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2023 Major League Baseball postseason

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2023 Major League Baseball postseason
File:2023 MLB Postseason logo.png
Tournament details
DatesOctober 3 – November 4, 2023[a]
Teams12
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The 2023 Major League Baseball postseason is the current playoff tournament of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2023 season. The winners of the Wild Card Series face the two best division winners (seeds) in each league in the Division Series, and the victors will advance to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners who will play each other in the World Series. The postseason began on October 3.[1][2]

In the American League, the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers returned to the postseason for the first time since 2016. The Houston Astros made their seventh straight postseason appearance and the eighth in the past nine seasons, marking the first time since 2015 that both Texas teams made the postseason. The Minnesota Twins made their fourth postseason appearance in the past seven seasons. The Toronto Blue Jays returned to the postseason for the third time in the past four seasons, and the Tampa Bay Rays returned for the fifth consecutive season.

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their eleventh straight postseason berth, which is currently the longest active streak in the majors and in professional sports. The Atlanta Braves clinched the best record in the majors and made their sixth straight postseason appearance. The Milwaukee Brewers returned to the postseason for the fifth time in the past six seasons. The Miami Marlins returned to the postseason for the second time in the past four seasons. The Philadelphia Phillies made their second straight postseason appearance, and the Arizona Diamondbacks returned for the first time since 2017.

Teams

The three division winners in each league and the top three non-division winners in each league will qualify for the playoffs. The top two division winners receive byes to the American League Division Series (ALDS) or National League Division Series (NLDS) while the other teams who qualify for the playoffs play in the wild card series.

American League

  1. Baltimore Orioles – AL East champions, AL best record 101–61[3][4]
  2. Houston Astros – AL West champions, 90–72 (9–4 head-to-head vs. TEX)[5][6]
  3. Minnesota Twins – AL Central champions, 87–75[7][8][9]
  4. Tampa Bay Rays – 99–63[10][4]
  5. Texas Rangers – 90–72 (4–9 head-to-head vs. HOU)[11][12]
  6. Toronto Blue Jays – 89–73[13]

National League

  1. Atlanta Braves – NL East champions, NL best record, MLB best record, 104–58[14][15][16][17][18][19]
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers – NL West champions, 100–62[20][21][22][17]
  3. Milwaukee Brewers – NL Central champions, 92–70[23][24][25]
  4. Philadelphia Phillies – 90–72[26]
  5. Miami Marlins – 84–78 (4–2 head-to-head vs. ARI)[27]
  6. Arizona Diamondbacks – 84–78 (2–4 head-to-head vs. MIA)[28]

Playoff bracket

Wild Card Series
(ALWCS, NLWCS) 		Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS) 		Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
1 Baltimore 0
4 Tampa Bay 0 5 Texas 3
5 Texas 2 American League5 Texas
 
2 Houston 2
3 Minnesota 2 3 Minnesota 1
6 Toronto 0 AL  
NL  
1 Atlanta 1
4 Philadelphia 2 4 Philadelphia 2
5 Miami 0 National League 
 
2 LA Dodgers 0
3 Milwaukee 0 6 Arizona 2
6 Arizona 2

American League Wild Card Series

Main article: 2023 American League Wild Card Series

Note: All times Eastern Daylight Time

(3) Minnesota Twins vs. (6) Toronto Blue Jays

Minnesota won the series, 2–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 3 Toronto Blue Jays – 1, Minnesota Twins – 3 Target Field 2:40 38,450[29] 
2 October 4 Toronto Blue Jays – 0, Minnesota Twins – 2 Target Field 2:51 38,518[30]

This was the second postseason meeting between the Blue Jays and Twins. They last met in the 1991 ALCS, which was won by the Twins en-route to a World Series title.[31]

The Twins ended 21 years of futility, sweeping the Blue Jays to win their first playoff series since 2002. It also marked the end of their long streak of playoff game losses, which stood at 18 consecutive losses, the longest in North American sports history.[32]

(4) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (5) Texas Rangers

Texas won the series, 2–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 3 Texas Rangers – 4, Tampa Bay Rays – 0 Tropicana Field 2:41 19,704[33] 
2 October 4 Texas Rangers – 7, Tampa Bay Rays – 1 Tropicana Field 2:39 20,198[34]

This was the third postseason meeting between the Rays and Rangers. The previous two meetings (2010 and 2011) were won by the Rangers.[35]

The Rangers swept the Rays to advance to the ALDS for the first time since 2016. The Rangers held the Rays to one run scored in the series. With the win, the Rangers improved their postseason record against the Rays to 3–0.[citation needed]

