The 2019 MLB season ended pretty much as everyone had predicted: the home run record was shattered, the Braves won the NL east, the Dodgers won the NL west, the Yankees took the AL east, and the Astros won the AL west.  The Twins and Cardinals shocked everyone and took the AL central and the NL central.

The Postseason started on October 1st with the winner take all to advance National League Wild Card Game in our nation’s capitol between the Washington Nationals and the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brewers cruised to an early 3-0 start, but the Nationals crawled back from the dead in the bottom of the 8th inning. With 2 outs and the bases loaded for 20 year old Juan Soto, he lined a fastball into right field. The ball got past the Brewers outfielder, Trent Grisham, allowing all 3 runs to score as Washington took a 4-3 lead.  Josh Sims, a James Blair 8th grader who attended the game, said, “That was the loudest game I’ve been to.  Everyone was into the game and was screaming.  It was awesome.”

The next day the American League Wild Card game took place in the Oakland Colosseum between the Oakland Athletics and the Tampa Bay Rays.  This game wasn’t even close, as Tampa put on a show, with a 5-1 victory over Oakland.  The Rays advanced to play against the loaded, Houston Astros.

The NLDS kicked off on the 3rd of October, with a match up in Atlanta between the NL Central champion St. Louis Cardinal and the NL East champion Atlanta Braves,.  The Braves held a 3-1 lead going into the top of the 8th, but the Cardinals rallied to take a demanding lead of 7-3.  Atlanta hit 2 homers in the bottom of the 9th, but fell just short, losing 7-6.  Game 2 was a pitching dual between St Louis’ Jack Flaherty and Atlanta’s Mike Foltynewicz. A two run 7th inning closed out a Atlanta win which tied up the series as it shifted to St. Louis.  Game 3 in St Louis was a thriller, as the Cardinals held a 1-0 lead going into the 9th. Multiple clutch hits by the Braves won them the game 3-1, giving them a series lead.  Game 4 went into extra innings tied 4-4. St. Louis’ Yadier Molina hit a deep pop out into left field, allowing the winning run to score and keeping the Cardinals’ hopes alive for another game.  In game 5, the Cardinals scored 10 runs in the 1st inning to propel them to a 13-1 victory.  This was the 5th time in the past decade that St. Louis would play in the NLCS.

On the other side of the NL, the Nationals played the Los Angeles Dodgers in Hollywood.  Game 1 was an all out assault as the Dodgers fired their way to an easy 6-0 victory.  The Nationals rebounded the following game with a 4-2 win.  The series shifted to DC for game 3, the Nationals took an early 2-1 lead, only to have LA fire off 7 runs in the 6th inning, propelling them to a 10-4 win.  The Nationals faced elimination in game 4, but with their ace Max Scherzer pitching, they forced a game 5 in LA with a 6-1 win.  In game 5, the dodgers took an early 3-0 lead.  In the 8th inning, the Dodgers put in ace pitcher Clayton Kershaw.  The Nationals came back to tie it at 3, and then in the 10th inning, a grand slam by Howie Kendrick gave the Nats a 4 run lead that they would hold onto.  This was Washington’s first playoff series win in franchise history.

In the American League, the Minnesota Twins took on the New York Yankees in the Bronx.  Game 1 was back and forth until a 3 run by the Yankees in the 7th put the game out of reach.  The following night wasn’t even close, as the Yankees put on a display of their power and won 8-2.  The series shifted to Minneapolis, but again the Bronx Bombers prevailed 5-1 , sweeping the Twins and punching their ticket to the ALCS.  The Twins had lost their 16th straight playoff game in a row, and had been eliminated by the Yankees for the 6th time out of their last 7 postseason appearances.

Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Rays faced the Houston Astros in Houston.  The Astros’ power and pitching proved to be too much for Tampa as Houston took the first game 6-2.  In game 2, the star-studded Astros roster was still too much for the Rays to handle, as Houston won 3-1.  Facing elimination on their home turf, the Rays began another hit parade to win the third game 10-3.  The following day, the Rays’ bats stayed hot as they shelled Houston’s ace Justin Verlander  4-1 to force a game 5 back in Houston.  In game 5, Houston pitcher Gerrit Cole pitched a incredible game as  the Astros won 6-1 and advanced to their 3rd straight ALCS.

The NLCS kicked off on the October 11 in St. Louis between the Cardinals and the Nationals.  Nats pitcher Anibal Sanchez pitched a no-hitter into the 8th inning as the Nats took game 1.  The following night, Washington again won with a score of 3-1 as the series shifted back to DC.  Caden James, a Cardinals fan, had much to say about his teams chances. “There’s still a lot of games left, we still have a chance.”  In game 3, the Nationals shelled the Cards, again, 8-1 to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.  In game 4, the Nationals scored 7 runs in the 1st.  They swept the Cardinals to go to their first world series in franchise history and a Washington baseball team’s first world series since 1933.

Meanwhile in the ALCS, the Yankees traveled to Houston to face the Astros.  The Yankees shelled Houston in game 1 with a score of 7-0.  In game 2, the Astros pushed the game to the 11th inning when Houston shortstop Carlos Correa walked off and tied the series at one as it headed to the Bronx.  In game 3, Gerrit Cole pitched another great game as the Astros won 4-1 and took a 2-1 series lead.  In game 4, the Astros won 8-3 to take a 3-1 lead.