The 2022 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 2022 season. This was the first edition of the postseason since 2012 to have a new format, as it has been expanded to include six teams per league. The top two division winners of the American and National leagues receive first-round byes into the Division Series, and the worst-division winner is the third seed in their respective league. The three Wild Card teams are the fourth, fifth, and sixth seeds. The third seed hosts the sixth seed, and the fourth seed does the same with the fifth seed in the best-of-three Wild Card series. The postseason started on October 7, two days after the end of the regular season.
The Wild Card series winners advanced to face the two best division winners from each league in the best-of-five Division Series with no reseeding (i.e. the 1 seed will face the 4/5 winner and the 2 seed will face the 3/6 winner). The winners of the Division Series (LDS) will then move on to the best-of-seven League Championship Series (LCS) to determine the pennant winners that will face each other in the World Series.
In the American League, the Houston Astros were the first team to clinch a postseason spot, their seventh appearance in the last eight seasons. The New York Yankees also clinched their seventh postseason berth in the past eight years, while the now-Cleveland Guardians clinched their fifth postseason berth in the past seven seasons. The Toronto Blue Jays also returned, as they clinched their second postseason appearance in the past three years. The Tampa Bay Rays returned for the fourth year in a row, and the Seattle Mariners ended two decades of futility by clinching their first postseason berth since 2001, ending what was the longest active postseason drought in Major League Baseball and all of the four major North American sports leagues.Seattle Mariners end 20-year playoff drought on Cal Raleigh's walk-off home run, ESPN, October 4, 2022
In the National League, the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first team to clinch a postseason spot in MLB overall, marking their tenth straight appearance; this became the longest active postseason appearance streak in the four major North American professional sports leagues after the Pittsburgh Penguins failed to qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Dodgers became the first team to make ten straight postseason appearances since the Yankees did so from 1998 to 2007. Joining them were the New York Mets, who clinched their third postseason berth in the past eight years and first overall since 2016, marking the first time since 2015 that both New York City teams appeared in the postseason.City Divided As Mets, Yankees Both Make Postseason For First Time Since 2015, Baseball America, October 6, 2022 The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves clinched their fifth straight postseason berth, the St. Louis Cardinals clinched their eighth postseason berth in eleven years, the San Diego Padres clinched their second postseason berth in the past three years, and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first postseason berth since 2011, ending what was also the longest active postseason drought in the National League.Phillies Clinch Playoff Berth Ending Longest Active NL Postseason Drought, Fan Nation, October 3, 2022 This was the first of four straight appearances for the Phillies.
The Wild Card Series saw three of the lower seeds advance to the next round, while the Division Series saw the top two seeds in the National League win only one game each.
The postseason ended on November 5, with the Astros defeating the Phillies in six games in the World Series. It was the Astros' second championship in franchise history and the latest date for a World Series game on record.Time for new 'Mr. November' reign? The candidates ..., Mlb.com, November 5, 2022
Playoff seeds Major League Baseball tie-breaking procedures were revised this season to use head-to-head records to break any ties at the end of the regular season without playing tiebreaker games. Under the new format, the two best division winners in terms of record earned a first-round bye into the LDS. The three wild card teams are the fourth, fifth, and sixth seeds respectively, while the third-seeded team hosts the sixth seed, and the fourth-seeded team hosts the fifth seed.
The following teams qualified for the postseason:
American League Houston Astros – 106–56, AL West champions New York Yankees – 99–63, AL East champions Cleveland Guardians – 92–70, AL Central champions Toronto Blue Jays – 92–70 Seattle Mariners – 90–72 Tampa Bay Rays – 86–76
National League Los Angeles Dodgers – 111–51, NL West champions Atlanta Braves – 101–61, NL East champions (10–9 head-to-head vs. NYM) St. Louis Cardinals – 93–69, NL Central champions New York Mets – 101–61 (9–10 head-to-head vs. ATL) San Diego Padres – 89–73 Philadelphia Phillies – 87–75
Playoff bracket
American League Wild Card Series
(3) Cleveland Guardians vs. (6) Tampa Bay Rays
This was the second postseason meeting between the Rays and Guardians. The only other meeting was in the Wild Card round in 2013, in which the Rays won in a shutout in Cleveland. The Guardians swept the Rays to advance to the ALDS for the first time since 2018.
Shane Bieber pitched seven solid innings as the Guardians took Game 1. Game 2 was a long scoreless affair through fourteen innings, until a walk-off home run by Cleveland’s Oscar González in the bottom of the fifteenth, which completed the sweep for the Guardians.
(4) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (5) Seattle Mariners
This was the first postseason meeting between the Mariners and the Blue Jays, the two American League expansion teams of 1977. This was the first postseason series appearance for the Mariners in 21 years,'Management delivered.' The Mariners begin first playoffs in 21 years,KNKX, October 7, 2022 when they won the ALDS over Cleveland Indians (now Cleveland Guardians) in five games, then lost to the eventual AL champion New York Yankees in five games in the ALCS. The Mariners swept the Blue Jays to advance to the ALDS for the first time since 2001.
