The remaining four teams in the 2024 MLB Playoffs competed for a trip to the World Series in best-of-seven series. In the National League, the New York Mets went to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers, and in the American League, the New York Yankees hosted the Cleveland Guardians.
New York Mets (6) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (1)
The well-rested Mets traveled to Dodger Stadium to face the highest seeded NL team in a rematch of the 2015 Divisional Series.
Game 1 was all about the Dodgers. They attacked Mets starter Kodai Senga in the first inning with a two-out two-run hit from third baseman Max Muncy. They would go on to score nine runs in the game. Trade-deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty started for the Dodgers and absolutely dominated, going seven shutout innings and striking out six Mets. He continued the Dodgers historic run of 33 consecutive scoreless innings in the playoffs. Flaherty got the win in the 9-0 Dodgers victory as Senga took home the loss.
Jack Flaherty gave the Dodgers a 1-0 series lead with his Game 1 gem. (Source: Jayne Kamin-Oncea)
After a silent first game, the Mets offense was alive from the first batter, when Francisco Lindor hit a leadoff home run off Dodgers opener Ryan Brasier. The Mets offensive barrage continued the next inning when Lindor was intentionally walked to load the bases, allowing Mark Vientos to break the game wide open with a grand slam off Landon Knack. The Dodgers added a few runs in the middle innings off starter Sean Manaea, but the Mets bullpen worked four scoreless innings to get a 7-3 win. Manaea went five innings, allowed three runs (two earned) and struck out seven for the win, Ryan Brasier got the loss and Edwin Diaz recorded four outs for a save, three of which were strikeouts.
Mark Vientos’ grand slam in the second inning of Game 2 gave the Mets a 6-0 lead over the Dodgers. (Source: Charles Wenzelberg)
Just like in Game 1, the Dodgers steamrolled the Mets in Game 3 at Citi Field. Homers from Kike Hernandez, Shohei Ohtani and Max Muncy propelled them to an 8-0 victory with four scoreless innings from Walker Buehler. Trade deadline-acquisition Michael Kopech recorded the win in relief and starter Luis Severino took the loss.
In Game 4 the Dodgers blew out the Mets once again, winning 10-2 with homers from Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. Neither starter, Jose Quintana for the Mets and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for the Dodgers got through five innings, but the difference in this game was the bullpen. The Mets bullpen allowed five runs over 5 ⅔ innings while the Dodgers relievers were scoreless for 4 ⅔ innings. Evan Phillips got the win and Quintana’s five earned runs caused him to take the loss.
A game away from the World Series, Jack Flaherty couldn’t stop the bats of the Mets. After going seven shutout innings in Game 1, Flaherty gave up eight runs over three innings in Game 5. Pete Alonso started the scoring with a three-run home run in the first inning, and the Mets scored five more in the third. Rookie outfielder Andy Pages hit two home runs in the game for the Dodgers, but the Mets prevailed, winning 12-6 and forcing a flight back to California. Ryne Stanek earned a win in relief and Flaherty took the loss.
Pete Alonso homered in the first inning of Game 5 to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. (Source: Robert Sabo)
The Mets seemed poised to take Game 6 from the Dodgers, with ace Sean Manaea pitching and the Dodgers using only their bullpen. A Pete Alonso infield hit in the first did give the Mets a 1-0 lead, but the rest of the game was all Dodgers. Tommy Edman gave Los Angeles the lead in the bottom of the inning with a two-run double, and the runs never stopped. Manaea was forced out of the game in the third inning after giving up a two-run home run to Edman to make it 4-1, but Phil Maton couldn’t stop the bleeding for the Mets, as he allowed a two-run homer to catcher Will Smith four batters later. Mark Vientos’ two run homer brought the Mets closer but they never caught up to the Dodgers, who won 10-5 and advanced to the World Series. Ben Casparius won in relief, Manaea got the loss and Blake Treinen worked two innings to earn his third save of the postseason.
Blake Treinen retired Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez to reach the World Series. (Source: Julio Cortez)
Series Most Valuable Player
Tommy Edman. The utility infielder was acquired by LA at the trade deadline and wasn’t expected to have a major role with the Dodgers, but without his NLCS performance, they may not have beat the Mets. With many clutch and rally-starting hits, Edman went 11-27 in the series with a home run, 11 RBIs, a steal and an OPS of 1.023.
Least Valuable Player
Brandon Nimmo. Despite his above-average advanced stats, Nimmo added nothing positive to the top of the Mets lineup against the Dodgers. He went 4-24 in the series with just two RBIs, striking out six times.
Cleveland Guardians (2) @ New York Yankees (1)
After a thrilling Game 5 win over the Tigers in the ALDS, led by first-year manager Stephen Vogt, the Cleveland Guardians came to New York to face-off against Juan Soto and Aaron Judge’s Yankees with hopes of a World Series trip.
