MLB Playoff Picture 2023: Hot Takes and Top Moments From Wild Card Round

The Major League Baseball wild-card round ended in the minimum amount of time.

The Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies all finished off 2-0 sweeps with wins on Wednesday.

Each of those teams will try to replicate what the Phillies did last season and reach the World Series after winning in the wild-card round.

Of course, the Phillies will draw comparisons to last year's postseason run, but they also set up the most challenging matchup of the four wild-card winners against Atlanta.

Texas will take on the Baltimore Orioles, Minnesota faces the Houston Astros and Arizona set up an all-NL West showdown with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Phillies Earned Second Straight Wild-Card Sweep

The Phillies produced a much easier sweep over the Miami Marlins than what they earned last year against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Philadelphia was the dominant team from the jump in the matchup inside Citizens Bank Park. Bryson Stott finished off the series with a grand slam.

The 2022 World Series runner-up proved just how tough of an opponent it can be in a postseason series.

Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are as good as any one-two punch left in the postseason, and the Philadelphia lineup is more than accustomed to playing in high-pressure games.

The Phillies lineup may have to outslug the best lineup in baseball to get through the NLDS. Atlanta will have revenge on its mind from last year's NLDS loss to the Phillies.

Atlanta was not properly prepared to deal with the Phillies and their momentum last season, and it could struggle with pitching after Spencer Strider. Max Fried has been dealing with a blister issue and Charlie Morton is out until at least the NLCS.

Philadelphia once again has the momentum on its side, and if it can win one game in Atlanta to start the NLDS, it will be tough to stop it in the series.

Arizona Handles Milwaukee On Road

The Diamondbacks reversed their end-of-regular-season form with two victories in Milwaukee.

Arizona dropped to the No. 6 seed and did not clinch until the penultimate day of the regular season because of a final week losing streak.

The D-Backs received some clutch hits from Ketel Marte and others to power past a strong Milwaukee pitching staff.

Arizona entered the wild-card round concerned about its pitching, but now that could be its advantage against the Dodgers.

A rested Merrill Kelly should start Game 1 and the D-Backs can bring back Zac Gallen for Game 2 since there is a day off between the first two games of the NLDS.

The D-Backs could use their top two pitchers in four of the five games in the best-of-five set with the Dodgers if it goes the distance.

Starting pitching was once the Dodgers' biggest strength, but injuries have ravaged that depth. Los Angeles have to rely on its offense, led by Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, to advance to the NLCS.

Minnesota Ends Postseason Drought

Minnesota started its run to the NLDS with its first postseason win since 2004.

The Twins lost 18 straight playoff games before their wild-card series with the Toronto Blue Jays. They left the series with a spot in the ALDS against the Astros.

Just like Arizona and Philadelphia, Minnesota could be poised for a long run because of its top-tier starting pitchers.

Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray were fantastic in Games 1 and 2 against Toronto, and they will give the Twins a shot to take at least one game from Houston inside Minute Maid Park.

Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander form arguably the best one-two punch left in the postseason. They could shut down a Twins lineup that is susceptible to strikeouts. They could match, or even better, the outings from Minnesota's top arms.

Houston owns the significant edge in postseason experience over Minnesota, and if Jose Altuve and Co. get going at the plate, the Astros could build leads that their top pitchers will not concede.

Texas Cruises Past Tampa Bay

Texas produced perhaps the most surprising result of the wild-card round, as it ran right through the injury-riddled Rays.

Tampa Bay challenged Baltimore for the American League East title, but injuries eventually caught up to the 99-win team.

Texas was forced to go to Tampa after it failed to beat out Houston for the AL West title. The Rangers displayed some incredible resolve to win twice on the road.

Rookie Evan Carter was the star of the wild-card round. Carter was in Double-A just a month ago and now he is one of the team's most important bats.

The Rangers could be the loosest of the four wild-card round winners in the ALDS because all of the pressure is on the Orioles to capitalize on their AL-best record and move on to the ALCS.

However, most of Baltimore's core will be going through its first postseason, and the pressure could get to the Orioles in some situations.

Texas has the potential to outslug Baltimore behind Corey Seager, Adolis Garcia and others, and if its starting pitching holds up, it is capable of springing another upset.