2015 MLB Postseason

The 2015 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2015 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 Kansas City Royals made their second straight appearance, the New York Yankees returned for the first time since 2012, the Texas Rangers returned for the fourth time in six years, the Houston Astros made their first postseason appearance since 2005 (their first as a member of the American League), and the Toronto Blue Jays ended over two decades of futility by clinching their first postseason appearance since 1993, ending what was the longest postseason appearance drought in Major League Baseball and all four major North American sports leagues. This was Kansas City’s last postseason appearance until 2024.

In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals made their fifth straight postseason appearance, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates made their third straight appearances, the Chicago Cubs returned for the first time since 2008, and the New York Mets made their first appearance since 2006. As of , this remains Pittsburgh’s most recent appearance in the postseason, as they now hold the second longest postseason drought in the majors behind only the Los Angeles Angels.

The postseason began on October 6, and ended on November 1, with the Royals defeating the Mets in five games in the 2015 World Series. It was the first title in thirty years for the Royals.

Playoff seeds

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

# Kansas City Royals – 95–67, AL Central champions
# Toronto Blue Jays – 93–69, AL East champions
# Texas Rangers – 88–74, AL West champions
# New York Yankees – 87–75
# Houston Astros – 86–76

National League

# St. Louis Cardinals – 100–62, NL Central champions
# Los Angeles Dodgers – 92–70, NL West champions
# New York Mets – 90–72, NL East champions
# Pittsburgh Pirates – 98–64
# Chicago Cubs – 97–65

Playoff bracket

American League Wild Card

(4) New York Yankees vs. (5) Houston Astros

This was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and Yankees, and was the first postseason appearance by the Astros since 2005. The Astros shut out the Yankees 3–0 to advance to the ALDS. This was the first postseason series win by the Astros since winning the National League pennant in 2005.

Both teams would meet again in the ALCS in 2017, 2019, and 2022, all won by the Astros.

National League Wild Card

(4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Chicago Cubs

The Cubs shut out the Pirates 4–0 to advance to the NLDS. This was the second straight year the Pirates were shutout in the Wild Card Game.

To date, this is the last postseason appearance by the Pirates, who now have the longest active postseason drought amongst National League teams, and the second longest postseason drought in the majors.

American League Division Series

(1) Kansas City Royals vs. (5) Houston Astros

The Royals rallied from a 2–1 series deficit to defeat the Astros in five games and return to the ALCS for the second straight year.

Both teams split the first two games in Kansas City — the Astros stole Game 1 on the road, while the Royals rallied in the sixth and seventh innings of Game 2 to even the series headed to Houston. Dallas Keuchel and the Astros' bullpen helped the Astros prevail 4–2 in Game 3 to take a 2–1 series lead, and were one win away from returning to the LCS for the first time since 2005. However, their lead would not hold. In Game 4, the Astros held a 6–2 lead after seven innings and looked poised to close out the series. Then, the Royals offense took apart the Astros bullpen, as they scored five unanswered runs to regain the lead. Eric Hosmer hit a two-run home run to increase the Royals' lead in the top of the ninth, and then the Royals' bullpen closed out the game in the bottom of the inning. This was the second straight year where the Royals, down four runs and six outs away from elimination, were victorious. The Royals closed out the Astros with a convincing 7–2 victory thanks to a stellar pitching performance from Johnny Cueto, who was only two pitches away from pitching a perfect game.

The Astros would make their next postseason appearance in 2017, where they went on to win the World Series.

(2) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (3) Texas Rangers

This was the first postseason meeting between the Rangers and Blue Jays. The Blue Jays overcame a two games to none series deficit to defeat the Rangers in five games and return to the ALCS for the first time since 1993. This was the first playoff series win by the Blue Jays since the 1993 World Series.

The Rangers stole the first two games in Toronto, winning by two runs in Game 1, then prevailing by two runs again in Game 2 after an ugly fourteen-inning affair. When the series shifted to Arlington, however, the Blue Jays would take Game 3 convincingly to avoid a sweep, then took Game 4 by an 8–4 score to send the series back to Toronto. Game 5 of the series was notable for the events that transpired in the seventh inning - the Rangers made three consecutive errors, allowing the Blue Jays to tie the game at 3 runs each. Then José Bautista hit a game-sealing 3-run home run, and before running the bases, flipped his bat in celebration. Both benches cleared for a brief scuffle between the teams, but it was resolved shortly thereafter. The Blue Jays closed out the series in the top of the ninth to advance. This was the third time a team won a best-of-five series after losing the first two games at home, and the second time in the 2–2–1 format.

These same two teams would meet again in the ALDS the next year, which the Blue Jays won in a sweep.

National League Division Series

(1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (5) Chicago Cubs

This was the first postseason meeting in the history of the Cardinals–Cubs rivalry. The Cubs defeated the top-seeded Cardinals in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 2003.

John Lackey helped the Cardinals prevail in a shutout in Game 1. In Game 2, the Cubs jumped out to an early 6–1 lead and did not relinquish it, as the Cubs bullpen held the Cardinals' offense to just two more runs scored to even the series. Game 3 was an offensive duel which the Cubs won 8–6 in which Chicago hit six home runs. The Cubs then took Game 4 by a 6–4 score to win their first playoff series at Wrigley Field, and deny the Cardinals a fifth straight NLCS appearance.

(2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) New York Mets

This was the third postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Mets, having split the first two meetings (Dodgers won 4–3 in the 1988 NLCS; Mets won 3–0 in the 2006 NLDS). The Mets defeated the Dodgers in five games to advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2006.

