MLB Division Series tied 1-1 for first time

Buckle up: If the first few days of the 2024 Division Series are any indication, baseball fans are in for quite the ride.

An already memorable DS round continued Monday with the Tigers’ 3-0 win over the Guardians and the Royals’ 4-2 victory over the Yankees, tying both best-of-five American League Division Series at one game apiece. And after Sunday’s wins by the Phillies and Padres, both National League series are ALSO tied 1-1.

To say that doesn’t happen often would be an understatement. In fact, 2024 is the first year in Division Series history in which all four series were tied 1-1 after their first two games. That’s pretty impressive for a postseason round that was first implemented as a one-off for the split 1981 season, returned in 1995 and has been in place ever since. If you’re wondering, teams heading home for Games 3 and 4 in a 1-1 series have won 29 of 44 times (66%) under the 2-2-1 DS format.

While 2024 marks the 31st season of Division Series play, it will be just the seventh year in which none of the four Division Series resulted in a sweep (2022 was the previous instance). In seven previous seasons, three of the four series — but not all four — wound up tied 1-1: 2002, 2003, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2021 and 2022. Only once before — in 2012 — have all four series gone the maximum five games.

Based on the first two games of each 2024 series, this season’s Division Series round could go down as the best in DS history. Here’s how each of the four DS matchups this season have gotten to 1-1 and how each might unfold from here.

Royals vs. Yankees
Five strong innings from the Kansas City bullpen in relief of Cole Ragans powered the Royals to a win in Game 2 on Monday, two days after the Yankees took advantage of eight walks issued by K.C. pitching to win Game 1. The Royals are in a good spot against the No. 1 AL seed, heading home for Games 3 and 4 at Kauffman Stadium.

With starter Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00 ERA) to start Game 3 against Yankees right-hander Clarke Schmidt, Kansas City could take a key 2-1 edge. Teams up 2-1 and playing Game 4 at home are 25-6 in DS history, so the numbers would be on the Royals’ side. But if the Yankees can split two games at Kauffman, they’d have Gerrit Cole or Carlos Rodón lined up for a winner-take-all Game 5 in the Bronx.

Tigers vs. Guardians
The Tigers certainly flipped the script in Game 2, with Kerry Carpenter’s three-run homer in the ninth inning leading Detroit to a dramatic 3-0 win. It followed a 7-0 Guardians romp in Game 1 that was powered by a five-run first, sending the series to Comerica Park for games on Wednesday and Thursday.

After Monday’s brilliant seven-inning start, though, Tigers ace lefty Tarik Skubal won’t be available until a potential Game 5 on Saturday. Detroit will have to rely on what manager A.J. Hinch has termed “pitching chaos” for the next two games — but will it be enough to hold José Ramírez and Cleveland in check until then?

Padres vs. Dodgers
Shohei Ohtani’s three-run homer powered the Dodgers to a 7-5 win in Game 1, but L.A. couldn’t manage to win both of the first two games at home. Instead, the Padres slugged a postseason record-tying six home runs in a 10-2 rout in Game 2, tying things up and calling into question the Dodgers’ pitching depth for the rest of the series.

There was a similar start when the two Southern California rivals last met in the postseason in the 2022 NLDS, as Los Angeles won Game 1 at Dodger Stadium before the Padres won Game 2 (and took Games 3 and 4 in San Diego to advance). Needless to say, the Dodgers will be hoping to rewrite the script in 2024 despite the tough task ahead of them at Petco Park. If they can split in San Diego, they’ll have Yoshinobu Yamamoto available for a potential Game 5 on Friday.

Mets vs. Phillies
The Mets continued to show their penchant for late-game heroics, rallying in the eighth inning to win Game 1 at Citizens Bank Park and nearly pulling off another road win in Game 2. That time, though, it was the Phillies who came through in the clutch to even the series on Nick Castellanos’ walk-off single.

With one road win to counter Philadelphia’s tremendous home-field advantage, New York is in a good spot heading home for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Wednesday. If lefty starters Sean Manaea and José Quintana can get the job done, they could finish the job at home in the first postseason series between the two NL East rivals. If not? Zack Wheeler looms for a potential Game 5 in Philly.