2021 Major League Baseball playoffs
The
2021 Major League Baseball postseason
was the playoff tournament of
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
2021 season
. The winners of the
League Division Series
advanced to the
League Championship Series
to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the
World Series
. After the
2020 MLB postseason
, MLB returned to a 10-team playoff format following the loosening of
COVID-19 pandemic
restrictions. This was the last postseason to feature the 10-team format, as the league expanded to a 12 team-format for the
2022 postseason
.
In the
American League
, the
Houston Astros
and
New York Yankees
both returned to the postseason for the sixth time in the previous seven years, the
Tampa Bay Rays
returned for the third year in a row, the
Chicago White Sox
made their second straight appearance, and the
Boston Red Sox
returned for the fourth time in the previous six years.
In the
National League
, the
Los Angeles Dodgers
returned to the postseason for the ninth straight time, the
Atlanta Braves
and
Milwaukee Brewers
returned for the fourth year in a row, the
St. Louis Cardinals
returned for the third straight time, and the
San Francisco Giants
made their first appearance since
2016
. This was the fourth postseason in the previous five years to feature at least three 100-win teams (Rays, Dodgers, and Giants).
The postseason began on October 5, and ended on November 2, with the Braves defeating the Astros in six games in the
2021 World Series
. It was the first title for the Braves since
1995
and fourth overall.
Playoff seeds
[
edit
]
American League Teams
National League Teams
The following teams qualified for the postseason:
American League
[
edit
]
- Tampa Bay Rays
?
AL East
champions, AL best record, 100?62
[2]
- Houston Astros
?
AL West
champions, 95?67
[3]
- Chicago White Sox
?
AL Central
champions, 93?69
[4]
- Boston Red Sox
? 92?70 (10?9 head-to-head record vs. NYY)
[5]
- New York Yankees
? 92?70 (9?10 head-to-head record vs. BOS)
[6]
National League
[
edit
]
- San Francisco Giants
?
NL West
champions, NL best record, MLB best record, 107?55
[7]
- Milwaukee Brewers
?
NL Central
champions, 95?67
[8]
- Atlanta Braves
?
NL East
champions, 88?73
[9]
- Los Angeles Dodgers
? 106?56
[10]
- St. Louis Cardinals
? 90?72
[11]
Playoff bracket
[
edit
]
| Wild Card Games
(ALWC, NLWC)
| | | Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS)
| | | League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)
| | | World Series
| |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | 1
| Tampa Bay
| 1
| | | |
| 4
| Boston
| 1
| | | 4
| Boston
| 3
| |
| 5
| NY Yankees
| 0
| | | American League
| | | 4
| Boston
| 2
| |
| | | | | | 2
| Houston
| 4
| |
| | | | 2
| Houston
| 3
| | | | |
| | | | 3
| Chicago White Sox
| 1
| |
| | | | | AL2
| Houston
| 2
| |
| | | | | | | NL3
| Atlanta
| 4
| |
| | | | 1
| San Francisco
| 2
| | | | |
| 4
| LA Dodgers
| 1
| | | 4
| LA Dodgers
| 3
| |
| 5
| St. Louis
| 0
| | | National League
| | | 4
| LA Dodgers
| 2
| |
| | | | | | 3
| Atlanta
| 4
| |
| | | | 2
| Milwaukee
| 1
| | |
| | | | 3
| Atlanta
| 3
| |
American League Wild Card
[
edit
]
(4) Boston Red Sox vs. (5) New York Yankees
[
edit
]
This was the fifth postseason meeting in the history of the
Yankees?Red Sox rivalry
. The Yankees defeated the Red Sox in the ALCS in
1999
and
2003
, while the Red Sox defeated the Yankees in the
2004 ALCS
and
2018 ALDS
. The Red Sox defeated the Yankees 6?2 to advance to the ALDS. With the win, the Red Sox moved up to 3?2 all time meetings against the Yankees in the postseason.
