2015 Major League Baseball postseason

From Justapedia, unleashing the power of collective wisdom
(Redirected from 2015 MLB Postseason)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

2015 Major League Baseball postseason
File:2015MLBPostseasonLogo.png
Tournament details
DatesOctober 6-November 1, 2015[1]
Teams10
Defending championsSan Francisco Giants
(Did not qualify)
Final positions
ChampionsKansas City Royals
(2nd title)
Runner-upNew York Mets
(5th World Series appearance)
Semifinalists
← 2014
2016 →

The 2015 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2015 season. The winners of the League 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 Kansas City Royals made their second straight appearance, the New York Yankees returned for the first time since 2012, the Texas Rangers returned for the fourth time in six years, the Houston Astros made their first postseason appearance as a member of the American League, and the Toronto Blue Jays made their first postseason appearance since 1993.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals made their fifth straight postseason appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates made their third straight appearances, the Chicago Cubs returned for the first time since 2008, and the New York Mets made their first appearance since 2006.

The postseason began on October 6, and ended on November 1, with the Royals defeating the Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series. It was the first title in 30 years for the Royals.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

  1. Kansas City Royals - 95–67, Clinched AL Central[2]
  2. Toronto Blue Jays - 93–69, Clinched AL East[3]
  3. Texas Rangers - 90–72, Clinched AL West[4]
  4. New York Yankees - 87–75[5]
  5. Houston Astros - 86–76[6]

National League

  1. St. Louis Cardinals - 100–62, Clinched NL Central[7]
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers - 92–70, Clinched NL West[8]
  3. New York Mets - 90–72, Clinched NL East[9]
  4. Pittsburgh Pirates - 98–64[10]
  5. Chicago Cubs - 97–65[11]

Playoff bracket

Wild Card Game
(ALWC, NLWC) 		Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS) 		League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
1 Kansas City 3
4 NY Yankees 0 5 Houston 2
5 Houston 1 American League1 Kansas City 4
2 Toronto 2
2 Toronto 3
3 Texas 2
AL1 Kansas City 4
NL3 NY Mets 1
2 LA Dodgers 2
3 NY Mets 3
National League3 NY Mets 4
4 Pittsburgh 0 5 Chicago Cubs 0
5 Chicago Cubs 1 5 Chicago Cubs 3
1 St. Louis 1


American League Wild Card

Main article: 2015 AL Wild Card Game

(4) New York Yankees vs. (5) Houston Astros

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 8:10 pm (EDT) at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, 67 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Houston 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 3 5 0
New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
WP: Dallas Keuchel (1–0)   LP: Masahiro Tanaka (0–1)   Sv: Luke Gregerson (1)
Home runs:
HOU: Colby Rasmus (1), Carlos Gómez (1)
NYY: None
Attendance: 50,113
Boxscore

This was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and Yankees, and was the first postseason appearance by the Astros since 2005. The Astros shut out the Yankees 3-0 to advance to the ALDS. Both teams would meet again in the ALCS in 2017, 2019, and 2022, all won by the Astros.

National League Wild Card

Main article: 2015 NL Wild Card Game

(4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Chicago Cubs

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 8:08 pm (EDT) at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 68 °F (20 °C), clear
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Chicago 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 4 7 1
Pittsburgh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
WP: Jake Arrieta (1–0)   LP: Gerrit Cole (0–1)
Home runs:
CHC: Kyle Schwarber (1), Dexter Fowler (1)
PIT: None
Attendance: 40,889
Boxscore

The Cubs shut out the Pirates 4-0 to advance to the NLDS. As of 2022, this is the last postseason appearance by the Pirates.

American League Division Series

Main article: 2015 ALDS

(1) Kansas City Royals vs. (5) Houston Astros

Kansas City won the series, 3–2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 8 Houston Astros – 5, Kansas City Royals – 2 Kauffman Stadium 3:14 (:49 delay) 40,146[12] 
2 October 9 Houston Astros – 4, Kansas City Royals – 5 Kauffman Stadium 3:27 40,008[13] 
3 October 11 Kansas City Royals – 2, Houston Astros – 4 Minute Maid Park 3:20 42,674[14] 
4 October 12 Kansas City Royals – 9, Houston Astros – 6 Minute Maid Park 4:05 42,387[15] 
5 October 14 Houston Astros – 2, Kansas City Royals – 7 Kauffman Stadium 2:42 40,566[16]

The Royals rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to return to the ALCS for the second straight year.

