What a whirlwind of delight these last 13 days have been. The drama and entertainment and ecstasy and agony provided by the 2024 Major League Baseball season, so far, is difficult to put into words. I didn’t say the playoffs, specifically, because it started with a game that wasn’t even officially the playoffs.
Not only that, but we still have the league championship series and World Series to go. It’s possible that we have 21 games of action remaining, culminating with Game 7 of the World Series on Nov. 2. The playoffs to this point have been 27 games in 12 days, so while we’re past halfway in terms of games played, we likely aren’t halfway through the postseason calendar.
The playoffs this season have included some of the biggest and most recognizable superstars in baseball, such as Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Jose Altuve. We’ve seen stellar arms like Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, Gerrit Cole and a litany of beastly closers, led by Emmanuel Clase. There are up-and-coming superstars like Bobby Witt, Jr., Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill. It has been quite the star-studded event.
Many of the biggest names came through in the clutch on the big stage. Some did so multiple times. One of the great parts of the playoffs is seeing the unheralded players come through for possibly the biggest moment of their careers, though, sometimes at the expense of a superstar. That has been happening as well.
Baseball couldn’t have asked for much more out of its players in the last two weeks. It’s been breathtaking.
Before we look ahead with the giddiness of a 10 year old on Christmas Eve, let us look back and appreciate what we’ve seen in just under two weeks.
Remember the play-in doubleheader on Sept. 30 when both the Mets and Braves played the first game like it was do or die? It was 3-0 Braves heading to the top of the eighth inning. The Mets scored six runs to take a 6-3 lead. In the bottom of the eighth, the Braves scored four runs of their own to make it 7-6. A good portion of the damage in the eighth came against star closers Raisel Iglesias and Edwin Díaz. And in the ninth, Francisco Lindor homered to give the Mets the 8-7 lead and that would be the final score.
It was just a primer.
Remember the Astros’ furious rally in Game 1 against the Tigers falling short when Jason Heyward’s bases-loaded liner went right to Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson? A few feet either way and that’s an Astros’ walkoff win. In Game 2, the Astros took a lead with a seventh-inning rally only to see the Tigers take the lead back with an Andy Ibañez bases-loaded double off another star closer in Josh Hader.
The Royals-Orioles series might not have been heavy on highlights, but both games were decided by one run. The Padres swept the Braves, but Fernando Tatis Jr. sent Petco Park into a frenzy in the first inning of Game 1…
…and the Braves cut a 5-1 lead down to 5-4 before the Padres finally closed them out in Game 2.
The main event in the Wild Card Series ended up happening in Milwaukee.
In Game 1, the Brewers jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Mets. The Mets scored three runs in the second, but then the Brewers scored two runs in the fourth. The Mets scored five runs in the fifth. It was the least dramatic game in the series. In Game 2, the Mets led the Brewers 3-1 through two innings. It was 3-2 going to the eighth. The Brewers got a game-tying Jackson Chourio homer and then a pinch-hit, go-ahead homer from Garrett Mitchell to force a Game 3. In that one, the score was 0-0 at the seventh-inning stretch. Then the Brewers got an unlikely back-to-back with pinch hitter Jake Bauers and Sal Frelick — who only had two homers in the regular season — both going deep to start the bottom of the seventh. It seemed over for the Mets, but then Francisco Lindor walked to lead off the ninth. Brandon Nimmo came through with a one-out single. And Pete Alonso happened.
This happened against a star closer in Devin Williams.
The Mets moved on and it was time for the divisional round. They starred again.
They were shut down for seven innings by Phillies ace Zack Wheeler in Game 1, but then scored five runs in the top of the eighth to steal it. Game 2 was an instant classic. A 3-0 Mets lead in the middle of six. Back-to-back Phillies homers to tie it, a quick Mets answer, three Phillies runs in the bottom of the eighth to grab the lead. A Mets answer in the ninth to tie it and then a walkoff win for the Phillies to even the series.
Game 3 wasn’t overly dramatic, but Game 4 provided the Lindor grand slam.
That is just a thing of beauty for baseball fans.
While the Mets were a big part of why the first two rounds of the playoffs (and the extra day preceding them), they were far from the only reason. We saw plenty of fun in the divisional round.
It started with a dud, as the Guardians blew the Tigers away from the start in Game 1.
The outcome was a relief, as it was not a sign of things to come. The recent Yankees’ victory over the Royals may not have been the most thrilling, but it was a well-fought series with all games being closely contested. Two games were decided by just one run, while the other two had a two-run difference. The turning point came in Game 3 with Giancarlo Stanton’s crucial homer in the eighth inning.
In Game 4, the Royals came close to tying the game with a home run from Kyle Isbel, but the wind worked against them, and Juan Soto made a spectacular catch at the wall. The Tigers-Guardians series had a slow start but picked up momentum in Game 2. Skubal’s strong pitching performance was matched by the Guardians’ closer Clase, but the Tigers managed to secure a victory with a clutch hit from Kerry Carpenter.
The following games in the series were equally intense, with back-and-forth action culminating in a thrilling finish. The Guardians ultimately emerged victorious, thanks to a grand slam from Lane Thomas in Game 5. The Dodgers and Padres also gave fans plenty to cheer about with their intense rivalry, highlighted by standout performances from players like Ohtani, Tatis, and Betts.
As the playoffs progress, the excitement continues to build, setting the stage for the upcoming LCS matchups. With only four teams remaining – the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, and Guardians – the race for the 2024 World Series title is heating up. The postseason has already delivered plenty of thrills, and there’s much more to come in the days ahead. sentence: The cat chased the mouse around the house.
Rewritten sentence: Around the house, the mouse was chased by the cat.