2013 MLB Postseason

The 2013 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2013 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.

In the American League, the Detroit Tigers made their third straight appearance, the Boston Red Sox returned for the first time since 2009, the Oakland Athletics made their second straight appearance, the Tampa Bay Rays made their fourth appearance in the past six years, and the Cleveland Indians returned for the first time since 2007.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals made their third straight postseason appearance, and the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds made their second straight appearances, marking the first time since 1995 that both teams from Ohio made the postseason. The Pittsburgh Pirates ended over two decades of futility, as they clinched their first postseason berth since 1992, and the Los Angeles Dodgers made their first postseason appearance of the decade. 2013 marked the first of what is now currently twelve straight postseason appearances for the Dodgers, who currently hold the longest active postseason streak in the majors.

The postseason began on October 1, 2013, and ended on October 30, 2013, with the Red Sox defeating the Cardinals in six games in the 2013 World Series. It was the eighth title for the Red Sox.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

# Boston Red Sox – 97–65, AL East champions
# Oakland Athletics – 96–66, AL West champions
# Detroit Tigers – 93–69, AL Central champions
# Cleveland Indians – 92–70
# Tampa Bay Rays – 92–71

National League

# St. Louis Cardinals – 97–65, NL Central champions
# Atlanta Braves – 96–66, NL East champions
# Los Angeles Dodgers – 92–70, NL West champions
# Pittsburgh Pirates – 94–68
# Cincinnati Reds – 90–72

Playoff bracket

American League Wild Card

(4) Cleveland Indians vs. (5) Tampa Bay Rays

This was the first postseason meeting between the Rays and Indians. The Rays defeated the Indians in a 4–0 shutout to return to the ALDS for the fourth time in six years. The Indians became the first team in MLB history to be eliminated from the postseason without scoring a run.

Both teams would meet again in the 2022 AL Wild Card Series, which was won by Cleveland in a two-game sweep.

National League Wild Card

(4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Cincinnati Reds

This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Pirates and Reds (the others being in the NLCS in 1970, 1972, 1975, 1979, and 1990). The Pirates defeated the Reds 6–2 to advance to the NLDS. It was the first postseason round win by the Pirates since the 1979 World Series and postseason win overall since 1992.

The Reds would not return to the postseason again until 2020. To date, this is the last time the Pirates won a postseason series.

American League Division Series

(1) Boston Red Sox vs. (5) Tampa Bay Rays

This was the second postseason meeting between the Rays and Red Sox. They last met in the 2008 ALCS, which the Rays won in seven games. The Red Sox defeated the Rays in four games to return to the ALCS for the first time since 2008.

The Red Sox controlled the tempo of the first two games — Jon Lester pitched over seven solid innings as the Red Sox blew out the Rays in Game 1. John Lackey kept the Red Sox ahead in a Game 2 victory despite giving up four runs. When the series moved to Tampa, the Rays got on the board with a 5–4 victory in Game 3, thanks to home runs from Evan Longoria and José Lobatón. Craig Breslow and Koji Uehara held the Rays offense to one run in Game 4 as the Red Sox closed out the series to advance.

The Rays would not return to the postseason again until 2019.

(2) Oakland Athletics vs. (3) Detroit Tigers

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Athletics and Tigers. The Tigers overcame a 2–1 series deficit to defeat the Athletics in five games once again, and returned to the ALCS for the third year in a row and fourth in the last seven years.

The Tigers held off a late rally by the Athletics to steal Game 1 on the road. Game 2 remained scoreless until the bottom of the ninth when Oakland's Stephen Vogt drove in Yoenis Céspedes with a walk-off base hit single to even the series headed to Detroit. The Athletics scored six runs off 2013 AL ERA leader Aníbal Sánchez to go up 2–1 in the series, and were one win away from returning to the ALCS. Game 4 was an offensive duel — the Athletics lead 3–0 going into the fifth, until Detroit's Jhonny Peralta tied the game with a three-run home run. Coco Crisp regained the lead for the Athletics in the top of the seventh by driving in Stephen Vogt with an RBI single. In the bottom of the inning, Austin Jackson put the Tigers in the lead for good with a broken-bat RBI single, which scored Andy Dirks. The Tigers scored three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, and then held off a late rally by the Athletics to force a series-deciding Game 5 in Oakland. The Tigers would shut out the Athletics in Game 5 thanks to a solid pitching performance from Justin Verlander for a second straight year in Game 5 to advance to the ALCS.

With the win, the Tigers improved their postseason record against the Athletics to 3–1 all time. This was the last playoff win by a team from Detroit until 2024.

National League Division Series

(1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (4) Pittsburgh Pirates

The Cardinals defeated the Pirates in five games to advance to the NLCS for the third year in a row, all by winning an NLDS Game 5.

In St. Louis, both teams exchanged blowout wins. The Cardinals’ offense chased Pittsburgh starter A.J. Burnett from the mound as they blew out the Pirates to take Game 1. Gerrit Cole pitched six solid innings in Game 2 as the Pirates blew out the Cardinals to even the series headed to Pittsburgh. In the Pirates’ first non-Wild Card postseason home game in 21 years, they held on to win 5–3 to take the series lead as Mark Melancon and closer Jason Grilli held off a rally by the Cardinals. The Pirates were now one win away from returning to the NLCS for the first time since 1992. However, their lead would not hold. Michael Wacha out-dueled Charlie Morton in a pitchers’ duel in Game 4 as the Cardinals narrowly prevailed to force a fifth game back in St. Louis. The Cardinals would win the series in Game 5 as Adam Wainwright held the Pirates to one run scored.

