NEW YORK — The American League Division Series takes center stage Monday while the National League Division Series pauses for a travel day, with the Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox both seeking to build on victories in Game 1. The shift gives the AL the spotlight after both National League favorites, the Padres and Dodgers, dropped their openers.
Both results in the National League Division Series went the way most readers of the SnakePit wanted, with the Padres and Dodgers both losing. The NL gets a travel day Monday as the series relocate to San Diego and Atlanta respectively before resuming on Wednesday, moving the action away from the opening venues and setting up the next slate of games on the road.
Monday's AL slate begins with Chicago White Sox at Cleveland Guardians at 2:00 p.m. (1-0) on TBS, with Chicago leading the series after taking Game 1. The nightcap follows with New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays at 5:00 p.m. (0-1) on TBS, where Tampa Bay leads after its Game 1 victory. The latter result was expected to be tight, while Chicago's opener was probably more of a shock.
Chicago is currently 3-0 in the postseason, with all three games on the road and against teams with more wins in the regular season. The White Sox appear so far to be taking inspiration from the 2023 Diamondbacks during that unbeaten road run, a stretch the update noted with a reference to a papal connection. Both Chicago and Tampa Bay will look to press their early series advantages Monday.