This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

BALTIMORE -- Angel Zerpa was tasked with getting the Royals out of the fifth inning in his postseason debut. But it was not going to be easy. The challenge: Bases loaded with one out and Colton Cowser in the batter’s box. Due up after Cowser was All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman.

BALTIMORE -- Bobby Witt Jr. leaned over his bat with his right foot on the top step of the dugout on Wednesday and looked around. Camden Yards was rocking, an energetic crowd turned all the way up as fans whipped their orange towels around moments before the first pitch of

While the number of franchises that have ended long World Series title droughts in recent years has been robust, there are still many that are searching for their first championship in decades -- or first championship, period. In the past 10 years, we’ve seen seven teams snap a World Series

BALTIMORE -- Corbin Burnes walked over to Gunnar Henderson’s locker inside the Orioles’ clubhouse at Camden Yards and pulled him in. Baltimore’s ace gave the club’s star shortstop a hug, while also whispering words -- surely of encouragement -- into his ear. Burnes then continued to make his rounds, dapping

HOUSTON -- The Tigers came within nine outs of turning manager A.J. Hinch’s self-professed “pitching chaos” into their first postseason series win since 2013. Instead, they turned batting chaos into a comeback and a sweep of their American League Wild Card Series. And with Wednesday’s 5-2 win at Minute Maid

HOUSTON -- The question came up to Beau Brieske before Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series: How have the Tigers so effectively embraced the “pitching chaos” that manager A.J. Hinch has deployed since mid-August? “Not knowing when [you're] going to get called, it is chaos at times,”

BALTIMORE -- This time, it happened in front of their home fans. Members of the Orioles’ roster watched another team celebrate, but on their turf -- the aftermath of Kansas City’s 2-1 win to complete a two-game sweep in the American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday -- and many

HOUSTON – The sounds of handshakes and heavy-handed hugs filled the otherwise quiet air in the home clubhouse at Minute Maid Park. A sense of disbelief and dismay dominated the scene as Astros players signed jerseys for each other, said some goodbyes -- perhaps for good -- and started looking

HOUSTON -- As perhaps the only active pitcher with a chance to reach 300 career wins, Justin Verlander said Wednesday his career is far from done. At 41 years old, he spent most of this season on the injured list and wasn’t on Houston’s Wild Card Series roster, but will

HOUSTON – No one’s words carry more weight in the Astros’ clubhouse than second baseman Jose Altuve, the 14-year veteran who is Houston’s unequivocal leader. Facing the reality of losing another cornerstone player, Altuve said following Wednesday’s 5-2 elimination loss to the Tigers in Game 2 of the American League

The first day of the playoffs had a little bit of everything: a masterful performance from a soon-to-be AL Cy Young Award winner, a taut pitchers’ duel, a wild five-run inning, and all sorts of other madness. And that’s just Day One. We get to do this again on Wednesday!

BALTIMORE – Cole Ragans felt the adrenaline surge through him as he stepped on the mound in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday afternoon and glanced around at a nearly full Camden Yards buzzing with excitement for an Orioles offense that was due to bat. That’s quite a bit

BALTIMORE – As starters Cole Ragans and Corbin Burnes put up zero after zero on Tuesday afternoon at Camden Yards, eventually one of them had to blink. It happened in the sixth inning, courtesy of Maikel Garcia’s legs and Bobby Witt Jr.’s bat, as the Royals eked out a 1-0

BALTIMORE -- As Corbin Burnes regrouped and then stood back atop the rubber of the mound, the Orioles’ ace prepared to face one of MLB’s top hitters in the biggest spot of Tuesday’s American League Wild Card Series Game 1 at Camden Yards. Burnes doesn’t back down from anybody. Not

HOUSTON -- Jake Rogers went the first five months of the season without swinging at a 3-0 pitch before doing it in back-to-back games against A’s relievers in Oakland in early September. He fouled off a pitch from T.J. McFarland in the seventh inning on Sept. 7 before drawing a

HOUSTON -- The Tigers’ pitching chaos can wait. Tarik Skubal brought order to Game 1, even if the ninth inning flirted with anarchy. The procession of openers, bulk pitchers and specialists that helped Detroit reach the postseason for the first time in 10 years will have two chances to lift

HOUSTON -- The ball rocketed off the bat of Jason Heyward, and for a split-second Tuesday afternoon, it appeared as though the Astros had pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win. When Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson squeezed his glove for the final out in the ninth inning, the excitement turned

At last, we have playoff baseball. (It has been 341 days since our last MLB postseason game. That’s too many days!) In a month or so, we will know the 2024 World Series champion, but we have a whole bunch of games to go before then. And those games start

BALTIMORE -- Vinnie Pasquantino is back, and the Royals received a big boost to their offense ahead of the American League Wild Card Series against the Orioles, with Game 1 set for Tuesday at 3:08 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

HOUSTON -- The Tigers spent nearly two months utilizing the full extent of their pitching staff to mix and match their way into their first playoff spot in 10 years. Why would manager A.J. Hinch change that now? “Our plan, to give you a brief overview, is Tarik Skubal [for

HOUSTON -- The Astros on Tuesday set their American League Wild Card Series roster vs. the Tigers, which includes 11 pitchers and 15 position players. While Yordan Alvarez (right knee sprain) and Chas McCormick (right hand fracture) were dealing with injuries, they were included on the roster, but Justin Verlander

We all know what the hook is going to be on the Tigers/Astros Wild Card matchup, and it’s manager A.J. Hinch leading his miracle Gritty Tigs to face the Houston team that he’d led from 2015-’19, before being fired in the wake of the sign-stealing scandal. (Not to mention Justin

BALTIMORE -- As widely expected, the Orioles opted to go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers for their American League Wild Card Series roster vs. the Royals.

The 2024 MLB Postseason has arrived, and the stage is set for a thrilling month of October as baseball's best teams vie for World Series glory. All four Wild Card Series begin today, starting with the Tigers and Astros (2:32 p.m. ET on ABC) at Minute Maid Park. Later on,