2011 Major League Baseball postseason


The 2011 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2011 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series. This was the last postseason to feature the 8-team format, as next season a new League Wild Card Game was introduced as the new opening round of the postseason, as well as the last time that two teams from the same division could not face each other in the opening round.
In the American League, the New York Yankees returned for the sixteenth time in the past seventeen years, the Texas Rangers returned for the second straight year, the Detroit Tigers returned for the first time since 2006, and was the first of four straight appearances by the Tigers. The Tampa Bay Rays returned for the third time in four years.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals returned for the eighth time in the past twelve years, the Milwaukee Brewers made their second appearance in the past four years, the Philadelphia Phillies returned for the fifth straight time, and the Arizona Diamondbacks returned for the first time since 2007. This was Philadelphia’s last postseason appearance until 2022.
The postseason began on September 30, 2011, and ended on October 28, 2011, with the Cardinals defeating the Rangers in seven games in the 2011 World Series. It was the Cardinals' 11th title in franchise history.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

  1. New York Yankees – 97–65, AL East champions
  2. Texas Rangers – 96–66, AL West
  3. Detroit Tigers – 95–67, AL Central champions
  4. Tampa Bay Rays – 91–71

    National League

  5. Philadelphia Phillies – 102–60, NL East champions
  6. Milwaukee Brewers – 96–66, NL Central champions
  7. Arizona Diamondbacks – 94–68, NL West champions
  8. St. Louis Cardinals – 90–72

    Playoff bracket



Note: Two teams in the same division cannot meet in the division series.

American League Division Series

(1) New York Yankees vs. (3) Detroit Tigers

†: suspended in the bottom of the second inning due to rain
This was the second postseason meeting between the Tigers and Yankees. They previously met in the ALDS in 2006, which the Tigers won in four games before falling in the World Series. In a hotly contested five-game series, the Tigers once again defeated the Yankees to return to the ALCS for the second time in six years.
The Yankees unsurprisingly took Game 1 in a blowout win, as the Yankees' offense chased Doug Fister from the mound. In Game 2, the Tigers jumped out to a 4–0 lead and their bullpen stopped a late rally by the Yankees to even the series headed back to Detroit. Delmon Young would propel the Tigers to a one-run victory in Game 3 thanks to a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh that broke a 4–4 tie. Then, the Yankees would blow out the Tigers again in Game 4 to send the series back to the Bronx. However, in Game 5, Fister would redeem himself as he and the Tigers' bullpen fended off a late push by the Yankees to win 3–2 and return to the ALCS. Game 5 would ultimately be Mariano Rivera’s final postseason game, as he missed the 2012 postseason due to injury and would retire in 2013.
The Tigers became the third team to win consecutive postseason series against the Yankees, joining the 1921–22 New York Giants and the 2002 and 2005 Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels. Both teams would meet again in the ALCS the next year, which the Tigers won in a sweep before falling in the World Series.

(2) Texas Rangers vs. (4) Tampa Bay Rays

This was the second straight postseason meeting between the Rays and Rangers, and a rematch of last year's ALDS. The Rangers once again defeated the Rays to advance to the ALCS for the second year in a row.
Rays' rookie pitcher Matt Moore pitched seven shutout innings as the Rays blew out the Rangers in Game 1. Game 2 was an offensive shootout which the Rangers won 8–6 to even the series headed to St. Petersburg. In the top of the seventh inning of Game 3, Mike Napoli and Josh Hamilton helped the Rangers come from behind to win by a 4–3 score to take the series lead. The Rangers would win the series in Game 4 thanks to a home run from Ian Kinsler and three more from Adrián Beltré.
Both teams would meet again in the Wild Card round in 2023, which the Rangers won in a sweep en route to a World Series title.

National League Division Series

(1) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (4) St. Louis Cardinals

This was the first postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Phillies. The Cardinals upset the heavily favored Phillies in five games to return to the NLCS for the fifth time in the last nine years.
Game 1 was an offensive slugfest that was won by the Phillies. In Game 2, the Phillies jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the second inning, but the Cardinals mounted a comeback, putting up five unanswered runs across innings four through seven to even the series heading to St. Louis, handing Cliff Lee his third straight postseason loss going back to the 2010 World Series. Cole Hamels pitched six shutout innings and Ryan Madson stopped a late Cardinals rally to earn a save and give the Phillies back the series lead. In Game 4, the Cardinals came from behind to win once again thanks to a two-run RBI double from David Freese in the bottom of the fourth to put the Cards in the lead for good, sending the series back to Philadelphia for a decisive fifth game. In Game 5, Chris Carpenter pitched a three-hit complete game shutout as the Cardinals won 1-0 to advance. The Cardinals’ 1-0 victory was the third winner-take-all game in postseason history to end in a 1-0 score.
Both teams would meet again in the Wild Card round in 2022, where the Phillies returned the favor by sweeping the Cardinals before falling in the World Series that year.

