2010 Major League Baseball postseason

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2010 Major League Baseball postseason
2010MLBPostseasonlogo.jpg
Tournament details
DatesOctober 6 – November 1, 2010 [1]
Teams8
Final positions
Champions San Francisco Giants
(6th title)
Runners-up Texas Rangers
Awards
MVP Édgar Rentería
(SF)
←  2009
2011  →

The 2010 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2010 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.

Contents

In the American League, the New York Yankees returned for the fifteenth time in the past sixteen years, the Minnesota Twins returned for the sixth time in the past nine years, the Tampa Bay Rays returned for the second time in three years, and the Texas Rangers returned for the first time since 1999. This would be the first of three consecutive postseason appearances for the Rangers, and the last postseason appearance for the Twins until 2017.

In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies returned to the postseason for the fourth straight time, the San Francisco Giants made their first postseason appearance since 2003, the Atlanta Braves returned for the first time since 2005, and the Cincinnati Reds made their first postseason appearance since 1995.

The postseason began on October 6, 2010, and ended on November 1, 2010, with the Giants defeating the Rangers in five games in the 2010 World Series, ending the Curse of Coogan's Bluff. It was the Giants' first title since 1954 and their sixth overall.

Playoff seeds

Red pog.svg American League Teams Blue pog.svg National League Teams

The following teams qualified for the postseason:

American League

  1. Tampa Bay Rays – 96–66, AL East champions [2]
  2. Minnesota Twins – 94–68, AL Central champions [3]
  3. Texas Rangers – 90–72, AL West champions [4]
  4. New York Yankees – 95–67 [5]

National League

  1. Philadelphia Phillies – 97–65, NL East champions [6]
  2. San Francisco Giants – 92–70, NL West champions [7]
  3. Cincinnati Reds – 91–71, NL Central champions [8]
  4. Atlanta Braves – 91–71 [9]

Playoff bracket

Division Series
(ALDS, NLDS) 		League Championship Series
(ALCS, NLCS) 		World Series
         
1 Tampa Bay 2
3 Texas3
3 Texas4
American League
4 NY Yankees 2
2 Minnesota 0
4 NY Yankees3
AL3 Texas 1
NL2 San Francisco4
1 Philadelphia3
3 Cincinnati 0
1 Philadelphia 2
National League
2 San Francisco4
2 San Francisco3
4 Atlanta 1

Note: Two teams in the same division could not meet in the division series.

American League Division Series

(1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (3) Texas Rangers

Texas won the series, 3–2.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 6 Texas Rangers – 5, Tampa Bay Rays – 1 Tropicana Field 3:0635,474 [10]  
2October 7 Texas Rangers – 6, Tampa Bay Rays – 0 Tropicana Field 3:1035,535 [11]  
3October 9 Tampa Bay Rays – 6, Texas Rangers – 3 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 3:3851,746 [12]  
4October 10 Tampa Bay Rays – 5, Texas Rangers – 2 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 3:2249,218 [13]  
5October 12 Texas Rangers – 5, Tampa Bay Rays – 1 Tropicana Field 3:0041,845 [14]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Rays and Rangers. In the first postseason series where neither team won a home game, the Rangers defeated the Rays in five games to advance to the ALCS for the first time in franchise history.

Cliff Lee pitched seven solid innings as the Rangers stole Game 1 on the road, snapping a nine-game playoff losing streak dating back to Game 2 of the ALDS in 1996. In Game 2, C. J. Wilson pitched six innings of shutout ball and the Rangers bullpen blanked the Rays as they took a 2–0 series lead headed to Arlington. In Game 3, with the Rangers leading 2-1 and six outs away from advancing, consecutive RBI singles by Carlos Peña and John Jaso would put the Rays in the lead for good, and Peña added more insurance runs in the top of the ninth with a two-run homer. Peña got the scoring started for the Rays in Game 4 as they jumped out to an early lead they wouldn’t relinquish as they won 5-2 to force a decisive fifth game back in St. Petersburg. However, the Rangers survived as Lee pitched a six-hit complete game with the Rangers winning 5-1, winning their first playoff series in franchise history.

The Rays and Rangers met again in the ALDS the next year, and in the Wild Card round in 2023, both of which were won by the Rangers.

(2) Minnesota Twins vs. (4) New York Yankees

New York won the series, 3–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 6 New York Yankees – 6, Minnesota Twins – 4 Target Field 3:4742,032 [15]  
2October 7 New York Yankees – 5, Minnesota Twins – 2 Target Field 2:5942,035 [16]  
3October 9 Minnesota Twins – 1, New York Yankees – 6 Yankee Stadium 3:0650,840 [17]

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Yankees and Twins (2003, 2004, 2009). The Yankees once again swept the Twins to advance to the ALCS for the second year in a row.

