What’s Happening in the ALCS and NLCS?

The World Series is drawing closer, as the ALCS and NLCS are in full swing. In the American League, the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are battling it out, while the NLCS has the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets battling for the chance to represent the National League in the October Classic.

Have you gotten behind on the action up to this point? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered with everything you need to get caught up before the next game starts.

ALCS

Cleveland Guardians vs. New York Yankees

Coming into the American League Championship Series, most experts agreed that it would be a traditional battle between the Guardians’ pitching staff and the Yankees’ explosive offense. Through the first two games, the Bronx Bombers have lived up to their nickname, simply putting up too much offense for Cleveland to combat.

Tanner Bibee, widely considered the best pitcher on the Guardians’ pitching staff, wasn’t able to make it out of the second inning of game two, which essentially spelled doom for Cleveland. Aaron Judge, the frontrunner to win the AL MVP Award again this year, took one deep, and New York scored two more runs on Cleveland errors early, and that was essentially the story of the game.

When it was all over, the Yankees had won 6-3, which means the series now moves back to Cleveland for games three and four as the Guardians look to get back into things.

If we’re being honest, the Guardians have a tough task in front of them. They’re going to lefty Matthew Boyd, who has already pitched two scoreless outings in the playoffs, but shutting down the Yankees’ bats is no small feat. That’s largely why the Guardians used eight pitchers in game two, which is going to make things even harder going forward.

In addition to Aaron Judge, the Yankees also have Giancarlo Stanton, and Anthony Rizzo, who played a pivotal role in the Cubs beating the Guardians in the 2016 World Series. Boyd’s specialty is cutting down on hard-hit balls, as Next Gen stats indicate that his allowed exit velocity comes in below 88 MPH.

At least to this point, the Guardians' top-notch pitching staff hasn’t been able to silence the thunderous bats of the Yankees. With that in mind, it looks like Cleveland is going to need to figure out how to generate enough offense to keep up. If the rest of this series turns out to be a shootout, which looks more likely with each passing game, things greatly favor New York.

NLCS

New York Mets vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

We’re already three games into the National League Championship Series, and the Dodgers have a 2-1 lead over the New York Mets. If the world is going to get another Subway Series between the two New York teams, the Mets are going to need to act quickly, because the Dodgers have once again assembled what may be the best roster in Major League Baseball.

In the offseason, the team added Shohei Ohtani, the first dominant two-way player we’ve seen since Babe Ruth. Because of an injury suffered last season, Ohtani hasn’t pitched in 2024, but he’s more than made up for that with his offense.

In the regular season, Ohtani crushed 53 home runs and stole 59 bases. The man who has cemented himself as the best player in baseball today leads a team that also features names like Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

However, this doesn’t mean that the Mets don’t have some firepower in their batting power, too. Unlike the ALCS, this series isn’t about a dominant pitching staff against an explosive offense. The Mets have plenty of big names, including Francisco Lindor, Pete Alonso, and Jose Iglesias. The Mets can keep up with the Dodgers when it comes to offense, as there’s not a weak spot in their lineup.

In game three, it looked like the Mets were about to take the lead, though the Dodgers were up 2-0. Francisco Lindor came up to bat with the bases loaded and two outs, and Walker Buehler was on the mount.

Buehler has struggled mightily in 2024, and if the Mets were looking to jump into the lead, that was the time to do it. After working a full count, Lindor swung and missed at strike three, and the rally was over. So too was the Mets’ offense for the game, as the Dodgers would go on to win 8-0.

The Mets not putting up any runs was a surprise, especially as the Dodgers trotted out four relievers over the rest of the game. However, New York will now need to repeat their game two performance, which, ironically, came after being shut out in game one.

LA will start Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another of their major offseason signings while the Mets will turn to Jose Quintana to keep their World Series hopes alive.

Road to the World Series

The Yankees essentially just need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. They’ve limited the Guardians’ offense and relied on their heavy hitters like Judge and Stanton to drive in runs. You can catch game three of the ALCS on October 17, 2024, at 5:08 PM EST on TBS, or on a number of streaming platforms.

On the other side of the bracket, the Mets need to try to get to Yamamoto early to try to get back to the bullpen that got used heavily in game three. You can catch all the action at 8:08 PM EST on October 17, 2024, on Fox.