2015 MLB Postseason

2015 Major League Baseball playoffs

2015 MLB Postseason

Tournament details
Dates| October 6-November 1, 2015[1]
Teams| 10
Defending champions| San Francisco Giants (Did not qualify)
Final positions
Champions| Kansas City Royals (2nd title)
Runner-up| New York Mets (5th World Series appearance)
Semifinalists|

* Toronto Blue Jays
* Chicago Cubs

<- 2014

2016 ->

The 2015 MLB Postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2015 season. The winners of the League 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 as a member of the American League, and the Toronto Blue Jays made their first postseason appearance since 1993.

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.

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 30 years for the Royals.

## Contents

* 1 Playoff seeds
* 1.1 American League
* 1.2 National League
* 2 Playoff bracket
* 3 American League Wild Card
* 3.1 (4) New York Yankees vs. (5) Houston Astros
* 4 National League Wild Card
* 4.1 (4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Chicago Cubs
* 5 American League Division Series
* 5.1 (1) Kansas City Royals vs. (5) Houston Astros
* 5.2 (2) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (3) Texas Rangers
* 6 National League Division Series
* 6.1 (1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (5) Chicago Cubs
* 6.2 (2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) New York Mets
* 7 American League Championship Series
* 7.1 (1) Kansas City Royals vs. (2) Toronto Blue Jays
* 8 National League Championship Series
* 8.1 (3) New York Mets vs. (5) Chicago Cubs
* 9 2015 World Series
* 9.1 (AL1) Kansas City Royals vs. (NL3) New York Mets
* 10 References
* 11 External links

## Playoff seeds[edit]

### American League[edit]

1. Kansas City Royals – 95-67, Clinched AL Central[2]
2. Toronto Blue Jays \- 93-69, Clinched AL East[3]
3. Texas Rangers – 90-72, Clinched AL West[4]
4. New York Yankees \- 87-75, Clinched 1st Wild Card[5]
5. Houston Astros \- 86-76, Clinched 2nd Wild Card[6]

### National League[edit]

1. St. Louis Cardinals \- 100-62, Clinched NL Central[7]
2. Los Angeles Dodgers \- 92-70, Clinched NL West[8]
3. New York Mets \- 90-72, Clinched NL East[9]
4. Pittsburgh Pirates \- 98-64, Clinched 1st Wild Card[10]
5. Chicago Cubs \- 97-65, Clinched 2nd Wild Card[11]

## Playoff bracket[edit]

| Wild Card Game
(ALWC, NLWC)  |  | Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS)  |  | League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS)  |  | World Series

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|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  | 1 | Kansas City | 3 |
| 4 | NY Yankees  | 0  |  |  | 5 | Houston  | 2  |  |
|  | 1 | Kansas City | 4 |
| 5 | Houston | 1 |  |  | American League
|  |  2 | Toronto  | 2  |  |
|  | 2 | Toronto | 3
|  |
|  | 3 | Texas  | 2  |
|  |  |  | AL1 | Kansas City | 4
|  |  | NL3 | NY Mets  | 1
|  |  | 1 | St. Louis  | 1  |  |  |
| 4 | Pittsburgh  | 0  |  |  | 5 | Chicago Cubs | 3 |  |
|  | 5 | Chicago Cubs  | 0
| 5 | Chicago Cubs | 1 |  |  | National League
|  |  3 | NY Mets | 4 |
|  | 2 | LA Dodgers  | 2
|  |
|  | 3 | NY Mets | 3 |

## American League Wild Card[edit]

Main article: 2015 AL Wild Card Game

### (4) New York Yankees vs. (5) Houston Astros[edit]

Tuesday, October 6, 2015 8:10 pm (EDT) at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, 67 °F (19 °C), partly cloudy Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E

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Houston | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0
New York | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0
WP: Dallas Keuchel (1–0)  LP: Masahiro Tanaka (0–1)  Sv: Luke Gregerson (1)
Home runs:
HOU: Colby Rasmus (1), Carlos Gómez (1)
NYY: None
Attendance: 50,113
Boxscore

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

## National League Wild Card[edit]

Main article: 2015 NL Wild Card Game

### (4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Chicago Cubs[edit]

Wednesday, October 7, 2015 8:08 pm (EDT) at PNC Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 68 °F (20 °C), clear Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E

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Chicago | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1
Pittsburgh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1
WP: Jake Arrieta (1–0)  LP: Gerrit Cole (0–1)
Home runs:
CHC: Kyle Schwarber (1), Dexter Fowler (1)
PIT: None
Attendance: 40,889
Boxscore

The Cubs shut out the Pirates 4-0 to advance to the NLDS. As of 2022, this is the last postseason appearance by the Pirates.

