2018 Major League Baseball postseason

2018 Major League Baseball postseason

Tournament details
Dates	October 2–28, 2018[1]
Teams	10
Final positions
Champions	Boston Red Sox (9th title)
Runner-up	Los Angeles Dodgers (20th World Series appearance)
Tournament statistics
MVP	Steve Pearce (BOS)
← 2017 2019 →

The 2018 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2018 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 Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians made their third straight appearances, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees made their second straight appearances, and the Oakland Athletics made their fourth appearance in the past seven years. This postseason was notable for being the first in which the American League had three teams that won at least 100 games or more in the regular season.^[2]

In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers made their sixth straight postseason appearance, the Colorado Rockies made their second straight appearance, the Chicago Cubs made their fourth straight appearance, the Atlanta Braves made their first appearance since 2013, and the Milwaukee Brewers made their first appearance since 2011.

The postseason began on October 2, and ended on October 28, with the Red Sox defeating the Dodgers in five games in the 2018 World Series. It was the ninth title won by the Red Sox organization, tying the Oakland Athletics for the third most World Series championships.

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

1. Boston Red Sox – 108–54, AL East champions^[3]
2. Houston Astros – 103–59, AL West champions^[4]
3. Cleveland Indians – 91–71, AL Central champions^[5]
4. New York Yankees – 100–62^[6]
5. Oakland Athletics – 97–65^[7]

1. Milwaukee Brewers – 96–67, NL Central champions^[8]
2. Los Angeles Dodgers – 92–71, NL West champions^[9]
3. Atlanta Braves – 90–72, NL East champions^[10]
4. Chicago Cubs – 95–68^[11]
5. Colorado Rockies – 91–72^[12]

	Wild Card Games (ALWC, NLWC)					Division Series (ALDS, NLDS)								League Championship Series (ALCS, NLCS)											World Series
						1	Boston	5	2	16	4
	4	NY Yankees	7			4	NY Yankees	4	6	1	3
	5	Oakland	2			American League								1	Boston	2	7	8	8	4	–	–
														2	Houston	7	5	2	6	1	–	–
						2	Houston	7	3	11	–
						3	Cleveland	2	1	3	–
																									AL1	Boston	8	4	2	9	5
																									NL2	LA Dodgers	4	2	318*	6	1
						1	Milwaukee	310*	4	6	–
	4	Chicago Cubs	1			5	Colorado	2	0	0	–
	5	Colorado	213			National League								1	Milwaukee	6	3	4	1	2	7	1
														2	LA Dodgers	5	4	0	213*	5	2	5
						2	LA Dodgers	6	3	5	6
						3	Atlanta	0	0	6	2

• *Denotes walk-off

Wednesday, October 3, 2018 8:08 pm (EDT) at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, 70 °F (21 °C), partly cloudy

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Oakland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	4	0
New York	2	0	0	0	0	4	0	1	X	7	7	1
WP: Dellin Betances (1–0)   LP: Liam Hendriks (0–1) Home runs: OAK: Khris Davis (1) NYY: Aaron Judge (1), Giancarlo Stanton (1) Attendance: 49,620 Boxscore

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Athletics and Yankees. The Yankees had won the previous three meetings (1981, 2000, 2001). The Yankees defeated the Athletics 7–2 to advance to the ALDS for the second year in a row.

Tuesday, October 2, 2018 7:08 pm (CDT) at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois, 61 °F (16 °C), cloudy

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	R	H	E
Colorado	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	11	1
Chicago	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
WP: Scott Oberg (1–0)   LP: Kyle Hendricks (0–1) Home runs: COL: none CHC: none Attendance: 40,151 Boxscore

The Rockies upset the Cubs in a thirteen-inning duel, 2–1, to advance to the NLDS for the first time since 2009.

Boston won the series, 3–1.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 5	New York Yankees – 4, Boston Red Sox – 5	Fenway Park	3:41	39,059[13]
2	October 6	New York Yankees – 6, Boston Red Sox – 2	Fenway Park	3:31	39,151[14]
3	October 8	Boston Red Sox – 16, New York Yankees – 1	Yankee Stadium	3:41	49,657[15]
4	October 9	Boston Red Sox – 4, New York Yankees – 3	Yankee Stadium	3:28	49,641[16]

This was the fourth postseason meeting in the history of the Yankees–Red Sox rivalry. They had last met in the 2004 ALCS, where the Red Sox became the first team in MLB history to win a series after facing a 3–0 series deficit. The Red Sox again defeated the Yankees to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2013.

