All stats from MLB.com
The NLCS and ALCS are officially on the way, with the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners facing off in the ALCS, and the Los Angeles Dodgers clashing with the Milwaukee Brewers. After some tense division series battles, a recap of each series needs to be done to see who has a chance of making it to the World Series.
Toronto Blue Jays-New York Yankees
Final- TOR 3-1
The Blue Jays clinched the AL East division with 94 wins and 68 losses. They faced their division rival, the infamous New York Yankees, in a heated four game battle. The Jays outslugged the Yanks with a whopping 9 home runs in the series. The Jays only struck out 15% of the time in this series. This Toronto line up has incredibly hot bats, Toronto’s manager said, “We’re going to put the ball into play” and that’s exactly what they did.
In 17 at-bats, Blue Jays first baseman, Vladmir Guerrero Jr scored five runs, nine hits, three home runs and nine RBIs. He’s batting .529 for the postseason. Being a Canada native, it’s quite safe to say it’s personal for Vlad Jr.
I expected the Yankees to make it to the ALCS, and I’m man enough to admit I was wrong. Very wrong. The Yankees scored 19 runs in the ALDS, while the Jays scored 34. Game one was a brutal loss for the Yanks losing 1-10. Toronto ripped apart New York’s defense and bullpen.
Aaron Judge failed to deliver in this series. In his 11 at-bats, he had 4 hits with them all being singles. Judge was not the extra base hitter he’s been known to be and that cost the Yankees. He is not the only one to blame on the Yankee’s offense, however. Anthony Volpe played awfully in the DS. In his 18 at-bats, he only recorded one hit with a double. Resulting in his batting average for the series being an embarrassing .067. This is the playoffs; you have to be able to handle the pressure while you’re at the plate.
If the Blue Jays win the World Series this year, it will be their third title in franchise history. There is a good chance we see Toronto win a third World Series before they win a Stanley Cup!
Seattle Mariners-Detroit Tigers
Final: SEA 3-2
What a heartbreaker for the Detroit Tigers. A game five loss for the ages in the 15th inning. This game was simply electric. Mariner fans were in tears of joy as the Mariners clinched the ALCS berth for the first time since 2001. With the bases loaded for Seattle, infielder Jorge Polanco got to play the hero with a walk-off single off a change up from Tommy Kahnele.
Detroit pitcher, Tarik Skubal, did everything he could for the Tigers. He started two games in the series and pitched in 13 innings. He had 22 strikeouts and only issued one walk. He only allowed three runs in the series, with two of them being home runs. The batting average against the California native was only .156.
AL MVP candidate for the Mariners, Cal Raliegh, showed up and did his part in this series. In his 21 plate appearances, he recorded 8 hits, with a double and a home run. He had four RBI’s and four walks with a batting average of .381. The catcher proved himself worthy of the title of Big Dumper.
This was the most contested division series we saw. The scores for game 1, game 2, and game 5 were all 3-2. The Tigers and Mariners were neck and neck until the very last minute, but the Mariners came out on top in the end in dramatic fashion. There’s a chance we see Seattle beating Toronto, but I would give the odds to Toronto.
Chicago Cubs-Milwaukee Brewers
Final: MIL 3-2
The Chicago Cubs failed to deliver on the road this series. The Cubs only managed to tally seven runs at American Family Field. Chicago simply couldn’t compete with the Brewers strategy of small ball and putting the ball into play. Losing to your divisional rival in Game five is depressing but this is something the young Cubs roster could learn from.
The highly paid right fielder, Kyle Tucker, failed to show up and deliver in this series. Tucker had three walks, three singles and a home run. I don’t think the Cubs are going to extend Tucker after his lack of a fight in the playoffs, nor should they.
The entire Cubs offense was sloppy in this series. The players who looked best were Nico Hoerner with 13 hits, Michael Busch with eight hits and four home runs, and Seiya Suzuki with seven hits and three home runs. There was a crucial moment in the top of the 6th in Game five, with two runners on base and no outs, and the Cubs failed to bat them in.
