Cool weather, the bright colors of the leaves and the Major League Baseball Postseason fill the fall with excitement. As September turned to October, the regular season came to a close, but the excitement began when teams fought to clinch one the five spots in their league in the playoffs.
The end of this year was filled with drama as seven teams in both leagues try to earn one of the four total wild card spots. In the National League, the Pirates, Reds and Nationals went for the last two spots. While in the American League, the Indians, Rays, Rangers and Royals battled for the last two spots.
After the final pitch was thrown on September 30, the regular season came to a close and all playoff spots were determined. In the National League, the Braves clinched the east and faced the Dodgers who won the west. The Cardinals earned the central and the top seed, so they matched up against the Pirates who defeated the Reds in the wild card. In the American League, the Red Sox won the east and the number one seed, so they faced the Rays who defeated the Indians in the wild card. Finally, the Tigers won the central and went up against the A’s who clinched the west. This playoff bracket created some highly anticipated match-ups in just the divisional series.
The Dodgers and Cardinals won their first round match-ups to advance to play in the National League Championship Series. Games one and two of the NLCS featured tight games that both ended with a St. Louis victory. In game three, the Dodgers were finally able to win their first game of the series, defeating the Cardinals three to nothing. Rookie Yasiel Puig was key in this victory for the Dodgers; he went two for three with a RBI triple. Games four and five were then split by the two teams to make the series three games to two in favor of the Cardinals heading into game six. The Cardinals then dominated the Dodgers in game six with a great overall performance, winning the game nine to zero and series four games to two. Michael Wacha was the winning pitcher for the Cardinals; he pitched seven innings and was named NLCS MVP. The Cardinals now advance to play in the World Series against the American League Champion.
The Tigers and the Red Sox beat their opponents in the divisional series to advance to play head to head in the American League Championship Series. In game one, the Red Sox were shut out and held to only one hit in a Tiger win. Anibal Sanchez started at pitcher for the Tigers in game one and pitched six strong innings while striking out twelve batters. Game two, opposed to the pitching duel in game one, was a high scoring shootout that ended with a six to five victory for the Red Sox to tie the series at one game a piece. The two teams traded wins in the next two games to make the series even at two games. In game five, the Red Sox won behind the big bat of Mike Napoli who went three for four with two runs, a RBI and a home run. In the next game, game six, the Red Sox clinched the series and a spot in the World Series when they won game six five to two.
The St. Louis Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox then matched up in the one hundred ninth World Series that began with game one on Wednesday, October 21. In game one, the Red Sox’s offensive power thrived by driving in eight runs. David Ortiz hit a home run and drove in three RBIs for the Red Sox. St. Louis then tied the Series at one with their four to two win in game two. Game three was a tight game that ended with an unusual call of obstruction to allow the game-winning run to score. Much controversy and anger arose from this call, but Red Sox fans were not mad for long, as they were able to win the next game, game four, four to two. The first two games of this series were played in Boston and the next two in St Louis. In game five, in St. Louis, The Red Sox won a decisive game behind David Ortiz and the rest of their strong lineup. This three to one win gave the Red Sox a crucial three to two lead in the series. The series then moved to Boston for game six. In game six, the Red Sox clinched the World Series for the third time in the last decade. This win was the first time the Red Sox had won the World Series in front of a home crowd since 1918. The rowdy “B-Strong” Boston fans had a major influence on this very close series especially in game six. David Ortiz won the World Series Most Valuable Player. He hit .668 in the series and hit two huge home runs. The ending of this thrilling series put an end to what was a great year in Major League Baseball in 2013.