(2) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (3) Texas Rangers

Toronto won the series, 3–2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 8 Texas Rangers – 5, Toronto Blue Jays – 3 Rogers Centre 2:53 49,834[17] 
2 October 9 Texas Rangers – 6, Toronto Blue Jays – 4 (14) Rogers Centre 4:57 49,716[18] 
3 October 11 Toronto Blue Jays − 5, Texas Rangers − 1 Globe Life Park 3:08 50,941[19] 
4 October 12 Toronto Blue Jays − 8, Texas Rangers − 4 Globe Life Park 3:18 47,679[20] 
5 October 14 Texas Rangers − 3, Toronto Blue Jays − 6 Rogers Centre 3:37 49,742[21]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Rangers and Blue Jays. The Rangers went up 2-0 in the series, but the Blue Jays rallied to tie the series. The Blue Jays defeated the Rangers in Game 5 to return to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. This was the first playoff series win by the Blue Jays since the 1993 World Series. Game 5 of the series was notable for the events that transpired in the seventh inning - the Rangers made three consecutive errors, allowing the Blue Jays to tie the game at 3 runs each. Then José Bautista hit a game-sealing 3-run home run, and before running the bases, flipped his bat in celebration.

Both teams would meet again in the ALDS the next year, which the Blue Jays won in a sweep.

National League Division Series

Main article: 2015 NLDS

(1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (5) Chicago Cubs

Chicago won the series, 3–1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 9 Chicago Cubs – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 Busch Stadium 2:47 47,830[22] 
2 October 10 Chicago Cubs – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 3 Busch Stadium 2:57 47,859[23] 
3 October 12 St. Louis Cardinals – 6, Chicago Cubs – 8 Wrigley Field 3:28 42,411[24] 
4 October 13 St. Louis Cardinals – 4, Chicago Cubs – 6 Wrigley Field 3:16 42,411[25]

This was the first postseason meeting in the history of the Cardinals-Cubs rivalry. The Cubs defeated the top-seeded Cardinals in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 2003.

(2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) New York Mets

New York won the series, 3–2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 9 New York Mets – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 1 Dodger Stadium 3:14 54,428[26] 
2 October 10 New York Mets – 2, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5 Dodger Stadium 3:24 54,455[27] 
3 October 12 Los Angeles Dodgers – 7, New York Mets – 13 Citi Field 3:42 44,276[28] 
4 October 13 Los Angeles Dodgers – 3, New York Mets – 1 Citi Field 2:50 44,183[29] 
5 October 15 New York Mets – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 Dodger Stadium 3:13 54,602[30]

This was the third postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Mets, having split the first two meetings (Dodgers won 4–3 in the 1988 NLCS; Mets won 3–0 in the 2006 NLDS). The Mets defeated the Dodgers in five games to advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2006.

American League Championship Series

Main article: 2015 ALCS

(1) Kansas City Royals vs. (2) Toronto Blue Jays

Kansas City won the series, 4–2.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 16 Toronto Blue Jays – 0, Kansas City Royals – 5 Kauffman Stadium 3:15 39,753[31] 
2 October 17 Toronto Blue Jays – 3, Kansas City Royals – 6 Kauffman Stadium 3:19 40,357[32] 
3 October 19 Kansas City Royals – 8, Toronto Blue Jays – 11 Rogers Centre 3:13 49,751[33] 
4 October 20 Kansas City Royals – 14, Toronto Blue Jays – 2 Rogers Centre 3:39 49,501[34] 
5 October 21 Kansas City Royals – 1, Toronto Blue Jays – 7 Rogers Centre 2:56 49,325[35] 
6 October 23 Toronto Blue Jays – 3, Kansas City Royals – 4 Kauffman Stadium 3:42 (:45 delay) 40,494[36]

This was a rematch of the 1985 ALCS, which the Royals won in seven games after trailing 3-1 in the series. On the 30th anniversary of their previous postseason meeting, the Royals again defeated the Blue Jays, this time in six games, to advance to the World Series for the second year in a row.

In Kansas City, the Royals controlled the first two games - they prevailed in a 6-0 shutout in Game 1, and scored six runs again in Game 2 to go up 2-0 in the series headed to Toronto. Game 3 was an offensive duel which the Blue Jays won 11-8 to avoid a sweep. In Game 4, the Royals routed the Blue Jays in a 14-2 blowout to go up 3-1 in the series. While the Blue Jays blew out the Royals, 7-1, in Game 5 to send the series back to Kansas City, the Royals closed out the series with a 4-3 win in Game 6 to secure the pennant.

As of 2022, this is the last time the Royals won the AL pennant. The Blue Jays returned to the ALCS the next year, but fell to the Cleveland Indians in five games.

National League Championship Series

Main article: 2015 NLCS

(3) New York Mets vs. (5) Chicago Cubs

New York won the series, 4–0.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 17 Chicago Cubs – 2, New York Mets – 4 Citi Field 2:55 44,287[37] 
2 October 18 Chicago Cubs – 1, New York Mets – 4 Citi Field 3:07 44,502[38] 
3 October 20 New York Mets – 5, Chicago Cubs – 2 Wrigley Field 3:01 42,231[39] 
4 October 21 New York Mets – 8, Chicago Cubs – 3 Wrigley Field 3:32 42,227[40]

The Mets swept the Cubs to return to the World Series for the first time since 2000. By coincidence, the Cubs' 2015 season ended on the same day as the 2015 World Series that was depicted in Back to the Future Part II. In the film, the Cubs swept a fictitious Miami team. However, the prediction in Back to the Future Part II was only off by one year, as the Cubs went on to win the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

2015 World Series

Main article: 2015 World Series

(AL1) Kansas City Royals vs. (NL3) New York Mets

Kansas City won the series, 4–1.