National League Wild Card Series

Main article: 2023 National League Wild Card Series

Note: All times Eastern Daylight Time

(3) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (6) Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona won the series, 2–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 3 Arizona Diamondbacks – 6, Milwaukee Brewers – 3 American Family Field 3:36 40,892[36] 
2 October 4 Arizona Diamondbacks – 5, Milwaukee Brewers – 2 American Family Field 2:58 41,166[37]

This was the second postseason meeting between the Brewers and Diamondbacks. They previously met in the 2011 NLDS, which was won by the Brewers in five games. The Diamondbacks upset the Brewers in a sweep, returning to the NLDS for the first time since 2017.[38]

(4) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (5) Miami Marlins

Philadelphia won the series, 2–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 3 Miami Marlins – 1, Philadelphia Phillies – 4 Citizens Bank Park 2:46 45,662[39] 
2 October 4 Miami Marlins – 1, Philadelphia Phillies – 7 Citizens Bank Park 2:36 45,738[40]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Marlins and Phillies. The Phillies swept the Marlins to advance to the NLDS for the second year in a row. The Phillies’ pitching staff held the Marlins’ offense to one run scored in both games.

American League Division Series

Main article: 2023 American League Division Series

Note: All times Eastern Daylight Time

(1) Baltimore Orioles vs. (5) Texas Rangers

Texas won the series, 3–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 7 Texas Rangers – 3, Baltimore Orioles – 2 Oriole Park at Camden Yards 3:09 (1:12 delay) 46,450[41] 
2 October 8 Texas Rangers – 11, Baltimore Orioles – 8 Oriole Park at Camden Yards 3:45 46,475[42] 
3 October 10 Baltimore Orioles – 1, Texas Rangers – 7 Globe Life Field 2:48 40,861[43]

This is the second postseason meeting between the Orioles and Rangers. They last met in the 2012 AL Wild Card Game, which was won by the Orioles. The Rangers upset the heavily-favored Orioles in a sweep, returning to the ALCS for the first time since 2011.

The Rangers held off a late push by the Orioles to take Game 1 on the road, capped off by Josh Jung's solo home run in the top of the sixth. Game 2 was an offensive slugfest which the Rangers won 11–8, in part thanks to a third-inning grand slam hit by Mitch Garver. Nathan Eovaldi pitched seven solid innings in Game 3 as the Rangers blew out the Orioles by a 7–1 score to complete the sweep.

(2) Houston Astros vs. (3) Minnesota Twins

Houston leads the series, 2–1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 7 Minnesota Twins – 4, Houston Astros – 6 Minute Maid Park 2:58 43,024[44] 
2 October 8 Minnesota Twins – 6, Houston Astros – 2 Minute Maid Park 3:09 43,017[45] 
3 October 10 Houston Astros – 9, Minnesota Twins – 1 Target Field 3:10 41,017[46] 
4 October 11 Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins Target Field 7:07 p.m. - 
5 October 13† Minnesota Twins at Houston Astros Minute Maid Park 8:03 p.m. -

† If necessary

This is the second postseason meeting between the Astros and Twins. They last met in the 2020 AL Wild Card Series, which was won by the Astros in a two-game sweep.

National League Division Series

Main article: 2023 National League Division Series

Note: All times Eastern Daylight Time

(1) Atlanta Braves vs. (4) Philadelphia Phillies

Series tied, 1–1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 7 Philadelphia Phillies – 3, Atlanta Braves – 0 Truist Park 3:03 43,689[47] 
2 October 9 Philadelphia Phillies – 4, Atlanta Braves – 5 Truist Park 3:08 43,898[48] 
3 October 11 Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park 5:07 p.m. - 
4 October 12 Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies Citizens Bank Park 6:07 p.m. - 
5 October 14† Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves Truist Park 6:07 p.m. -

† If necessary

This is the third postseason meeting between the Braves and the Phillies. They previously met in the 1993 NLCS and 2022 NLDS, both of which were won by the Phillies. This series is a rematch of last year's NLDS, which the Phillies won in four games.

(2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (6) Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona leads the series, 2–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 7 Arizona Diamondbacks – 11, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 Dodger Stadium 3:04 51,653[49] 
2 October 9 Arizona Diamondbacks – 4, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 Dodger Stadium 3:11 51,449[50] 
3 October 11 Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks Chase Field 9:07 p.m. - 
4 October 12† Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks Chase Field 9:07 p.m. - 
5 October 14† Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers Dodger Stadium 9:20 p.m. -

† If necessary

This is the second postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Diamondbacks. They previously met in the 2017 NLDS, which was won by the Dodgers in a sweep.

