2024 Major League Baseball postseason

Tournament details
Dates	October 1 – 30, 2024
Teams	12
Final positions
Champions	Los Angeles Dodgers (8th title)
Runners-up	New York Yankees
Tournament statistics
MostHRs	Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) (7)
MostSBs	Jazz Chisholm Jr. (NYY) (6)
MostKs (as pitcher)	Carlos Rodón (NYY) (25)
Awards
MVP	Freddie Freeman (LAD)
← 2023 2025 →

The2024 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament ofMajor League Baseball (MLB) for the2024 season. In each of the two leagues—National andAmerican—the three division winners and three wild card teams (the remaining teams with the best records) participated in the postseason, for a total of twelve teams. First was the best-of-threeWild Card Series, with the two division winners with the best records getting a first-round bye. Next was the best-of-fiveDivision Series. The victors advanced to the best-of-sevenLeague Championship Series to determine thepennant winners, the champions of each league. These two teams played each other in the best-of-sevenWorld Series. The postseason began on October 1 and ended on October 30.^[1][2]

In the American League, theNew York Yankees returned to the postseason for the seventh time in the past eight seasons after missing the postseason last year. Joining them were theCleveland Guardians, who returned to the postseason for the seventh time in the past twelve seasons. Next up were theHouston Astros, who returned to the postseason for the eighth time in a row and the ninth in the past ten seasons. Also returning were theBaltimore Orioles, who made their second straight appearance. TheDetroit Tigers ended a decade of futility by returning to the postseason for the first time since2014, ending the longest current playoff drought in Major League Baseball, which was tied with theLos Angeles Angels.^[3] The last team to make the postseason on the American League side were theKansas City Royals, who clinched their first playoff berth since their2015 championship season. The defending World Series champions, theTexas Rangers, were eliminated from postseason contention on September 20.^[4]

In the National League, theMilwaukee Brewers clinched their sixth appearance in the past seven seasons. Joining them were theLos Angeles Dodgers, who returned to the postseason for the twelfth straight time. Next up were thePhiladelphia Phillies, who returned to the postseason for the third year in a row. Up next were theSan Diego Padres, who returned to the postseason for the third time in the past five seasons. The last two teams on the NL side were theNew York Mets, who returned to the postseason for the fourth time in the past ten seasons via a September 30th doubleheader against theAtlanta Braves, and the aforementioned Braves, who clinched their seventh straight appearance via the second game doubleheader against the Mets.

With the Mets and Braves clinching, theArizona Diamondbacks, the defending National League champions, were eliminated from postseason contention. This marked the first time since2007 where neither team from theprevious year's World Series appeared in the postseason.^[5][6] In the Division Series, every series was tied 1–1 in the first two games for the first time in the history of the MLB postseason.^[7] The Dodgers defeated the Yankees in five games in the2024 World Series. It was the Dodgers’ eighth championship in franchise history, tying theSan Francisco Giants for the fifth-most World Series championships.

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

1. New York Yankees – 94–68,AL East champions^[8][9][10]
2. Cleveland Guardians – 92–69,AL Central champions^[11][12][13]
3. Houston Astros – 88–73,AL West champions^[14][15]
4. Baltimore Orioles – 91–71^[16]
5. Kansas City Royals – 86–76 (7–6 head-to-head vs. DET)^[17]
6. Detroit Tigers – 86–76 (6–7 head-to-head vs. KC)^[18]

1. Los Angeles Dodgers – 98–64,NL West champions^{[19][20][21][22]}
2. Philadelphia Phillies – 95–67,NL East champions^{[23][24][25][26]}
3. Milwaukee Brewers – 93–69,NL Central champions^[27]
4. San Diego Padres – 93–69^[28]
5. Atlanta Braves – 89–73 (7–6 head-to-head vs. NYM)†^[6]
6. New York Mets – 89–73 (6–7 head-to-head vs. ATL)†^[6]

†Both the Atlanta Braves and the New York Mets had better head-to-head records with the 89–73Arizona Diamondbacks (5–2 and 4–3, respectively), negating the need for a three-way tie-breaking scenario.^[29]

Detroit won the series, 2–0.

