2020 Postseason

Recap

As with everything related to the 2020 season, the 2020 Postseason was unprecedented as MLB decided to add a full "Wild Card Series" round played under a best-of-three format, replacing the Wild Card Game. As a result, there were eight teams qualifying for the postseason in each league rather than the usual six. These eight teams were the three division winners, the three second-place teams, and the two teams with the next best records. The eight postseason teams in each league were ranked one through eight based on their regular season records and various tiebreakers, with team 1 playing team 8, team 2 playing team 7, and so on. In all cases, the higher-ranked team was the home team for all three games.

The next three rounds proceeded as usual - but with another twist: they were played in predetermined neutral sites: Houston, TX and Arlington, TX for the NLDS, and San Diego, CA and Los Angeles, CA for the ALDS. The NLCS and ALCS were then played in Arlington and San Diego, respectively, and the World Series in Arlington. This was done to minimize travel and create virtual "bubbles" around the participating teams, reducing the risk of a COVID-19 infection. There were also no travel days included in the postseason schedule, making pitching depth a much more important factor than usual in these series.

Series Summaries

American League

ALWC: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Toronto Blue Jays 1 Tampa Bay Rays 3	September 29	Matt Shoemaker (0-0) Blake Snell (1-0)	5:00 pm
2	Toronto Blue Jays 2 Tampa Bay Rays 8	September 30	Hyun-Jin Ryu (0-1) Tyler Glasnow (1-0)	4:00 pm

ALWC: New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	New York Yankees 12 Cleveland Indians 3	September 29	Gerrit Cole (1-0) Shane Bieber (0-1)	7:00 pm
2	New York Yankees 10 Cleveland Indians 9	September 30	Masahiro Tanaka (0-0) Carlos Carrasco (0-0)	7:00 pm

ALWC: Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Houston Astros 4 Minnesota Twins 1	September 29	Zack Greinke (0-0) Kenta Maeda (0-0)	2:00 pm
2	Houston Astros 3 Minnesota Twins 1	September 30	Jose Urquidy (0-0) Jose Berrios (0-0)	1:00 pm

ALWC: Chicago White Sox vs. Oakland Athletics

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Chicago White Sox 4 Oakland Athletics 1	September 29	Lucas Giolito (1-0) Jesus Luzardo (0-1)	3:00 pm
2	Chicago White Sox 3 Oakland Athletics 5	September 30	Dallas Keuchel (0-1) Chris Bassitt (1-0)	3:00 pm
3	Chicago White Sox 4 Oakland Athletics 6	October 1	Dane Dunning (0-0) Mike Fiers (0-0)	3:00 pm

ALDS: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	New York Yankees 9 Tampa Bay Rays 3	October 5	Gerrit Cole (1-0) Blake Snell (0-1)	8:00 pm
2	New York Yankees 5 Tampa Bay Rays 7	October 6	Deivi Garcia (0-0) Tyler Glasnow (1-0)	8:00 pm
3	Tampa Bay Rays 8 New York Yankees 4	October 7	Charlie Morton (1-0) Masahiro Tanaka (0-1)	7:00 pm
4	Tampa Bay Rays 1 New York Yankees 5	October 8	Ryan Thompson (0-1) Jordan Montgomery (0-0)	7:00 pm
5	New York Yankees 1 Tampa Bay Rays 2	October 9	Gerrit Cole (1-0) Tyler Glasnow (1-0)	7:00 pm

ALDS: Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Houston Astros 10 Oakland Athletics 5	October 5	Lance McCullers (0-0) Chris Bassitt (0-0)	4:00 pm
2	Houston Astros 5 Oakland Athletics 2	October 6	Framber Valdez (1-0) Sean Manaea (0-1)	4:30 pm
3	Oakland Athletics 9 Houston Astros 7	October 7	Jesus Luzardo (0-0) Jose Urquidy (0-0)	3:30 pm
4	Oakland Athletics 6 Houston Astros 11	October 8	Frankie Montas (0-1) Zack Greinke (0-0)	3:30 pm

