The 162 game MLB regular season has come to an end. After a month of playoffs we have narrowed the league down to two teams: the Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. Let’s see how the two teams got this far:

First Round (Division Series)

The Astros began the playoffs at the top of the AL West with a record of 95-67.  They played the first round against the Chicago White Sox, who were top of the AL Central and a slight favorite. The Astros quickly won the best of five series, 3-1, with an average win margin of 6 runs. 

The Braves were also the top of their division (NL East) with a record of 88-73. They faced the Milwaukee Brewers and their regular season record of 95-67. In a span of 4 days the two teams battled but without too much effort the Braves advanced to the National League Title Round after winning 3 games to 1.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, ranked second in the AL West, won their wild card game against the Cardinals, pushing them to their Divisional series against the San Francisco Giants. After trailing 2 games to 1, the Dodgers continued their playoff run with a final win-or-go-home game 5, with a score of 2-1. This continued them to the National League championship to face the Braves.

The Boston Red Sox were the underdogs of the playoffs this year regarding their regular season record. Ranked second in the AL East, they made an impressive playoff run, first winning their wild card game against the Yankees. They continued in the divisional series with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. This advanced them to face the Houston Astros in the American League Championships.

Second Round (League Championships)

Both of these series were incredible and all four teams fought well. To begin, the Astros and Red Sox began their faceoff in Houston. The Astros took the first lead with a game 1 win of 4-5. But the Red Sox quickly fought back in game 2 with a win 9-5 that included two grand slams on the Red Sox, the first in MLB playoff history. The Red Sox continued in Boston with a 12-3 win, making it look like hope was running out for the Astros. In Fenway for game four (where they had not lost a playoff game yet), the Red Sox were just six outs away from making the Astros down in the series 3-1, but with a 7 run two out rally in the ninth, the momentum of the series flipped. The Astros won game 5 without a challenge 9-1, and then finished the job in game 6 with a 5-0 win. A great series concluded and the Astros were going to the World Series.

During this, the Braves and Dodgers were battling it out for the National League Title. Before this series began, the Dodgers looked like they had the edge after an impressive regular season record of 106-56. But it became clear that this was not the case after game 1 commenced in Atlanta. After two close games with just a one run win margin, the Braves took a 2-0 lead. The series moved to Los Angeles and the Braves lost game 3 by a score of 6-5. After three close games, game four received one of the highest number of television viewers in the playoffs. The Braves showed they were here to stay in game 4 with a win of 9-2 to put them ahead in the series 3-1. The Dodgers won the next game by nine runs but the Braves put the hammer in the coffin in game 6 with a 4-2 win. And now we are left with the two final teams in the baseball World Series, the Houston Astros and the Atlanta Braves.

Third Round Preview (World Series Championship)- Preview

Although only two games have been played in the championship series, here is a brief recap of the first two games. Both of the first two games have been played in Houston due to Houston’s superior regular season record. The first game was somewhat of a blowout with the Braves outsourcing the Astros by 5 runs in the first three innings, finishing with a final score of 6-2. Game 2 had similar results but by the Astros. The Astros pulled ahead by 5 innings in the start of Game 2 and finished the game with a score of 7-2. Now, both teams travel to Atlanta where they will face off in Game 3. Two things to note in the future games, from the first two games it has been a pattern that whoever comes out best in the initial 3 innings, finishes the game with a win. Secondly, not to give the Braves bad juju but in the playoffs they have not lost a game in Atlanta….