2016 Major League Baseball postseason


The 2016 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2016 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.
In the American League, the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers made their second straight postseason appearances respectively, the Cleveland Indians and Boston Red Sox made their second postseason appearances in the past four years, and the Baltimore Orioles made their third appearance in the past five years.
In the National League, the San Francisco Giants made their fourth appearance in seven years, the Washington Nationals made their third appearance in the past five years, the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets returned for the second year in a row, and the Los Angeles Dodgers returned for the fourth straight time.
This was the last edition of the postseason until 2025 to not feature the Houston Astros, who made eight straight appearances from 2017 to 2024.
The postseason began on October 4, and ended on November 2, with the Cubs defeating the Indians in seven games in the 2016 World Series. It was the Cubs' first title in 108 years, ending the longest championship drought in North American sports history, as well as the Curse of the Billy Goat.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

  1. Texas Rangers – 95–67, AL West champions
  2. Cleveland Indians – 94–67, AL Central champions
  3. Boston Red Sox – 93–69, AL East champions
  4. Toronto Blue Jays – 89–73
  5. Baltimore Orioles – 89–73

    National League

  6. Chicago Cubs – 103–58, NL Central champions
  7. Washington Nationals – 95–67, NL East champions
  8. Los Angeles Dodgers – 91–71, NL West champions
  9. New York Mets – 87–75
  10. San Francisco Giants – 87–75

    Playoff bracket


American League Wild Card

(4) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (5) Baltimore Orioles

The Blue Jays defeated the Orioles, 5–2, in the bottom of the eleventh, when Edwin Encarnación hit a walk-off three-run home run off Ubaldo Jiménez. The Blue Jays returned to the ALDS for the second year in a row.

National League Wild Card

(4) New York Mets vs. (5) San Francisco Giants

This was the second postseason meeting between the Mets and Giants. They last met in the NLDS in 2000, which was won by the Mets in four games before falling in the World Series. The Giants shut out the defending National League champion Mets to advance to the NLDS for the fourth time in seven years.
The Giants won thanks to a 3-run home run by Conor Gillaspie in the top of the ninth. Madison Bumgarner pitched a four-hit complete-game shutout in the Wild Card Game for the second time in three years.
As of, this is the last postseason series win by the Giants.

American League Division Series

(1) Texas Rangers vs. (4) Toronto Blue Jays

This was the second straight postseason meeting between the Blue Jays and Rangers. The Blue Jays once again emerged victorious, sweeping the Rangers to advance to the ALCS for the second year in a row.
Marco Estrada pitched eight innings of shutout ball as the Blue Jays blew out the Rangers in Game 1. In Game 2, four different players homered for the Blue Jays as the won 5–3 to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Toronto. Game 2 was the last postseason game ever played at Globe Life Park. The Blue Jays took Game 3 in extra innings, capped off by an error made by Texas' Rougned Odor while attempting a double play — the throw went wide of first baseman Mitch Moreland, which allowed Toronto's Josh Donaldson to run to home plate and clinch the series win for the Blue Jays.
The Rangers would return to the postseason in 2023, where they would go on to win the World Series.

(2) Cleveland Indians vs. (3) Boston Red Sox

This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Red Sox and Indians. The Indians swept the Red Sox to return to the ALCS for the first time since 2007.
The Indians prevailed in a Game 1 slugfest, as each team had three home runs each. Corey Kluber pitched seven innings of shutout ball as the Indians won 6–0 to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Boston. In Game 3, the Indians’ bullpen ended a potential rally by the Red Sox as they won by one run to complete the sweep. Game 3 would ultimately be David Ortiz’s final postseason game, and he would retire after the season.
With the win, the Indians improved their postseason record against the Red Sox to 3–2. The Indians’ 2016 ALDS victory started a streak of playoff success for Cleveland-based teams against their Boston counterparts, as the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers then defeated the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs in 2017 and 2018.

National League Division Series

(1) Chicago Cubs vs. (5) San Francisco Giants

This was the second postseason meeting between the Cubs and Giants. Their last meeting was in the NLCS in 1989, which the Giants won in five games before falling in the World Series. The Cubs defeated the Giants in four games to advance to the NLCS for the second year in a row.
Jon Lester pitched eight innings of shutout ball as the Cubs won 1-0 in Game 1. In Game 2, the Cubs jumped into the lead early and held it to take a 2–0 series lead headed to San Francisco. Game 2 was notable for Chicago’s Travis Wood becoming the first relief pitcher since the 1924 World Series to hit a home run in the postseason. In Game 3, the Cubs led 3-2 after seven, but the Giants rallied with a three run eighth to take the lead. The Cubs forced extra innings in the top of the ninth thanks to a two-run home run from Kris Bryant, but the Giants ultimately prevailed in the bottom of the thirteenth thanks to a walk-off RBI double from Joe Panik. Game 3 was Madison Bumgarner’s final postseason game. Game 4 started out with the Giants leading 5-2 going into the ninth, and were three outs away from sending the series back to Chicago. However, the Giants’ defense imploded - they used five pitchers in the inning and gave up four unanswered runs as the Cubs took the lead for good. Aroldis Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to close out the series. In Game 4, the Cubs became the first team since the 1986 New York Mets to overcome a 3-run deficit when trailing after eight innings and win the game, and the Cubs were the first team to complete the feat in regulation.
The Giants were denied the chance to win a fourth World Series title in seven years, officially ending their dynasty.