National League Wild Card
[
edit
]
(4) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (5) St. Louis Cardinals
[
edit
]
This was the sixth postseason meeting between these two teams. The Cardinals defeated the Dodgers in the
1985 NLCS
,
2004 NLDS
,
2013 NLCS
, and the
2014 NLDS
. The one previous postseason meeting the Dodgers defeated the Cardinals was in the
2009 NLDS
. The game remained tied into the bottom of the ninth inning, when the Dodgers'
Chris Taylor
hit a walk-off 2-run home run off
Alex Reyes
, giving the Dodgers a 3?1 victory and a ninth straight trip to the NLDS.
American League Division Series
[
edit
]
(1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (4) Boston Red Sox
[
edit
]
Boston won the series, 3?1.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 7
|
Boston Red Sox ? 0,
Tampa Bay Rays
? 5
|
Tropicana Field
|
3:06
|
27,419
|
2
|
October 8
|
Boston Red Sox
? 14, Tampa Bay Rays ? 6
|
Tropicana Field
|
3:56
|
37,616
|
3
|
October 10
|
Tampa Bay Rays ? 4,
Boston Red Sox
? 6
(13)
|
Fenway Park
|
5:14
|
37,224
|
4
|
October 11
|
Tampa Bay Rays ? 5,
Boston Red Sox
? 6
|
Fenway Park
|
3:25
|
38,447
|
This was the third postseason meeting between the Rays and Red Sox. The Rays won the
2008 ALCS
, while the Red Sox struck back in the
2013 ALDS
. The Red Sox defeated the top seeded Rays to advance to the ALCS for the first time since
2018
. As of 2022, this is the most recent playoff series victory by the Red Sox.
(2) Houston Astros vs. (3) Chicago White Sox
[
edit
]
Houston won the series, 3?1.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 7
|
Chicago White Sox ? 1,
Houston Astros
? 6
|
Minute Maid Park
|
3:34
|
40,497
|
2
|
October 8
|
Chicago White Sox ? 4,
Houston Astros
? 9
|
Minute Maid Park
|
3:52
|
41,315
|
3
|
October 10
|
Houston Astros ? 6,
Chicago White Sox
? 12
|
Guaranteed Rate Field
|
4:27
|
40,288
|
4
|
October 12
|
Houston Astros
? 10, Chicago White Sox ? 1
|
Guaranteed Rate Field
|
4:32
|
40,170
|
This was the second postseason meeting between the Astros and White Sox. When the team was still in the National League, the Astros met the White Sox in the
2005 World Series
, which the White Sox won in a sweep to end the
Curse of the Black Sox
. The Astros defeated the White Sox in four games to advance to the ALCS for the fifth year in a row.
As of 2024, this is the last time the White Sox made the postseason.
National League Division Series
[
edit
]
(1) San Francisco Giants vs. (4) Los Angeles Dodgers
[
edit
]
Los Angeles won the series, 3?2.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 8
|
Los Angeles Dodgers ? 0,
San Francisco Giants
? 4
|
Oracle Park
|
2:39
|
41,934
|
2
|
October 9
|
Los Angeles Dodgers
? 9, San Francisco Giants ? 2
|
Oracle Park
|
3:27
|
42,275
|
3
|
October 11
|
San Francisco Giants
? 1, Los Angeles Dodgers ? 0
|
Dodger Stadium
|
3:08
|
53,299
|
4
|
October 12
|
San Francisco Giants ? 2,
Los Angeles Dodgers
? 7
|
Dodger Stadium
|
3:38
|
52,935
|
5
|
October 14
|
Los Angeles Dodgers
? 2, San Francisco Giants ? 1
|
Oracle Park
|
3:26
|
42,275
|
This was the first postseason meeting in the history of the
Dodgers?Giants rivalry
, and the first NLDS series between two teams that had won 100 games or more in the regular season. The Dodgers upset MLB-best Giants in five games to advance to the NLCS for the fifth time in the past six years.
As of 2022, this is the last time the Giants have appeared in the postseason.
