The Cape Cod Baseball League’s 40-game regular season came to a dramatic conclusion on Sunday night. Both the East and West Division titles and the final playoff spots were decided. The bracket is now set as eight teams will battle for the championship. Each of the three playoff rounds consists of a three-game series, and the four Division Series begin on Tuesday. Here’s a look at how the races unfolded and a preview of what is to come in the playoffs.

East

At various points of the regular season, a good case could be made for any of the four playoff teams in the East as the best team in the Cape League. Brewster began their season on a six-game win streak, Yarmouth-Dennis followed suit with a ten-game win streak of their own, Harwich surged late and took control of the East, and Orleans strung together a seven-game win streak heading into the final weekend of the regular season. When the dust settled, Orleans, who entered the last day of the regular season needing either to defeat the Whitecaps or an Anglers win or tie, took home the top spot in the East Division.

The Cape League’s East Division playoffs are as follows:

No. 1 Orleans Firebirds vs. No. 4 Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox

No. 2 Harwich Mariners vs. No. 3 Brewster Whitecaps

Orleans, who narrowly won the East after Chatham walked-off Harwich in extra innings during the final game of the regular season, fell to Y-D in a one-game playoff last season. The Firebirds are arguably the hottest team in the league, surging ahead in the East entering the last weekend of regular season play. Their dominant pitching staff will be a lot for Y-D to handle, although their lineup is more than capable of posting crooked numbers. During the regular season, the Red Sox won the first of their two games, but the Firebirds have since won three in a row entering their playoff series.

The other matchup features the No. 2 and 3 seeded Harwich and Brewster, one of the Cape League’s longest-standing rivalries. In five games this season, Harwich has taken three, Brewster one, and they’ve tied once. Harwich is entering the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, despite failing to capture the East Division title. They’ll host Game One on Tuesday night.

There are a few team storylines to watch during the playoffs, too. Harwich finished the regular season with the Cape League’s best team ERA and has allowed the fewest runs. However, Orleans and Y-D have both had dominant bullpens, and they each have recorded some of the best strikeout numbers in the league.

On the offensive side, the Brewster Whitecaps own the East Division's best OPS, but it’s fifth in the league squarely behind the four playoff teams in the West—the pitching in the East has proved to be relentless.

With the first round starting on Tuesday with Orleans and Harwich as hosts, the drama is just getting started and we’re in for a wild ride to the Cape League championship.

West

Just like in the East, the West was a tight race all summer that saw four of the five teams lead the division at one point. With a 2-1 win at home against Y-D on Sunday, the Bourne Braves clinched the West Division title. Bourne was in last place on July 15, and the Wareham Gatemen led the division for the entire second half of the month. The Braves led the division for only two days having taken the lead on Saturday.

Wareham finished in second, while the other three teams competed for the last two playoff spots down to the wire on Sunday night. The Cotuit Kettleers traveled to Falmouth and beat the Commodores, 6-5, in a 10-inning thriller to clinch the three seed. Falmouth needed to win the game to clinch a playoff spot. In the bottom of the 10th inning, trailing by one run, the Commodores had two in scoring position with one out but were unable to plate the runs. Despite falling at home to Wareham, the Hyannis Harbor Hawks clinched the last playoff spot following Falmouth’s loss.

The Cape League’s West Division playoffs are as follows:

No. 1 Bourne Braves vs. No. 4 Hyannis Harbor Hawks

No. 2 Wareham Gatemen vs. No. 3 Cotuit Kettleers

Bourne will look to get back to the Championship Series for the second year in a row after it fell to Harwich last summer. The Braves are the hottest team on the Cape and will welcome Hyannis to Doran Park for Game One Tuesday. Bourne finished the regular season on a three-game win streak and won seven of their last ten. The Braves own the best team betting average and second-best team OPS in the league.

Hyannis led the division for most of the first half of the season. On July 11, the Harbor Hawks were in first place at 10-9-3. Since then, they have a record of 5-12-1. Hyannis, however, did take the season series against the Braves, 3-2.

In the other matchup, the Gatemen will host Cotuit in Game One. Wareham had a great chance to win the division crown before it lost six of its last ten. The Gatemen lead the league in team OPS and home runs. Their opponent, the Kettleers, are also top three in the league in both team OPS and team ERA. This series features the two most balanced teams in the league. Though Cotuit’s record doesn’t reflect its statistics. The Kettleers have the best run differential in the division at +26, yet they finished the season with a 17-20-3 record. Cotuit won the season series, 3-2, against Wareham.

Given how competitive and volatile the race was in the West Division during the regular season, the playoffs should be no different. It’s a clean slate for the playoff teams starting on Tuesday. Anything can happen.