The best regular-season teams have struggled big-time in MLB postseason

On the strength of two Bryce Harper home runs Wednesday night, the 90-win Philadelphia Phillies defeated the 104-win Atlanta Braves in a pivotal Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park. The best team in baseball from the regular season is now one loss away from another early-playoff exit.

Despite earning a first-round bye in the postseason, the AL-best Baltimore Orioles were swept by the Texas Rangers in the ALDS. The third and final 100-win team from the regular season (the Los Angeles Dodgers) were stunned by the 84-win Arizona Diamondbacks in a three-game NLDS sweep.

The Tampa Bay Rays (who started the season 13-0) were quickly dispatched of by Texas in the AL wild-card series, despite having two home games.

The NL Central-winning Milwaukee Brewers were swept by the Diamondbacks in the NL wild-card series with a pair of home defeats.

If Atlanta is unable to come back from a 2-1 series deficit in their NLDS against Philadelphia, then the top five teams from the regular season will have been eliminated before the league championship series.

The Astros and Phillies are no strangers to recent deep playoff runs, as the former has now made the ALCS seven straight times and the latter squared off against Houston in the 2022 World Series.

Arizona is in the NLCS for the first time since 2007, however, while Texas hasn't made it this far since 2011. The D-Backs won their first and only pennant in 2001 (and won the World Series), but the Rangers have yet to win a title, making their only two World Series appearances in 2010 and 2011.