Hi everyone, and welcome back to Baseball Bash!  All four of the divisional series in the MLB playoffs just ended, and here is the updated playoff picture:

As seen, there have been some upsets already.  And this is what I think is baseball as its finest.  The Phillies came out of nowhere(which is reminiscent of the Braves last year) and now they are on the precipice of a World Series.  The Padres beat the Dodgers as well, who were a World Series favorite in the minds of many.  The Yankees dealt with rain delays, and the Astros, well, played like the Astros.  Let’s dive in to each of the series.

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves

In a way, this series was poetic.  The cinderella story of this year faced the cinderella story of last year.  And it went as expected.  A lot of great pitching coupled with just the right amount of offense helped the Phillies storm past the defending champions in four games.  Some notable highlights included home runs by players such as Brandon Marsh and Bryce Harper, and even featured an inside the park home run by JT Realmuto, the first ever by a catcher in MLB postseason history.  While their game one was ugly, giving up six runs, they came back wonderfully in Game 3, with a vintage Nola performance(only one Braves run).  Game Four sealed the deal with the plays mentioned above.  They are now on the cusp of the World Series after barely making the postseason, and are currently playing Game 1 of the NLCS against the Padres.

San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

The I-5 rivalry in the postseason.  Who could ask for more?  The series started off in the negative for them, with seasoned veteran Mike Clevinger giving up four runs in a 5-3 loss to the Dodgers.  However, the Padres would go on to win the next three games, including great performances from players such as Blake Snell(who looked like his former self), Manny Machado, and others.  I would say the pitching is truly what shined the most here more than anything, and the Padres clearly outpitched the Dodgers.  They are currently playing the Phillies in the NLCS.

Seattle Mariners vs. Houston Astros

What once looked like an exciting and promising postseason for the Seattle Mariners was all by squashed by the Houston Astros.  Game 1 was easily the highlight as it featured an insane comeback for the Astros late in the game.  Justin Verlander was also not pitching like himself, giving up 6 earned runs in the game.  Game 2 was probably the highlight of the series though.  From there it went downhill, and the Astros went on to sweep the Mariners.  Makes me think what would’ve happened if the Mariners won Game 1.  The Astros face the Yankees tomorrow in the ALCS.

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians

As a Yankees fan, this was a series that looked very scary.  Our pitching outside of the starters looked very shaky, and I must say that rain saved us.  It helped rest our pitchers for both Games 4 and 5, and inadvertently led to our success in beating the Guardians.  That came with its own challenges, however.  They were on the cusp

of elimination but scraped by to win Game 4 and put the Guardians in the same position.  Today’s series-ending win had “Nasty” Nestor Cortes pitching extremely well and only giving up one earned run en route to a 5-1 win in the Bronx.  We have a challenge before us in the Houston Astros in the ALCS.

I hope you enjoyed this week of Baseball Bash, and I can’t wait to see how the conference series go, which we will cover here.  Until then, my friend.