2018 MLB Postseason

The 2018 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2018 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

In the American League, the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians made their third straight appearances, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees made their second straight appearances, and the Oakland Athletics made their fourth appearance in the past seven years. This postseason was notable for being the first in which the American League had three teams that won at least 100 games or more in the regular season.

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers made their sixth straight postseason appearance, the Colorado Rockies made their second straight appearance, the Chicago Cubs made their fourth straight appearance, the Atlanta Braves made their first appearance since 2013, and the Milwaukee Brewers made their first appearance since 2011. This is currently the first of seven consecutive postseason appearances for the Braves.

The postseason began on October 2, and ended on October 28, with the Red Sox defeating the Dodgers in five games in the 2018 World Series. It was the ninth title won by the Red Sox organization, tying the Athletics for the third most World Series championships.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

# Boston Red Sox – 108–54, AL East champions
# Houston Astros – 103–59, AL West champions
# Cleveland Indians – 91–71, AL Central champions
# New York Yankees – 100–62
# Oakland Athletics – 97–65

National League

# Milwaukee Brewers – 96–67, NL Central champions
# Los Angeles Dodgers – 92–71, NL West champions
# Atlanta Braves – 90–72, NL East champions
# Chicago Cubs – 95–68
# Colorado Rockies – 91–72

Playoff bracket

American League Wild Card

(4) New York Yankees vs. (5) Oakland Athletics

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Athletics and Yankees. The Yankees had won the previous three meetings ( 1981, 2000, 2001). The Yankees defeated the Athletics 7–2 to advance to the ALDS for the second year in a row.

National League Wild Card

(4) Chicago Cubs vs. (5) Colorado Rockies

The Rockies upset the Cubs in a thirteen-inning duel, 2–1, to advance to the NLDS for the first time since 2009.

American League Division Series

(1) Boston Red Sox vs. (4) New York Yankees

This was the fourth postseason meeting in the history of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. They had last met in the 2004 ALCS, where the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to win a series after facing a 3–0 series deficit. The Red Sox again defeated the Yankees to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2013.

The Red Sox took Game 1 by one run as closer Craig Kimbrel held off a late Yankees rally. The Yankees evened the series with a 6–2 victory in Game 2 thanks to three home runs from Gary Sánchez and Aaron Judge respectively. Game 3 was the most notable matchup of the series, as the Red Sox blew out the Yankees 16–1 in Yankee Stadium despite having only one home run from Brock Holt, handing the Yankees their worst postseason loss ever. The Red Sox took a 4–0 lead in Game 4, and while the Yankees cut their lead to one in the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox still held on to close out the series.

The Yankees and Red Sox would meet once more in the 2021 AL Wild Card Game, which was won by the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

(2) Houston Astros vs. (3) Cleveland Indians

The Astros swept the Indians to return to the ALCS for the second year in a row.

Justin Verlander pitched five solid innings as the Astros blew out the Indians in Game 1. Houston’s Gerrit Cole outdueled Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco in a pitcher’s duel in Game 2 as they took a 2–0 series lead headed to Cleveland. The Astros blew out the Indians again in Game 3 to close out the series.

National League Division Series

(1) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (5) Colorado Rockies

The Brewers swept the Rockies to return to the NLCS for the first time since 2011.

The Rockies were simply outmatched by the Brewers' offense and pitching. Game 1 was the only close game of the series, as Mike Moustakas won it for the Brewers with a walk-off RBI single off Colorado’s Adam Ottavino in the bottom of the tenth. Jhoulys Chacín and the Milwaukee bullpen kept the Rockies’ bats silent in Game 2 as they took a 2–0 series lead heading to Denver. Jesús Aguilar, Orlando Arcia, and Keon Broxton all homered for the Brewers in Game 3 as they shut out the Rockies yet again to finish the sweep.

As of , this is the last time the Rockies appeared in the postseason.

(2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) Atlanta Braves

This was the third postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Braves. The Dodgers defeated the Braves in four games to return to the NLCS for the third year in a row.

Hyun-jin Ryu pitched seven innings of shutout ball in Game 1 as the Dodgers shut out the Braves 6-0. In Game 2, Clayton Kershaw pitched eight shutout innings as he beat Aníbal Sánchez in a pitchers’ duel in another shutout win for the Dodgers as they took a 2–0 series lead headed to Atlanta. In Game 3, a grand slam from Ronald Acuña Jr. and another home run from Freddie Freeman propelled the Braves to victory. In Game 4, the Braves led 2-1 after five innings, but the Dodgers put up five unanswered runs across the sixth and seventh innings, capped off by a three-run home run from Manny Machado, to win and close out the series.

The Braves and Dodgers would face each other two more times in the postseason — in the NLCS in 2020 and 2021, with the Dodgers winning the former, and the Braves winning the latter.

American League Championship Series

(1) Boston Red Sox vs. (2) Houston Astros

This was the second postseason meeting between the Astros and Red Sox. The Red Sox defeated the defending World Series champion Astros in five games and returned to the World Series for the first time since 2013.

