The first round of the 2026 MLB postseason is complete and three of the four Wild Card Series were sweeps without a single lead change in the two games. That doesn't mean the games weren't exciting, though. The best-of-five Division Series begins Saturday.
Here are the matchups: AMERICAN LEAGUE ALDS1: Yankees at Rays ALDS2: White Sox at Guardians NATIONAL LEAGUE NLDS1: Padres at Brewers NLDS2: Braves at Dodgers I think we all have Padres vs. The Brewers were the best team in baseball during the regular season, and the Padres were one of the best teams in baseball the last three months or so. Too bad it's a best-of-five rather than a best-of-seven.
I'll take as much Brewers vs. They might be the two best teams in the league right now. Anyway, MLB hands out two (really three) awards each postseason: World Series MVP plus one MVP for each of the two Championship Series.
There is nothing to recognize the best player in the Wild Card Series or Division Series though, and we're here to right that wrong. Here are our hypothetical Wild Card Series MVPs now that the round is complete. Chris Sale's four-out relief appearance to close out Game 3 made him a strong contender, but Sale was just OK in Game 1 (three runs in 6 ⅓ innings), and I'm not sure that's MVP worthy.
Michael Harris II had a terrific series and his three-run home run in Game 3 set the tone. But Austin Riley's go-ahead three-run homer in Game 1 was not just the biggest swing of this series, it was the biggest swing of the four Wild Card Series. Jhoan Duran's fastball clocked in at 99.9 mph.
During the regular season, Riley hit .211 and slugged .368 against pitches at 99 mph or better, and he missed with one-third of his swings. That makes the home run even more remarkable. Riley turned around the kind of fastball he had trouble with all summer.
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