Game Date Score Location Time Attendance 
1 October 27 New York Mets - 4, Kansas City Royals - 5 (14) Kauffman Stadium 5:09 40,320[41] 
2 October 28 New York Mets - 1, Kansas City Royals - 7 Kauffman Stadium 2:54 40,410[42] 
3 October 30 Kansas City Royals - 3, New York Mets - 9 Citi Field 3:22 44,781[43] 
4 October 31 Kansas City Royals - 5, New York Mets - 3 Citi Field 3:29 44,815[44] 
5 November 1 Kansas City Royals - 7, New York Mets - 2 (12) Citi Field 4:15 44,859[45]

This was the first World Series to feature two expansion teams - the Mets were the first expansion team to win the World Series overall in 1969, while the Royals became the first American League expansion team to win the World Series, doing so in 1985. The Royals defeated the Mets in five games to win their first World Series title since 1985.

In Game 1, the Mets held a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, however the Royals' Alex Gordon hit a solo home run to tie the game, handing New York's Jeurys Familia his first blown save in six postseason opportunities. Eric Hosmer won Game 1 for the Royals in the bottom of the fourteenth with a sacrifice fly. In Game 2, the Royals blew out the Mets thanks to a complete game performance from Johnny Cueto to go up 2-0 in the series headed to Queens. In Game 3, the Mets blew out the Royals by a 9-3 score thanks to a solid pitching performance by Noah Syndergaard to avoid a sweep. However, the Royals would take Game 4 by a 5-3 score to go up 3-1 in the series. In Game 5, New York's Matt Harvey helped keep the Royals' offense at bay and maintained a 2-0 lead for the Mets going into the bottom of the ninth. However, the Royals' Eric Hosmer cut the Mets lead to one with an RBI double which scored Lorenzo Cain, which prompted Mets manager Terry Collins to relive Harvey with Jeurys Familia. This decision proved to be fatal for the Mets, as Familia had yet another blown save as Hosmer stole home plate to tie the game. The game went scoreless throughout the tenth and eleventh innings, until the Royals broke the game open in the top of the twelfth, scoring five runs to take the lead for good, effectively securing the title. This was the second time in a row that the Mets lost the World Series at their home stadium (2000).

As of 2022, this is the last postseason appearance by the Royals franchise. It is also the most recent World Series appearance for the Mets, and was the only World Series appearance by a team from New York City during the 2010’s decade.

References

  1. ^ "2015 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "2015 Kansas City Royals Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  3. ^ "2015 Toronto Blue Jays Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  4. ^ "2015 Texas Rangers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  5. ^ "2015 New York Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  6. ^ "2015 Houston Astros Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  7. ^ "2015 St. Louis Cardinals Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  8. ^ "2015 Los Angeles Dodgers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  9. ^ "2015 New York Mets Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  10. ^ "2015 Pittsburgh Pirates statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  11. ^ "2015 Chicago Cubs statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  12. ^ "Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  13. ^ "Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  14. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Houston, Game 3". MLB.com. October 11, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Houston, Game 4". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 5". MLB.com. October 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  17. ^ "Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 1". MLB.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  18. ^ "Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 2". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  19. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Texas, Game 3". MLB.com. October 11, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  20. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Texas, Game 4". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  21. ^ "Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 5". MLB.com. October 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  22. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. St. Louis, Game 1". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  23. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. St. Louis, Game 2". MLB.com. October 10, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  24. ^ "Boxscore: St. Louis vs. Chicago, Game 3". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  25. ^ "Boxscore: St. Louis vs. Chicago, Game 4". MLB.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  26. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
  27. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 2". MLB.com. October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  28. ^ "Boxscore: Los Angeles vs. New York, Game 3". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
  29. ^ "Boxscore: Los Angeles vs. New York, Game 4". MLB.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  30. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 5". MLB.com. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
  31. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 16, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  32. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  33. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 3". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  34. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 4". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  35. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 5". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  36. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 6". MLB.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  37. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. New York, Game 1". MLB.com. October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  38. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. New York, Game 2". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  39. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Chicago, Game 3". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  40. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Chicago, Game 4". MLB.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  41. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  42. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  43. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 3". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  44. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 4". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  45. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 5". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.

External links

BoilerPlate was here

Retrieved from "https://justapedia.org/index.php?title=2015_Major_League_Baseball_postseason&oldid=1119752169"