(2) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (3) Arizona Diamondbacks

This was the first postseason meeting between the Brewers and Diamondbacks. The Brewers defeated the Diamondbacks in five games to reach their first ever LCS as a member of the National League and first LCS appearance overall since 1982.
Yovani Gallardo helped lead the Brewers to victory in Game 1 with a solid eight-inning performance. In Game 2, with the game tied at four, the Brewers scored five unanswered runs in the bottom of the sixth to win and go up 2–0 in the series headed to Phoenix. Josh Collmenter pitched seven solid innings as the Diamondbacks blew out the Brewers in Game 3. Game 4 was an offensive slugfest that was won by the Diamondbacks as they forced a decisive fifth game back in Milwaukee. In Game 5, the Diamondbacks tied the game in the top of the ninth to force extras, but the Brewers survived as Nyjer Morgan hit a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the tenth. This was the first playoff series win by the Brewers since winning the American League pennant in 1982.
Both teams would meet again in the Wild Card round in 2023, which the Diamondbacks won in a sweep before ultimately losing in the World Series.

American League Championship Series

(2) Texas Rangers vs. (3) Detroit Tigers

†: postponed from October 9 due to rain
The Rangers defeated the Tigers in six games to return to the World Series for the second year in a row.
In Game 1, the Rangers shocked Tigers’ ace and eventual AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander in a narrow 3-2 victory. In Game 2, the game remained tied through ten innings, until Nelson Cruz walked it off for the Rangers with a grand slam in the bottom of the eleventh to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Detroit. Doug Fister pitched seven solid innings and Víctor Martínez finally ignited the Tigers’ offense as they took Game 3. Game 4 was a tight contest in regulation, where the Tigers came back to tie the game, but were unable to regain the lead as Cruz tagged Miguel Cabrera out at home in the bottom of the eighth, resulting in extras once again. Then in the top of the eleventh, Mike Napoli drove in Josh Hamilton with an RBI single to put the Rangers in the lead for good, then Cruz once again got the better of the Tigers with a three-run home run to put the game out of reach. In Game 5, Verlander redeemed himself on the mound with a solid seven inning performance and narrowly prevailed to send the series back to Arlington despite Cruz’s late-inning heroics. The Rangers then blew out the Tigers by ten runs in Game 6, handing Max Scherzer his worst postseason loss ever.
The Tigers would return to the ALCS the following year, sweeping the New York Yankees before falling in the World Series.
The Rangers would win their next and most recent pennant in 2023 over their in-state rival in the Houston Astros in seven games en route to a World Series title.

National League Championship Series

(2) Milwaukee Brewers vs. (4) St. Louis Cardinals

This was the second postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Brewers. They last met in the 1982 World Series, which the Cardinals won in seven games. Just like before, the Cardinals once again defeated the Brewers, this time in six games, to return to the World Series for the first time since 2006.
Game 1 was an offensive slugfest which the Brewers won 9–6, thanks to home runs from Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Yuniesky Betancourt. In Game 2, the Cardinals blew out the Brewers to even the series headed to St. Louis. Chris Carpenter and the Cardinals' bullpen would fend off a potential rally by the Brewers as they won 4–3 to take the series lead. In Game 4, Randy Wolf pitched seven solid innings as the Brewers came from behind to win and even the series at two. The Cardinals blew out the Brewers again in Game 5 to take a 3–2 series lead headed back to Milwaukee. The Cardinals would clinch the pennant in another blowout win in Game 6, thanks to home runs from David Freese, Rafael Furcal, and Albert Pujols.
This was the first of three consecutive losses in the NLCS for the Brewers. They would return to the NLCS in 2018 and 2025, but they lost both to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Cardinals returned to the NLCS the next year, but lost to the eventual World Series champion San Francisco Giants in seven games after leading the series 3–1. The Cardinals would win their next and most recent pennant in two years later over their archrival in the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games before falling in the World Series.