The Los Angeles Angels were the first to clinch a playoff spot and the first to clinch their division. They rounded out their regular season accomplishments by securing the best record in baseball, going 100-62 this season.
The Angels will play host to the American League Wild Card winners, the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were able to capture their playoff berth with ease and hope to play the spoiler role over an Angels team that many people predict will win the World Series.
The first team to clinch their post-season berth in the National League was the Chicago Cubs. Wrigley Field will be the site of the first two Cubs games as they welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers to town. The Dodgers were the 2nd team in the National League to claim their spot in the second season.
The rest of the National League playoff picture didn’t settle into place without heartbreak and drama.
With the season drawing to a close, we knew that either the New York Mets or the Philadelphia Phillies would clinch the division and the loser was left to battle the slumping Milwaukee Brewers for the Wild Card berth.
Ryan Howard kept the Phillies winning when it mattered and they clinched the division with a game to spare.
That left the Mets and Brewers tied for the last spot with just one day left in the season. Mets fans were left with the reality that lightning can strike twice and the Mets had collapsed for the 2nd time in two years and would miss the playoffs after a 4-2 loss following a Brewers win.
These 2 teams will now face off as Ryan Braun and CC Sabathia head to Philadelphia to take on Chase Utley and Cole Hamels.
The American League didn’t settle on a playoff lineup without some drama either.
The Twins were able to sweep the White Sox and claim a slight edge in the division race late in the week. The Sox and Twins both dropped 2 of 3 games in the last series of the year, which made it necessary for Detroit to head to U.S. Cellular Field on Monday for a makeup game.
Chicago won the game 8-2 and forced a one game playoff to decide the winner of the American League Central.
In what could be the worse rule in professional sports, the Twins were forced to play the game in Chicago based on a coin flip, despite holding a 10-8 season series edge.
John Danks and Nick Blackburn battled it out in an unlikely pitcher’s duel. The only mistake of the game came when Nick Blackburn left a pitch up to Jim Thome and he hit a 461-foot homerun for the game’s only run.
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