Mark Teixeira completed a comeback effort by the Yankees with a two-run homer in the top of the seventh as they stole Game 1 on the road. In Game 2, Andy Pettitte helped lead the Yankees to victory with seven strong innings in what would be his nineteenth and final postseason win. When the series moved to the Bronx, Phil Hughes and the Yankees bullpen held the Twins to one run scored to complete the sweep.

Both teams would meet again in the Wild Card game in 2017, and the ALDS again in 2019, both of which were won by the Yankees.

National League Division Series

(1) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (3) Cincinnati Reds

Philadelphia won the series, 3–0.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 6 Cincinnati Reds – 0, Philadelphia Phillies – 4† Citizens Bank Park 2:3446,411 [18]  
2October 8 Cincinnati Reds – 4, Philadelphia Phillies – 7 Citizens Bank Park 3:3946,511 [19]  
3October 10 Philadelphia Phillies – 2, Cincinnati Reds – 0 Great American Ball Park 3:0044,599 [20]

†: No-hitter by Roy Halladay

This was the second postseason meeting between the Reds and Phillies. They last met in the NLCS in 1976, which the Reds won in a sweep en route to winning back-to-back World Series titles. This time, the Phillies returned the favor, sweeping the Reds to advance to the NLCS for the third year in a row.

This series was notable for a no-hitter thrown by Roy Halladay in Game 1, the first no-hitter in the postseason since Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. [21] In Game 2, the Reds held a 4–0 lead, but the Phillies would rally with seven unanswered runs in the bottom the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively to win and take a 2–0 series lead headed to Cincinnati. Cole Hamels pitched a five-hit complete-game shutout for the Phillies in Game 3 to complete the sweep.

This was the last playoff series won by the Phillies until 2022, and the last time a no-hitter was thrown in the postseason until the 2022 World Series (which the Phillies, ironically, would be on the receiving end of).

(2) San Francisco Giants vs. (4) Atlanta Braves

San Francisco won the series, 3–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 7 Atlanta Braves – 0, San Francisco Giants – 1 AT&T Park 2:2643,936 [22]  
2October 8 Atlanta Braves – 5, San Francisco Giants – 4 (11) AT&T Park 3:4744,046 [23]  
3October 10 San Francisco Giants – 3, Atlanta Braves – 2 Turner Field 3:2353,284 [24]  
4October 11 San Francisco Giants – 3, Atlanta Braves – 2 Turner Field 2:5644,532 [25]

This was the second postseason meeting between the Giants and Braves. They last met in the NLDS in 2002, which the Giants won in five games before falling in the World Series. The Giants defeated the Braves in four games to return to the NLCS for the first time since 2002.

Tim Lincecum pitched a two-hit complete-game shutout as the Giants took Game 1. Game 2 was a long extra-innings grind that would be won by the Braves as Rick Ankiel hit a go-ahead solo homer in the top of the eleventh to even the series headed to Atlanta. In Game 3, the Braves led 2-1 and were two outs away from taking the series lead, but the Giants rallied to take the lead for good, and Giants’ closer Brian Wilson earned his first postseason save in the bottom of the ninth. Giants' rookie pitcher Madison Bumgarner helped close out the series in Game 4 in what would be his first of many postseason wins.

American League Championship Series

(3) Texas Rangers vs. (4) New York Yankees

Texas won the series, 4–2.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 15 New York Yankees – 6, Texas Rangers – 5 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 3:5050,930 [26]  
2October 16 New York Yankees – 2, Texas Rangers – 7 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 3:5250,362 [27]  
3October 18 Texas Rangers – 8, New York Yankees – 0 Yankee Stadium 3:1849,480 [28]  
4October 19 Texas Rangers – 10, New York Yankees – 3 Yankee Stadium 4:0549,977 [29]  
5October 20 Texas Rangers – 2, New York Yankees – 7 Yankee Stadium 3:4849,832 [30]  
6October 22 New York Yankees – 1, Texas Rangers – 6 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 2:5751,404 [31]

This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Rangers and Yankees. They had previously met in the ALDS in 1996, 1998, and 1999, which were all won by the Yankees. This time, the Rangers returned the favor, defeating the Yankees in six games to advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history (in the process denying a rematch of the 1962 World Series between the Yankees and Giants).

