Rangers, Twins, Snakes, and Phils all cruise to sweeps.

                                                                                  Twins' shortstop Carlos Correa
    

The Wild Card round has concluded and there were four series sweeps. The Rangers, Twins, Diamondbacks, and Phillies all only needed two games in their best-of-three series to complete their sweeps. Here’s how they did it.

            Texas Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Rays: The Rangers used a dominant outing from starter Nathan Eovaldi and a well-balanced offensive attack to cruise to a 7-1voctory over Tampa Bay. Eovaldi went six and two thirds, allowing one run on six hits and striking out eight. Offensively, every starter in the Rangers lineup had a hit. Rookie Evan Carter continues to impress in his first taste of the MLB playoffs, as he has reached base seven out of his first eight times. Tampa starter Zach Eflin struggled mightily, allowing eight hits and five runs over only five innings of work. The Rangers will move on to the ALDS and take on the AL East champions, the Baltimore Orioles. Game One of this series will be at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday.

            Toronto Blue Jays vs. Minnesota Twins: Minnesota used stellar pitching to lead them to a 2-0 victory and clinch their first playoff series victory in 21 years. Sonny Gray went five innings allowing five runs and striking out six. Toronto’s struggles with men on base continued in Game Two. They left nine men on base in each Game One and Game Two. Toronto’s starter Jose Berrios was pulled after going only three innings and only throwing 47 pitches. Toronto has now lost seven consecutive games in the postseason. Minnesota will move on to face the AL West champions, the Houston Astros. The time of Game One is TBD.

            Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Milwaukee Brewers: On back-to-back nights, the Arizona Diamondbacks used a come-from-behind effort to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers and move on to the NLDS. Arizona trailed into the 6^th inning before using a four-run lead to pull away for a 5-2 victory. Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen labored through six innings, throwing 100 pitches, but only allowing five hit, two runs, and striking out four. Milwaukee’s bats went quiet after the first two innings where they collected five of their nine total hits. Arizona will move on to the NLDS to set up an NL West showdown against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

            Miami Marlins vs. Philadelphia Phillies: Philadelphia used dominant pitching and long ball to lead them to a 7-1 victory and a series win. Aaron Nola was dominant for Philly, going seven strong innings, only allowing three hits, and striking out three. The dagger for the game was Bryson Stott’s grand slam in the 6^th inning that put the game on ice for Philadelphia. Miami struggled both at the plate and on the mound, only tallying five hits, and not being able to get out of jams on the mound. Philadelphia moves on to a highly anticipated rematch of last year's NLDS series against the Atlanta Braves.

            Each of the Divisional Series will start on Saturday, October 7^th, with times not yet being announced for three of the four series.

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