Keys to win the Division Series

The Braves and the Dodgers are meeting again in the NLCS and the Red Sox and the Astros are facing again in the ALCS. Let’s see how these teams advanced. In mid-July, the Braves fans might be very disappointed to see Ronald Acuna Jr. out for the season. Additionally, the Braves finished the first half of the 2021 season with an under .500 winning percentage. However, the Braves won 44 games and lost 28 games after the All-Star break to help them clinch the NL East title. During the division series against the Brewers, the Braves scored 12 runs and gave up 6 runs. The Braves pitchers completed two shutouts this series. Moreover, the Braves pitching staff posted a 1.54 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. In particular, Will Smith recorded 3 saves and didn’t give up any runs. During the regular season, Smith posted a 3.44 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The Dodgers and the Giants were meeting for the first time in the playoffs and the series was epic. Two teams each won more than 100 games during the regular season. In the NLDS, they both showed great pitching depth. The Dodgers pitching staff posted a 2.05 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. The Giants’ batters hit only .182 in this series. Meanwhile, the Giants had two shutout victories against the Dodgers in the NLDS and their pitchers had a 3.48 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Additionally, the Dodgers had 41 hits and drew 12 walks, while the Giants had 29 hits and 6 walks. The Dodgers’ batters did a better job this series. Furthermore, three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer recorded his career save in game 5 of the NLDS. In the American League, the Red Sox and the Astros each won the division series in 4 games. The Red Sox beat the division rival Yankees in the Wild Card game. In the division series, the Red Sox went scoreless in the first game. However, the Red Sox scored 14 runs for a comeback win in game 2. In game 3, Christian Vazquez hit a walk-off home run to beat the Rays in a five-hour long classic. In game 4, Kike Hernandez became the hero, hitting a walk-off sacrifice fly to help the Red Sox advance. In this series, the Red Sox batters posted a .341 batting average with 9 home runs and 26 RBI. Meanwhile, the Rays were hitting .211/.266/.422 with 7 home runs and 19 RBI. In addition, the Astros scored 31 runs and allowed 18 runs in the ALDS against the White Sox. The Astros batted .288/.371/.432 with 4 home runs, 31 RBI and 5 stolen bases in this series. Also, they drew 18 walks. In the meantime, the White Sox hit .291/.361/.376 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI. The White Sox did hit well in the ALDS, nonetheless, they just can’t stop the Astros. Playing in the playoffs is very different from playing during the regular season. The Rays beat the Red Sox 11 times and lost 8 times during the regular season. However, the Rays, a team that won 100 games in 2021, lost 3 consecutive games to the Red Sox in the ALDS this year. Additionally, the White Sox had 41 hits in the ALDS, which were more than 40 hits that the Astros collected. Nevertheless, the Astros scored 13 more runs than the White Sox did in the ALDS. In the National League, the Brewers posted a 3.50 ERA, 3rd best in the majors and the Braves had a 3.88 ERA during the regular season. It seemed that the Brewers had better pitching depth. However, the Braves pitchers were outstanding in the NLDS, posting 1.54 ERA. Moreover, the Dodgers owned a 3.01 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP during the regular season, both were the best among 30 MLB teams. Their pitching staff got the job done in the NLDS again.