In Game 1, Juan Soto hit a third inning homer off Guardians starter Alex Cobb and the Yankees never looked back. Carlos Rodon gave the Yankees six quality innings, giving up just one run and striking out nine, and the bullpen limited Cleveland to one run. Rodon earned a win, Cobb took the loss and Luke Weaver struck out four of the six batters he faced to earn a five-out save, as the Yankees won 5-2.
The Yankees rallied against Guardians ace Tanner Bibee as he gave up three runs (two earned) in the first two innings. Even though Yankees starter Gerrit Cole was unable to survive five innings, his bullpen allowed just one run over 4 ⅔ innings. Aaron Judge hit his first home run of the postseason, an 111.3 MPH blast to straightaway center field in the seventh inning to put the icing on the cake, as the Yankees won 6-3. Clay Holmes received a win in relief, his second of the postseason. Bibee’s four-out start left him with a loss.
Aaron Judge hit his first homer of the 2024 postseason in the seventh inning of Game 2 against Cleveland. (Source: AP)
Back in Cleveland, the Yankees and Guardians played a thriller for Game 3. Cleveland held a 3-1 lead until the eighth inning thanks to five innings of one-run-ball from Matthew Boyd. With two outs and one on, closer Emmanuel Clase came in to earn a four out save. Instead, he gave up home runs to the first two batters he faced, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton.
The Yankees tacked on a run in the ninth and Luke Weaver was set-up to save the 5-3 lead. After two outs and a Lane Thomas double, rookie Jhonkensy Noel pinch-hit for Daniel Schneemann. Noel came to the majors late in the regular season and hit 13 home runs over 67 games, showing his monstrous power. Weaver made one of his only mistakes of the postseason, throwing a 1-0 changeup over the middle of the plate to Noel, who hit it 404 feet into the seats in left field to tie the game at 5. Reliever Pedro Avila shut down the Yankees in the top of the tenth inning but Clay Holmes couldn’t do the same in the bottom. Bo Naylor led off with a single and three batters later, David Fry gave Cleveland their first win of the ALCS with a walk-off two-run homer.
David Fry cut the Yankees’ series lead in half with a walk-off home run in Game 3. (Source: MLB.com)
In Game 4, once again, neither starter went deep and both the Yankees’ and Guardians’ bullpens were heavily called upon. Giancarlo Stanton’s three-run homer in the sixth inning seemed to put the Guardians away, but three runs in the seventh and an RBI infield hit from David Fry against Mark Leiter Jr. tied the game at 6 going to the ninth. After giving up three runs the day before, Emmanuel Clase was called on once again. Unfortunately for Cleveland, this game was no different for him than the last. Clase gave up hits to Anthony Rizzo and Anthony Volpe to start the inning and both those runs came around to score, giving the Yankees an 8-6 lead. Tommy Kahnle closed the game and gave the Yankees a 3-1 series lead. Despite giving up the tying run, Leiter Jr. earned the win. Clase lost his second game of the series.
Gleyber Torres’ RBI single in the ninth gave the Yankees an 8-6 lead. (Source: AP)
Facing elimination in Game 5, Tanner Bibee recovered from his Game 2 woes to give Cleveland 5 ⅔ innings of two-run ball. Carlos Rodon and his bullpen held the Guardians to two runs as well, as the game was tied going to the tenth inning. Manager Stephen Vogt opted for Hunter Gaddis to pitch, but he faced trouble instantly. Austin Wells worked a one-out walk and Alex Verdugo reached on a Brayan Rocchio error. Gaddis recovered to strike out Gleyber Torres, but he then had to face Juan Soto. On the seventh pitch of the at-bat, Soto hit a towering shot to center field to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead. After shutting down the Guardians in the ninth, Luke Weaver stayed in and closed the game, earning the win. The Yankees won the series over Cleveland 4-1 to reach the World Series for the first time since 2009.
First-year Yankee Juan Soto propelled his team to the World Series for the first time since 2009. (Source: AP)
Series Most Valuable Player
Juan Soto. Soto not only hit the home run that sent the Yankees to the World Series, but went 7-19 in the series, a .368 average with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs.
Least Valuable Player
Lane Thomas. The trade-acquisition was a major reason for the Guardians’ success in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but he struggled mightily against the Yankees. Thomas started each game and finished the series 2-17 with six strikeouts.
Rob Manfred finally got what he wanted – a World Series with the potential for more home runs and scoring than ever before. Aaron Judge’s Yankees and Shohei Ohtani’s Dodgers will face-off in the 2024 World Series starting Friday, October 25 in Los Angeles.
