One of the most dramatic weeks on the baseball calendar each year is the division series. Teams that are hot at the right time run into division champs who have been waiting for them after a bye, and something’s got to give. After four entertaining series, the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and Guardians punched their tickets to baseball’s final four.
The Mets continued their postseason magic, eliminating their division rival Phillies, 3 games to 1. Francisco Lindor provided the final nail in the coffin, hitting a go-ahead grand slam in Game 4 sending Citi Field into a frenzy. The Mets are in the NLCS for the first time since 2015. For the Phillies, it is another postseason in the Bryce Harper era where they fall short. They got a taste of their own medicine from the Mets. The last two years the Phils upset the division champ Braves in the NLDS, and this year, it was the Mets who played the role of the wild card winner on a roll.
While the Mets may be a surprise NLCS entrant, their foe is not. In another NLDS between division rivals, the other coast saw the Dodgers come back from a 2-1 series deficit to eliminate the Padres. San Diego took a commanding lead, just like two years ago, but then could not score another run in the entire series. The Dodgers won Game 4 8-0 in San Diego. In the decisive Game 5, they used home runs by both Hernandez’s, Kike and Teoscar to win 2-0. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched 5 scoreless innings and the Dodger bullpen kept the Padres bats quiet. San Diego didn’t score a run in the final 24 innings of the series. The Padres remain one of five MLB teams to never win the World Series, while the Dodgers, who spent the GDP of a small nation in the offseason, avoid another October upset, for now.
On the AL side of things, the Yankees are back in the ALCS for the second time in three seasons. Giancarlo Stanton had six hits and five RBIs in a 3-1 Yankees ALDS victory over the Kansas City Royals. Bad news for Royals fans, Bobby Witt Jr struggled mightily, going 2-for-17 in the series loss. Good news for Yankees fans, Aaron Judge has yet to wake up at the plate and didn’t cost the team much in the way of wins. Kansas City has a bright future ahead, but could not muster enough against the Yankees. The Yankees are one step away from their first pennant and World Series appearance since their last World Series title since 2009. And maybe the best news for Yankees fans, they don’t have to worry about facing the Astros.
In the final division series to wrap up, and the third between division rivals this year, the Guardians came back from a 2-1 series deficit to beat the Tigers in five games. Detroit had a chance to close out Cleveland at home in Game 4, but David Fry’s go-ahead two-run homer saved the Guardians’ season. Cleveland used another big blast in the decisive Game 5. Lane Thomas’ grand slam off Tiger ace Tarik Skubal in the fifth inning proved to be the difference in a 7-3 win. Cleveland, who owns the longest World Series title drought in baseball (76 years), make their first ALCS since winning the pennant in 2016. That year, Cleveland lost a 3-1 series lead to the curse-breaking Cubs in an epic World Series. Detroit, much like Kansas City, can be contenders in the central for years to come.
Three of the top five payrolls in baseball, Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, along with the sport’s longest title drought will make for a great LCS round. Two of our three “local” teams for Connecticut readers are at baseball’s penultimate step.
Baseball fans and the Duck on a Rock staff are all officially diagnosed with pennant fever. Here are our league championship series picks, as well as our World Series, some of which have been updated.
American League Championship Series
No. 2 Cleveland Guardians vs. No. 1 New York Yankees
Colin’s pick: Yankees
Matt McD’s pick: Guardians
Matt O’s pick: Yankees
Diamond’s pick: Guardians
National League Championship Series
No. 6 New York Mets vs. No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers
Colin’s pick: Mets
Matt McD’s pick: Dodgers
Matt O’s pick: Mets
Diamond’s pick: Mets
World Series
Colin’s pick: Yankees over Mets
Matt McD’s pick: Guardians over Dodgers (amended)
Matt O’s pick: Mets over Yankees (amended)
Diamond’s pick: Guardians over Mets (amended)