The Red Sox took Game 1 by one run as closer Craig Kimbrel held off a late Yankees rally. The Yankees evened the series with a 6–2 victory in Game 2 thanks to three home runs from Gary Sánchez and Aaron Judge respectively. Game 3 was the most notable matchup of the series, as the Red Sox blew out the Yankees 16–1 in Yankee Stadium despite having only one home run from Brock Holt, handing the Yankees their worst postseason loss ever. The Red Sox took a 4–0 lead in Game 4, and while the Yankees cut their lead to one in the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox still held on to close out the series.

The Yankees and Red Sox would meet once more in the 2021 AL Wild Card Game, which was won by the Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Houston won the series, 3–0.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 5	Cleveland Indians – 2, Houston Astros – 7	Minute Maid Park	3:36	43,514[17]
2	October 6	Cleveland Indians – 1, Houston Astros – 3	Minute Maid Park	3:12	43,520[18]
3	October 8	Houston Astros – 11, Cleveland Indians – 3	Progressive Field	4:02	37,252[19]

The Astros swept the Indians to return to the ALCS for the second year in a row.

Justin Verlander pitched five solid innings as the Astros blew out the Indians in Game 1. Houston’s Gerrit Cole outdueled Cleveland’s Carlos Carrasco in a pitcher’s duel in Game 2 as they took a 2–0 series lead headed to Cleveland. The Astros blew out the Indians again in Game 3 to close out the series.

This was the last postseason appearance for the Indians until 2020.

Milwaukee won the series, 3–0.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 4	Colorado Rockies – 2, Milwaukee Brewers – 3 (10)	Miller Park	4:04	43,382[20]
2	October 5	Colorado Rockies – 0, Milwaukee Brewers – 4	Miller Park	3:45	44,547[21]
3	October 7	Milwaukee Brewers – 6, Colorado Rockies – 0	Coors Field	3:14	49,658[22]

The Brewers swept the Rockies to return to the NLCS for the first time since 2011.

The Rockies were simply outmatched by the Brewers' offense and pitching. Game 1 was the only close game of the series, as Mike Moustakas won it for the Brewers with a walk-off RBI single off Colorado’s Adam Ottavino in the bottom of the tenth. Jhoulys Chacín and the Milwaukee bullpen kept the Rockies’ bats silent in Game 2 as they took a 2–0 series lead heading to Denver. Jesús Aguilar, Orlando Arcia, and Keon Broxton all homered for the Brewers in Game 3 as they shut out the Rockies yet again to finish the sweep.

As of 2024, this is the last time the Rockies appeared in the postseason.^[23]

Los Angeles won the series, 3–1.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 4	Atlanta Braves – 0, Los Angeles Dodgers – 6	Dodger Stadium	3:13	50,947[24]
2	October 5	Atlanta Braves – 0, Los Angeles Dodgers – 3	Dodger Stadium	2:35	54,452[25]
3	October 7	Los Angeles Dodgers – 5, Atlanta Braves – 6	SunTrust Park	3:36	42,385[26]
4	October 8	Los Angeles Dodgers – 6 Atlanta Braves – 2	SunTrust Park	3:42	39,586[27]

This was the third postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Braves.. The Dodgers defeated the Braves in four games to return to the NLCS for the third year in a row.

Hyun-jin Ryu pitched seven innings of shutout ball in Game 1 as the Dodgers shut out the Braves 6-0. In Game 2, Clayton Kershaw pitched eight shutout innings as he beat Aníbal Sánchez in a pitchers’ duel in another shutout win for the Dodgers as they took a 2–0 series lead headed to Atlanta. In Game 3, a grand slam from Ronald Acuña Jr. and another home run from Freddie Freeman propelled the Braves to victory. In Game 4, the Braves led 2-1 after five innings, but the Dodgers put up five unanswered runs across the sixth and seventh innings, capped off by a three-run home run from Manny Machado, to win and close out the series.

The Braves and Dodgers would face each other two more times in the postseason — in the NLCS in 2020 and 2021, with the Dodgers winning the former, and the Braves winning the latter.

