It was the day after. Dodgers manager Don Mattingly wasn’t interested in talking about the night before. His attention is on the next day and what could happen.

Chavez Ravine is ready for its close-up Sunday night, when the Dodgers and Braves continue their National League Division Series, and, frankly, it’s nice to have it back in the postseason spotlight, writes columnist Anthony Castrovince.

No longer do shortstops dominate Major League Baseball. Gone are the days of superstars supercharging the position, giving way to an era in which many teams make do with mediocrity up the middle. Not the Braves and Dodgers, though. Not as long as Andrelton Simmons and Hanley Ramirez have anything to say about it.

In the heat of the moment, in the joy and adrenaline rush of a four-out save that preserved the Tigers’ Game 1 win over Oakland in Game 1 of the American League Division Series Friday night, Detroit closer Joaquin Benoit let his emotions get the better of him.

Like any ordinary band of pirates looking for buried treasure, the Pirates hit a lot of dead ends on their search for the gateway to the postseason. But these Pirates have spent the season coming out alive from the most dire circumstances.

If the right situation arises again during Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Sunday night, Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said he will not be hesitant to once again entrust closer Craig Kimbrel with the task of recording more than three outs.

As the Pirates head home having wrested the home-field advantage from the Cardinals with their Game 2 victory, Pittsburgh’s fans will be ready to deliver their black-clad brand of boisterous support for their club in Game 3, which pits Joe Kelly against Francisco Liriano.

If the Cardinals want to play deeper into October, they will have to win at least once on Pittsburgh’s home field, a venue where they sloshed to a 3-7 record this year. Game 3 of the National League Division Series is on Sunday (3:30 p.m. CT on TBS).

For the Cardinals, the term “even keel” does not describe an approach. It is much closer to the preferred way of life. The Cardinals will play the Pirates in Game 3 of the NL Division Series at 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday. They will not show up with a load of left-over negativity.

Teams like the Pirates have become a lot smarter about where they position their players, and already in the National League Division Series, utilizing the shift has paid off for Pittsburgh.

With the Braves back in the playoffs again in 2013, team president John Schuerholz, who turned 73 on Oct. 1, took time to talk with MLB.com’s Tracy Ringolsby about his success building World Series contenders in Kansas City and Atlanta.

On the heels of Max Scherzer’s dominating Game 1 effort in the Tigers’ 3-2 win over the A’s, here comes Justin Verlander. In Game 2 on Saturday night, Oakland rookie Sonny Gray, in his 11th career start, engages Verlander, the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner and Most Valuable Player.

The postseason slate was packed from early afternoon to late night on Friday, and the two clubs that took early series leads the prior day found themselves reeled in by their opponents.

As well as Max Scherzer pitched in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Friday, he probably didn’t need any help.

Gone are the days of the dizzying Motown amusement park rides orchestrated by Fernando Rodney and Jose Valverde. Tigers closer Joaquin Benoit turns out the lights emphatically, without any dance moves, in the Valverde fashion, or imaginary arrows piercing the sky, Rodney style.

Going into Game 1 of the American League Division Series against Oakland, there had been some question about how nagging groin and abdominal injuries would impact one of baseball’s best hitters and, by extension, the Tigers’ postseason chances. If Detroit’s 3-2 win over the Athletics is any indication, he should be just fine.

This is the Tigers’ postseason plan: Score early runs for their starting pitcher, then let him carry it to the back end of their bullpen to close it out. One game into Detroit’s playoff drive, it worked pretty well to script, as Max Scherzer’s seven innings and 11 K’s led the Tigers to a 3-2 win over the A’s in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.