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Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig must be smiling from his office in New York City after the last week of October baseball.
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Eight teams played in in the divisional series round of the playoffs last week, ultimately providing fans with one of the more memorable weeks of play in baseball history.
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Each of the four series progressed to a decisive fifth game, and with the addition of two wild card play-in games, there were six win-or-go-home games in seven days.
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First, the San Francisco Giants shocked the baseball world by winning three straight games at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati to topple the Reds. 
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After winning Game 1, Cincinnati carried that momentum into a 9-0 blowout in Game 2, meaning they had to win just one of three games at home to advance to the National League Championship Series.
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The Giants reverted back to their 2010 ways, winning on a tenth-inning walk-off hit after a botched ground ball from third baseman Scott Rolen. Cincinnati failed to recover at that point, and by the time catcher Buster Posey cleared the bases with a grand slam to break open Game 5, the Reds were finished.  
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The St. Louis Cardinals, who once again limped into the playoffs and found themselves down to their last strike, rediscovered their October magic to stun the Washington Nationals and advance to the NLCS. The Nationals earned a crucial Game 1 victory in St. Louis following a go-ahead pinch-hit single in the eighth inning. St. Louis' bats reawakened though in Games 2 and 3 to pile on 20 runs and send Washington to a do-or-die Game 4. 
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Right fielder Jayson Werth, a scapegoat for the Nationals' struggles, came through with a memorable walk off home run, which sent the Nationals crowd into a frenzy. Washington led by six runs in Game 5 and looked to cruise to the NLCS. The Cardinals fired off four runs with one strike remaining to eliminate the Nationals.   
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In the American League, the Baltimore Orioles squared off against the New York Yankees in what looked to be a lopsided affair in favor of the Yankees. The teams exchanged wins at Camden Yards, home of the Orioles, before returning to Yankee Stadium for a best-two-out-of-three set. Right fielder Raul Ibanez sealed one of the most memorable moments in Yankees postseason history with both the game-tying home run in the ninth inning and a walk-off home run in the 13th inning to win Game 3. Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy won Game 4 with a double in the 13th inning. The magic ended, though, with a dominating complete-game performance from Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia in Game 5.
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The Oakland Athletics emerged fresh from a shocking three-game sweep  of the Texas Rangers in the last week of the regular season to steal the American League West and face the Detroit Tigers. Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander brought Oakland back to reality with a seven-inning, 11-strikeout performance to earn Game 1 in Detroit. Oakland had a chance for victory in Game 2, but Atheltics center fielder Coco Crisp misplayed a fly ball to right field, costing the Athletics a 2-0 deficit to Oakland. 
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Cue Moneyball magic.
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Athletics starting pitcher Brett Anderson, pitching for the first time since Sept. 19, looked far from rusty in six shutout innings in the Game 3 win. The Tigers were poised to end the series at Game 4 with Tigers closer Jose Valverde and a two-run lead. Oakland ensured there was a Game 5 after a walk-off single from Crisp. Detroit, like the Yankees, turned to their ace, Verlander, and suddenly, the Athletics' bats froze. Verlander pitched a complete-game three-hitter to knock out the Athletics.  
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With the Tigers and Cardianls ahead in their respective series, the American League Championship Series and National League Championship Series look to be just as exciting.
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- Adam Rabinowitz