This is the bracket for the 2025 MLB Postseason
AL Wild Card – 6 Detroit Tigers vs. 3 Cleveland Guardians
The Detroit Tigers had a regular season record of 87-75 and the Cleveland Guardians had a record 88-74. The Wild Card round in the playoffs is a best of three series. Therefore, the first team to win 2 games wins the series and moves on further into the postseason. These teams are division rivals that battled for the top spot in the AL Central division.
Game 1 – Tigers win 2-1
Game 2 – Guardians win 6-1
Game 3 – Tigers win 6-3 – Tigers win series 2-1
Tigers
Good Takeaway – Consistent great effort from their starting pitchers. All of their starting pitchers only let up 3 earned runs in 15.1 innings.
Next series – Score early for pitching to hold up opponents. Their pitchers help up very well, so if they score early, their pitching can handle the job just fine.
Guardians
Good Takeaway – Bullpen held up very well, letting up 5 earned runs in 15 innings over the series.
Work on… – Score more consistently with runners in scoring positions. They left lots of runners in scoring position and left lots of people on base.
AL Wild Card – 5 Boston Red Sox vs. 4 New York Yankees
The Boston Red Sox had a regular season record of 89-73 and the New York Yankees had a 94-68 record. The Yankees and Blue Jays had the same record in their division, but unfortunately for the Yankees, they ended up the lower seed. The Yankees and the Red Sox are in the same division, AL East, and the Red Sox finished 3rd in the AL East standings.
Game 1 – Red Sox win 3-1
Game 2 – Yankees win 4-3
Game 3 – Yankees win 4-0 – Yankees win series 2-1
Red Sox
Good Takeaway – Good pitching rotation at times. When it was good, it shined really bright and was proving to be very good.
Work on… – Defensive errors were costly in this series and it showed. In game 3, an infield pop-up error was a spark to a 4 run inning for the Yankees.
Yankees
Good Takeaway – Cam Schlittler proved to be a top arm on the rotation going 8 innings, giving up only 5 hits, 0 runs, and 12 strikeouts.
Next Series – Bullpen needs to step it up and prove themselves. They were mostly inconsistent during the series and didn’t do great at times.
NL Wild Card – 6 Cincinnati Reds vs. 3 Los Angeles Dodgers
The Cincinnati Reds went 83-79 during the regular season, just finishing 4 games over .500. The Dodgers went 93-69 during the regular season, they ended the season strongly, winning 8 out of 10 in their last 10 games. This series was very lopsided as nobody expected the Reds to move onto the next round. The Los Angeles Dodgers are a powerhouse of a team and have one of the best all around rosters in the MLB. They are World Series favorites, as they are almost every year. The Reds finished 3rd in the NL Central and the Dodgers ended up 1st in the NL West.
Game 1 – Dodgers win 10-5
Game 2 – Dodgers win 8-4 – Dodgers win series 2-0
Reds
Good Takeaway – They made the playoffs facing a very good division and made it in as the 6th seed. The team is young and improving drastically over the last 2-3 years. The future is looking bright for them.
Work on… – Pitching all around was very chaotic and gave up lots of runs through 2 games. They had a stacked lineup to get through, but allowed too many base runners in scoring position and home runs, it was eventually too much to handle.
Dodgers
Good Takeaway – Offense was very aggressive and scored lots of runs in 2 games. They scored 18 runs, out-scoring the Reds 18-9 over both games.
Next Series – Keep the offense hot and keep executing when runners are on base.
NL Wild Card – 5 San Diego Padres vs. 4 Chicago Cubs
The San Diego Padres finished the season 90-72 and was 2nd in the NL West. Their offense led the season most of the way with a pretty good pitching rotation. The Cubs ended the season 92-70. Being 2nd in the NL Central, they were in first for majority of the season until the Brewers started firing on all cylinders. This matchup was pretty even throughout the whole series, both with very good lineups and rotations.
Game 1 – Cubs win 3-1
Game 2 – Padres win 3-0
Game 3 – Cubs win 3-1 – Cubs win series 2-1
Padres
Good Takeaway – Bullpen was exceptional and handled the game very well. Over 17.1 innings, the bullpen only allowed 2 runs through the 3 games played.
Player struggle – Fernando Tatis Jr. struggled all series in the hitting aspect. He was a star for the Padres all year long in the regular season, but couldn’t perform in the postseason. He went 1 for 12 in the series.