## American League Division Series[edit]

Main article: 2015 ALDS

### (1) Kansas City Royals vs. (5) Houston Astros[edit]

Kansas City won the series, 3–2.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 8 | Houston Astros – 5, Kansas City Royals – 2 | Kauffman Stadium | 3:14 (:49 delay) | 40,146[12]
2 | October 9 | Houston Astros – 4, Kansas City Royals – 5 | Kauffman Stadium | 3:27 | 40,008[13]
3 | October 11 | Kansas City Royals – 2, Houston Astros – 4 | Minute Maid Park | 3:20 | 42,674[14]
4 | October 12 | Kansas City Royals – 9, Houston Astros – 6 | Minute Maid Park | 4:05 | 42,387[15]
5 | October 14 | Houston Astros – 2, Kansas City Royals – 7 | Kauffman Stadium | 2:42 | 40,566[16]

The Royals rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to return to the ALCS for the second straight year.

### (2) Toronto Blue Jays vs. (3) Texas Rangers[edit]

Toronto won the series, 3–2.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 8 | Texas Rangers – 5, Toronto Blue Jays – 3 | Rogers Centre | 2:53 | 49,834[17]
2 | October 9 | Texas Rangers – 6, Toronto Blue Jays – 4 (14) | Rogers Centre | 4:57 | 49,716[18]
3 | October 11 | Toronto Blue Jays − 5, Texas Rangers − 1 | Globe Life Park | 3:08 | 50,941[19]
4 | October 12 | Toronto Blue Jays − 8, Texas Rangers − 4 | Globe Life Park | 3:18 | 47,679[20]
5 | October 14 | Texas Rangers − 3, Toronto Blue Jays − 6 | Rogers Centre | 3:37 | 49,742[21]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Rangers and Blue Jays. The Rangers went up 2-0 in the series, but the Blue Jays rallied to tie the series. The Blue Jays defeated the Rangers in Game 5 to 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. 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.

## National League Division Series[edit]

Main article: 2015 NLDS

### (1) St. Louis Cardinals vs. (5) Chicago Cubs[edit]

Chicago won the series, 3–1.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 9 | Chicago Cubs – 0, St. Louis Cardinals – 4 | Busch Stadium | 2:47 | 47,830[22]
2 | October 10 | Chicago Cubs – 6, St. Louis Cardinals – 3 | Busch Stadium | 2:57 | 47,859[23]
3 | October 12 | St. Louis Cardinals – 6, Chicago Cubs – 8 | Wrigley Field | 3:28 | 42,411[24]
4 | October 13 | St. Louis Cardinals – 4, Chicago Cubs – 6 | Wrigley Field | 3:16 | 42,411[25]

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.

### (2) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (3) New York Mets[edit]

New York won the series, 3–2.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 9 | New York Mets – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 1 | Dodger Stadium | 3:14 | 54,428[26]
2 | October 10 | New York Mets – 2, Los Angeles Dodgers – 5 | Dodger Stadium | 3:24 | 54,455[27]
3 | October 12 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 7, New York Mets – 13 | Citi Field | 3:42 | 44,276[28]
4 | October 13 | Los Angeles Dodgers – 3, New York Mets – 1 | Citi Field | 2:50 | 44,183[29]
5 | October 15 | New York Mets – 3, Los Angeles Dodgers – 2 | Dodger Stadium | 3:13 | 54,602[30]

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.

## American League Championship Series[edit]

Main article: 2015 ALCS

### (1) Kansas City Royals vs. (2) Toronto Blue Jays[edit]

Kansas City won the series, 4–2.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 16 | Toronto Blue Jays – 0, Kansas City Royals – 5 | Kauffman Stadium | 3:15 | 39,753[31]
2 | October 17 | Toronto Blue Jays – 3, Kansas City Royals – 6 | Kauffman Stadium | 3:19 | 40,357[32]
3 | October 19 | Kansas City Royals – 8, Toronto Blue Jays – 11 | Rogers Centre | 3:13 | 49,751[33]
4 | October 20 | Kansas City Royals – 14, Toronto Blue Jays – 2 | Rogers Centre | 3:39 | 49,501[34]
5 | October 21 | Kansas City Royals – 1, Toronto Blue Jays – 7 | Rogers Centre | 2:56 | 49,325[35]
6 | October 23 | Toronto Blue Jays – 3, Kansas City Royals – 4 | Kauffman Stadium | 3:42 (:45 delay) | 40,494[36]

This was a rematch of the 1985 ALCS, which the Royals won in seven games after trailing 3-1 in the series. 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.

