MLB playoffs treating fans to a 'first-ever' in division series

If the trends continue, we may be in for the greatest MLB playoffs of all time. After Monday's game twos in the ALDS in which the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees, each division series is tied 1-1. It's the first time in the 31-year history of the division series that this is the case, and only the second time since 2015 that there won't be a sweep.

The MLB added the additional postseason round in 1995 when the league expanded to three divisions. It had a division series in 1981 due to a mid-season players strike.

How did we get here? After the Yankees and Royals played a back-and-forth Game 1 in which the Yankees won 6-5, Kansas City's pitching staff stifled the New York bats in Game 2. While the Yankees recorded seven hits they managed only two runs. The Royals four-run fourth inning, started by a Salvador Perez solo home run, was enough to secure the Royals' 4-2 win to tie the series.

The Guardians and Tigers followed up a 7-0 Cleveland win with a pitchers and defense duel. The teams were scoreless through eight, due to fantastic catches in the outfield, before Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter launched an Emmanuel Clase slider to the right-field stands. The three-run home run was more than enough to win the game for Detroit, tying the series.

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In the National League, both series became tied up Sunday. The San Diego Padres bats exploded against the Los Angeles Dodgers, beating them 10-2 and, eerily reminiscent of their series in 2022, tied up the series.

In Philadelphia, the Phillies came from behind against the New York Mets twice, winning 7-6 on a Nick Castellanos walk-off single. The Mets tied the game in the top of the ninth on a two-run home run before Castellanos' heroics in the bottom half of the inning.

If you want an indicator of who will win each series, it's not as clear as who now has home field advantage. Under the current format of the series, 2-2-1, teams heading home for Game 3 win the series 66% of the time, 29-15. Statistically, at least two of the teams playing at home in Games 3 Tuesday and Wednesday will win the series. The best part about sports, though, is that it is undpredictable.

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