Both teams split the first two games in Arlington. An RBI single from Marcus Thames would give the Yankees a narrow victory in Game 1. In Game 2, the Rangers blew out the Yankees to even the series, winning their first home postseason game in franchise history. When the series moved to the Bronx, things quickly got ugly for the Yankees, as the Rangers’ offense overwhelmed the Yankees’ pitching staff in back-to-back blowout wins in Games 3 and 4. CC Sabathia and the Yankees' bullpen helped send the series back to Arlington with a blowout victory in Game 5. In Game 6, with the game tied at one going into the bottom of the fifth, Vladimir Guerrero and Nelson Cruz put the Rangers in the lead for good with a four-run fifth, effectively securing the pennant and exacting long-awaited revenge on the team that eliminated them in their first three postseason appearances.

The Rangers would win the pennant again the next year against the Detroit Tigers in six games before falling in the World Series.

This was the first of five consecutive losses in the ALCS for the Yankees, as they would lose again in 2012, 2017, 2019, and 2022. The Yankees would not win the AL pennant again until 2024.

National League Championship Series

(1) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (2) San Francisco Giants

San Francisco won the series, 4–2.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 16 San Francisco Giants – 4, Philadelphia Phillies – 3 Citizens Bank Park 2:5945,929 [32]  
2October 17 San Francisco Giants – 1, Philadelphia Phillies – 6 Citizens Bank Park 3:0146,099 [33]  
3October 19 Philadelphia Phillies – 0, San Francisco Giants – 3 AT&T Park 2:3943,320 [34]  
4October 20 Philadelphia Phillies – 5, San Francisco Giants – 6 AT&T Park 3:4043,515 [35]  
5October 21 Philadelphia Phillies – 4, San Francisco Giants – 2 AT&T Park 3:1543,713 [36]  
6October 23 San Francisco Giants – 3, Philadelphia Phillies – 2 Citizens Bank Park 3:4146,062 [37]

The Giants upset the two-time defending National League champion Phillies in six games to return to the World Series for the first time since 2002.

Tim Lincecum pitched seven solid innings and Cody Ross homered twice as the Giants stole Game 1 on the road in surprising fashion. Roy Oswalt pitched eight solid innings as the Phillies won Game 2 to even the series headed to San Francisco. Matt Cain pitched seven innings of shutout ball and Brian Wilson earned his fourth postseason save as the Giants shutout the Phillies in Game 3. Game 4 was an offensive shootout that was won by the Giants as they took a 3–1 series lead, with Wilson earning his first postseason victory. In Game 5, the Giants took an early lead, but the Phillies put up three runs in the top of the third to take the lead for good and send the series back to Philadelphia. In Game 6, the Phillies jumped out to an early 2–0 lead in the bottom of the first, however the Giants tied the game with a two-run third inning thanks to an RBI single from Aubrey Huff and a throwing error by Philadelphia’s Plácido Polanco. No team scored a run until the top of the eighth, when San Francisco's Juan Uribe hit a solo home run to put the Giants in the lead for good. Wilson then struck out Ryan Howard looking in the bottom of the ninth to clinch the pennant for the Giants, earning his fifth save.

This was the first of three NL pennants won by the Giants during the 2010s. They would win it again in 2012 and 2014 against the St. Louis Cardinals in seven and five games respectively en route to World Series titles.

The Phillies would not return to the NLCS again until 2022, where they defeated the San Diego Padres in five games before falling in the World Series.

2010 World Series

(AL3) Texas Rangers vs. (NL2) San Francisco Giants

San Francisco won the series, 4–1.

GameDateScoreLocationTimeAttendance 
1October 27 Texas Rangers – 7, San Francisco Giants – 11 AT&T Park 3:3643,601 [38]  
2October 28 Texas Rangers – 0, San Francisco Giants – 9 AT&T Park 3:1743,622 [39]  
3October 30 San Francisco Giants – 2, Texas Rangers – 4 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 2:5152,419 [40]  
4October 31 San Francisco Giants – 4, Texas Rangers – 0 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 3:0951,920 [41]  
5November 1 San Francisco Giants – 3, Texas Rangers – 1 Rangers Ballpark in Arlington 2:3252,045 [42]

The Giants defeated the Rangers in five games to win their first World Series title since 1954, ending the Curse of Coogan's Bluff.

Game 1 was a massive back-and-forth slugfest that was won by the Giants as they chased Cliff Lee from the mound. In Game 2, Matt Cain pitched seven innings of shutout ball as the Giants blew out the Rangers to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Arlington. In Game 3, a three-run homer by Mitch Moreland gave the Rangers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish as they won their first World Series game by a 4-2 score. In Game 4, Madison Bumgarner won his first World Series game with eight innings of shutout ball as the Giants shutout the Rangers to take a 3–1 series lead. Bumgarner became the fifth-youngest pitcher to start a World Series game, and was the fourth-youngest to win one. In Game 5, Tim Lincecum pitched eight solid innings, Édgar Rentería gave the Giants a lead they wouldn’t let go of with a three-run homer in the top of the seventh, and Brian Wilson earned his sixth postseason save as the Giants prevailed to end their championship drought.

