PHOENIX — Venezuela’s Ronald Acuna Jr., Matt Olson and the Atlanta Braves’ strong offense earned a few extra days of rest and relaxation after 162 regular-season games in the major leagues.
Venezuela’s Jose Altuve, Justin Verlander and the reigning champions Houston Astros – who won the American League West Division pennant on the last day of the season – as well as the sweet story of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Baltimore Orioles.
For the remaining eight teams, postseason action is coming quickly.
With the major league postseason slated, the battles for the American League and National League wild cards begin this Tuesday. This is the second year in a row with the new October format, which features an opening round of best-of-three series, with all games played at the home of the higher seed.
The AL’s sixth-place Toronto Blue Jays will face the third-place Minnesota Twins, while the fifth-place Texas Rangers will travel to the home of the fourth-place Tampa Bay Rays. In the National League, the sixth-seeded Arizona Diamondbacks face the third-seeded Milwaukee Brewers, while the fifth-seeded Miami Marlins face the fourth-seeded Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves, Astros, Dodgers and Orioles will have a week off before the division series.
Wild Card series
Diamondbacks vs. Brewers
The Diamondbacks made the postseason for the first time since 2017 despite dropping their final four regular-season games. Speedy rookie Corbin Carroll leads a versatile lineup, while right-hander Jack Gallen is one of the contenders for the NL Cy Young Award. The Brewers lineup is led by the 2018 Most Valuable Player, Christian Yelich, while in their pitching rotation they have a solid trio of Corbin Burns, Brandon Woodruff and Dominican Freddy Peralta.
The Marlins have been an under-the-radar success story and faced weather chaos in New York for much of their wild-card race. Venezuelan Luis Ares leads the National League in batting with a .354 average, while Peruvian-Venezuelan Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett lead the rotation in the absence of Dominican ace Sandy Alcantara, who will be out with an injury. As much as possible, what’s in season. The Phillies are trying to get back to the World Series after losing to the Astros last year – and have a deep lineup with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos and Trey Turner.
The Blue Jays have a tough sixth seed, one of the deepest lineups in the majors, including Bo Pichette, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Matt Chapman, George Springer and Whit Merrifield. They have depth on the mound with Chris Bassit, Puerto Rican Jose Berrios, Kevin Gausman and Yusei Kikuchi. The Twins easily excelled in a weak AL Central division. They hope players like Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa and third baseman Royce Luis can return to health after injuries in the final weeks of the season.
The Rangers are led by a stellar infield of Marcus Siemian and Corey Seager, both of whom could finish in the top 5 of American League MVP voting. Cuban outfielder Adolis Garcia also had a great year. Their pitching rotation is missing most of its big names, but remains solid with Dan Dunning, Andrew Heaney and Nathan Ewaldi. The Rays were the hottest team in the first few weeks of the season, but the Orioles caught on midway through the season. Their consistent lineup includes Cuban Yandy Díaz, Mexican Isaac Paredes and Cuban-Mexican Randy Arosarena. Zach Eflin and Tyler Glasnow headline their pitching staff.
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