By: Louis Gosart

During the past few weeks, the MLB postseason opened with many exciting and thrilling new games. The best teams in baseball played stirring matches, and it will be interesting to see who will make it all the way to the World Series.

Image CC-BY-SA Wikimedia Commons.

It all started Tuesday September 30 with the American League Wild Card game, featuring the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals. This game decided which AL Wild Card teams would move on to the Division Series game against the top- seeded Los Angeles Angels. After a long night, the Royals came out on top in dramatic fashion by scoring two runs in the bottom of the twelfth inning to win 9-8. The day after (October 1), the San Francisco Giants played the Pittsburg Pirates in the National League Wild Card game. The Giants dominated in an 8-0 blowout and advanced to play the Washington Nationals in the National League Division Series.

However, the postseason really starts during the division series. Each division winner is decided by a best-of-five series. The Baltimore Orioles swept the Detroit Tigers and advanced in three games to the American League Championship Series, giving themselves a chance to make it to their first World Series since 1983. Similarly, the underdog wildcard Royals faced the Los Angeles Angels, who had the best record in the regular season. Surprisingly, the Royals beat the Angels in three games as well, and advanced to play the Orioles in the ALCS.

At the same time, the wildcard San Francisco Giants played Washington Nationals in one of the two National League Division Series. This was an exciting matchup to witness, as the second game of series lasted eighteen innings! Ultimately, the underdog Giants beat the Nationals in four games and advanced to the National League Championship Series. This win gives the Giants a chance to win their third World Series in the past five years. Also advancing in the other NLDS were the St. Louis Cardinals, who were world champs in 2011. They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games.

It is rather surprising to see how both wildcard teams have advanced to the LCS games. They were both underdogs playing against the best teams in the league.

The first match-up for the LCS, a best-of-seven series, was on Friday, October 10, with the American League Orioles and the Royals. Following the next day is the start of the NLCS between the Cardinals and the Giants. Now, we only can look forward to seeing who will advance to the World Series and who will go home.

Categories: Sports