The Tigers swept the Astros to return to the ALDS for the first time since2014, bringing an end to a streak of seven consecutive ALCS appearances for the Astros, which dated back to2017.

Tarik Skubal pitched six solid innings, and the Tigers’ bullpen got out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Tigers took Game 1. In Game 2, the Astros took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, but it was quickly erased by a four-run eighth inning by Detroit, which was capped off by a base-clearing double byAndy Ibáñez that put the Tigers back in the lead for good.

This was the first playoff series win by the Tigers since2013 and only the fourth postseason sweep in club history, having previously swept the ALCS in1984,2006, and2012.

The loss to the Tigers marked the end of the Astros’ streak of eight straight postseason appearances, which started in2017. The Astros’ eight-year streak was the second-longest in American League history behind only theNew York Yankees, who made thirteen straight appearances from1995 to2007, and is the fourth-longest streak in MLB history.^[32]

Kansas City won the series, 2–0.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Royals and Orioles. Their previous postseason meeting was in the ALCS in2014, which the Royals won in a four-game sweep before falling in the World Series. The Royals swept the Orioles to return to the ALDS for the first time since2015, thus the Orioles extended their playoff-game-losing-streak to a league record ten games.

Cole Ragans pitched six solid innings, and the Royals' bullpen held off the Orioles in three straight innings as the Royals took Game 1. In Game 2, the Royals took the lead in the top of the sixth inning whenBobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI single. The bullpen continued to hold down the Orioles as the Royals completed the two-game sweep. This was the first playoff series win by the Royals since the2015 World Series.

New York won the series, 2–1.

The Mets upset the Brewers in three games to advance to the NLDS for the first time since2015.

In Game 1, the Brewers took a 4–3 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Mets put up five unanswered runs in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI single fromJose Iglesias, and a pair of two-run singles fromMark Vientos andJ. D. Martinez, which gave them the win. In Game 2, the Mets led going into the bottom of the fifth, but the Brewers rallied to even the series thanks to two home runs fromJackson Chourio and a two-run home run fromGarrett Mitchell. Game 3 started as a pitchers' duel between both teams as neither team put up a run through six and a half innings, then the Brewers struck first in the bottom of the seventh as the Mets surrendered back-to-back home runs toJake Bauers andSal Frelick. However, things fell apart for Milwaukee in the ninth inning as Brewers' closerDevin Williams surrendered a three-run home run toPete Alonso, which put the Mets ahead for good as they would close out the series. Alonso's home run was the first go-ahead home run while trailing in the 9th inning or later in a winner-take-all game in postseason history.

This was the first playoff series win by the Mets since winning the National League pennant in2015.

San Diego won the series, 2–0.

This was the second postseason meeting between the Padres and Braves. They last met in the NLCS in1998, which the Padres won in six games before coming up short in the World Series. The Padres swept the Braves to return to the NLDS for the third time in five years.

Michael King pitched seven innings of shutout baseball as the Padres took Game 1 by a 4–0 score. In Game 2, the Padres jumped out to a 5–1 lead in the bottom of the second, andRobert Suárez shut down a late rally by the Braves in the top of the ninth to complete the sweep.

The loss to the Padres marked the end of the Braves’ seven-year postseason appearance streak, which began in2018. The Braves' seven-year streak was the longest by the franchise since their fourteen-year streak from1991 to2005 (excluding 1994, when the season was canceled due to a strike), and is the fifth longest streak in postseason history.^[40]

New York won the series, 3–1.

This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Yankees and Royals. The two teams had a bitter rivalry during the late 1970s and early 1980s,^[45] as both faced each other in the ALCS in1976,1977,1978, and1980, with the Yankees winning the former three and the Royals winning the latter series in a sweep. The Yankees once again defeated the Royals, this time in four games, to advance to the ALCS for the fourth time in eight years.