Cubs
Good Takeaway – The bullpen for the Cubs was amazing all series. The bullpen only let up one run in 3 games.
Next Series – Score more runs early and don’t let up early runs. Home runs seemed to be the main run source in this series, less of those will help the defense do the work, as they have all year.
ALDS – 6 Detroit Tigers vs. 3 Seattle Mariners
The Mariners finished their season 90-72. After getting a bye week in the playoffs, the Mariners are looking to win their first ALDS series since 2001. They are the only team in the MLB that have never made it to the World Series. They have a MVP caliber player, Cal Raleigh, who has led their offense all year.
Game 1 – Tigers win 3-2
Game 2 – Mariners win 3-2
Game 3 – Mariners win 8-4
Game 4 – Tigers win 9-3
Game 5 – Mariners win 3-2 – Mariners win series 3-2
Tigers
Good Takeaway – Offense sparked when it was needed in desperate times. Even though they lost the series, they had very high moments, showing they had what it took to win.
Work on… – Bullpen needed some work, as it showed in the game they let up many runs in crucial spots.
Mariners
Good Takeaway – Their offense was very consistent throughout the entire series. They scored 19 runs over 5 games, which is a good number to have.
Next series – Limit the
ALDS – 4 New York Yankees vs. 1 Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays are the one seed on the AL side of the bracket. They finished their season 94-68, tying with the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East. There offense has been electric all year scoring many runs in a good amount of games.
Game 1 – Blue Jays win 10-1
Game 2 – Blue Jays win 13-7
Game 3 – Yankees win 9-6
Game 4 – Blue Jays win 5-2 – Blue Jays win series 3-1
Yankees
Good Takeaway – The team overcame a 0-2 deficit and avoided the sweep in game 3 at home.
Work on… – The offense was very inconsistent during their showing in all 4 games. They scored runs, but not very efficiently.
Blue Jays
Good Takeaway – Offense outscored the Yankees 34-19 and was showing out. Their bullpen also held the Yankees to 0 runs in Game 4 which was the clinching game for the Blue Jays.
Next series – Keep the offense hot and should have no problems facing any team. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is a key part of the lineup, hitting a home run in the first 3 games of the season.
NLDS – 3 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. 2 Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies enter this game coming off a great season going 96-66. Their offense is being led by Kyle Schwarber who had 56 home runs and 132 RBI’s during the regular season, making him an MVP caliber player. The Dodgers are a rough first matchup to have in the postseason.
Game 1 – Dodgers win 5-3
Game 2 – Dodgers win 4-3
Game 3 – Phillies win 8-2
Game 4 – Dodgers win 2-1 – Dodgers win series 3-1
Dodgers
Good Takeaway – The Dodgers bullpen was consistent in all of the games besides game 3. Their depth in their bullpen and starters is very deep, as they have multiple All-Star caliber guys. It showed in the series that they are experienced and have confidence.
Next series – Offensive struggles were shown the first two games even though they won. Earlier competitive at bats and runners on early will put pressure on the opponent.
Phillies
Good Takeaway – Within the games they lost, they kept it within 1-2 runs. They kept the games close and their pitching held up well to keep them close.
Work on… – Starters gave up runs early in most of the games. Limiting the baserunners and the home runs will help the rest of the team stay close.
NLDS – 4 Chicago Cubs vs. 1 Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers come into this game having almost a week off from their last game played. They finished the season 97-65, meaning they had the best record in all of the MLB. They were doing good in the first half of the season, but after the All-Star break, they kicked it into another gear and found every which way to win a game. Their lineup was consistent all year with great pitching.
Game 1 – Brewers win 9-3
Game 2 – Brewers win 7-3
Game 3 – Cubs win 4-3
Game 4 – Cubs win 6-0
Game 5 – Brewers win 3-1 – Brewers win series 3-2
Cubs
Good Takeaway – Offense was scoring early but not throughout some of the games. For example, in game 3 they scored 4 runs in the first inning and never scored again after that. The offense found ways to score and hit lots of home runs as their main run source throughout the series.
Work on… – Don’t give up runs early in the game. They got caught trailing way too early in most of the games which made it harder to come back.
Brewers
Good Takeaway – Bullpen was phenomenal all series long. Their starters were the ones giving up the most runs in the series. Once the bullpen came in, it was hard for the Cubs to hit and get on base.
