2022 Major League Baseball postseason
| File:2022MLBPostseasonLogo.png | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Dates | October 7 – November 5[a] |
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | Atlanta Braves |
The 2022 Major League Baseball postseason is the current postseason tournament of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2022 season. This will be the first edition of the postseason since 2012 to have a new format, as it has been expanded to include six teams per league. The top two seeds of the American and National leagues will receive first-round byes into the Division Series (DS) and the other two division winners will be the third seed in their respective league. The three Wild Card teams will be the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds. The third seed will host the sixth seed in a best-of-three Wild Card series, and the fourth seed will do the same with the fifth seed.[1] The postseason started on Friday, October 7, two days after the end of the regular season.[2]
The winners of the Wild Card series then face the top two seeds from each league in the best-of-five Division Series (i.e. the one seed will face the fourth/fifth seed winner and the two seed will face the third/sixth seed winner). The winners of the DS will then move on to the best-of-seven League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that will face each other in the World Series.[1]
In the American League, the Houston Astros were the first team to clinch a postseason spot, with this being their seventh appearance in the last eight seasons. The New York Yankees clinched their seventh postseason berth in the past eight years, while the now-Cleveland Guardians clinched their fifth postseason berth in the past seven seasons. The Toronto Blue Jays also returned, as they clinched their second postseason appearance in the past three years. The Tampa Bay Rays returned for the fourth year in a row, and the Seattle Mariners ended two decades of futility by clinching their first postseason berth since 2001, ending what was the longest active postseason drought in the American League and all of the four major North American sports leagues.
In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to clinch a postseason spot in the MLB overall, marking their tenth straight appearance. The Dodgers became the first team to make ten consecutive postseason appearances since the Yankees did so from 1998 to 2007. On September 19, the New York Mets clinched their third postseason berth in the past eight years and first overall since 2016, marking the first time since 2015 that both New York City teams appeared in the postseason. The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth straight postseason berth on September 20. The St. Louis Cardinals clinched the NL Central title on September 27, which was their first division title since 2019 and their fourth consecutive postseason appearance. The San Diego Padres clinched their second postseason berth in the past three years on October 2. On October 3, the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011, ending what was also the longest active postseason drought in the National League.
The 2022 postseason began on October 7.
Playoff seeds
Major League Baseball tie-breaking procedures were revised this season to use head-to-head records to break any ties at the end of the regular season, instead of playing tiebreaker games.[3]
The following teams qualified for the postseason:
American League
- Houston Astros – 106–56, Clinched AL West[4]
- New York Yankees – 99–63, Clinched AL East[5]
- Cleveland Guardians – 92–70, Clinched AL Central[6]
- Toronto Blue Jays – 92–70[7]
- Seattle Mariners – 90–72[8]
- Tampa Bay Rays – 86–76[9]
National League
- Los Angeles Dodgers† – 111–51, Clinched NL West[10]
- Atlanta Braves – 101–61, Clinched NL East[11]
- St. Louis Cardinals – 93–69, Clinched NL Central[12]
- New York Mets – 101–61[13]
- San Diego Padres – 89–73[14]
- Philadelphia Phillies – 87–75[15]
†: Clinched best record in Major League Baseball and home field advantage
Playoff bracket
| Wild Card Series (ALWCS, NLWCS) | Division Series (ALDS, NLDS) | League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS) | World Series | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Houston | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Toronto | 0 | 5 | Seattle | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Seattle | 2 | American League | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | NY Yankees | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Cleveland | 2 | 3 | Cleveland | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Tampa Bay | 0 | AL | ||||||||||||||||
| NL | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | LA Dodgers | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | NY Mets | 1 | 5 | San Diego | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | San Diego | 2 | National League | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Atlanta | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | St. Louis | 0 | 6 | Philadelphia | |||||||||||||||
| 6 | Philadelphia | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
American League Wild Card Series
(3) Cleveland Guardians vs. (6) Tampa Bay Rays
Cleveland won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 7 | Tampa Bay Rays – 1, Cleveland Guardians – 2 | Progressive Field | 2:17 | 30,741 |
| 2 | October 8 | Tampa Bay Rays – 0, Cleveland Guardians – 1 (15) | Progressive Field | 4:57 | 34,971 |
This was the second postseason meeting between the Rays and Guardians. The only other meeting was in the 2013 American League Wild Card Game, in which the Rays won in a shutout in Cleveland.
The Guardians swept the Rays to advance to the ALDS for the first time since 2018, capped off by a walk-off home run by Oscar González in the fifteenth inning of Game 2. With the win by Cleveland, the playoff series history between these two teams is tied at one win and one loss each.
(4) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (5) Seattle Mariners
Seattle won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 7 | Seattle Mariners – 4, Toronto Blue Jays – 0 | Rogers Centre | 3:01 | 47,402 |
| 2 | October 8 | Seattle Mariners – 10, Toronto Blue Jays – 9 | Rogers Centre | 4:15 | 47,156 |
This was the first postseason meeting between the Mariners and the Blue Jays, the two American League expansion teams in 1977. This was the first postseason series appearance for the Mariners in 21 years, when they won the 2001 ALDS over Cleveland in five games, then lost to the eventual AL champion New York Yankees in five games in the ALCS.