Jacob deGrom had a solid pitching performance in Game 1 as the Mets won 3–1. The Dodgers rallied with a 4-run seventh inning to even the series headed to Queens. Game 3 was an offensive duel which the Mets won 13–7 to take a 2–1 series lead. The Dodgers evened the series in Game 4 thanks to a stellar pitching performance from Clayton Kershaw, and were now headed back to Los Angeles for a series-deciding Game 5. However, the Mets would narrowly prevail as deGrom and closer Jeurys Familia helped keep the Dodgers' offense at bay after the first inning.

Both teams would meet again in the 2024 NLCS, which was won by the Dodgers in six games en route to a World Series title.

American League Championship Series

(1) Kansas City Royals vs. (2) Toronto Blue Jays

This was a rematch of the 1985 ALCS, which the Royals won in seven games after trailing 3–1 in the series. On the 30th anniversary of their previous postseason meeting, the Royals again defeated the Blue Jays, this time in six games, to advance to the World Series for the second year in a row.

In Kansas City, the Royals controlled the first two games - Edinson Vólquez and the Royals’ bullpen silenced the Jays’ offense in a 5-0 shutout in Game 1. In Game 2, the Blue Jays led 3-0 after six innings, but the Royals put up six unanswered runs across the seventh and eighth innings respectively to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Toronto. Game 3 was an offensive shootout between both teams, which was won by the Blue Jays as Troy Tulowitzki, Josh Donaldson, and Ryan Goins all homered for the Jays. In Game 4, the Royals blew out the Blue Jays to take a commanding 3–1 series lead, handing Toronto their worst playoff loss ever. Marco Estrada pitched solid innings in Game 5 as the Blue Jays blew out the Royals to send the series back to Kansas City. The Royals’ bullpen stopped a late rally by the Blue Jays in Game 6 to clinch the pennant.

To date, this is the last time the Royals won the AL pennant. The Blue Jays returned to the ALCS the next year, but fell to the Cleveland Indians in five games.

National League Championship Series

(3) New York Mets vs. (5) Chicago Cubs

The Mets swept the Cubs to return to the World Series for the first time since .

The Mets took Game 1 thanks to a solid pitching performance from Matt Harvey. In Game 2, Noah Syndergaard and the Mets' bullpen held the Cubs to just one run to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Chicago. In Game 3, the Cubs tied the game in the bottom of the fourth, however the Mets scored three unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings to win and take a 3–0 series lead. In Game 4, the Mets jumped out to a big lead early and did not relinquish it, clinching the pennant. This was the first NLCS which the team who swept the series did not trail in any of the games.

By coincidence, the Cubs' 2015 season ended on the same day as the 2015 World Series that was depicted in ''Back to the Future Part II''. In the film, the Cubs swept a fictitious Miami team. However, the prediction in ''Back to the Future Part II'' was only off by one year, as the Cubs went on to win the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

This is the last time the Mets won the NL pennant and the last time a New York City-based team won a league pennant until the Yankees in 2024. The Mets returned to the NLCS in 2024, but lost to the eventual World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.

2015 World Series

(AL1) Kansas City Royals vs. (NL3) New York Mets

This was the first World Series to feature two expansion teams - the Mets were the first expansion team to win the World Series overall in 1969, while the Royals became the first American League expansion team to win the World Series, doing so in 1985. The Royals defeated the Mets in five games to win their first World Series title since 1985.

In Game 1, the Mets held a 4–3 lead in the bottom of the ninth, however the Royals' Alex Gordon hit a solo home run to tie the game, handing New York's Jeurys Familia his first blown save in six postseason opportunities. Eric Hosmer won Game 1 for the Royals in the bottom of the fourteenth with a sacrifice fly. In Game 2, the Royals blew out the Mets thanks to a complete game performance from Johnny Cueto to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Queens. In Game 3, the Mets blew out the Royals by a 9–3 score thanks to a solid pitching performance by Noah Syndergaard to avoid a sweep. However, the Royals would take Game 4 by a 5–3 score to go up 3–1 in the series. In Game 5, New York's Matt Harvey helped keep the Royals' offense at bay and maintained a 2–0 lead for the Mets going into the bottom of the ninth. However, the Royals' Eric Hosmer cut the Mets lead to one with an RBI double which scored Lorenzo Cain, which prompted Mets manager Terry Collins to relive Harvey with Jeurys Familia. This decision proved to be fatal for the Mets, as Familia had yet another blown save as Hosmer stole home plate to tie the game. The game went scoreless throughout the tenth and eleventh innings, until the Royals broke the game open in the top of the twelfth, scoring five runs to take the lead for good, effectively securing the title. This was the second time in a row that the Mets lost the World Series at their home stadium ().

As of , this is the last postseason appearance outside of the divisional round by the Royals. This was the last postseason appearance outside of the Wild Card round for the Mets until 2024. It is also the most recent World Series appearance for the Mets and only World Series appearance by a team from New York City during the 2010s decade, making it the first since the 1910s decade that a team from New York City did not win a World Series. To date, this is the last time a team from Missouri appeared in the World Series.

Broadcasting

This was second year of eight-year U.S. TV contracts with ESPN, Fox Sports, and TBS. ESPN aired the American League Wild Card Game, Fox Sports 1 and MLB Network split the American League Division Series, and the Fox broadcast network and Fox Sports 1 split the American League Championship Series. TBS had the National League Wild Card Game, Division Series, and Championship Series, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. The World Series then aired on the Fox broadcast network for the sixteenth consecutive year.

References

External links

League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 2015

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015 Major League Baseball Season

Major League Baseball postseason