New York Yankees' Aaron Judge grabs a bat from the dugout before a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
San Diego Padres' Manny Machado celebrates as he round first base as he drives in two runs with a double during the second inning in Game 2 of an NL Wild Card Series baseball game Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
New York Yankees' Aaron Judge grabs a bat from the dugout before a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Nic Coury)
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San Diego Padres' Manny Machado celebrates as he round first base as he drives in two runs with a double during the second inning in Game 2 of an NL Wild Card Series baseball game Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Pete Alonso was one of the stars of Major League Baseball's Wild Card Series round, hitting a three-run homer in the ninth inning on Thursday night to lift his New York Mets over the Milwaukee Brewers for the series win.
It was a this offseason.
Now it's time to see who stars in the Division Series.
The best-of-five round starts on Saturday, featuring series between the Royals/Yankees, Tigers/Guardians, Mets/Phillies and Padres/Dodgers. The four winners advance to the League Championship Series that begin Oct. 13.
A Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge matchup in the World Series still looms as an enticing October possibility.
While the rooting interests of baseball fans vary widely, there's little doubt MLB and television executives like the potential matchup between two of the top sluggers of this generation. Ohtani became the in one season while Judge hit .
On top of that, Ohtani (Dodgers) and Judge (Yankees) play in the nation's top two media markets for two of the sport's most storied franchises. Both the Dodgers and Yankees will have to get past since MLB introduced the sport's newest playoff format in 2022.
Whatever happens in this postseason, there won't be a repeat winner in the World Series since last year's champion Texas Rangers didn't qualify for the playoffs.
Here鈥檚 a look at some other things to know about MLB's postseason:
Rule changes
Many of are still in effect during the postseason, including the pitch clock, a ban on extreme infield shifts and a limit to how many times a pitcher can disengage from the rubber. The pitch clock has been a huge change for the sport and widely celebrated, cutting game times by about a half-hour.
There is one rule that doesn't make the postseason cut: the so-called 鈥済host runner鈥 in extra innings.
During the MLB regular season, if a game goes to extra innings, a runner is placed at second base to start the 10th inning when each team bats. That won鈥檛 happen in the postseason. Extra innings will be played just like the previous nine.
Betting favorites
The Yankees are the current betting favorites to win the World Series at +325, followed by the Dodgers (+340) and Phillies (+400), 国产诱惑福利book.
How to watch
The Division Series will be split among FS1, TNT, Max, TruTV, TBS and Fox. Check listings for individual games.
