MLB Playoffs: ALCS and NLCS Games Continue
Listen to the story
Major League Baseball's postseason is reaching an exciting stage, with two championship series underway.
The American League Championship Series, known as the ALCS, features the Tampa Bay Rays against the Cleveland Guardians. The teams are currently playing Game 3 of their series.
At the same time, the National League Championship Series, or NLCS, is being played between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. That series has reached Game 4.
Both series follow a best-of-seven format, meaning the first team to win four games advances. Whoever wins each series will move on to the World Series, baseball's biggest championship event.
As the games progress, the stakes keep rising for both sides. Teams that fall behind need to win more games quickly to stay alive in the postseason.
Fans and analysts are closely watching key storylines in both matchups, since every game can change a team's chances significantly.
With two spots in the World Series still open, these games mark a crucial point in the baseball season. Both the Rays-Guardians and Brewers-Dodgers series remain closely watched by fans across the country.
Vocabulary7 words
- postseason
- games played after the normal season to decide a champion
- ALCS
- a baseball series that decides one of the two teams for the final
- NLCS
- a baseball series that decides the other team for the final
- best-of-seven format
- a way of playing where the first team to win four games wins the series
- World Series
- the final and most important baseball championship
- stakes
- how important or risky something is
- storylines
- interesting parts of a story that people are following
📚 Ready to use these words in a real conversation?
Practice live with a real tutor on Preply.
Quiz
Answer key
1. Rays and Guardians 2. Four 3. True
✅ Nice work on the quiz!
Keep the momentum going — book a live English lesson with a Preply tutor.
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Major League Baseball's _____ is reaching an exciting stage, with two championship series underway.
The American League Championship Series, known as the _____, features the Tampa Bay Rays against the Cleveland Guardians.
At the same time, the National League Championship Series, or _____, is being played between the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Both series follow a _____, meaning the first team to win four games advances.
Whoever wins each series will move on to the _____, baseball's biggest championship event.
As the games progress, the _____ keep rising for both sides.
Fans and analysts are closely watching key _____ in both matchups.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think playoff baseball games attract so much attention from fans?
- What makes a best-of-seven series exciting compared to a single game?
- Have you ever watched a sports championship series? What did you enjoy about it?
- How important do you think pressure and stakes are in high-level sports performance?
🎓 Enjoyed this story?
Turn today's reading into real speaking practice with a live Preply tutor.
More Sports stories
Next story · Medium
Severe Drought Declared in Southern England