This would be the last time until 2024 in which both teams who made the previous year's World Series failed to make the playoffs.
Game 2 was a pitchers' duel between both teams bullpens which lasted eleven innings, and again the Indians prevailed as Travis Hafner drove in the winning run on a bases-loaded single off Luis Vizcaíno.
Play was stopped temporarily out of concern for the players' safety, including Joba Chamberlain, who threw only 12 of his 25 pitches for strikes in suffering a blown save without surrendering a hit.
[18] When the series shifted to the Bronx for Game 3, the Yankees overcame a 3–1 Indians lead to win 8–4 to stave off elimination.
The Yankees put up another rally late in Game 4, but the Indians held on to win by a 6–4 score to advance to the ALCS.
Liván Hernández kept the Cubs' offense at bay in Game 3 as the Diamondbacks won 5–1 to return to the NLCS.
The Rockies blew out the Phillies in Game 2 to take a 2–0 series lead headed to Denver, as Troy Tulowitzki, Matt Holliday, and Kazuo Matsui all homered for Colorado.
Game 3 remained tied until the bottom of the eighth, when Jeff Baker hit an RBI single to put the Rockies in the lead for good, completing the sweep.
In Game 5, Josh Beckett out-dueled CC Sabathia as the Red Sox blew out the Indians to send the series back to Fenway Park.
The Indians wouldn't return to the ALCS again until 2016, where they defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in five games before falling in the World Series that year.
The Rockies swept the top-seeded Diamondbacks to advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history.
Game 1 was marred by a controversial call in the bottom of the seventh inning - Francis allowed a leadoff double to Chris Snyder and hit Justin Upton with a pitch, but the Diamondbacks were taken out of a potential rally when a disputed interference call resulted in a double-play groundout for Augie Ojeda.
Home runs from Matt Holliday and Yorvit Torrealba would carry the Rockies to victory in Game 3.
The Rockies took an early lead in Game 2, but the Red Sox put up two unanswered runs across the fourth and fifth innings to take the lead, and Curt Schilling and the Red Sox bullpen would keep the Rockies' offense at bay the rest of the game to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Denver.
The Sox would then clinch the title in Game 4 as Jonathan Papelbon fended off a late rally by the Rockies.
The Red Sox attempted to defend their title the next year, but fell to the Tampa Bay Rays in seven games in the ALCS.