MLB The Show 25 predicts the MLB postseason

It’s no secret by now that predicting a correct bracket is one of the hardest things to do. That’s been proven time and time again, especially with the NCAA Men’s National Championship Tournament in March every year.

Even the MLB Postseason, which features only 12 teams compared to the NCAA’s 64, is tough to predict. That’s one of the greatest things about sports- anything can happen.

But can a computer accurately predict the outcomes of the 2025 MLB Postseason? Let’s see what MLB The Show 25 says will happen this October.

AL Wild Card

No. 5 Boston Red Sox vs. No. 4 New York Yankees

Result: Boston Wins 2-0

The Red Sox took an 8-3 win over the Yankees in Game 1 with Boston’s ace, Garret Crochet, outdueling Carlos Rodón. Nathaniel Lowe, signed as a free agent in August, went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run. Aaron Judge and Anthony Volpe also recorded three-hit performances.

In Game 2, Boston eliminated New York with a 9-5 victory. Leadoff hitter Jarren Duran went 4-for-5 with two doubles, and shortstop Trevor Story also went deep. Judge’s two hits were the most of any Yankee. Max Fried allowed four earned runs in 5.1 innings pitched

No. 6 Detroit Tigers vs. No. 3 Cleveland Guardians

Result: Detroit wins 2-1

Cleveland took Game 1 with a final score of 6-3. José Ramírez went 3-for-4 and was one of three Guardians players to homer alongside Kyle Manzardo and Jhonkensy Noel.

Errors by Gleyber Torres and Javier Báez led to 2024 Cy Young Winner Tarik Skubal to allow six runs in five innings pitched, but only two were earned.

Detroit came back to tie the series at 1-1 with an 8-2 win over Cleveland. Spencer Torkelson went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, and Torres made up for his Game 1 performance with a 2-for-4 performance, which featured a home run.

The Tigers clinched the series victory with a 3-0 shutout. Casey Mize threw seven innings of shutout baseball.

NL Wild Card

No. 5 San Diego Padres vs. No. 4 Chicago Cubs

Result: San Diego wins 2-0

A stellar performance from Nick Pivetta in Game 1 allowed San Diego to cruise to a 3-0 victory. Pivetta pitched eight innings of shutout baseball, and an offense powered by Fernando Tatis Jr and Luis Arráez secured the win.

San Diego’s offense kept going in Game 2, winning 8-2. A grand slam from Jackson Merrill put the Padres ahead, and a solid performance on the mound from Michael King, who allowed only two runs in six innings.

No. 6 Cincinnati Reds vs. No. 3 Los Angeles Dodgers

Result: Los Angeles wins 2-1

The Reds won their first postseason game since the 2012 NLDS in an 8-3 contest over the Dodgers. Elly De La Cruz went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs: Hunter Greene allowed just one earned run over eight innings. As for Shohei Ohtani, the two-way star allowed three earned runs in five innings of work.

The Dodgers got their revenge in Game 2, 4-2. Cincinnati’s only offense was a two-run homer from De La Cruz. Los Angeles launched three homers of their own: solo shots from Mookie Betts and Will Smith, and a two-run homer from Andy Pages.

Los Angeles’ offense broke out in Game 3, taking the contest 14-2. Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas each recorded four-hit performances, while Smith drove in seven runs. Nick Lodolo was tagged for eight runs in only 1.1 innings pitched.

ALDS

No. 5 Boston Red Sox vs. No. 1 Toronto Blue Jays

Result: Boston wins 3-2

The two teams split the first two games of the series with impressive pitching performances on both ends. In Game 1, Toronto’s Kevin Gausman allowed two earned runs in seven innings. Boston’s Tanner Houck nearly matched Gausman’s performance, pitching 6.1 innings

Toronto allowed seven runs in Games 3 & 4, but split the two games. The Blue Jays’ nine runs in Game 3 were enough to take a series lead, but Garrett Whitlock and the Boston bullpen held them to just one run in Game 4.

