The 2013 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2013 season. The winners of the Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that face each other in the World Series.
In the American League, the Detroit Tigers made their third straight appearance, the Boston Red Sox returned for the first time since 2009, the Oakland Athletics made their second straight appearance, the Tampa Bay Rays made their fourth appearance in the past six years, and the Cleveland Indians returned for the first time since 2007.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals made their third straight postseason appearance, and the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds made their second straight appearances. The Pittsburgh Pirates ended over two decades of futility, as they clinched their first postseason berth since 1992, and the Los Angeles Dodgers made their first postseason appearance of the decade. 2013 marked the first of what is now currently ten straight postseason appearances for the Dodgers, who currently hold the longest active postseason streak in the majors.
The postseason began on October 1, 2013, and ended on October 30, 2013, with the Red Sox defeating the Cardinals in six games in the 2013 World Series. It was the eighth title for the Red Sox.
Playoff seeds
The following teams qualified for the postseason:
American League
Boston Red Sox – AL East champions, 97–65
Oakland Athletics – AL West champions, 96–66
Detroit Tigers – AL Central champions, 93–69
Cleveland Indians – 92–70
Tampa Bay Rays – 92–71
National League
St. Louis Cardinals – NL Central champions, 97–65
Atlanta Braves – NL East champions, 96–66
Los Angeles Dodgers – NL West champions, 92–70
Pittsburgh Pirates – 94–68
Cincinnati Reds – 90–72
Playoff bracket
American League Wild Card
(4) Cleveland Indians vs. (5) Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays defeated the Indians in a 4–0 shutout to return to the ALDS for the fourth time in six years. The Indians became the first team in MLB history to be eliminated from the postseason without scoring a run.
The Indians would not return to the postseason again until 2016. Both teams would meet again in the American League Wild Card Series in 2022, which was won by Cleveland in a two-game sweep.
National League Wild Card
(4) Pittsburgh Pirates vs. (5) Cincinnati Reds
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Pirates and Reds (the others being in the NLCS in 1970, 1972, 1975, 1979, and 1990). The Pirates defeated the Reds 6–2 to advance to the NLDS. It was the first postseason round win by the Pirates since the 1979 World Series and postseason win overall since 1992.
American League Division Series
(1) Boston Red Sox vs. (5) Tampa Bay Rays
This was the second postseason meeting between the Rays and Red Sox. They last met in the 2008 ALCS, which the Rays won in seven games. The Red Sox defeated the Rays in four games to return to the ALCS for the first time since 2008.
The Red Sox controlled the tempo of the first two games — they blew out the Rays in Game 1, and won Game 2 by three runs to go up 2–0 in the series headed to Tampa. The Rays narrowly won Game 3 to avoid a sweep, but the Red Sox ultimately closed out the series with a 3–1 victory in Game 4.
The Rays would not return to the postseason again until 2019.
(2) Oakland Athletics vs. (3) Detroit Tigers
This was the fourth postseason meeting between the Athletics and Tigers. The Tigers overcame a 2–1 series deficit to defeat the Athletics in five games once again, and returned to the ALCS for the third year in a row.