The Mariners swept the Blue Jays to advance to the ALDS. In Game 2, the Blue Jays had a 8–1 lead after five innings, but two unprecedented four-run innings allowed the Mariners to sweep and face the Astros.
National League Wild Card Series
(3) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (6) Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 7 | Philadelphia Phillies – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 3 | Busch Stadium | 3:27 | 45,911 |
| 2 | October 8 | Philadelphia Phillies – 2, St. Louis Cardinals – 0 | Busch Stadium | 3:16 | 48,515 |
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Phillies. The only other meeting was the 2011 NLDS, which was won by St. Louis in five games en route to a World Series title.
The Phillies swept the Cardinals to return to the NLDS for the first time since 2011. This marks the third postseason in a row in which the Cardinals were eliminated in the Wild Card round. With the win by Philadelphia, the postseason history between these two teams is tied at one win and one loss each.
(4) New York Mets vs. (5) San Diego Padres
San Diego won the series, 2-1.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 7 | San Diego Padres – 7, New York Mets – 1 | Citi Field | 3:02 | 41,621 |
| 2 | October 8 | San Diego Padres – 3, New York Mets – 7 | Citi Field | 4:13 | 42,156 |
| 3 | October 9 | San Diego Padres – 6, New York Mets – 0 | Citi Field | 3:04 | 39,241 |
This is the first postseason meeting between the Mets and Padres. The Padres defeated the Mets in three games to advance to the NLDS for the second time in three years.
This series was heavily lopsided in favor of San Diego despite going the three-game limit. The Padres blew out the Mets in Game 1, and while the Mets struck back with a 7-3 victory in Game 2, were eliminated in a blowout loss to the Padres in Game 3.
American League Division Series
(1) Houston Astros vs. (5) Seattle Mariners
Series tied, 0–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros | Minute Maid Park | - | - |
| 2 | October 13 | Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros | Minute Maid Park | - | - |
| 3 | October 15 | Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners | T-Mobile Park | - | - |
| 4 | October 16† | Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners | T-Mobile Park | - | - |
| 5 | October 17† | Seattle Mariners at Houston Astros | Minute Maid Park | - | - |
† If necessary
This is the first postseason meeting between the Mariners and Astros. This marks the first appearance in the ALDS for the Mariners since 2001, which they won over the Cleveland Indians in five games before falling to the New York Yankees in the ALCS.
(2) New York Yankees vs. (3) Cleveland Guardians
Series tied, 0–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | - | - |
| 2 | October 13 | Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | - | - |
| 3 | October 15 | New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians | Progressive Field | - | - |
| 4 | October 16† | New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians | Progressive Field | - | - |
| 5 | October 17† | Cleveland Guardians at New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium | - | - |
† If necessary
This is the sixth postseason meeting between the Yankees and Guardians. The Yankees currently hold a 3–2 edge over the Guardians in the postseason - Cleveland defeated the Yankees in the ALDS in 1997 and 2007, while the Yankees prevailed against them in the ALCS in 1998, the ALDS in 2017, and the Wild Card series in 2020.
National League Division Series
(1) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (5) San Diego Padres
Series tied, 0–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodger Stadium | - | - |
| 2 | October 12 | San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodger Stadium | - | - |
| 3 | October 14 | Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres | Petco Park | - | - |
| 4 | October 15† | Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres | Petco Park | - | - |
| 5 | October 16† | San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers | Dodger Stadium | - | - |
† If necessary
This is the second postseason meeting between the Padres and Dodgers. The previous meeting in the NLDS in 2020 was won by the Dodgers in a sweep.
(2) Atlanta Braves vs. (6) Philadelphia Phillies
Series tied, 0–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 11 | Philadephia Phillies at Atlanta Braves | Truist Park | - | - |
| 2 | October 12 | Philadephia Phillies at Atlanta Braves | Truist Park | - | - |
| 3 | October 14 | Atlanta Braves at Philadephia Phillies | Citizens Bank Park | - | - |
| 4 | October 15† | Atlanta Braves at Philadephia Phillies | Citizens Bank Park | - | - |
| 5 | October 16† | Philadephia Phillies at Atlanta Braves | Truist Park | - | - |
† If necessary
This is the second postseason meeting between the Braves and Phillies. They previously met in the NLCS in 1993, which was won by the Phillies in six games before they fell in the World Series that year.
Notes
- ^ November 5 would be the date of a World Series Game 7; the soonest the postseason could end would be on November 1, the date of a World Series Game 4.
References
- ^ a b Leitch, Will (May 11, 2022). "5 ways the new postseason format is enhancing excitement". MLB.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
- ^ Harrigan, Thomas (August 15, 2022). "MLB announces 2022 playoff schedule". MLB.com. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
- ^ Castrovince, Anthony (July 25, 2022). "How to determine playoff tiebreakers". MLB.com. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Houston Astros statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "2022 New York Yankees statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 16, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Cleveland Guardians statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Toronto Blue Jays statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Seattle Mariners statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Tampa Bay Rays statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Los Angeles Dodgers statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Atlanta Braves statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ "2022 St. Louis Cardinals statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2022.
- ^ "2022 New York Mets statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ "2022 San Diego Padres statistics". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
- ^ "2022 Philadelphia Phillies statistics". Baseball Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2022.