The prize for winning an AL Wild Card Series is being an underdog against either the Yankees or Astros, but we still have four interesting teams set for best-of-three series in the first year of MLB’s new postseason format.
The Rays and Guardians actually met in 2013, which was the second year of the winner-take-all, one-game wild-card “round.” That year, the Guardians missed out on the division title by one game before losing to the Rays. This year, they’re in the wild-card round as division champs and play the Rays in the No. 3 vs. No. 6 series.
The Blue Jays and Mariners meet in the No. 4 vs. No. 5 series. The teams have no playoff history with each other, due in part to the fact that Seattle hasn’t made the playoffs since 2001 and Toronto only has four postseason appearances since winning the 1993 World Series.
Both series stand out to me in different ways, so let’s see what we can expect.