Game 1 was a slugfest between both teams as that game's five lead changes were the most ever in a postseason MLB game.^[46] The game went back-and-forth untilAlex Verdugo hit an RBI single to scoreJazz Chisholm Jr. in a 6–5 Yankees victory. Game 2 saw the Royals score four unanswered runs offCarlos Rodón and the bullpen held the Yankees to even the series, headed to Kansas City. In Game 3, both teams went neck-and-neck untilGiancarlo Stanton hit a go-ahead home run to give the Yankees the lead, andLuke Weaver closed the game with a five-out save, preserving a one-run lead as the Yankees took a 2–1 series lead. In Game 4,Gerrit Cole pitched seven solid innings while Weaver had another save as the Yankees won 3–1 and advanced to the ALCS.

With the win, the Yankees improved their postseason record against the Royals to 4–1.

Cleveland won the series, 3–2.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Tigers and Guardians. The Guardians narrowly defeated the Tigers in five games to return to the ALCS for the first time since2016.

Lane Thomas led the way for the Cleveland offense with a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning as the Guardians blew out the Tigers in Game 1. Game 2 was a pitchers' duel between both teams as the game remained scoreless through eight innings untilKerry Carpenter hit a three-run home run off ofEmmanuel Clase with two outs in the top of the ninth to even the series headed to Detroit. In Game 3, the Tigers prevailed by a 3–0 score yet again to take the series lead, asRiley Greene andSpencer Torkelson both had RBI doubles. However, their lead would not hold. In Game 4, the Tigers held a 3–2 lead going into the seventh, but it was quickly erased asDavid Fry hit a two-run home run to put the Guardians ahead for good and force a decisive fifth game back in Cleveland. In Game 5, the Tigers again jumped out in the lead as Carpenter scoredTrey Sweeney with an RBI single, but it wouldn't hold as Thomas hit a grand slam off of Tigers' aceTarik Skubal, which ultimately ended the series.

This was the Tigers' first loss in Game 5 of the ALDS. Previously, they had won their last three series-deciding games in2011,2012, and2013.

The ALDS Game 5 win for Cleveland ended an eight-game losing streak in winner-take-all postseason games dating back to the1997 World Series, when they were known as the Cleveland Indians.

Both teams would meet again in the Wild Card roundthe next year, in which the Tigers returned the favor and upset the Guardians in three games.

Los Angeles won the series, 3–2.

This was the third postseason meeting in the history of theDodgers–Padres rivalry. They previously met in the NLDS in2020 and2022, with Los Angeles sweeping the former and San Diego winning the latter in one of the biggest upsets in postseason history. The Dodgers defeated the Padres in five games to advance to the NLCS for the ninth time in sixteen years (2008,2009,2013,2016–2018,2020–2021, and 2024).

Game 1 was an offensive slugfest, which the Dodgers narrowly won. Game 2 was marred by controversy as Dodgers fans were throwing trash and baseballs at the Padres’ players during the bottom of the seventh inning, causing a ten-minute delay.^[57] This ignited the San Diego offense asJackson Merrill,Xander Bogaerts,Kyle Higashioka, andFernando Tatís Jr. all hit home runs in the top of the eighth and ninth innings respectively as the Padres blew out the Dodgers by a 10–2 score to even the series headed to San Diego. In Game 3, the Padres jumped out to a five-run lead early, and despite the Dodgers’ rallying to cut their lead to one,Robert Suárez and the Padres’ bullpen kept the Dodgers’ offense at bay to take the series lead. However, it would not hold. In Game 4,Mookie Betts,Will Smith, andGavin Lux all homered as the Dodgers blew out the Padres to force a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Los Angeles. In the first MLB postseason game between two Japanese-born starting pitchers,Yoshinobu Yamamoto outdueledYu Darvish as the Dodgers again shut out the Padres by a 2–0 score to win the series and advance.

New York won the series, 3–1.

This was the first postseason meeting in the history of theMets–Phillies rivalry. The Mets defeated the Phillies in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since2015.