Boston won the series, 4–1.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 13	Houston Astros – 7, Boston Red Sox – 2	Fenway Park	4:03	38,007[28]
2	October 14	Houston Astros – 5, Boston Red Sox – 7	Fenway Park	3:45	37,960[29]
3	October 16	Boston Red Sox – 8, Houston Astros – 2	Minute Maid Park	3:52	43,102[30]
4	October 17	Boston Red Sox – 8, Houston Astros – 6	Minute Maid Park	4:33	43,277[31]
5	October 18	Boston Red Sox – 4, Houston Astros – 1	Minute Maid Park	3:32	43,210[32]

This was the second postseason meeting between the Astros and Red Sox. The Red Sox defeated the defending World Series champion Astros in five games and returned to the World Series for the first time since 2013.

The Astros stole Game 1 convincingly at Fenway Park thanks to more solid pitching from Justin Verlander. However, the series would tilt the Red Sox's way afterward. Game 2 was an offensive slugfest which the Red Sox narrowly won to even the series headed back to Houston. Nathan Eovaldi kept the Astros' offense at bay in Game 3 as the Red Sox prevailed in a blowout win, 8–2. Game 4 was a back-and-forth offensive duel between both teams, which the Red Sox won 8–6 to take a 3–1 series lead. In Game 5, David Price pitched eight solid innings as the Red Sox jumped out to a big lead early and didn't relinquish it, securing the pennant with a 4–1 victory.

As of 2025, this is the last time the Red Sox won the AL pennant. The Astros would return to the ALCS the next year, where they defeated the New York Yankees in six games to return to the World Series. The Red Sox and Astros would meet again in the ALCS in 2021, in which the Astros returned the favor and defeated the Red Sox in six games before falling in the World Series.

Los Angeles won the series, 4–3.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 12	Los Angeles Dodgers – 5, Milwaukee Brewers – 6	Miller Park	4:02	43,615[33]
2	October 13	Los Angeles Dodgers – 4, Milwaukee Brewers – 3	Miller Park	3:31	43,905[34]
3	October 15	Milwaukee Brewers – 4, Los Angeles Dodgers – 0	Dodger Stadium	3:25	52,793[35]
4	October 16	Milwaukee Brewers – 1, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 (13)	Dodger Stadium	5:15	53,764[36]
5	October 17	Milwaukee Brewers – 2, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5	Dodger Stadium	3:35	54,502[37]
6	October 19	Los Angeles Dodgers – 2, Milwaukee Brewers – 7	Miller Park	3:34	43,619[38]
7	October 20	Los Angeles Dodgers – 5, Milwaukee Brewers – 1	Miller Park	3:15	44,097[39]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Brewers and Dodgers. The Dodgers narrowly defeated the Brewers in seven games to return to the World Series for the second year in a row.

Corey Knebel held off a late rally by the Dodgers in Game 1 as the Brewers won 6–5. In Game 2, the Dodgers overcame a 3–0 Brewers lead by scoring two runs in the seventh and eighth innings to even the series. When the series shifted to Los Angeles, the Brewers' pitching staff pitched a five-hit shutout as the Brewers won 4–0 to take the series lead in Game 3. In Game 4, the Dodgers evened the series after a thirteen-inning duel thanks to a walk-off RBI single from Cody Bellinger which scored Manny Machado. Game 4 lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes, making it the second longest NLCS game behind only Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS, which lasted 5 hours and 46 minutes.^[40] In Game 5, the Dodgers overcame another Brewers lead to win 5–2 and go up 3–2 in the series headed back to Milwaukee. In Game 6, the Brewers jumped out to a big early lead and didn't relinquish it, winning 7–2 to force a seventh game. The Brewers jumped out to an early lead again in Game 7, but it wasn't enough as the Dodgers scored five unanswered runs to secure the pennant.

The Dodgers' win was marred by controversy, as the team was accused by the Brewers' Eric Kratz of using a video camera to steal signs. An anonymous source reported to The Athletic that "They use video people to get sequences", and that "It's known throughout the league. MLB knows it's an issue." Kratz also pointed to a moment in the sixth inning of Game 5 when he saw Manny Machado motioning toward Chris Taylor, who was at the plate in what he thought was an attempt to inform him of the upcoming pitch.^[41]

To date, this is the last postseason appearance outside of the Divisional round for the Brewers. The Dodgers would win their next NL pennant in 2020 over the Atlanta Braves in seven games after trailing 3–1 in the series en route to a World Series title.

