The MLB playoffs could not be going better in the eyes of the MLB, with the World Series about to start. The two storylines could not be more perfect, starting in the National League with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers entered the season with the second highest payroll to the Mets, who didn’t make the playoffs. They came into the season defending champions after beating the Yankees in last year’s World Series, heavy favorites to win it all again. The season did not go as expected. When all was said and done, they finished the season with a record of 93-69, which was enough to win them their division over the Padres, but as the third seed, they wound up in a Wild card spot. They then went on a roll, sweeping the Wild Card against the Reds and then winning 3-1 against the Phillies in the Divisional Series before playing the unexpected best team in baseball this year: the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers embraced the underdog personality and ran with it. As manager Pat Murphy said on live air, “I’m sure that most Dodger players can’t name eight guys on our roster. No offense to them, they shouldn’t have to know the names.” The Brewers were quickly stopped by the Dodgers, with a 4-0 sweep to end their season and send the Dodgers to the World Series. That was just the beginning.
In, the American League things really get crazy. The AL Wild Card Round included what is widely considered the biggest rivalry in all of sports, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox, and it did not disappoint. The series evened at 1-1 to go to a winner-take-all game three and a chance for someone to step up and be the hero. Enter Cam Schlittler. Schlittler is a 24-year-old Massachusetts-born pitcher who started the season in Double-A but was now pitching against his hometown Red Sox in the biggest game of the season, and he was lights out. He had 12 strikeouts in eight innings, but the Yankees did not reach the Championship Series after losing to the Blue Jays. The ALCS featured the Blue Jays and the Mariners.
The Blue Jays came out of nowhere to win the AL east, on the back of their $500 million dollar first baseman, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The Mariners made it off of Cal Raleigh, the first time all-star who shocked the world by shattering the single season home run record for a catcher. Their matchup will go down in history as one of the greatest ever. The Mariners went up two games to none early with little excitement, and the series looked as good as over. Then, the Blue Jays came roaring back in Seattle and took games three and four, evening the series at two.
Even at 2-2, Game 5 went to the seventh inning with the Mariners down one, but Raleigh continued to dominate with a home run to tie up the game. That’s when the Blue Jays’ bullpen fell apart. loaded the bases with nobody out for infielder and DH Eugenio Suarez, and he delivered. On a two strike pitch from Seranthony Dominguez,, Suarez hit a fastball down the middle for a grand slam to right field to break the game open and end the scoring. But the series wasn’t over yet.
The cherry on top of a great postseason was the finale of the ALCS. The Jays used rookie Trey Yesavage in the elimination Game 6, and he came through for them, just as he did against the Yankees in the ALDS. He had seven strikeouts and left in the sixth in an uneventful Game 6 win to bring the series to Game 7,.Before the game there was one huge question mark: George Springer. Springer, a Blue Jays outfielder, had been hit by a pitch in the knee in Game 5 and had had to leave the game.
He had not looked the same since, but the postseason veteran played on. In Game 7, 30-year-old Shane Bieber, who’s had an up and down career to say the least, pitched for the Blue Jays. Despite winning a Cy Young award in 2020, Bieber’s Tommy John surgery in 2023 ensured he did not pitch for over 500 days. After making nine starts in the regular season, he was pitching Game 7, which did not start off so well. In the seventh inning it was 3-1 Mariners on a Josh Naylor single, and solo homers from Julio Rodríguez and Raleigh. The Blue Jays managed to get two runners on with one out and Springer up witha chance to be the hero. After taking ball one against reliever Eduard Bazardo, he hit the next fastball, right down the middle, into the seats. This was where the game would stay until the final out, securing the Blue Jays the pennant.
Now we have our matchup. The defending champions against a team that hasn’t made it since the 1990s. The Series has started out normal enough, with the Blue Jays dominating offensively in game one and Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitching a complete game shutout in game two. After two easy victories, one for each team, and the series tied, we come to game three. This game began simple enough and stayed close, with both teams keeping it neck and neck in the ninth. After 18 innings and four intentional walks to Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers star first baseman Freddie Freeman ended it with a walk-off solo home run against Brendon Little. That’s where we are now. Two teams, two incredible storylines and one World Series.