ALCS Houston Astros vs. Tampa Bay Rays

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Houston Astros 1 Tampa Bay Rays 2	October 11	Framber Valdez (0-1) Blake Snell (1-0)	7:30 pm
2	Houston Astros 2 Tampa Bay Rays 4	October 12	Lance McCullers (0-1) Charlie Morton (1-0)	4:00 pm
3	Tampa Bay Rays 5 Houston Astros 2	October 13	Ryan Yarbrough (1-0) Jose Urquidy (0-1)	8:40 pm
4	Tampa Bay Rays 3 Houston Astros 4	October 14	Tyler Glasnow (0-1) Zack Greinke (1-0)	8:40 pm
5	Tampa Bay Rays 3 Houston Astros 4	October 15	John Curtiss (0-0) Luis Garcia (0-0)	5:00 pm
6	Houston Astros 7 Tampa Bay Rays 4	October 16	Framber Valdez (1-1) Blake Snell (1-1)	6:00 pm
7	Houston Astros 2 Tampa Bay Rays 4	October 17	Lance McCullers (0-2) Charlie Morton (2-0)	8:30 pm

National League

NLWC: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Milwaukee Brewers 2 Los Angeles Dodgers 4	September 30	Brent Suter (0-1) Walker Buehler (0-0)	10:00 pm
2	Milwaukee Brewers 0 Los Angeles Dodgers 3	October 1	Brandon Woodruff (0-1) Clayton Kershaw (1-0)	10:00 pm

NLWC: St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	St. Louis Cardinals 7 San Diego Padres 4	September 30	Kwang-Hyun Kim (0-0) Chris Paddack (0-1)	5:00 pm
2	St. Louis Cardinals 9 San Diego Padres 11	October 1	Adam Wainwright (0-0) Zach Davies (0-0)	7:00 pm
3	St. Louis Cardinals 0 San Diego Padres 4	October 2	Jack Flaherty (0-1) Craig Stammen (0-0)	7:00 pm

NLWC: Miami Marlins vs. Chicago Cubs

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Miami Marlins 5 Chicago Cubs 1	September 30	Sandy Alcantara (1-0) Kyle Hendricks (0-1)	2:00 pm
2	Miami Marlins 2 Chicago Cubs 0	October 2	Sixto Sanchez (0-0) Yu Darvish (0-1)	2:00 pm

NLWC: Cincinnati Reds vs. Atlanta Braves

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Cincinnati Reds 0 Atlanta Braves 1	September 30	Trevor Bauer (0-0) Max Fried (0-0)	12:00 noon
2	Cincinnati Reds 0 Atlanta Braves 5	October 1	Luis Castillo (0-1) Ian Anderson (1-0)	12:00 noon

NLDS: San Diego Padres vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	San Diego Padres 1 Los Angeles Dodgers 5	October 6	Mike Clevinger (0-0) Walker Buehler (0-0)	9:30 pm
2	San Diego Padres 5 Los Angeles Dodgers 6	October 7	Zach Davies (0-1) Clayton Kershaw (1-0)	9:00 pm
3	Los Angeles Dodgers 12 San Diego Padres 3	October 8	Dustin May (1-0) Adrian Morejon (0-1)	9:00 pm

NLDS: Miami Marlins vs. Atlanta Braves

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Miami Marlins 5 Atlanta Braves 9	October 6	Sandy Alcantara (0-1) Max Fried (0-0)	2:00 pm
2	Miami Marlins 0 Atlanta Braves 2	October 7	Pablo Lopez (0-1) Ian Anderson (1-0)	2:00 pm
3	Atlanta Braves 7 Miami Marlins 0	October 8	Kyle Wright (1-0) Sixto Sanchez (0-1)	2:00 pm