Boston won the series, 4–1.

Game	Date	Score	Location	Time	Attendance
1	October 23	Los Angeles Dodgers – 4, Boston Red Sox – 8	Fenway Park	3:52	38,454[42]
2	October 24	Los Angeles Dodgers – 2, Boston Red Sox – 4	Fenway Park	3:12	38,644[43]
3	October 26	Boston Red Sox – 2, Los Angeles Dodgers – 3 (18)	Dodger Stadium	7:20	53,114[44]
4	October 27	Boston Red Sox − 9, Los Angeles Dodgers − 6	Dodger Stadium	3:57	54,400[45]
5	October 28	Boston Red Sox – 5, Los Angeles Dodgers – 1	Dodger Stadium	3:00	54,367[46]

This was a rematch of the 1916 World Series, which the Red Sox won in five games. It was also the twelfth meeting between teams from Boston and Los Angeles for a major professional sports championship. This previously occurred in eleven NBA Finals (1962, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1984, 1985, 1987, 2008, 2010).

Like in 1916, history again repeated itself, and the Red Sox defeated the Dodgers in five quick games to win their ninth World Series title in franchise history.

The Red Sox took care of business at home in Game 1. In Game 2, David Price outdueled Los Angeles’ Hyun-jin Ryu as the Red Sox won 4-2 to take a 2-0 series lead heading to Los Angeles. This series was known for its Game 3, which the Dodgers won after eighteen innings of play, 3–2. Game 3 became the longest World Series game ever played, and was longer than the entirety of the 1939 World Series. Game 4 was an offensive slugfest that was won by the Red Sox as Mitch Moreland and Steve Pearce hit home runs late to give Boston the win and a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Red Sox clinched the title in Game 5 as Price outdueled Clayton Kershaw in another pitcher’s duel.

Like the Astros in the 2017 World Series, the Red Sox after winning this World Series were then marred by a scandal. On January 7, 2020, the Red Sox were implicated in a sign stealing scandal (the team had previously been fined in 2017 for sign stealing)^[47] after three unnamed team members told The Athletic that the Red Sox had used their replay room to steal signs of opposing teams during the 2018 season.^[48] On January 13, 2020, Manfred stated that he would determine the appropriate punishment for Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who was also implicated in the Astros scandal, when the investigation was completed. The next day, Cora and the Red Sox mutually agreed to part ways and it was announced he would be suspended for the full season.^[49] A few days after his season long suspension ended, Cora was re-hired by the team.

Additionally, it was also revealed in 2023 by sportswriter Evan Drellich that the Dodgers also took part in the same illegal sign-stealing as the Astros and Red Sox during this World Series. In his book Winning Fixes Everything: How Baseball's Brightest Minds Created Sports' Biggest Mess, Drellich revealed an excerpt in which a member of the Red Sox stated that the Dodgers were caught stealing signs illegally, but were not punished by the MLB. The excerpt was as follows: “The anecdote that's in the book about the 2018 Dodgers is Joc Pederson running into the video room at Fenway Park during the World Series and saying, 'Did we get the signs yet?' An MLB official is in the room, because MLB finally in the 2018 playoffs really starts to try to clamp down on this, and a Red Sox person heard this story and was annoyed that MLB didn't do anything.” Drellich also noted that “The Red Sox, the Yankees, the Dodgers were all using the lesser system, the base-runner system. You decode in the video room, you get the signs to the dugout, dugout to the runner, runner is on second base, it doesn't matter what the catcher throws down, because unless they changed the sign at the last minute, you could tell the hitter what's coming—and that's certainly still an advantage.”^[50]

The Dodgers would return to the World Series in 2020, which they won in six games over the Tampa Bay Rays.

This was fifth year of eight-year U.S. TV contracts with ESPN, Fox Sports, and TBS. ESPN aired the National League Wild Card Game, Fox Sports 1 and MLB Network split the National League Division Series, and the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 split the National League Championship Series. TBS had the American League Wild Card Game, Division Series, and Championship Series, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. The World Series then aired on the Fox broadcast network for the nineteenth consecutive year.

• League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 2018