MLB Playoff Takeaways: Divisional Series

Photo from the Los Angeles Times

I feel like I say this every year, but it really is true.

There’s nothing like playoff baseball.

Now, four teams remain.

Let’s go through the divisional round.

Yankees defeat Royals 3-1

Sometimes in baseball, spending a ton of money isn’t going to win you titles.

But it can help win you series.

The Royals had a great season compared to expectations, but the Yankees overwhelming talent came through when it mattered.

Stanton’s game 3 home run and Gerrit Cole’s excellent pitching performance to shut the door got the Yankees into the ALCS.

Guardians defeat Tigers 3-2

The Tigers were this close.

A game 4 win would have gotten the Tigers into the ALCS and continued their incredible run.

And then David Fry had the biggest hit of his life, hitting a two run home run to save the Guardians season, before a great game 5 at home against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal got them to advance.

The Tigers run was admirable, but it had to come to an end at some point.

There just isn’t enough talent there yet.

Mets defeat Phillies 3-1

I told you.

This Mets team might just be different.

Well, it’s that, or it’s that the Phillies bullpen had an ERA of 11.37 in the divisional round.

You could have a lineup of hall of famers and it wouldn’t matter. You simply can not win with a bullpen performance that bad.

Dodgers defeat Padres 3-2

In the second inning of game 3, Fernando Tatis Jr. launched a missile of a home run to give the Padres a 6-1 lead.

The stadium was electric. The crowd was going crazy. The Padres, who were getting into the Dodgers heads, were flying high, and won that game 6-5.

That home run were the last runs the Padres scored all series.

The bats went completely dry, and the Dodgers got the last laugh in the end.