This is the last postseason appearance outside of the Wild Card round for the Pirates.

(2) Atlanta Braves vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

This was the second postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Braves. They previously met in the 1996 NLDS, which the Braves won in a sweep. The Dodgers defeated the Braves in four games to advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2009.

Clayton Kershaw out-dueled Kris Medlen as the Dodgers stole Game 1 in Atlanta. The Braves evened the series in Game 2 as closer Craig Kimbrel held off a rally by the Dodgers. When the series shifted to Los Angeles, Carl Crawford and Juan Uribe both hit three-run home runs as the Dodgers blew out the Braves to regain the series lead. Brian Wilson and closer Kenley Jansen would lead the Dodgers to victory in Game 4.

The Braves and Dodgers would meet again three more times in the postseason - in the NLDS in 2018, and the NLCS in 2020 and 2021, with the Dodgers winning the former two and the Braves winning the latter series. This was the last postseason series ever played at Turner Field.

American League Championship Series

(1) Boston Red Sox vs. (3) Detroit Tigers

The Red Sox defeated the defending American League champion Tigers in six games to return to the World Series for the first time since 2007 (in the process denying a rematch of the 2006 World Series between the Cardinals and Tigers), capped off by two Grand Slams by David Ortiz and Shane Victorino in Games 2 and 6 respectively.

In Boston, the Tigers took Game 1 in a 1–0 shutout despite having a no-hit bid broken up in the bottom of the ninth inning. In Game 2, the Tigers held a 5–1 lead after the top of the eighth inning, however, the Red Sox loaded the bases, and David Ortiz hit a grand slam to tie the game. The Red Sox won the game in the bottom of the ninth to even the series. In Detroit for Game 3, the Red Sox prevailed in a 1–0 shutout to take the series lead. The Tigers responded with a 7–3 win in Game 4 to even the series at two. In Game 5, the Red Sox fended off a late Tigers rally to win 4–3, and regain the series lead headed back to Boston. In Game 6, the Tigers held a 2–1 lead going into the bottom of the seventh until the Red Sox again loaded the bases. Then, Shane Victorino hit a grand slam to put the Red Sox in the lead for good, securing the pennant.

The 2013 ALCS was part of a streak of playoff success for Boston-based teams against their Detroit counterparts, as the NBA’s Boston Celtics previously defeated the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Playoffs in 2002 and 2008, and then the NHL’s Boston Bruins would defeat the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 2014 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Red Sox would win their next and most recent AL pennant in 2018, against the Houston Astros in five games en route to another World Series title. As of , this remains the last postseason appearance outside of the divisional round for the Tigers.

National League Championship Series

(1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (3) Los Angeles Dodgers

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Cardinals. The Cardinals won in six games, advancing to the World Series for the second time in three years (in the process denying a rematch of the 1916 World Series between the Dodgers and Red Sox).

The Cardinals took Game 1 after thirteen-innings, and then shut out the Cardinals in Game 2, 1–0, to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Los Angeles. Hyun-jin Ryu helped the Dodgers avoid a sweep with a 3–0 shutout victory in Game 3, but the Cardinals took a 3–1 series lead with a 4–2 win in Game 4. The Dodgers prevailed in Game 5 by two runs thanks to a solid pitching performance from Zack Greinke to send the series back to St. Louis. The Cardinals blew out the Dodgers in Game 6, as Cardinals' pitcher Michael Wacha recorded a 0.00 ERA in his two starts in the series, and was named NLCS MVP as a result.

As of , this is the last time the Cardinals won the NL pennant. The Dodgers returned to the NLCS in 2016, but lost to the eventual World Series champion Chicago Cubs in six games. It would be in 2017 that the Dodgers would finally win the pennant again.

2013 World Series

(AL1) Boston Red Sox vs. (NL1) St. Louis Cardinals

This was the fourth World Series meeting between the Cardinals and Red Sox. It was also the tenth meeting between teams from Boston and St. Louis for a major professional sports championship, which previously happened in three World Series (1946, 1967, 2004), four NBA Finals (1957, 1958, 1960, 1961), Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002, and the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals. It was also the first World Series since 1999 to feature both #1 seeds from the AL and NL. The Red Sox defeated the Cardinals in six games to win their eighth World Series title in franchise history. It marked the first time that the Red Sox had won the World Series at home since 1918, which is, ironically, the year when the Curse of the Bambino started.

In Boston, the Red Sox blew out the Cardinals in Game 1, while the Cardinals took Game 2 by two runs to even the series. In St. Louis, the Cardinals went up 2–1 in the series with a one-run win in Game 3. The Red Sox evened the series with a 4–2 victory in Game 4, and took Game 5 thanks to solid pitching performance from Jon Lester to go up 3–2 in the series headed back to Boston. The Red Sox closed out the series with a 6–1 win in Game 6, winning their first home World Series since 1918.

With the win by Boston, the World Series history between these two teams is tied at two series wins each.

To date, this is the last World Series appearance by the Cardinals. The Red Sox would return to the World Series in 2018, defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.

Broadcasting

This was the sixth and final postseason under the U.S. rights agreement with Fox and TBS. TBS aired the two Wild Card games and most of the Division Series games, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. In exchange for the Wild Card games on TBS, two of the Division Series games instead aired on MLB Network. TBS also had the National League Championship Series. Fox televised the American League Championship Series and the World Series.

Under the new deals that went to effect the following season, the bulk of Fox's playoff games moved to sister network Fox Sports 1.

References

External links

League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 2013

{{DEFAULTSORT:2013 Major League Baseball Season

Major League Baseball postseason