MLB

The early poll results are in, and they indicate this year's Major League Baseball postseason is rife with drama, intrigue and controversy as the Division Series kick off.

The No. 1 story of the early going has been Chase Utley's ugly slide that broke Ruben Tejada's leg while helping the Los Angeles Dodgers tie their series against the New York Mets. The aftermath of it all, mainly Utley's suspension, has sparked all sorts of reaction regarding the slide itself, the punishment and sliding rules along with their enforcement.

The table is far from set for a pair of league championship series, as the 2015 MLB postseason is producing a memorable divisional round that has every team fighting for their playoff lives.

How important is winning Game 3 of the National League Division Series? Not quite as important as you might think. Of the 10 previous best-of-five series, nine arrived at Game 3 with the series deadlocked. The team that emerged victorious went on to advance to the National League Championship Series five times. 

Falling behind 2-1 in the series isn't ideal, but those numbers at least offer some hope for the club that loses Monday night's meeting between the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets.

Of course Matt Harvey will take the ball for the New York Mets in Game 3 on Monday at Citi Field. Chase Utley just cranked up the emotions of this National League Division Series from easy listening to ear-splitting.

As it just so happens, who else would be on deck to step squarely into the middle of this thing?

Josh Hamilton avoided history on Sunday, and he'll sleep better because of it.

With a base hit in the fifth inning of the Texas Rangers' 5-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in Game 3 of the American League Division Series, Hamilton snapped a 31-at-bat postseason hitless streak that dated back to 2011.

In a literal sense, the Toronto Blue Jays didn't need Troy Tulowitzki's three-run homer on Sunday.

The blast came in the sixth inning of Toronto's pivotal Game 3 win over the Texas Rangers. The Jays were already leading 2-0 and went on to win 5-1 to stay alive in the best-of-five division series, which the Rangers now lead 2-1.

Put away those brooms, Texas Rangers.

After Texas won the first two games of the American League Divisional Series on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays, it failed to finish the sweep at home during Sunday's 5-1 loss. Marco Estrada saved his team's season with a clutch pitching performance and earned the victory behind 6.1 innings of five-hit, one-run ball.

The New York Mets can't get their Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series back, but they can at least take solace in the fact that Major League Baseball considers Chase Utley’s slide into second base during Game 2 worthy of a suspension.

Two starts into his first postseason, it's safe to say Dallas Keuchel likes October. And October likes him back.

After twirling six shutout innings in the Houston Astros' 3-0 Wild Card Game win at Yankee Stadium, Keuchel offered a heck of an encore in front of a raucous, beard-wearing sellout crowd at Minute Maid Park on Sunday.

The Houston Astros are nine innings away from their first League Championship Series since 2005 after beating the Kansas City Royals 4-2 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Sunday evening.