## National League Championship Series[edit]

Main article: 2015 NLCS

### (3) New York Mets vs. (5) Chicago Cubs[edit]

New York won the series, 4–0.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 17 | Chicago Cubs – 2, New York Mets – 4 | Citi Field | 2:55 | 44,287[37]
2 | October 18 | Chicago Cubs – 1, New York Mets – 4 | Citi Field | 3:07 | 44,502[38]
3 | October 20 | New York Mets – 5, Chicago Cubs – 2 | Wrigley Field | 3:01 | 42,231[39]
4 | October 21 | New York Mets – 8, Chicago Cubs – 3 | Wrigley Field | 3:32 | 42,227[40]

The Mets swept the Cubs to return to the World Series for the first time since 2000. 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 2016 World Series, defeating the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

## 2015 World Series[edit]

Main article: 2015 World Series

### (AL1) Kansas City Royals vs. (NL3) New York Mets[edit]

Kansas City won the series, 4–1.

Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance

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1 | October 27 | New York Mets 4, Kansas City Royals 5 (14) | Kauffman Stadium | 5:09 | 40,320[41]
2 | October 28 | New York Mets 1, Kansas City Royals 7 | Kauffman Stadium | 2:54 | 40,410[42]
3 | October 30 | Kansas City Royals 3, New York Mets 9 | Citi Field | 3:22 | 44,781[43]
4 | October 31 | Kansas City Royals 5, New York Mets 3 | Citi Field | 3:29 | 44,815[44]
5 | November 1 | Kansas City Royals 7, New York Mets 2 (12) | Citi Field | 4:15 | 44,859[45]

This was the first World Series to feature two expansion teams. The Royals defeated the Mets in five games to win their first World Series title since 1985. As of 2022, this is the last postseason appearance by the Royals franchise. It is also the most recent World Series appearance for the Mets, and the only World Series appearance by a team from the New York metropolitan area this decade.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "2015 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
2. ^ "2015 Kansas City Royals Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
3. ^ "2015 Toronto Blue Jays Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
4. ^ "2015 Texas Rangers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
5. ^ "2015 New York Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
6. ^ "2015 Houston Astros Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
7. ^ "2015 St. Louis Cardinals Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
8. ^ "2015 Los Angeles Dodgers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
9. ^ "2015 New York Mets Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
10. ^ "2015 Pittsburgh Pirates statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
11. ^ "2015 Chicago Cubs statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
12. ^ "Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
13. ^ "Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
14. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Houston, Game 3". MLB.com. October 11, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
15. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Houston, Game 4". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
16. ^ "Boxscore: Houston vs. Kansas City, Game 5". MLB.com. October 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
17. ^ "Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 1". MLB.com. October 8, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
18. ^ "Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 2". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
19. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Texas, Game 3". MLB.com. October 11, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
20. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Texas, Game 4". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
21. ^ "Boxscore: Texas vs. Toronto, Game 5". MLB.com. October 14, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
22. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. St. Louis, Game 1". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
23. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. St. Louis, Game 2". MLB.com. October 10, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
24. ^ "Boxscore: St. Louis vs. Chicago, Game 3". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
25. ^ "Boxscore: St. Louis vs. Chicago, Game 4". MLB.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
26. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 1". MLB.com. October 9, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
27. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 2". MLB.com. October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
28. ^ "Boxscore: Los Angeles vs. New York, Game 3". MLB.com. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 12, 2015.
29. ^ "Boxscore: Los Angeles vs. New York, Game 4". MLB.com. October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
30. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Los Angeles, Game 5". MLB.com. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
31. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 16, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
32. ^ "Boxscore: Toronto vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
33. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 3". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
34. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 4". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
35. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 5". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
36. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. Toronto, Game 6". MLB.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
37. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. New York, Game 1". MLB.com. October 17, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
38. ^ "Boxscore: Chicago vs. New York, Game 2". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
39. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Chicago, Game 3". MLB.com. October 18, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
40. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Chicago, Game 4". MLB.com. October 21, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
41. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 1". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
42. ^ "Boxscore: New York vs. Kansas City, Game 2". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
43. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 3". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
44. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 4". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
45. ^ "Boxscore: Kansas City vs. New York, Game 5". MLB.com. October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2022.

## External links[edit]

* League Baseball Standings & Expanded Standings - 2015

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