So much for the home team having such a huge advantage in these best-of-three wildcard series where every game is played in the park of the team with the best record.
Three of the four visiting teams won. Which just proves the old adage about the playoffs. Just make it in, after that anything is possible.
Seattle went into Toronto and won. Philadelphia won in St Louis. And last night, in the only series to go the full three games, San Diego won in New York. Only Cleveland won at home.
So, now it’s down to eight teams, with all four Game 1s beginning Tuesday.
Interestingly, in three of the four series, it’s division rivals going head-to-head. Seattle plays Houston. The Astros won twelve out of the nineteen games the two teams played this year, including six of the last seven they played. Houston finished sixteen games ahead of Seattle.
In the National League, N.L. East rivals Philadelphia and Atlanta meet. Atlanta won that season series 11-8, not quite as lopsided as Houston’s domination over Seattle, but they did finish fourteen games ahead of the Phillies.
But the biggest disparity, and the most impossible rock to push up the hill is between N.L. West division rivals San Diego and Los Angeles. The Dodgers beat the Padres like a hand drum this season. They not only won 111 games, they beat the Padres fifteen out of nineteen.
But it’s the playoffs. Anything can happen.
Prediction: The Guardians beats the Yankees, the Astros beat the Mariners, the Braves beat the Phillies, the Dodgers beat the Padres.