NLCS: Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Atlanta Braves 5 Los Angeles Dodgers 1	October 12	Max Fried (0-0) Walker Buehler (0-0)	8:00 pm
2	Atlanta Braves 8 Los Angeles Dodgers 7	October 13	Ian Anderson (0-0) Tony Gonsolin (0-1)	6:00 pm
3	Los Angeles Dodgers 15 Atlanta Braves 3	October 14	Julio Urias (1-0) Kyle Wright (0-1)	6:00 pm
4	Los Angeles Dodgers 2 Atlanta Braves 10	October 15	Clayton Kershaw (0-1) Bryse Wilson (1-0)	8:00 pm
5	Los Angeles Dodgers 7 Atlanta Braves 3	October 16	Dustin May (0-0) A.J. Minter (0-0)	6:00 pm
6	Atlanta Braves 1 Los Angeles Dodgers 3	October 17	Max Fried (0-1) Walker Buehler (1-0)	4:30 pm
7	Atlanta Braves 3 Los Angeles Dodgers 4	October 18	Ian Anderson (0-0) Dustin May (0-0)	8:15 pm

World Series: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Game	Score	Date	Starters	Time (ET)
1	Tampa Bay Rays 3 Los Angeles Dodgers 8	October 20	Tyler Glasnow (0-1) Clayton Kershaw (1-0)	8:00 pm
2	Tampa Bay Rays 6 Los Angeles Dodgers 4	October 21	Blake Snell (0-0) Tony Gonsolin (0-1)	8:00 pm
3	Los Angeles Dodgers 6 Tampa Bay Rays 2	October 23	Walker Buehler (1-0) Charlie Morton (0-1)	8:00 pm
4	Los Angeles Dodgers 7 Tampa Bay Rays 8	October 24	Julio Urias (0-0) Ryan Yarbrough (0-0)	8:00 pm
5	Los Angeles Dodgers 4 Tampa Bay Rays 2	October 25	Clayton Kershaw (2-0) Tyler Glasnow (0-2)	8:00 pm
6	Tampa Bay Rays 1 Los Angeles Dodgers 3	October 27	Blake Snell (0-0) Tony Gonsolin (0-1)	8:00 pm

NL Team Stats

TEAM	W-L	Manager	BA	HR	R	ERA	WHIP	RA
Dodgers	43-17	Dave Roberts	.256	118	349	3.55	1.056	213
Braves	35-25	Brian Snitker	.268	103	348	4.41	1.362	288
Cubs	34-26	David Ross	.220	74	265	3.99	1.221	240
Padres	37-23	Jayce Tingler	.257	95	325	3.86	1.203	241
Cardinals	30-28	Mike Shildt	.234	51	240	3.90	1.226	229
Marlins	31-29	Don Mattingly	.244	60	263	4.86	1.452	304
Reds	31-29	David Bell	.212	90	243	3.84	1.218	243
Brewers	29-31	Craig Counsell	.223	75	247	4.16	1.227	264

AL Team Stats

TEAM	W-L	Manager	BA	HR	R	ERA	WHIP	RA
Rays	40-20	Kevin Cash	.238	80	289	3.56	1.219	229
Athletics	36-24	Bob Melvin	.225	71	274	3.77	1.234	232
Twins	36-24	Rocco Baldelli	.242	91	269	3.58	1.204	215
Indians	35-25	Terry Francona	.228	59	248	3.29	1.114	209
Yankees	33-27	Aaron Boone	.247	94	315	4.35	1.244	270
Astros	29-31	Dusty Baker	.240	69	279	4.31	1.315	275
White Sox	35-25	Rick Renteria	.261	96	306	3.81	1.262	246
Blue Jays	32-28	Charlie Montoyo	.255	88	302	4.60	1.462	312

Further Reading

• "Picks are in: Experts predict the postseason", mlb.com, September 28, 2020. [1]
• "Eight things we learned from unprecedented day of MLB playoff games", USA Today Sports, October 1, 2020. [2]
• Anthony Castrovince: "Everything to know about expanded playoffs", mlb.com, July 23, 2020. [3]
• Mark Feinsand: "MLB announces 2020 postseason schedule", mlb.com, September 15, 2020. [4]
• Gabe Lacques: "Forget the asterisk – MLB's 2020 champion will be totally legitimate", USA Today, October 9, 2020. [5]
• Andrew Simon: "16-team field set; postseason opens Tuesday", mlb.com, September 27, 2020. [6]

Related Sites

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