In Game 1, the Phillies took a 1–0 lead off a home run fromKyle Schwarber and held that lead until the eighth inning, when the Mets put up five runs to take the lead for good and win. Game 2 was an offensive shootout between both teams - the Mets led for most of the game asMark Vientos,Pete Alonso, andBrandon Nimmo all hit home runs to put them ahead 4–3 going into the eighth. However,Bryson Stott hit a two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth andJ.T. Realmuto hit into a Fielder's Choice to make it 6–4 going into the ninth. In the top of the ninth inning,Mark Vientos would belt a two-run home run to tie the game, only for the Phillies to walk the Mets off 7–6 with aNick Castellanos liner to left field to plate Trea Turner, which evened the series headed to Queens. In Game 3, the Mets blew out the Phillies to retake the series lead. In Game 4, the Phillies again jumped out to a 1–0 lead in the fourth inning, but it was quickly erased by a grand slam fromFrancisco Lindor in the bottom of the sixth, putting the Mets ahead for good and allowing them to advance to the NLCS.

New York won the series, 4–1.

This was the first ALCS since2016 to not feature theHouston Astros, who previously made seven consecutive appearances from2017 to2023. It was also the first time since2000 that both teams fromNew York City appeared in the LCS, and the third time in postseason history that it has occurred (1999, 2000, 2024).

This was the seventh postseason meeting between the Yankees and Guardians, and their first meeting in the ALCS since1998, which was won by the Yankees in six games en route to the first of three straight World Series championships from1998 to2000. The Yankees once again defeated the Guardians, this time in five games, to return to the World Series for the first time since2009 (in the process denying a rematch of the1920 World Series between the Indians/Guardians and Dodgers).

Carlos Rodón pitched six solid innings as the Yankees took Game 1 by three runs.Aaron Judge secured a Yankees victory in Game 2 with a two-run home run as they went up 2–0 in the series, headed to Cleveland. Game 3 turned out to be an offensive showdown between both teams - Judge andGiancarlo Stanton hit back-to-back home runs off Guardians closerEmmanuel Clase to put the Yankees ahead, thenGleyber Torres hit a sacrifice fly to put the Yankees up by two. However,Jhonkensy Noel then hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth while down to the last out to tie the game and send it into extra innings.David Fry then won the game for the Guardians with a two-run home run in the bottom of the tenth to cut the series lead in half. Game 4 was yet another offensive slugfest, which the Yankees would win 8–6 thanks to home runs from Stanton,Juan Soto, andAustin Wells. In Game 5, the Guardians took an early lead, but Stanton again hit a two-run home run to tie the game and send it into extras, where Soto clinched the pennant for the Yankees with a three-run home run in the top of the tenth.

The Yankees’ fifteen-year drought between pennants was tied for the longest drought by the franchise, as they previously went fifteen years without winning a pennant between1981 and1996.

Los Angeles won the series, 4–2.

This was the first time since2000 that both teams fromNew York City appeared in the LCS, and the third time in postseason history that it has occurred (1999, 2000, 2024).

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Mets, and their first meeting in the NLCS since1988, which was won by the Dodgers in seven games en route to a World Series title. The Dodgers defeated the Mets in six games to return to the World Series for the fourth time in eight years (in the process denying a rematch of the2000 World Series between the Mets and Yankees).

Jack Flaherty pitched seven innings of shutout baseball as the Dodgers blew out the Mets in Game 1. A solo home run fromFrancisco Lindor, an RBI double fromTyrone Taylor, and a grand slam fromMark Vientos would secure Game 2 for the Mets as they evened the series, headed to Queens. However, things quickly got ugly for the Mets as the Dodgers’ offense overpowered the Mets’ pitching in back-to-back blowout wins in Games 3 and 4. The Mets sent the series back to Los Angeles with a blowout victory of their own in Game 5, and became the first team since the2002 Anaheim Angels to not strike out in a postseason game.^[73] However, the Dodgers would ultimately clinch the pennant back home as they blew out the Mets for the fourth time in the series in Game 6.

The Dodgers would win the pennant againthe next year over theMilwaukee Brewers in a sweep en route to repeating as World Series champions.

With the win by the Dodgers, the postseason history between these two teams is tied at two wins each.

Los Angeles won the series, 4–1.

This was the fifth World Series to feature both top seeds from the American and National leagues in the wild card era (1995,1999,2013,2020).

