2024 MLB Divisional Series Preview (Sports)
October 4, 2024
The 2024 MLB Wild Card series has officially wrapped up with the Tigers, Royals, Mets, and Padres all advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs. The best-of-five Divisional Series starts off tomorrow with teams facing off for a spot in the Championship Series.
American League Divisional Series
No. 1 Yankees vs. No. 5 Royals
No. 2 Guardians vs. No. 6 Tigers
- The Royals’ pitching staff was dominant in their wild-card series being able to limit the Orioles to only one run in 18 innings. However, the Royal still struggled offensively only scoring three runs in their 2-0 wild-card series win. The Royals will have to pitch dominant games to stay in the series with the Yankees.
- The Yankees have been dominant all season with Aaron Judge having a historic offensive season, and the addition of Juan Soto to the team. The Yankees will have to continue to hit homers and score runs to overwhelm the Royals.
- The Tigers have been one of the hottest teams in the MLB since dropping to 55-63 in early August, and continued the hot streak into the wild-card series beating the Astros 2-0. The Tigers will have to continue to rely on the AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal to set the the tone for the team with his pitching.
- The Guardians on paper have the edge when it comes to batting, and will have to take advantage of this to give them the edge in the series.
National League Divisional Series
No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 4 Padres
No. 2 Phillies vs. No. 6 Mets
- The Dodgers have been one of the best NL teams over the past decade, but they have struggled in the postseason during most of those years. After spending more than $1 billion in free agency last winter to add Shohei Ohtani, along with starting pitchers Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and others, the expectation is now to win a championship. The Dodgers struggled with injuries throughout the whole season, but were able to prevail with the league best record 98-64 behind a historical season from Shohei Ohtani. The Dodgers will need to have strong pitching performances from their starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Jack Flaherty, and for their bullpen to be able to close out in close games.
- The Padres have been been clicking at the right time towards the end of the season and have a deeper bullpen compared to the Dodgers. The Padres will have to pitch strong games especially against the Dodgers trio of Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman.
- The Mets have been one of the hottest teams in the MLB since turning their season around in June. The team has looked chaotic at times, but they have been a very exciting team to watch especially in game 3 of their wild-card series against the Brewers with Pete Alonso hitting the go-ahead three-run home run to send the Mets to the NLDS. The Mets will have to pitch strong games and keep games close to take advantage of the pressure situations they have thrived on throughout the season.
- The Phillies will need their main trio of Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to be at their best to set the tone of the rest of their lineup t be successful.