Part of the Cubs loss could be attributed to the loss of rookie pitcher Cade Horton. The right-handed power-pitcher had an ERA of only 2.67 in 118 innings played. The 24-year-old had 97 strikeouts. He suffered a rib fracture, putting him out for the Wild Card series and the Division series. If he was healthy, this could have been a game changer for the Cubs.
It’s no secret that the Brewers are the best team in baseball right now. They finished the season with a win-loss of 97-65, the best record in the Majors. Brewers’ catcher, William Contreras, had six hits in his 20 at-bats, with a double, two home runs and three RBI’s. He scored five runs with a batting average of .300 and a SLG rate of .650.
First baseman for Milwaukee, Andrew Vaughn, also showed up for the team this series. In his 14 AB’s, he scored 4 runs, knocked in 4 hits, with 2 of them being home runs. He was also issued three walks and didn’t strike out in a single plate appearance. Vaughn had an OBP of .412 and SLG rate of .714.
Milwaukee’s pitching rotation and bullpen was lethal in this series. In game five they only allowed one run and utilized their bullpen to win the game. This pitching rotation in the winner-take-all game had Trevor Megill as the starter, Jacob Misorioriwski, Chad Patrick, Aaron Ashby and Abner Uribe to close for the win.
This Brewers team is a monster to play against, and they face off against the reigning champion Dodgers on the 13th. This match is a toss up as they both have killer offense and pitching.
Los Angeles Dodgers-Philadelphia Phillies
Final- LAD 3-1
The Phillies experienced the most heartbreaking loss of the week. A crucial error in the bottom of the 11th by 24-year-old pitcher Orion Kerkering allowed the Dodgers to win with a walk-off grounder from Andy Pages.
The bases were loaded for LA with two outs. All Kerkering had to do was throw to first base and it would have ended the inning; Pages never would have made it. But instead, under pressure he decided to throw home, even though catcher JT. Realmuto was pointing towards first. Kerkering overthrew the ball to home, throwing the ball out of bounds, allowing Dodgers pinch runner Hyeseong Kim to reach home with the final score being 2-1.
In a postgame interview, Kerkering owned up to his brutal mistake that cost the Phillies their season.
“This really f–king sucks right now.” The reliver said, as he held back tears.
The Dodgers were not a slugging team in this series. They only hit two home runs, and four extra base hits. None the less, the reigning champs still managed to come out on top by putting the ball into play and having dominant pitching.
Shohei Ohtani didn’t do much in this series offense wise. The leadoff hitter only had one hit in his 18 ABs with an RBI single. He walked twice and struck out nine times. In his only appearance on the mound this series, he issued nine strikeouts and only allowed three runs. The Dodgers will need him to step up offensively however against the Brewers in the NLCS.
The pitching rotation for the Dodgers this series was great. Tyler Glasnow pitched in two games in seven innings and did not allow a single run with 10 strikeouts. Reliever Roki Sasaki pitched in three games in 4.1 innings, only allowing one hit, zero runs, zero walks and punched three strikeouts. The Dodgers won this series with their pitching and defense.
Phillies shortstop, Trea Turner, had one of the best batting averages in the NL this regular season with .304. In the NLDS he only recorded four hits. Philly designated hitter, Kyle Schwarber, led the NL in home runs this season with 56. He only had 2 home runs and a double for his three hits in this series. This was a team expected to dominate, and they ultimately failed to deliver.
There’s a good chance the 2025 Dodgers become the first team in MLB to win back-to-back in the 21st century. The last time this happened was with the Derek Jeter led Yankees dynasty from 1997-2000. The Brewers have never won a world series, so there is a lot on the line for both teams.
The World Series begins Oct. 24.
Sources
https://www.mlb.com/news/explaining-the-historic-blue-jays-alds-offense
https://www.mlb.com/news/mariners-win-alds-2025-vs-tigers
https://www.mlb.com/news/brewers-win-2025-nlds-vs-cubs
https://www.mlb.com/news/breaking-down-dodgers-nlds-game-4-11th-inning-walk-off
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6707397/2025/10/10/phillies-orion-kerkering-pitcher-error-response/
https://www.mlb.com/news/cade-horton-injury-cubs-nlds
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