In Game 1, Luis Castillo pitched seven innings of shutout ball as the Mariners won their first postseason game since 2001. In Game 2, the Blue Jays had an 8–1 lead after five innings, but two four-run innings enabled the Mariners to become just the third team in postseason history to come back from down 7 or more runs in a game (Philadelphia Athletics in 1929, Boston Red Sox in 2008).
Both teams would meet again in the ALCS in 2025, where the Blue Jays returned the favor and defeated the Mariners in seven games after being eight outs away from elimination in Game 7, however they would fall in the World Series.
National League Wild Card Series
(3) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (6) Philadelphia Phillies
This was the second postseason meeting between the Cardinals and Phillies. The only other meeting was the NLDS in 2011, which was won by the Cardinals in five games en route to a World Series title. This time the Phillies returned the favor, sweeping the Cardinals to return to the NLDS for the first time since 2011.
In Game 1, the Phillies were down 2–0 in the top of the ninth inning, but went on a 6–1 run to take the lead for good, making an improbable comeback. In Game 2, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish, and completed the sweep.
This was the Phillies’ first postseason series win since 2010, and marked the third postseason in a row in which the Cardinals were eliminated in the Wild Card round.
(4) New York Mets vs. (5) San Diego Padres
The Padres defeated the Mets in three games to advance to the NLDS for the second time in three years.
Yu Darvish pitched seven solid innings as the Padres blew out the Mets in Game 1. In Game 2, Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso both homered for the Mets as they evened the series. Joe Musgrove pitched seven innings of shutout baseball as the Padres again blew out the Mets in Game 3 to win and advance.
The Mets became the first 100+ win team to be eliminated from the playoffs before reaching the division series since its permanent implementation in 1995.The Mets Set Sad MLB History With Series Loss, Yardbreaker, October 10, 2022
American League Division Series
(1) Houston Astros vs. (5) Seattle Mariners
The Astros swept the Mariners to return to the ALCS for the sixth year in a row.
Despite ending in a sweep, each game of the series was decided by two runs or less. In Game 1, the Mariners held a 7–5 lead going into the bottom of the ninth until Houston's Yordan Alvarez hit a walk-off three-run home run to take Game 1 for the Astros. In Game 2, the Mariners again held a late lead until Alvarez hit a two-run home run to put the Astros in the lead for good. When the series moved to Seattle for Game 3, the game remained scoreless through seventeen innings, setting a new MLB record for the postseason. In the top of the eighteenth, Houston's Jeremy Peña hit a solo home run to give the Astros the lead for good as they completed the sweep.Astros-Mariners extra-innings showdown makes MLB history, Chron, October 15, 2022
This was the first time the Mariners had been swept in a postseason series.
(2) New York Yankees vs. (3) Cleveland Guardians
Game 2 was originally scheduled for October 13 at 7:37pm (EDT) but was postponed to the following day at 1:07pm due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather.
Game 5 was originally scheduled for October 17 at 7:07pm (EDT) but was postponed to the following day at 4:07pm due to rain.
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Yankees and Guardians (1997, 1998, 2007, 2017, 2020). The Yankees defeated the Guardians in five games to advance to the ALCS for the third time in six years.
Gerrit Cole pitched six solid innings as the Yankees took Game 1. In Game 2, the Yankees took an early lead, but the Guardians rallied with four unanswered runs to even the series, headed to Cleveland after a 10-inning battle. Game 3 was a back-and-forth contest that was won by the Guardians, thanks to a walk-off two-run single from Oscar González. However, their lead would not hold. Cole pitched seven solid innings, and the Yankees' bullpen kept the Guardians’ offense from rallying as the Yankees forced a decisive fifth game back in the Bronx. In Game 5, the Yankees jumped out to a big lead early thanks to home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, and didn’t relinquish it as they won 5-1 to advance.
Both teams would meet again in the ALCS in 2024, which the Yankees won in five games before falling in the World Series.
National League Division Series
(1) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (5) San Diego Padres
Game 4 was originally scheduled for October 15 at 9:07pm (EDT) but was postponed to 9:38pm the same day due to the forecast of sustained inclement weather.
This was the second postseason meeting in the Dodgers–Padres rivalry. The previous meeting in the NLDS in 2020 was won by the Dodgers in a sweep en route to a World Series title. In a significant upset given their regular season win differential, the 89-win Padres defeated the 111-win Dodgers in four games to advance to the NLCS for the first time since 1998.
Trea Turner quickly put the Dodgers in the lead for good with a solo homer in the bottom of the first as they won Game 1. In Game 2, with the score tied after five innings, Jurickson Profar hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth that put the Padres in the lead for good as they evened the series, headed to San Diego. In Game 3, a solo homer from Trent Grisham helped secure a one-run Padres victory. In Game 4, the Dodgers led 3-0 after the top of the seventh, but the Padres put up five unanswered runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead for good, completing the biggest postseason upset of the divisional era.