Following a captivating first round, the Major League Baseball playoff bracket has now been trimmed to just eight. With a best-of-five series on deck for the remaining contenders, there are some notable tidbits to consider when previewing each respective club.
Keep in mind, anything can happen in this unprecedented postseason, especially with no days off. Nonetheless, these fun facts could provide some insight into which team may or may not have an advantage over their opponent. Here's one thing you need to know (listed in alphabetical order) about each team in the Divisional Series.
Atlanta Braves
Atlanta outscored Miami 68-44 in their nine regular season matchups, including a record-breaking 29-9 victory.
The Braves' 29 runs against the Fish in that Sept. 9 contest was the second-most runs scored in an MLB game since 1900. Oddly enough, the Marlins handled Atlanta the previous night with an 8-0 shutout. Exactly half of the 10 contests between these two teams saw at least one team score eight or more runs. If their regular season scores are at all indicative of what we might see in the NLDS, we could be in for a slugfest.
Houston Astros
There might not be a team in baseball that wants to beat the Astros more than Oakland.
Former Astro and now current A's hurler Mike Fiers was tabbed as the "whistleblower" for speaking out about the infamous sign-stealing tactics being used in Houston in previous years. Fast forward to 2020, A's outfielder Ramon Laureano and Astros hitting coach Alex Cintron sparked a bench-clearing brawl in a game at the Coliseum in August. Before the playoffs started, A's closer Liam Hendriks told reporters he doesn't care who they play, but "as a vindictive kind of thing, we want to take out the Astros." .
Los Angeles Dodgers
There are growing concerns with Kenley Jansen's velocity ... again.
Los Angeles has learned this the hard way: If you don't have a dominant bullpen, your chances of making a deep postseason run are slim. Well, the Dodger coaching staff faced questions after their star closer's average cutter velocity reached just 88.2 mph against Milwaukee in Game 1 -- his regular season average sat between 90-93 mph. Even manager Dave Roberts expressed concern, saying, "It just didn't seem like the stuff had the teeth that I've seen in recent outings."
Miami Marlins
Before the season, the Miami Marlins had just a 2.5 percent chance to make the playoffs, according to FanGraphs projections.
"Bottom feeders" might be the perfect label for these Miami misfits. They weren't given a chance when the season began and few are giving them a chance against Atlanta. After battling COVID-19 outbreaks, making countless roster shakeups, and playing numerous double-headers, if you aren't a believer in Miami now then when will you ever be? As Jesus Aguilar said in their Wild Card Series victory celebration, "Don't get mad at us. You guys started it, not us."
New York Yankees
The Bronx Bombers are 13-6 (including the playoffs) when Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and D.J. LeMahieu are all in the starting lineup. Three of those games came against the Rays in which New York went 1-2.
With the Yankees, it's all about health. When healthy, they may possess the single most lethal lineup in baseball. Unfortunately, those robust times have been few and far between. In those aforementioned three games with the Big 3 in the lineup against Tampa Bay, Rays pitchers held the team to just 11 total runs. They even shutout the Pinstripe offense in an Aug. 7 contest.
Oakland Athletics
Oakland's pitching staff ranked 20th in MLB with a 8.84 SO/9. Of the eight teams that have made the World Series since 2016, not a single one ranked lower than seventh.
This is really just a fancy way of saying strikeout arms are not only recommended but they are necessary come postseason time. In fact, the 2014 and 2015 Kansas City Royals are the only AL teams in the last decade to rank in the bottom half of the league in SO/9 and be representatives in the Fall Classic. After Liam Hendriks and Frankie Montas, the number of strikeout arms in the East Bay are slim.
San Diego Padres
There is some serious big brother-little brother rivalry brewing in Southern California.
Ever since the Padres franchise was founded in 1969, they have been chasing their big brothers from the North -- the Dodgers. Los Angeles has had more success, garnered more attention, and, unarguably, been the better franchise for decades. But now, the little brother from San Slam Diego has a chance to change that narrative and send the Dodgers packing. These teams have already showed disdain towards one another, most notably after a Trent Grisham home run celebration in September. This series could be the start of a long-awaited rivalry in the Golden State.
Tampa Bay Rays
The entire Tampa Bay Rays roster is making less money than the Yankees' three highest-paid players.
- Gerrit Cole ($13.33M) + Giancarlo Stanton ($9.63M) + Masahiro Tanaka ($8.52M) salaries combined this year: $31.48M
- Entire Tampa Bay Rays payroll this year: $28.29M
Tampa Bay's financial limitations are well-documented every year yet the success they have, despite it all, remains miraculous. Is the fact that Gerrit Cole makes more than the entire Rays starting staff going to decide the series? Not necessarily. But, if you're looking for an underdog to get behind, here you go.