(2) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (3) Atlanta Braves
[
edit
]
Atlanta won the series, 3?1.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 8
|
Atlanta Braves ? 1,
Milwaukee Brewers
? 2
|
American Family Field
|
3:00
|
40,852
|
2
|
October 9
|
Atlanta Braves
? 3, Milwaukee Brewers ? 0
|
American Family Field
|
3:23
|
43,812
|
3
|
October 11
|
Milwaukee Brewers ? 0,
Atlanta Braves
? 3
|
Truist Park
|
3:20
|
41,479
|
4
|
October 12
|
Milwaukee Brewers ? 4,
Atlanta Braves
? 5
|
Truist Park
|
3:53
|
40,195
|
This was the first postseason meeting between the Brewers and Braves. The Braves defeated the Brewers in four games to advance to the NLCS for the second year in a row.
American League Championship Series
[
edit
]
(4) Boston Red Sox vs. (2) Houston Astros
[
edit
]
Houston won the series, 4?2.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 15
|
Boston Red Sox ? 4,
Houston Astros
? 5
|
Minute Maid Park
|
4:07
|
40,534
|
2
|
October 16
|
Boston Red Sox
? 9, Houston Astros ? 5
|
Minute Maid Park
|
4:08
|
41,476
|
3
|
October 18
|
Houston Astros ? 3,
Boston Red Sox
? 12
|
Fenway Park
|
3:16
|
37,603
|
4
|
October 19
|
Houston Astros
? 9, Boston Red Sox ? 2
|
Fenway Park
|
4:04
|
38,010
|
5
|
October 20
|
Houston Astros
? 9, Boston Red Sox ? 1
|
Fenway Park
|
3:32
|
37,599
|
6
|
October 22
|
Boston Red Sox ? 0,
Houston Astros
? 5
|
Minute Maid Park
|
3:28
|
42,718
|
This was the third postseason meeting between the Red Sox and Astros. The two teams split the previous two meetings, in the
2017 ALDS
(won by the Astros), and the
2018 ALCS
(won by the Red Sox). In both instances, the winner was the eventual World Series champion. The Astros defeated the Red Sox in six games to advance to the World Series for the third time in five years.
Both teams split the first two games in Houston. When the series shifted to Boston, the Red Sox blew out the Astros by a 12?3 score to go up 2?1 in the series. However, their lead would not hold. The Red Sox were six defensive outs away from a 3?1 series lead before the Astros responded with a game-tying home run by
Jose Altuve
in the eighth inning and then exploded offensively with a seven-run ninth inning to even the series. Then Houston carried the momentum by blowing out the Red Sox in Game 5 to take a 3?2 series lead headed back to Houston. In Game 6, the Astros shut out the Red Sox to secure the pennant.
As of 2022, this is the last time the Red Sox have appeared in the postseason. The Astros would win the AL pennant again
the next year
, sweeping the
New York Yankees
.
National League Championship Series
[
edit
]
(3) Atlanta Braves vs. (4) Los Angeles Dodgers
[
edit
]
Atlanta won the series, 4?2.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 16
|
Los Angeles Dodgers ? 2,
Atlanta Braves
? 3
|
Truist Park
|
3:04
|
41,815
|
2
|
October 17
|
Los Angeles Dodgers ? 4,
Atlanta Braves
? 5
|
Truist Park
|
3:56
|
41,873
|
3
|
October 19
|
Atlanta Braves ? 5,
Los Angeles Dodgers
? 6
|
Dodger Stadium
|
4:14
|
51,307
|
4
|
October 20
|
Atlanta Braves
? 9, Los Angeles Dodgers ? 2
|
Dodger Stadium
|
3:27
|
53,025
|
5
|
October 21
|
Atlanta Braves ? 2,
Los Angeles Dodgers
? 11
|
Dodger Stadium
|
3:33
|
51,363
|
6
|
October 23
|
Los Angeles Dodgers ? 2,
Atlanta Braves
? 4
|
Truist Park
|
3:32
|
43,060
|
This was the fifth postseason matchup between the Dodgers and Braves. The previous meetings were the
1996 NLDS
(won by the Braves),
2013 NLDS
,
2018 NLDS
, and
2020 NLCS
(the latter three won by the Dodgers). The Braves pulled off a major upset of the defending World Series champion Dodgers in six games, and returned to the World Series for the first time since
1999
.
2021 World Series
[
edit
]
(AL2) Houston Astros vs. (NL3) Atlanta Braves
[
edit
]
Atlanta won the series, 4?2.
