atlanta to knock them out of the postseason. Four runs in the first three innings and another three in the sixth helped Philadelphia close out the series and advance to the Championship Series. 

Padres vs. Dodgers:

The matchup between the California teams saw the Wild Card Padres defeat the No. 1 seed Los Angeles Dodgers, who won 111 games in the regular season. Game one saw the Dodgers defeat the Padres 5-3 after the Dodgers scored two runs in the first inning which helped them win game one. 

Game two saw the same score, just flipped around as the Padres won 5-3. Yu Darvish picked up the win as they tied the series 1-1 as they headed to San Diego. Game three was a nail-biter as San Diego won 2-1. After one run in the bottom of the first and another in the bottom of the fourth the Padres gave up a run in the fifth which cut the lead to one, but San Diego closed the game out and took the 2-1 series lead.

Game four in San Diego saw the Padres close out the series as they won 5-3 over the Dodgers. San Diego had nine hits in the game and they gave up only seven. Josh Hader got his third save of the series as they advanced to the Championship Series.

Yankees vs. Guardians:

The series between the Yankees and Guardians saw the Yankees bounce back after going down early in the series, with help from superstars Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to win the series and advance to the ALCS. 

Game one was a 4-1 victory for the Yankees. They were dominant over the Guardians. Game two saw Cleveland come back and win 4-2 after the game was postponed due to rain. Game three was a 6-5 victory after a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth from Cleveland to take the 2-1 series lead. 

The Yankees tied the series 2-2 after a 4-2 victory to send the series to a final game five. The Yankees got the last laugh as they defeated Cleveland in game five 5-1 with help from Judge and Stanton. Judge started the series slow, but caught fire in the end which led to the series victory.