2020 Major League Baseball postseason


The 2020 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2020 season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the league played only a 60-game season, and an expanded 16-team postseason tournament began on September 29, with games of all but the first round being played at neutral sites. A new best-of-three Wild Card series was added as the opening round of this postseason due to the shortened season caused by the pandemic; it would become a permanent addition to the postseason format starting in 2022.
In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays made their second consecutive appearance, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros made their fourth consecutive appearance, and the Cleveland Indians made their fifth appearance in the last eight seasons. Also appearing in the AL side were the Oakland Athletics, who made their third consecutive appearance, and it would be their last during their time in Oakland as the team would relocate to Las Vegas. The Chicago White Sox returned for the first time since 2008, the Minnesota Twins made their third appearance in the past five seasons, and the Toronto Blue Jays returned for the third time in six seasons.
In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers made their eighth consecutive appearance, the Atlanta Braves made their third straight appearance, the San Diego Padres made their first appearance since 2006, the Milwaukee Brewers made their third consecutive appearance, and the St. Louis Cardinals made their third appearance in the past six seasons. Also on the NL side were the now-Miami Marlins, who ended nearly two decades of futility by clinching their first postseason appearance since 2003, ending what was the second longest postseason appearance drought in the majors. The Chicago Cubs returned for the fifth time in the past six seasons, marking the first time since 2008 that both teams from Chicago made the postseason. Last but not least were the Cincinnati Reds, who returned to the postseason for the first time since 2013, marking the first time since then that both teams from Ohio made the postseason.
The postseason began on September 29, and ended on October 27. The World Series began on October 20 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, and ended on October 27, with the Los Angeles Dodgers defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first title since 1988. It was the Dodgers' seventh title in franchise history.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

  1. Tampa Bay Rays – 40–20, AL East champions
  2. Oakland Athletics – 36–24, AL West champions
  3. Minnesota Twins – 36–24, AL Central champions
  4. Cleveland Indians – 35–25
  5. New York Yankees – 33–27
  6. Houston Astros – 29–31
  7. Chicago White Sox – 35–25
  8. Toronto Blue Jays – 32–28

    National League

  9. Los Angeles Dodgers – 43–17, NL West champions
  10. Atlanta Braves – 35–25, NL East champions
  11. Chicago Cubs – 34–26, NL Central champions
  12. San Diego Padres – 37–23
  13. St. Louis Cardinals – 30–28
  14. Miami Marlins – 31–29
  15. Cincinnati Reds – 31–29
  16. Milwaukee Brewers – 29–31

    Playoff bracket


American League Wild Card

(1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (8) Toronto Blue Jays

The Rays swept the Blue Jays to advance to the ALDS for the second straight year.
Blake Snell pitched six solid innings as the Rays took Game 1. In Game 2, Mike Zunino and Hunter Renfroe both homered for the Rays as they blew out the Blue Jays to complete the sweep.
This was the first of three straight losses in the Wild Card round for Toronto. In 2022 they were swept by the Seattle Mariners, and in 2023 they would get swept by the Minnesota Twins, which was Minnesota’s first playoff series win since 2002.

(2) Oakland Athletics vs. (7) Chicago White Sox

The Athletics defeated the White Sox to advance to the ALDS for the first time since 2013.
Lucas Giolito pitched seven solid innings as the White Sox took Game 1 in Oakland. In Game 2, home runs from Marcus Semien and Khris Davis would propel the Athletics to victory. In Game 3, the White Sox jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, but the Athletics went on a 6–1 run across the fourth and fifth innings to close out the series and advance. Game 3 was the last postseason game ever played at Oakland Coliseum.
This was the first playoff series win by the Athletics since 2006, and their last during their time in Oakland, as the team would relocate to Las Vegas.

(3) Minnesota Twins vs. (6) Houston Astros

This was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and Twins. The Astros swept the Twins to advance to the ALDS for the fifth time in six years.
Zack Greinke and Framber Valdez kept the Twins offense at bay in Game 1. Game 2 remained tied until the top of the seventh when Carlos Correa hit a go-ahead solo home run to put the Astros in the lead for good.
With the series loss, the Twins' playoff game losing streak had been extended to eighteen games. Both teams would meet again in the ALDS in 2023, which the Astros also won.