In the deciding Game 5, Crochet lasted only 4.1 innings and his bullpen gave up five runs, but the Boston offense had their back and scored six runs to upset the Blue Jays.

No. 6 Detroit Tigers vs. No. 2 Seattle Mariners

Result: Seattle wins 3-2

Similar to the other ALDS, these two teams split Games 1 & 2 as well as Games 3 & 4. Neither starter in Game 3 allowed a run. The difference maker came on an RBI from Riley Greene off of Gregory Santos.

Skubal’s two earned runs over six hits were a good performance, but the offense wasn’t there. Seattle’s Logan Gilbert allowed one lone run over eight innings to take the win-or-go-home victory.

NLDS

No. 5 San Diego vs. No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers

Result: Milwaukee wins 3-1

Milwaukee took a 2-0 series lead by a combined score of 20-6. 14 of those runs came in Game 2, with shortstop Joey Ortiz being responsible for six of them. Dylan Cease surrendered seven earned runs in only 2.2 innings.

San Diego took Game 3 with a 4-3 final. It was the only game they would win, as the Brewers’ offense exploded in Game 4 for 10 runs. Centerfielder Garrett Mitchell went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and two runs scored.

No. 3 Los Angeles vs. No. 2 Philadelphia

Result: Los Angeles wins 3-2

The Dodgers were up 2-1 in the series through the first three games, which included a 9-3 win in Game 2. Max Muncy launched a grand slam, and Blake Snell held the Phillies to two runs in five innings.

Philadelphia tied the series in Game 4, with a three-hit, three RBI performance from Trea Turner. In the third Game 5 across the entire Division Series, Ohtani showed up when it mattered most. He held Philadelphia to one run over six innings while striking out 11 batters.

ALCS

No. 5 Boston vs. No. 2 Seattle

Result: Seattle wins 4-2

Home-field advantage was clearly a factor in the ALCS. The Mariners won the first two games in Seattle by a combined score of 9-1.

Seattle’s starting pitchers played such crucial roles in these victories. George Kirby allowed one run in seven innings in Game 1, while Gilbert threw a complete-game shutout in Game 2.

The Red Sox won the first two of three games in Boston and had a shutout of their own in Game 4. Crochet and the bullpen blanked the Mariners’ offense while Story knocked in the only run of the ballgame.

Seattle starters did what they do best: pitched another gem in Game 5. Luis Castillo pitched eight innings of shutout baseball, with a Cal Raleigh solo-shot being the difference maker.

Back in Seattle, the Mariners would continue to win. Gilbert lowered his postseason ERA to 0.97 after allowing only one run over seven innings.

NLCS

No. 3 Los Angeles vs. No. 1 Milwaukee

Result: Milwaukee wins 4-3

Milwaukee and Los Angeles split the first two games in Dodger Stadium. The Brewers’ offense erupted for 11 runs in Game 2 as four of the nine hitters had a multi-RBI night.

The Brewers won two of three in Milwaukee, bringing the series to 3-2 in their favor. They left American Family Field having shut out the reigning World Series Champs after Freddy Peralta refused to allow a run over eight innings pitched.

The Dodgers won Game 6 to force another game, 5-1. In that deciding Game 7, both William Contreras and Mitchell launched solo home runs and that was all the run support Nestor Cortes needed. Milwaukee won the pennant with a final score of 2-1.

World Series

Result: Seattle wins, 4-1.

Brandon Woodruff shut out the Mariners over eight innings in Game 2 to tie the series at 1-1, but that would be the only victory Milwaukee would see in the World Series.

Luke Raley homered in Games 4 & 5 and won the last three games in the series by scores of 5-3, 7-4, and 3-2.

The Seattle Mariners, in MLB The Show 25, are World Series Champs for the first time in franchise history.

Dan Studer is a fourth-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email dbs5866@psu.edu