The Astros stole Game 1 convincingly at Fenway Park thanks to more solid pitching from Justin Verlander. However, the series would tilt the Red Sox's way afterward. Game 2 was an offensive slugfest which the Red Sox narrowly won to even the series headed back to Houston. Nathan Eovaldi kept the Astros' offense at bay in Game 3 as the Red Sox prevailed in a blowout win, 8–2. Game 4 was a back-and-forth offensive duel between both teams, which the Red Sox won 8–6 to take a 3–1 series lead. In Game 5, David Price pitched eight solid innings as the Red Sox jumped out to a big lead early and didn't relinquish it, securing the pennant with a 4–1 victory.

As of , this is the last time the Red Sox won the AL pennant. The Astros would return to the ALCS the next year, where they defeated the New York Yankees in six games to return to the World Series. The Red Sox and Astros would meet again in the ALCS in 2021, in which the Astros returned the favor and defeated the Red Sox in six games before falling in the World Series.

National League Championship Series

(1) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (2) Los Angeles Dodgers

This was the first postseason meeting between the Brewers and Dodgers. The Dodgers narrowly defeated the Brewers in seven games to return to the World Series for the second year in a row.

Corey Knebel held off a late rally by the Dodgers in Game 1 as the Brewers won 6–5. In Game 2, the Dodgers overcame a 3–0 Brewers lead by scoring two runs in the seventh and eighth innings to even the series. When the series shifted to Los Angeles, the Brewers' pitching staff pitched a five-hit shutout as the Brewers won 4–0 to take the series lead in Game 3. In Game 4, the Dodgers evened the series after a thirteen-inning duel thanks to a walk-off RBI single from Cody Bellinger which scored Manny Machado. Game 4 lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes, making it the second longest NLCS game behind only Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, which lasted 5 hours and 46 minutes. In Game 5, the Dodgers overcame another Brewers lead to win 5–2 and go up 3–2 in the series headed back to Milwaukee. In Game 6, the Brewers jumped out to a big early lead and didn't relinquish it, winning 7–2 to force a seventh game. The Brewers jumped out to an early lead again in Game 7, but it wasn't enough as the Dodgers scored five unanswered runs to secure the pennant.

The Dodgers' win was marred by controversy, as the team was accused by the Brewers' Eric Kratz of using a video camera to steal signs. An anonymous source reported to ''The Athletic'' that "They use video people to get sequences", and that "It's known throughout the league. MLB knows it's an issue." Kratz also pointed to a moment in the sixth inning of Game 5 when he saw Manny Machado motioning toward Chris Taylor, who was at the plate in what he thought was an attempt to inform him of the upcoming pitch.

To date, this is the last postseason appearance outside of the Divisional round for the Brewers. The Dodgers would win their next NL pennant in 2020 over the Atlanta Braves in seven games after trailing 3–1 in the series en route to a World Series title.

2018 World Series

(AL1) Boston Red Sox vs. (NL2) Los Angeles Dodgers

This was a rematch of the 1916 World Series, which the Red Sox won in five games. It was also the twelfth meeting between teams from Boston and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship. This previously occurred in eleven NBA Finals (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2008, 2010).

Like in 1916, history again repeated itself, and the Red Sox defeated the Dodgers in five quick games to win their ninth World Series title in franchise history.

The Red Sox took care of business at home in Game 1. In Game 2, David Price outdueled Los Angeles’ Hyun-jin Ryu as the Red Sox won 4-2 to take a 2-0 series lead heading to Los Angeles. This series was known for its Game 3, which the Dodgers won after eighteen innings of play, 3–2. Game 3 became the longest World Series game ever played, and was longer than the entirety of the 1939 World Series. Game 4 was an offensive slugfest that was won by the Red Sox as Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce hit home runs late to give Boston the win and a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Red Sox clinched the title in Game 5 as Price outdueled Clayton Kershaw in another pitcher’s duel.

Like the Astros in the 2017 World Series, the Red Sox after winning this World Series were then marred by a scandal. On January 7, 2020, the Red Sox were implicated in a sign stealing scandal (the team had previously been fined in 2017 for sign stealing) after three unnamed team members told The Athletic that the Red Sox had used their replay room to steal signs of opposing teams during the 2018 season. On January 13, 2020, Manfred stated that he would determine the appropriate punishment for Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was also implicated in the Astros scandal, when the investigation was completed. The next day, Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways and it was announced he would be suspended for the full season. A few days after his season long suspension ended, Cora was re-hired by the team. Additionally, sportswriter Evan Drellich claimed in 2023 that the Dodgers allegedly took part in the same illegal sign-stealing as the Astros and Red Sox during this World Series, however there is only scant evidence and not enough to confirm full involvement.

The Dodgers would return to the World Series in 2020, which they won in six games over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Broadcasting

This was fifth year of eight-year U.S. TV contracts with ESPN, Fox Sports, and TBS. ESPN aired the National League Wild Card Game, Fox Sports 1 and MLB Network split the National League Division Series, and the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 split the National League Championship Series. TBS had the American League Wild Card Game, Division Series, and Championship Series, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. The World Series then aired on the Fox broadcast network for the nineteenth consecutive year.

References

External links

League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 2018

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018 Major League Baseball Season

Major League Baseball postseason