Only two teams are remaining in Major League Baseball’s postseason tournament. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in the World Series, beginning Friday, Oct. 25.

The Yankees won the American League pennant by defeating the Cleveland Guardians in five games in the AL Championship Series. After New York took the first two games of the series at home, they won two of three in Cleveland, battling back and forth with the Guardians in all three games at Progressive Field. The Yankees are playing in their first World Series since 2009 – the last time they were crowned world champions.

In the National League, the Dodgers beat the Mets in six games to advance to their fourth World Series in the last eight seasons. Series MVP Tommy Edman led the way for Los Angeles at the plate, driving in 11 runs while going 11-for-27. Four of Edman’s hits were for extra bases. LA’s pitching staff had to hunker down. The club’s bullpen was used heavily throughout the series. Only once did a Dodgers’ starting pitcher complete at least five innings in the NLCS. That starter was Jack Flaherty, who pitched seven innings in Game 1.

Before the World Series begins, here are three takeaways from MLB’s LCS.

Yankees win pennant despite Aaron Judge’s lackluster performance

Aaron Judge is one of the best players in the majors right now. He’s likely going to win his second career AL Most Valuable Player award in a few weeks. The 32-year-old was the best player in his league again this season, helping lead the Yankees to the playoffs once more.

Judge has always posted in the regular season. But come October, he’s had trouble continuing his high-level performance. It’s happening again in 2024.

Between 2017 and 2022, Judge appeared in 44 playoff games, making 198 plate appearances. He hit just .211 with a .772 OPS and 13 home runs. Those are decent numbers. But not numbers that shout superstar leading his team.

This postseason, Judge is hitting .161 across 41 plate appearances with seven walks and a .704 OPS. Those numbers come after he led the majors with 58 home runs and a 1.159 OPS in the regular season. In the ALCS, he went 3-for-18 with two home runs. The second of Judge’s long balls tied Game 3 at three in the top of the eighth. It was, without a doubt, a big moment.

It looked like Judge might get going after the series’ first three games. But then he went 1-for-8 between Games 4 and 5. It was ALCS MVP Giancarlo Stanton and Juan Soto who led the way for the Yankees in those games.

Plenty of stars have stepped up in the postseason before. Some haven’t. So far, for the most part, Judge hasn’t. His lackluster postseason performance has fans wanting more.

Big moves pay off

Two of the biggest moves from the 2023-2024 offseason were pulled off by the two teams meeting in this year’s Fall Classic. The Dodgers signed Shohei Ohtani to a massive $700-million contract in December. A few days earlier, the Yankees acquired the previously mentioned Soto in a trade with the San Diego Padres.

Ohtani had one of the best regular seasons MLB has ever seen in 2024. He authored the league’s first 50-50 season. He led the NL in homers (54) and OPS (1.036) while leading the majors in runs (134). Next month, he’s likely going to be awarded his third MVP. In doing so, Ohtani would join Frank Robinson as the only two players to win an MVP award in both the AL and NL. Ohtani would become just the sixth player ever to win the award with two separate franchises.

Ohtani’s offensive success has continued into October. He’s batting .286 with a .934 OPS and 11 walks. He’s crossed home plate 12 times. On top of that, the Dodgers’ 30-year-old designated hitter is 6-for-9 with nine RBIs with runners in scoring position this postseason. It’s only year one of a decade-long contract, but signing Ohtani is already paying off for the Dodgers.

As for Soto, 2024 was the third-best season of his career in terms of OPS (.989). He also hit a career-high 41 home runs and drove in 109 runs.

Soto, who turns 26 on the same day the World Series begins, was brought to New York to create a one-two punch with Judge in the Yankees’ lineup. He did that during the regular season and has helped lead New York this October.

The soon-to-be 26-year-old is 11-for-33 this postseason with a .439 on-base percentage. Five of his hits have gone for extra bases. His most recent hit sent the Yankees to the World Series. Soto launched a three-run homer in the top of the 10th of Game 5. It was a go-ahead shot that turned into a pennant-winner a half inning later as a Yankees’ win secured them the AL championship.

The big trade has worked for the Yankees, especially with Soto performing while Judge sputters at the plate. Now all eyes will be on Soto and his agent, Scott Boras, during the upcoming offseason. Soto, a generational talent, is slated to become a free agent. His new contract could be worth north of $500 million. But first, he’s looking to win a world championship.

Score first and win. It’s almost that simple.

Teams who score first usually go on to win a ball game. That trend continued in each LCS this year.

Of the five games in the ALCS, the team that scored first won three times –  the Yankees in Games 1, 2, and 4. In the NLCS, the team who scored first won five of the six games.

Going even deeper into the NLCS, there was only one lead change in the entire series. Once either the Mets or Dodgers got ahead, they never trailed afterward. At least until Game 6.

It took until the first inning of Game 6 – the 46th inning of the series – for there to be a lead change. With the Dodgers down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Edman poked a two-run double into left field, putting his club ahead 2-1. LA kept that lead for the remainder of the game, eventually winning the NL pennant.

So, of the 11 LCS games from this season, the team that scored first won eight times. That’s a .727 winning percentage. Combining all 38 postseason games so far this October, teams that scored first won 23 times – a .605 win rate.

So, score first and win. It’s almost that simple.

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