Game
|
Date
|
Score
|
Location
|
Time
|
Attendance
|
1
|
October 26
|
Atlanta Braves
? 6, Houston Astros ? 2
|
Minute Maid Park
|
4:06
|
42,825
|
2
|
October 27
|
Atlanta Braves ? 2,
Houston Astros
? 7
|
Minute Maid Park
|
3:11
|
42,833
|
3
|
October 29
|
Houston Astros ? 0,
Atlanta Braves
? 2
|
Truist Park
|
3:24
|
42,898
|
4
|
October 30
|
Houston Astros ? 2,
Atlanta Braves
? 3
|
Truist Park
|
3:45
|
43,125
|
5
|
October 31
|
Houston Astros
? 9, Atlanta Braves ? 5
|
Truist Park
|
4:00
|
43,122
|
6
|
November 2
|
Atlanta Braves
? 7, Houston Astros ? 0
|
Minute Maid Park
|
3:22
|
42,868
|
This was the first World Series played entirely in the
South
. The Astros and Braves had previously met in the postseason five times, all of which were in the
NLDS
when the Astros were still a National League team.
[12]
Of those five series, the Braves won three (
1997
,
1999
, and
2001
) while the Astros won two (
2004
and
2005
).
[12]
The Braves defeated the Astros in six games, capturing their first World Series title since
1995
. The Braves took Game 1 in Houston to gain the home field advantage, while the Astros took Game 2 to tie the series. In Atlanta, the Braves shut out the Astros in Game 3, and defeated them by one run in Game 4 to go up three games to one. The Astros rallied to win Game 5 to send the series back to Houston, but the Braves would shut out the Astros for a second time in a blowout win to capture the title.
With the win, the Braves moved up to 4?2 all time against the Astros in the postseason. This was the third consecutive World Series won by the
National League
. With the loss, the Astros' record in the World Series fell to 1?3, with all three losses occurring at their home venue,
Minute Maid Park
.
The Braves returned to the postseason again
the next year
, but were upset by the
Philadelphia Phillies
in the
NLDS
, who went on a
Cinderella
run to the World Series. The Astros returned to the World Series again
the next year
, and defeated the aforementioned Phillies team in six games to win their second championship.
Broadcasting
[
edit
]
This was eighth and final year of the U.S. TV contracts with
ESPN
,
Fox Sports
, and
TBS
. ESPN aired the American League Wild Card Game,
Fox Sports 1
and
MLB Network
split the American League Division Series, and the
Fox broadcast network
and Fox Sports 1 split the American League Championship Series. TBS had the National League Wild Card Game, Division Series, and Championship Series, with sister network
TNT
used as an overflow channel. The World Series then aired on the Fox broadcast network for the 22nd consecutive year.
[13]
Under the three broadcasters' renewed TV deals lasting from 2022 until 2028, among other changes, ESPN was awarded the rights to all Wild Card round games, and Fox took over the selected Division Series games that were held by MLB Network.
[14]
[15]
[16]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Complete 2021 Major League Baseball postseason results"
.
MLB.com
. November 2, 2021
. Retrieved
August 15,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Tampa Bay Rays Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Houston Astros Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Chicago White Sox Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Boston Red Sox Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 New York Yankees Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 San Francisco Giants Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Milwaukee Brewers Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Atlanta Braves Statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 Los Angeles Dodgers statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
"2021 St. Louis Cardinals statistics"
.
Baseball-Reference.com
. Retrieved
July 16,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Simon, Andrew (October 24, 2021).
"Top Astros-Braves playoff moments"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
October 24,
2021
.
- ^
"MLB playoff schedule 2021: Full bracket, dates, times, TV channels for every series"
.
Sporting News
. October 27, 2021.
- ^
"MLB, FOX complete multiyear agreement"
.
MLB.com
. September 24, 2018.
- ^
"ESPN extends deal to air MLB games through '28"
.
ESPN
. May 13, 2021.
- ^
Hayes, Dade (September 24, 2020).
"WarnerMedia, Major League Baseball Reach 7-Year Rights Extension At Reported $3.75B; Will HBO Max Benefit?"
.
Deadline
.
External links
[
edit
]
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