What started as a 16-team MLB playoff field is already down to just five.
Thursday's action saw three teams punch their tickets to their respective League Championship Series, while another three packed their bags and said goodbye to a 2020 season that will go down in history.
Villains or not, the Houston Astros finished off the Oakland Athletics in Game 4 and are back in the ALCS for the fourth year in a row. They await the winner of the New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Rays series after the former staved off elimination and forced a decisive Game 5.
The National League side of the bracket saw the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers sweep aside the Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres, respectively.
It was an action-packed day of baseball, so let's get to the takeaways...
Padres' attempted coup runs out of steam
The young Padres looked well ahead of schedule all season in their quest to overthrow the Dodgers for NL West supremacy. It was an admirable effort, but they'll have to wait at least another year after the Dodgers put the finishing touches on the sweep with a dominant 12-3 win in Game 3, highlighted by catcher Will Smith's historic five-hit performance.
With Dinelson Lamet unavailable for the series and fellow ace Mike Clevinger removed from the NLDS roster after re-aggravating his elbow issue in Game 1, the Padres were forced to lean heavily on their bullpen. Their effort was admirable but it was clear the stable of relievers just didn't have anything left in the tank in Game 3. All told, San Diego played six playoff games and used at least eight different pitchers in five of them. That's probably going to catch up with you at some point in October.
Perhaps the series plays out differently with a healthy Lamet and Clevinger, but Los Angeles looked like the more complete team in all facets of the game — the Dodgers even out-celebrated Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Co. Even though this series ended in lopsided fashion, the rivalry between these juggernaut squads should only continue to get more intense in the years to come.
Montgomery dances around trouble, Yankees' bullpen shuts the door
Jordan Montgomery drew the start for the Yankees with their season on the line, and he was able to tiptoe his way out of a couple sticky situations. Tampa Bay opened the third inning by putting runners on second and third with no outs, but Montgomery limited the damage to a single run. He stranded two more Rays runners in the fourth before passing the baton to the bullpen.
Those relievers never gave the Rays any glimmer of hope. New York manager Aaron Boone didn't mix and match to fill the remaining five innings, he simply rolled out his three-headed monster of Chad Green, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman one after another. None of them surrendered so much as a hit, with the only baserunner reaching on a walk.
Now the Yankees hand the ball to ace Gerrit Cole on short rest in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Friday — a scenario that is exactly why they forked over $324 million for him last winter.
Rays need Lowe to step up
Brandon Lowe was the Rays' most productive hitter in 2020, finishing the season with a .916 OPS and a team-leading 14 home runs. He's been MIA against the Yankees, and Tampa is really missing his bat out of the two-hole in its lineup. Lowe drove in the Rays' only run of the 5-1 loss on a fielder's choice, but he remains hitless for the series.
With the way the Yankees can score, Tampa Bay needs its best offensive player to rise to the occasion. Breakout playoff star Randy Arozarena can only do so much on his own.
Correa leads charge in record-setting Astros clincher
If it seemed like baseballs were flying out of Dodger Stadium at a record pace throughout the Astros-Athletics series, your mind wasn't playing tricks on you. The two AL West clubs combined to hit 24 home runs over their four games, besting the previous LDS mark of 22 set in 1995 courtesy of the Yankees and Seattle Mariners.
Carlos Correa did most of the damage in the series-clinching 11-6 victory, connecting for a go-ahead three-run shot in the fourth inning that put Houston up for good as part of his five-RBI day. That long ball was Correa's third of the series, as he finished the ALDS with a .500 batting average and 11 RBIs.
The first-overall pick of the 2012 draft had a quiet season, posting a .709 OPS with five homers in 58 games, but has come alive in October. He's battled a slew of injuries over his career, but when he's healthy and playing to his potential he undoubtedly belongs in the same breath as the other top shortstops around MLB. It feels like he's been around forever, but the Puerto Rico native is still only 26 years old.
Marlins' bizarre, impressive streak finally ends
The Marlins entered the NLDS with a perfect 7-0 record in playoff series, with the franchise's only two post-season appearances prior to this one resulting in World Series titles. That strange, impressive run has finally come to an end.
Atlanta jumped all over Miami early in Game 3, grabbing a 4-0 lead in the third inning and never looking back, ultimately completing their second consecutive sweep with a 7-0 win. The Braves remain perfect this season when leading by four runs or more and look like a force to be reckoned with, especially with the way they're pitching. Thursday's contest was Atlanta's fourth shutout in five playoff games.
Despite their series loss, the Marlins deserve a ton of credit for their 2020 campaign. After posting by far the worst record in the National League last year, Miami surprised the baseball world by not only reaching the playoffs, but upsetting the Chicago Cubs in the first round.
Even though the expanded playoff field helped their cause, the Marlins had to navigate a COVID-19 outbreak early in the season that left them scrambling to field a competitive roster. Now equipped with some valuable experience, the future looks bright for these young Marlins.