American League Championship Series

Main article: 2023 American League Championship Series

(?) TBD vs. (5) Texas Rangers

Series tied, 0–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 15 Texas Rangers at TBD Minute Maid Park or Target Field - - 
2 October 16 Texas Rangers at TBD Minute Maid Park or Target Field - - 
3 October 18 TBD at Texas Rangers Globe Life Field - - 
4 October 19 TBD at Texas Rangers Globe Life Field - - 
5 October 20† TBD at Texas Rangers Globe Life Field - - 
6 October 22† Texas Rangers at TBD Minute Maid Park or Target Field - - 
7 October 23† Texas Rangers at TBD Minute Maid Park or Target Field - -

† If necessary

National League Championship Series

Main article: 2023 National League Championship Series

(?) TBD vs. (?) TBD

Series tied, 0–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 16 TBD at TBD TBD - - 
2 October 17 TBD at TBD TBD - - 
3 October 19 TBD at TBD TBD - - 
4 October 20 TBD at TBD TBD - - 
5 October 21† TBD at TBD TBD - - 
6 October 23† TBD at TBD TBD - - 
7 October 24† TBD at TBD TBD - -

† If necessary

Broadcasting

Television coverage

Coverage of the four Wild Card Series was produced by ESPN, with two series airing on ESPN and one series each on ABC and ESPN2.[51] Both the National League Division Series and the National League Championship Series will be on TBS[52] TruTV simulcast all games in the NLDS and will air a Hispanic focused alternative telecast of the NLCS called Peloteros.[52][53] Fox Sports will have coverage of the American League Division Series and American League Championship Series, primarily on FS1 with selected games on the Fox broadcast network. The World Series will then air on the Fox broadcast network for the 24th consecutive year.[54]

Spanish language broadcasts will be available on ESPN Deportes for ESPN's games, Fox Deportes for Fox Sports' games, and MLB Network for TBS' games.[51][52][54]

Streaming

TBS' games will be available on the streaming service Max's new Bleacher Report Sports Add-on tier which launched on October 5.[55] ESPN, TBS and Fox's games are streamed on their respective apps.[51][54]

Radio

ESPN Radio airs the entire Major League Baseball postseason.[56]

Most watched playoff games

Rank Round Date Game Away team Score Home team Network Viewers (millions) TV rating
1

Sources:

Notes

  1. ^ World Series Game 7, if necessary, will be played November 4; the soonest the postseason could end is October 31, the date of a World Series Game 4.

