After a fun set of Wild Card Series to kick off Major League Baseball’s Postseason, the Division Series round did not disappoint. There was plenty of entertainment.

The New York Mets’ magical run is still alive as they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in four games. The Los Angeles Dodgers won back-to-back elimination games, beating the San Diego Padres in five games to advance to yet another National League Championship Series.

In the American League, the New York Yankees handled the Kansas City Royals in four games. The Cleveland Guardians, once down two games to one, beat the Detroit Tigers to secure a spot against the Yankees in the AL Championship Series.

Before moving on to the NLCS and ALCS, here are three takeaways from the divisional round.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this for the Phillies:

After a 95-win regular season and winning the franchise’s first NL East title in 11 years, the 2024 Phillies were poised for another deep run into October. They were supposed to handle the Mets, whichever team they faced in the NLCS, and have a real shot at winning the World Series.

But that’s not how it went. They took an early exit instead.

The Phillies had a more talented roster than their NLDS opponent. The best, more talented team doesn’t always win, though. The team that plays better does. And New York outplayed Philadelphia for most of their best-of-five series.

Zack Wheeler was phenomenal in Game 1. It didn’t matter. The Phillies’ offense was quiet. The bullpen – a rock-solid unit for most of the season – imploded in the top of the eighth, resulting in a Game 1 loss. After a rollercoaster of a win in Game 2, the Phillies tied the series at one. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. But tied 1-1 heading to New York felt okay, as long as they could get on track at Citi Field.

Things didn’t get on track for Rob Thomson’s squad. A competitive game slowly became one-sided as Aaron Nola lost control in the bottom of the sixth of Game 3. Reliever Orion Kerkering almost got out of a bases-loaded-no-outs jam after Nola exited, but a Starling Marte two-run single gave the Mets a 4-0 lead. A half inning earlier, the middle of Philadelphia’s lineup couldn’t drive in a single run with two guys on base with no outs. Things weren’t going the Phillies’ way. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They lost Game 3, 7-2.

The Phils’ offense in Game 4 scored one run on four hits. The bullpen blew up again in the top of the sixth. Jeff Hoffman loaded the bases and then Carlos Estevez left a fastball over the plate to Francisco Lindor. With his team down 1-0, the Mets’ shortstop launched a grand slam. The 4-1 lead New York took on Lindor’s swing held up as the final score. The Phillies’ season was over in a matter of four games.

95 wins. A division title. A star-studded roster. An idea this year would be different after a heartbreaking end to 2023. The 2024 Phillies were supposed to be different. They were supposed to be remembered for something more. Instead, they’ll be remembered as a team that couldn’t get it done. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Dodgers’ pitching staff. Wow.

Fernando Tatis Jr. watched it sail into the night sky. Walker Buehler eventually took a peak, watching the ball land in the left-field seats at Petco Park, 396 feet from home plate. The home crowd went crazy, waving their yellow rally towels in unison. The Padres and their fans could feel it. The Dodgers were on the ropes, gasping for air.

Tatis’ home run capped off a six-run top of the second for San Diego in Game 3 of the NLDS between the Padres and Dodgers. All six runs were earned and charged to Buehler. It wasn’t all his fault. The defense behind him wasn’t crisp, opening the door for the Padres. The pitch Tatis homered on wasn’t a good one, though. It was an 0-2 fastball meant to be elevated. It caught a lot of the plate, hovering there at 94 mph for Tatis to launch. 

Things looked ready to fall apart once again for LA, owners of MLB’s best regular-season record (98-64) in 2024 and a tough October resume over the last decade.

After Buehler surrendered six runs in the second inning of the series’ third game, he battled for three more, not allowing another run. Nobody knew it then, but both those three scoreless frames from Buehler were the start of something special after something so abysmal.

In their first 20 innings of the NLDS, Dodgers pitchers allowed 21 earned runs to cross home plate. 21 earned runs in 20 innings. That’s a 9.45 ERA. Over their final 24 innings of work, LA’s pitching staff was the extreme opposite. Over their final 24 innings of work, LA’s pitching staff allowed no more runs, earned or unearned, to touch home plate.

Facing elimination, a combination of eight pitchers toed the rubber for Dave Roberts’ club in Game 4. They shut out the Padres as their offense scored eight runs. In a winner-take-all Game 5 at Dodger Stadium, LA shut out San Diego once more, winning 2-0 to advance to their seventh NLCS since 2013.

They were on the ropes. They were gasping for air. They were on the brink. Then, the Dodgers – more specifically their pitching staff – caught a second win, helping the club stave off what would have been another tough October elimination.

The layoff doesn’t hurt teams

Under the current playoff format, the top two seeds in each league have a first-round bye. While each Wild Card Series plays out, the teams with a bye get a five-day layoff between the end of the regular season and their first postseason game.

Over the last two years, some have complained about the layoff. There was a thought that it was hurting teams, not helping them like it was supposed to. Braves manager, Brian Snitker, publicly stated he didn’t like the new system back in March. He felt it hurt his team.

Snitker’s Braves were eliminated by the Phillies in 2022 and 2023 after having a first-round bye. The Dodgers were bounced each of the last two seasons in the divisional round after a bye. The Texas Rangers, who eventually won the World Series, defeated the Baltimore Orioles last October in the ALDS. Baltimore was coming off a bye.

But this year, things were different. Of the four teams to sit for five days after the end of the regular season, only one – the Phillies – didn’t advance. All of the Dodgers, Guardians, and Yankees had a first-round bye and won their respective series.

Having a bye is what any team wants. The regular season is a grind. Time off is nice to have. The thought it was detrimental never made sense. Now, it’s clear; teams can have some time off and still succeed in the postseason.

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