2017 – The woes of the Nationals in the Division Series continue, as they again fail to advance to the next round of the postseason, losing Game 5 at home, 9 – 8, to the Cubs. In a wild and sloppy game, Washington jumps ahead, 4 – 1 after 2 innings thanks to homers by Daniel Murphy and Michael Taylor off Kyle Hendricks, but Chicago comes back with a pair of runs in the 3rd, and a brutal four-run inning against ace Max Scherzer, pitching in relief in the 4th. Both teams will add a few runs in the later innings, but Chicago’s lead holds to the end as Washington loses at this stage for the fourth time since 2012, and three times in a decisive fifth game in which they held a lead at one point.

The Yankees complete a stunning comeback from being two games to none down after a devastating extra-innings loss in Game 2 to stun the heavily-favored Indians, 5 – 2 in Game 5 of the Division Series, eliminating them from the postseason. Didi Gregorius hits a pair of homers off a shaky Corey Kluber in the first three innings to give New York an early 3 – 0 lead, but after Cleveland chases CC Sabathia with 2 runs in the 4th, the Yankees’ bullpen goes to work, shutting them down the rest of the way.

The Nationals force a Game 5 in the NLDS by shutting out the Cubs, 5 – 0 at Wrigley Field. Stephen Strasburg pitches 7 scoreless innings and leaves with a 1 – 0 lead, thanks to an unearned run against Jake Arrieta, then Michael Taylor deals the crushing blow with a grand slam off Wade Davis with two outs in the top of the 8th.

In a surprise announcement, the Red Sox announce that manager John Farrell will not return in 2018. The Sox have just won back-to-back division titles, and also won the 2013 World Series under Farrell’s leadership.

Max Scherzer pitches no-hit ball until one out in the 7th, when Ben Zobrist hits a double for the Cubs then scores the tying run on a single by pinch-hitter Albert Almora. In the 8th, Anthony Rizzo drops a hit between a trio of players in the outfield to allow Leonys Martin to score from second, and Chicago wins Game 3 of the NLDS, 2 – 1.

In the other ALDS, New York forces a decisive fifth game by defeating Cleveland, 7 – 3, in Game 4. Trevor Bauer is victimized by an error by 3B Giovanny Urshela, allowing 4 unearned runs in the 2nd to be yanked out of the game early, then the Yankees score another gift run on another error by Urshela in the 3rd. Luis Severino pitches 7 strong innings to earn the win, while Tommy Kahnle retires all six batters he faces, five of them on strikeouts, to earn the save.

In the other NLDS, Los Angeles completes a three-game sweep of Arizona with a 3 – 1 win. Mid-season acquisition Yu Darvish allows just one run on two hits in five innings to earn the win as rookie Cody Bellinger drives in a pair with a homer and a grounder.

In the other ALDS, Carlos Carrasco for the Indians and Masahiro Tanaka for the Yankees are locked in a pitchers’ duel until the 7th, when Greg Bird hits a solo homer off Andrew Miller to the sole run of the game. Aroldis Chapman records the final five outs for New York, four of them on strikeouts, as the Bronx Bombers avoid elimination.

With their backs to the wall in Game 3 of the ALDS, the Red Sox see Houston score 3 runs off Doug Fister in the 1st, but still manage to come back to win, 10 – 3. David Price does some great work out of the bullpen with four scoreless innings, young Rafael Devers hits a two-run homer off Francisco Liriano in the 3rd to give Boston a lead, and Jackie Bradley hits a three-run shot in the 7th to put the game out of reach.

In Game 2 of the NLDS, Chicago has 3 – 1 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th, thanks to a solo homer by Willson Contreras and a two-run shot by Anthony Rizzo, both off Gio Gonzalez, but Washington explodes for 5 runs against Carl Edwards and Mike Montgomery to take a 6 – 3 win and even the series at one apiece. In the fateful inning, Bryce Harper hits a two-run shot and Ryan Zimmerman another good for 3 runs as all the scoring comes on long balls (Anthony Rendon had homered in the 1st for Washington’s other run).