Next series – Do not give up runs early in the game, it creates a hole for the offense. Utilize bullpen as often as possible, they were very consistent in this series and shutdown the Cubs offense consistently.
ALCS – 3 Seattle Mariners vs. 1 Toronto Blue Jays
The Mariners and Blue Jays both finished 1st in their division showing they have what it takes to come out on top of a series. This series did not disappoint as it was taken into a dramatic game 7. Each game was usually one sided until game 7. These were evenly matched teams that wanted to the World Series more than any other teams.
Game 1 – Mariners win 3-1
Game 2 – Mariners win 10-3
Game 3 – Blue Jays win 13-4
Game 4 – Blue Jays win 8-2
Game 5 – Mariners win 6-2
Game 6 – Blue Jays win 6-2
Game 7 – Blue Jays win 4-3 – Blue Jays win series 4-3
Mariners
Good Takeaway – Their offense was on fire for most of the series. Sometimes they struggled to score in crucial moments which was costly in some games.
Work on… – The clutch hitting needed to be better in order for them to advance. Ultimately, the Blue Jays got the clutch hit they needed late in game 7 which sent them to the World Series.
Blue Jays
Good Takeaway – Their first trip to the World Series since 1993. The offense outscored the Mariners in games 3-7, 33-17. It shows that Blue Jays scored consistently in the series whether it was 1 run or 13 runs in a game.
Next Series – Try to knock out the starters early or neutralize them, for the Dodgers bullpen can sometimes be shaky. They had a 4.27 ERA in the regular season which is pretty high for a bullpen.
NLCS – 3 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. 1 Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are looking to make only their 2nd appearance in the World Series. They are one of the few teams that have never won the World Series. The Dodgers know that feeling, for they won it last year in 2024.
Game 1 – Dodgers win 2-1
Game 2 – Dodgers win 5-1
Game 3 – Dodgers win 3-1
Game 4 – Dodgers win 5-1 – Dodgers win series 4-0
Brewers
Good Takeaway – Their bullpen may not have had their best time this series but lots of young talent in there and in their lineup show they can still be an elite team next year.
Work on… – The team had a .118 average over all 4 games which is a recipe of only losses. The Brewers struggled at the plate tremendously and everybody just went cold.
Dodgers
Good Takeaway – The Dodgers starters shutdown the brewers offense. Their combined ERA over the course of 4 games was 0.63 with 35 strikeouts over 28.2 innings. The starters and bullpen only let up 4 runs over 4 games, with only 1 in each game.
Next series – If the starters keep the same energy and focus, they will be hard to beat with their top 4 guys of Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. With Roki Sasaki coming out of the bullpen, he has been unstoppable.
World Series – 3 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. 1 Toronto Blue Jays
I interviewed Mr. Buckley, a teacher at Rochester High School, what his thoughts were on the World Series. The first game is on October 24th at 7:00 p.m. I asked him preview questions such as what his thoughts are on the matchup, predictions and viewership increases globally.
“It’s a very interesting matchup… I like a good Canadian versus an American World Series. I always think it’s interesting. Toronto has always been a good team and of course you have the Dodgers who are just a super team.”
It is known that the Dodgers have a super team considering there is no salary cap in the MLB. There is a luxury tax that is based on how much money you use for your players salaries. The Dodgers have loads of money considering they are in Los Angeles and they spend a lot of money on player salaries.
“Sadly I think the Dodgers are gonna win the World Series. I have believed they are gonna win the World Series last year, I believed they were gonna win the World Series the year before. I think they’re just the best team in baseball. Do I agree they are the best team in baseball… they probably shouldn’t be but I think this is because of how it is. I think they are going to win in 6… not 7… 6.”
A lot of people believe the Dodgers will win considering they have lots of good players and it is hard for people to accept they are World Series favorites once again.
I asked about viewership rates increasing in the United States, China and Japan and whether or not this will affect those rates and increase them even more.
“Absolutely, I mean you have an international country, you have Canada. You’re going to get more viewership in Canada, especially Toronto which is a very big media market. You are also going to have the Dodgers, they are such a global team. I mean you have Shohei Ohtani, uh you have all these global aspects, Yoshinobu Yamamoto for examples, or Roki Sasaki… uh its a world’s game now and the Dodgers are the world’s team… sadly.”
Now that we have caught up on all the info we need for the playoffs, we can now watch the World Series and have an idea of how the teams got there.