Albert Pujols, who will make his last swings in October, Julio Rodriguez, who will reach home plate for the first time in the playoffs. Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom who will fight Manny Machado and Juan Soto.

Bryce Harper back, finally. José Ramirez and his teammates in Cleveland who will try to end a long drought – under a new identity.

And Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts and other big stars ready to rock next week.

The entire major league playoff scenario was cleared up on Tuesday night. The clashes were made official shortly before the last day of the season.

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The Major League Baseball playoffs, which will host a total of 12 clubs compared to 10 last year, will begin on Friday.

They will start with a new formula for the first round: four best-of-three series, played on three consecutive days and with all matches played on the ground of the highest-ranked club.

In the American League, it will be Mariners-Blue Jays and Rays-Guardians. In the National League, it will be Padres-Mets and Phillies-Cardinals.

In Toronto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Blue Jays will cross swords with Rodriguez, the Mariners’ sensational rookie.

The series will also feature Robbie Ray, winner of Cy Young with the Blue Jays last year, and current Mariners player.

In Cleveland, Ramirez is the leader of a young team that includes rookie Steven Kwan and the mighty Emmanuel Clase, who will try to take down the Tampa Bay Rays.

This will be Cleveland’s first time in the playoffs as the Guardians. The team has not won the World Series since 1948.

In the Rays, Randy Arozarena, already consecrated as a playoff star, will try to lead the Florida team to the first championship in its history.

The Guardians have won four of their six games against the Rays, including two of three last week in Cleveland. Those three games ended with a single point difference and two extra innings required.

“It’s going to be a good environment,” said Rays second baseman Taylor Walls.

“It’s a good thing we played there recently. […] I know guys are excited. We are ready to go there. »

At Citi Field, the Mets will likely pit aces Scherzer and deGrom against the Padres, who have powerful hitters Machado and Soto on their hit list.

“We have to go abroad and play a tough team and beat some of the best pitchers in all of baseball,” Machado confirmed. “The goal is to get out there and savor the moment. »

At Busch Stadium, the stars of St. Louis Cardinals, soon to be retired, Yadier Molina and Pujols will host the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals finished first in the National League Central Division, but as the third seed, they will not qualify for a bye.

Two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals, Pujols, at 42, looked more like a 24-year-old at the end of the season. During the final sprint, he plateaued 700 career home runs and doubled Babe Ruth for the second most in baseball history for career RBIs.

At the Phillies, two-time MVP winner Harper will make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, when he played for the Washington Nationals. Harper missed two months mid-season with a broken thumb in 2022 but is ready to strengthen the Phillies’ offense.

The four series of the first round will end on Sunday at the latest. The second round playoffs in both leagues, three out of five, will begin on Tuesday, October 11.

In the American League, Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros will welcome the winners of the duel between Blue Jays and Mariners. Yankee Stadium will host the series between the Yankees and the winners of the showdown between the Rays and the Guardians.

In the National League, Freddie Freeman, Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hold the record for most season wins, will face either the Mets or the Padres.

In turn, the Braves will face the Cardinals or the Phillies.

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