References

  1. ^ "MLB announces 2023 Postseason schedule". MLB.com. August 8, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Gardner, Steve (August 8, 2023). "MLB unveils 2023 postseason schedule, World Series begins Oct. 27". USA Today. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Rill, Jake (September 17, 2023). "Playoff berth secured, O's celebrate: 'The philosophy paid off'". MLB.com. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Rill, Jake. "O's clinch first AL East crown since 2014 with win No. 100". MLB.com.
  5. ^ McTaggart, Brian. "After clinching playoffs for 7th straight year, Astros eye AL West title". MLB.com. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  6. ^ McTaggart, Brian (October 1, 2023). "Astros seize AL West title with win in Game 162". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  7. ^ Do-Hyoung, Park. "Twins clinch AL Central, eye long-awaited postseason win". MLB.com.
  8. ^ Silverman, Steve. "Twins: Nightmare seeding scenario, matchup for 2023 MLB playoffs". ClutchPoints.com.
  9. ^ Miller, Phil. "Twins lose regular season home finale to A's, will be No. 3 seed in American League". Star Tribune. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  10. ^ Berry, Adam. "Clinched! Rays punch ticket to 5th straight postseason". MLB.com.
  11. ^ Landry, Kennedi. "Rangers make 1st postseason since 2016: 'It feels so sweet'". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  12. ^ Landry, Kennedi. "Rangers head to postseason as 2nd AL Wild Card team". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  13. ^ Matheson, Keegan. "After late help, Blue Jays clinch Wild Card berth". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  14. ^ Bowman, Mark. "Acuña's big hit secures Braves postseason berth". MLB.com.
  15. ^ Bowman, Mark. "Juggernaut Braves win 6th straight NL East title: 'The job is not done'". MLB.com.
  16. ^ Bowman, Mark. "Braves clinch first-round bye as they consider Wright's role". MLB.com.
  17. ^ a b Bowman, Mark. "Acuña secures MLB's 1st 40–70 season as Braves nab NL's top seed". MLB.com.
  18. ^ Burns, Gabriel. "Braves clinch homefield advantage throughout postseason after sweeping Cubs". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. ISSN 1539-7459. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  19. ^ Bowman, Mark. "Olson sets Braves' RBI mark as Atlanta clinches MLB's best record". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Calabrese, Joe (September 16, 2023). "Dodgers clinch 2023 NL West title with 6–2 extra-inning win against Mariners". Fox 11. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  21. ^ Miller, Doug. "Dodgers' division dynasty lives on with 10th NL West title in 11 years". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  22. ^ Wexler, Sarah. "Kershaw passes Drysdale for 2nd place in franchise wins". MLB.com.
  23. ^ Rose, Derrick (September 22, 2023). "Brewers clinch playoff spot with dominant win over Miami". ABC 12 WISN. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  24. ^ McCalvy, Adam. "Brewers clinch playoff spot with Tellez(!) on mound". MLB.com. Retrieved September 30, 2023.
  25. ^ McCalvy, Adam. "'We got it done: Crew's clinch of NL Central a crazy affair". MLB.com.
  26. ^ Zolecki, Todd. "Phillies dancing on their own after walk-off clinch". MLB.com.
  27. ^ "Marlins' clincher capped 'an awesome run' to postseason". MLB.com.
  28. ^ Gilbert, Steve. "D-backs seal 1st trip to postseason since 2017". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
  29. ^ "Blue Jays 1, Twins 3 Final Score". MLB.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  30. ^ "Blue Jays 0, Twins 2 Final Score". MLB.com. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  31. ^ Hubbard, Grant (October 2, 2023). "Twins to face Blue Jays in the AL wild card series". WDAY Radio. The Twins and Blue Jays last postseason meeting was in 1991 when they met in the ALCS, the Twins won the series in five games and went on to win the World Series that year.
  32. ^ "Twins stop record 18-game postseason skid on strength of Royce Lewis home runs". ESPN. October 4, 2023. The bigger celebration occurred a few hours later when Jhoan Duran pitched a hitless ninth to close the first victory for the Twins in the playoffs since Oct. 5, 2004, and vanquish the longest postseason skid by number of games in major North American professional sports.
  33. ^ "Rangers 4, Rays 0 Final Score". MLB.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  34. ^ "Rangers 7, Rays 1 Final Score". MLB.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  35. ^ Rosa, Francisco (October 1, 2023). "AL Wild Card 2023: Rangers vs. Rays Hot Takes from MLB Twitter". Bleacher Report. The Rangers and Rays have a bit of postseason history, with the two teams meeting up back in both 2010 and 2011. Texas came out on top in both series
  36. ^ "D-backs 6, Brewers 3 Final Score". MLB.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  37. ^ "D-backs 5, Brewers 2 Final Score". MLB.com. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  38. ^ "Diamondbacks erase early deficit again and beat Brewers 5-2 to sweep NL Wild Card Series". ESPN. October 4, 2023. It's the first NL Division Series for the franchise since 2017.
  39. ^ "Marlins 1, Phillies 4 Final Score". MLB.com. October 3, 2023. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  40. ^ "Marlins 1, Phillies 7 Final Score". MLB.com. October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
  41. ^ "Rangers 3, Orioles 2 Final Score". MLB.com. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  42. ^ "Rangers 11, Orioles 5 Final Score". MLB.com. October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  43. ^ "Orioles 1, Rangers 7 Final Score". MLB.com. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  44. ^ "Twins 4, Astros 6 Final Score". MLB.com. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  45. ^ "Twins 6, Astros 2 Final Score". MLB.com. October 8, 2023. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  46. ^ "Astros 9, Twins 1 Final Score". MLB.com. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
  47. ^ "Phillies 3, Braves 0 Final Score". MLB.com. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  48. ^ "Phillies 4, Braves 5 Final Score". MLB.com. October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  49. ^ "Diamondbacks 11, Dodgers 2 Final Score". MLB.com. October 7, 2023. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  50. ^ "Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 2 Final Score". MLB.com. October 9, 2023. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  51. ^ a b c "2023 MLB Wild Card Series Exclusively on ESPN Platforms". ESPN Press Room (Press release). October 2, 2023.
  52. ^ a b c "MLB on TBS to Be Exclusive Home of 2023 NLDS & NLCS". Warner Bros. Discovery (Press release). October 5, 2023.
  53. ^ Steinberg, Brian (October 11, 2023). "Warner Bros. Discovery Plans Post-Season 'Peloteros' Baseball Broadcasts With Focus on Hispanic Audiences". Variety.
  54. ^ a b c "FOX Sports Sets Postseason Lineup Led by Hall of Famers, World Champions and Lauded Broadcasters". Fox Sports (Press release). October 6, 2023.
  55. ^ "Max will start offering a live sports tier in October". The Verge. September 19, 2023. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
  56. ^ Bucholtz, Andrew (October 17, 2022). "Jon Sciambi will take over ESPN Radio World Series calls next year". Awful Announcing. Retrieved October 19, 2022.
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