This was the twelfth World Series meeting in the history of theDodgers–Yankees rivalry and the eighthNew York–California matchup in the World Series (1962,1963,1973,1977,1978,1981,1998).^{[79][80][81][82]} This was the ninth meeting between teams fromNew York City andLos Angeles for amajor professional sports championship, which previously occurred in four World Series (1963,1977,1978, 1981), threeNBA Finals (1970,1972, and1973), and the2014 Stanley Cup Final.^[83] The Yankees and Dodgers last met in the Fall Classic in 1981, which the Dodgers won in six games. The Dodgers once again defeated the Yankees, this time in five games, to win their second title in five years and eighth overall.

Game 1 was a back-and-forth contest between both teams that went into extras thanks toMookie Betts tying the game with a sacrifice fly. The Yankees regained the lead in the top of the tenth with an RBI force-out fromAnthony Volpe, and were one out away from winning, but the Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, which led to a walk-off grand slam byFreddie Freeman. Freeman’s walk-off grand slam was the first in World Series history, and was widely compared toKirk Gibson’s walk-off home run from Game 1 of the1988 World Series, as both Gibson's and Freeman's home runs were to right field at Dodger Stadium in almost the same spot and both came at 8:37 PM Pacific Time.^[84][85][86]Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched six solid innings and the Dodgers’ bullpen stopped a potential rally by the Yankees as they won Game 2 to take a 2–0 series lead headed to the Bronx. In the first World Series game at Yankee Stadium in 15 years, the Dodgers prevailed to take a commanding three games to none series lead as Freeman hit his fifth home run of the series. In Game 4, despite Freeman setting a new World Series record of six home runs, the Yankees blew out the Dodgers to get on the board in the series as Volpe,Austin Wells,Gleyber Torres all hit home runs. In Game 5,Aaron Judge got out of his postseason dry spell as he hit his first home run of the World Series, which contributed to a 5–0 Yankee lead early. However, the Yankees committed multiple errors in the top of the fifth, as Betts hit an RBI single due to missed coverage at first base, then Freeman hit a two-run RBI single, followed by a two-run double fromTeoscar Hernández, which tied the game. The Yankees regained the lead thanks to a sacrifice fly from Stanton in the bottom of the sixth, but it wouldn’t hold. In the top of the eighth,Gavin Lux hit a sacrifice fly to the game for the Dodgers, thenShohei Ohtani loaded the bases due to a catcher’s interference penalty against the Yankees, which led to yet another sacrifice fly by Betts that put the Dodgers in the lead for good.Walker Buehler then came on in relief on one day of rest and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to give the Dodgers the championship. The Dodgers’ comeback from five runs down was the largest deficit a team had come back from to win a World Series.

The Dodgers became the first visiting team to win the World Series atYankee Stadium since theFlorida Marlins in2003. They also became the first team to beat both teams fromNew York City in the postseason, as they previously beat theMets in theNLCS. The only previous team to have played both the Yankees and the Mets in the same postseason, the1999 Atlanta Braves, defeated the Mets in the NLCS but lost theWorld Series to the Yankees. The Dodgers would return to the World Seriesthe next year, and narrowly defeated theToronto Blue Jays in seven games after being two outs away from elimination in Game 7.

With the loss, the Yankees’ record against the California-based teams in the World Series fell to 4–3 all-time.

Coverage of the four Wild Card Series was produced byESPN, with ESPN airing five games, ESPN2, andABC aired two games each.

Both theAmerican League Division Series andAmerican League Championship Series were aired byTNT Sports onTBS andTruTV. One ALDS game aired instead onTNT.

Fox Sports had coverage of both theNational League Division Series and theNational League Championship Series on Fox and FS1. TheWorld Series was broadcast exclusively on Fox for the 25th consecutive year.

Spanish language broadcasts were available onESPN Deportes for ESPN/ABC games,Fox Deportes for Fox Sports games, andUniMás for TNT Sports games. Univision and TUDN also aired Game 1 of the World Series; the first time a World Series game was aired on broadcast television in Spanish.^[87][88]

TNT Sports's games are available on the streaming serviceMax'sBleacher Report Sports Add-on tier. ESPN, TBS, and Fox's games are streamed on their respective apps.

ESPN Radio aired the entire Major League Baseball postseason.^[89]

All timesEastern.

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