(2) Washington Nationals vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

This was the second postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Nationals. They last met in the NLCS in 1981 - back when the Nationals were known as the Montreal Expos, and was won by the Dodgers en route to a World Series title. The Dodgers defeated the Nationals in five games to return to the NLCS for the fourth time in eight years.
Clayton Kershaw outdueled Max Scherzer in Game 1 as the Dodgers won 4-3. In Game 2, José Lobatón hit a three-run home run to put the Nationals up for good as they won to even the series headed to Los Angeles. Anthony Rendon and Jayson Werth both homered for the Nationals in Game 3 as they blew out the Dodgers to take the series lead. However, it would not hold. The Dodgers won a tightly-contested Game 4 to send the series back to the nation’s capital. Kershaw got the save in a comeback win for the Dodgers in Game 5.
Both teams would meet again in the NLDS in 2019, which the Nationals won in five games en route to a World Series title.

American League Championship Series

(2) Cleveland Indians vs. (4) Toronto Blue Jays

This was the last ALCS until 2025 to not feature either the Houston Astros or New York Yankees. The Indians defeated the Blue Jays in five games to return to the World Series for the first time since 1997.
Despite Toronto’s Marco Estrada pitching a complete game, Corey Kluber and the Indians’ bullpen held the Blue Jays’ offense at bay as they won 2–0 in Game 1. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen would silence the Blue Jays’ offense late in Game 2 as the Indians won 2–1 to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Toronto. In Game 3, Toronto’s offense began to come alive as Michael Saunders tied the game at two in the bottom of the fifth, but it wasn’t enough as Jason Kipnis hit a solo home run to put the Indians ahead for good, giving them a commanding three games to none series lead. In Game 4, the Blue Jays took their first lead of the series as Josh Donaldson homered in the bottom of the third, and Edwin Encarnación singled to score two runs, ultimately securing the Blue Jays’ victory. However, the Indians pitching staff pitched yet another shutout in Game 5 as they won 3–0 to secure the pennant.
The Indians set an MLB record with the lowest batting average by a winning team in a postseason series, hitting just.168 against the Blue Jays. They also became the first club to win the AL pennant on the road since the Chicago White Sox did so at Angel Stadium in 2005. As of, this is the last time the Indians/Guardians won the AL pennant. They would return to the ALCS in 2024, but they lost to the New York Yankees in five games.
The Blue Jays would return to the ALCS in 2025, and defeated the Seattle Mariners in seven games after being eight outs away from elimination in Game 7, but they would fall in the World Series.
The 2016 ALCS was part of a streak of playoff success for Cleveland-based teams against their Toronto counterparts, as the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers also defeated the Toronto Raptors in the NBA playoffs in the 2016 Eastern Conference Finals, and the Eastern Conference Semifinals in both 2017 and 2018.

National League Championship Series

(1) Chicago Cubs vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

This was the second postseason meeting between the Cubs and Dodgers. They had last met in the NLDS in 2008, which the Dodgers won in a sweep. The Cubs defeated the Dodgers in six games, advancing to the World Series for the first time since 1945, ending what was the longest pennant drought in the MLB, as well as the longest conference championship drought in North American sports.
The Cubs broke a late 3–3 tie in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a grand slam from Miguel Montero to take Game 1. Game 2 was a pitchers duel between Los Angeles’ Clayton Kershaw and Chicago’s Kyle Hendricks, which was won by the former as the Dodgers evened the series with a 1–0 victory. When the series shifted to Los Angeles for Game 3, the Dodgers shut out the Cubs by a 6–0 score to go up 2–1 in the series, becoming the fourth team in LCS history to win in consecutive shutouts. The Cubs offense came alive in Game 4 as they blew out the Dodgers to even the series. In Game 5, the Cubs took the lead off of a two-run home run from Addison Russell, and added in some insurance runs from Javier Báez’s bases-clearing double to take a 3–2 series lead headed back to Chicago. In Game 6, Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras each hit home runs and Kris Bryant, Ben Zobrist, and Dexter Fowler each drove in a run as the Cubs jumped to a 5–0 lead and didn’t relinquish it, ending their long pennant drought and finally returning to the World Series.
As of, this is the last time the Cubs won the NL pennant. With their win over the Dodgers, the Seattle Mariners, who have yet to win a pennant since their inception in 1977, now hold the longest active pennant drought. The team with the longest active pennant drought in the National League now became the Pittsburgh Pirates, who last won it in 1979. This was the first time the Cubs clinched the NL pennant at home since 1932.
Both teams would meet again in the NLCS the next year, which the Dodgers won in five games before falling in the World Series.