This was the first championship won by a team from the San Francisco Bay Area since 1995, when the San Francisco 49ers won Super Bowl XXIX. It was also the first World Series title for the Bay Area since 1989, which was won by the Oakland Athletics, who swept the Giants that year. The victory marked the start of a dynasty for the Giants, as they would win the World Series again in 2012 against the Detroit Tigers in a sweep, and in 2014 against the Kansas City Royals in seven games.

The Rangers would return to the World Series the next year, but fell to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games after being a strike away from the championship twice in Game 6. They would eventually win the championship in 2023 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games.

Broadcasting

This was the fourth postseason under a seven-year U.S. rights agreement with Fox and TBS. TBS primarily aired all Division Series games, with sister network TNT used as an overflow channel. TBS also had the American League Championship Series. Fox televised the National League Championship Series and the World Series.

References

  1. ↑ "2010 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  2. ↑ "2010 Tampa Bay Rays Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ "2010 Minnesota Twins Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  4. ↑ "2010 Texas Rangers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  5. ↑ "2010 New York Yankees Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  6. ↑ "2010 Philadelphia Phillies Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  7. ↑ "2010 San Francisco Giants Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  8. ↑ "2010 Cincinnati Reds Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  9. ↑ "2010 Atlanta Braves statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. Tampa Bay- October 6, 2010". MLB.com. October 6, 2010. Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. Tampa Bay – October 7, 2010". MLB.com. October 7, 2010. Archived from the original on October 10, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Boxscore:Tampa Bay vs. Texas – October 9, 2010". MLB.com. October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Boxscore:Tampa Bay vs. Texas – October 10, 2010". MLB.com. July 14, 2022. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. Tampa Bay- October 12, 2010". MLB.com. October 12, 2010. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Boxscore:NY Yankees vs. Minnesota – October 6, 2010". MLB.com. July 14, 2022. Archived from the original on October 10, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Boxscore:NY Yankees vs. Minnesota – October 7, 2010". MLB.com. July 14, 2022. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Boxscore:Minnesota vs. NY Yankees – October 9, 2010". MLB.com. July 14, 2022. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Boxscore:Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia – October 6, 2010". MLB.com. October 6, 2010. Archived from the original on October 10, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Boxscore:Cincinnati vs. Philadelphia – October 8, 2010". MLB.com. October 8, 2010. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Boxscore:Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati – October 10, 2010". MLB.com. October 10, 2010. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  21. ↑ Zolecki, Todd (October 6, 2010). "Doctober! No-no for Halladay in playoff debut". MLB.com . Archived from the original on October 9, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  22. ↑ "Boxscore:Atlanta vs. San Francisco – October 7, 2010". MLB.com. October 7, 2010. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Boxscore:Atlanta vs. San Francisco – October 8, 2010". MLB.com. October 8, 2010. Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Atlanta – October 10, 2010". MLB.com. October 10, 2010. Archived from the original on October 13, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Atlanta – October 11, 2010". MLB.com. October 11, 2010. Archived from the original on October 15, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Boxscore:NY Yankees vs. Texas – October 15, 2010". MLB.com. October 15, 2010. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Boxscore:NY Yankees vs. Texas – October 16, 2010". MLB.com. October 16, 2010. Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. NY Yankees – October 18, 2010". MLB.com. October 18, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. NY Yankees – October 19, 2010". MLB.com. October 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. NY Yankees – October 20, 2010". MLB.com. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Boxscore:NY Yankees vs. Texas – October 22, 2010". MLB.com. October 22, 2010. Archived from the original on October 26, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  32. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Philadelphia – October 16, 2010". MLB.com. October 16, 2010. Archived from the original on October 20, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Philadelphia – October 17, 2010". MLB.com. October 17, 2010. Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  34. ↑ "Boxscore:Philadelphia vs. San Francisco – October 19, 2010". MLB.com. October 19, 2010. Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  35. ↑ "Boxscore:Philadelphia vs. San Francisco – October 20, 2010". MLB.com. October 20, 2010. Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  36. ↑ "Boxscore:Philadelphia vs. San Francisco – October 21, 2010". MLB.com. October 21, 2010. Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  37. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Philadelphia – October 23, 2010". MLB.com. October 23, 2010. Archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  38. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. San Francisco – October 27, 2010". MLB.com. October 27, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  39. ↑ "Boxscore:Texas vs. San Francisco – October 28, 2010". MLB.com. October 28, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  40. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Texas – October 30, 2010". MLB.com. October 30, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  41. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Texas – October 31, 2010". MLB.com. October 31, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
  42. ↑ "Boxscore:San Francisco vs. Texas – November 1, 2010". MLB.com. November 1, 2010. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
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