(4) Cleveland Indians vs. (5) New York Yankees

This was the fifth postseason meeting between the Yankees and Indians. The Yankees swept the Indians to advance to the ALDS for the fourth year in a row.
The Yankees blew out the Indians in Game 1 as Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Giancarlo Stanton, and Brett Gardner all homered for New York. Game 2 was an offensive shootout between both teams, which would be won by the Yankees 10–9 as they completed a sweep.
Both teams would meet again in the ALDS in 2022, and the ALCS in 2024, with both being won by the Yankees in five games.

National League Wild Card

(1) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (8) Milwaukee Brewers

This was the second postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Brewers. The first was the NLCS in 2018, which Los Angeles won in seven games before falling in the World Series. The Dodgers swept the Brewers to advance to the NLDS for the eighth year in a row.
In Game 1, the Dodgers jumped out to an early 3–0 lead, but it was narrowed to one thanks to a two-run blast from Orlando Arcia. However, Corey Seager would extend the Dodgers’ lead to two in the bottom of the seventh, which was good enough to secure the victory. Clayton Kershaw and Brusdar Graterol would silence the Milwaukee offense in Game 2 as the Dodgers won 3–0 to close out the series.
Both teams would meet again in the NLCS in 2025, which the Dodgers also won in a sweep.

(2) Atlanta Braves vs. (7) Cincinnati Reds

This was the second postseason meeting between the Reds and Braves. They last met in the NLCS in 1995, which the Braves won in a four-game sweep en route to a World Series title. The Braves once again swept the Reds to advance to the NLDS for the third year in a row.
Game 1 was a long scoreless affair that went into extra innings, where Freddie Freeman won the game for the Braves in the bottom of the thirteenth with an RBI single. Ian Anderson pitched six solid innings in Game 2 as the Braves blanked the Reds 5–0 to close out the series and advance. This was the first playoff series won by the Braves since 2001.

(3) Chicago Cubs vs. (6) Miami Marlins

This was the second postseason meeting between the Marlins and Cubs. The first was in a highly controversial NLCS in 2003, which the Marlins won in seven games en route to a World Series title as a result of the Cubs’ collapse after the Steve Bartman incident. The Marlins swept the Cubs to return to the NLDS for the first time since 2003.
Sandy Alcántara pitched six solid innings and Corey Dickerson and Jesús Aguilar homered for the Marlins as they won 5–1 in Game 1. Game 2 was a pitchers’ duel between both teams’ bullpens, which was broken in the top of the seventh when Garrett Cooper hit a home run off Yu Darvish to put the Marlins ahead for good.
This was the first playoff series win by the Marlins since the 2003 World Series.

(4) San Diego Padres vs. (5) St. Louis Cardinals

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Padres and Cardinals. The Cardinals won all three previous meetings. This time, the Padres returned the favor, defeating the Cardinals in three games to advance to the NLDS for the first time since 2006.
Game 1 was an offensive slugfest that was won by the Cardinals. Game 2 was yet another showdown between both teams’ offenses, which was won by the Padres as Manny Machado, Wil Myers, and Fernando Tatís Jr. all homered for the Padres. In Game 3, the Padres gambled by going with a “bullpen game” strategy in which they used different pitchers every inning. This risk paid off for the Padres as they silenced the Cardinals’ bats in a shutout victory to advance, exacting long-awaited revenge on the team that eliminated them from the postseason in three of their last four postseason appearances. This was the Padres’ first playoff victory since winning the National League pennant in 1998.
This was the first of three straight losses in the Wild Card round for the Cardinals, as they would lose to their archrival Los Angeles Dodgers the next year, and they would lose to the eventual National League champion Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.

American League Division Series

(1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (5) New York Yankees

The Rays defeated the Yankees in five games to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2008.
The Yankees blew out the Rays in Game 1 as Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Clint Frazier, and Kyle Higashioka all homered for New York. Game 2 was an offensive shootout between both teams, which was won by the Rays as Austin Meadows, Mike Zunino, Manuel Margot, and Randy Arozarena all hit home runs. In Game 3, Arozarena homered again along with Michael Pérez and Kevin Kiermaier as the Rays won 8–4 to take the series lead. The Yankees struck back in Game 4 to even the series as Gleyber Torres and Luke Voit both hit home runs to contribute to a 5–1 victory. In Game 5, the Yankees struck first with a solo home run from Judge, but the Rays put up two unanswered runs thanks to home runs from Meadows and Mike Brosseau, and would hold on to win and advance to the ALCS.