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On the last day of this MLB season with four games — four elimination games, at that — only one thing was settled. But that means one thing: There is more drama to be had in the Division Series. One AL series was decided between two division foes, while the other is going the distance. Over in the NL, two teams avoided being swept and face the same situation today.
TAKE IT ALL IN, VLAD 🤲
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Division Series Digest
Vlad, Jays Stick Fork In Yankees, Advance To ALCS
Final score: Blue Jays 5, Yankees 2
Series: Blue Jays win 3-1
Next game: Blue Jays host Game 1 of AL Championship Series on Sunday, time TBA (Fox or FS1)
If you want a tone-setter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is taking that role by the horns this postseason for the Toronto Blue Jays. The red-hot Guerrero had an RBI single in the first inning and the Jays utilized eight pitchers to shut down and eliminate the New York Yankees with a 5-2 win at Yankee Stadium, winning the best-of-five AL Division Series 3-1. A night after Yankees slugger Aaron Judge delivered a momentum-swinging homer, the Jays were unfazed in punching their ticket to the AL Championship Series, their first since back-to-back trips in 2015-16. The Jays, the No. 1 seed in the AL after winning the East Division, will face the winner of the Seattle Mariners–Detroit Tigers series, which is going to a decisive Game 5 on Friday. The ALCS begins Sunday in Toronto.
Guerrero has been sizzling this series, homering in each of the first three games after going 3-for-22 in three previous postseason appearances in which the Jays went 0-6. George Springer opened the game with a double and Guerrero seized the opportunity to put the Jays on top early with a one-out single. While the Yankees tied it on Ryan McMahon’s third-inning homer, Springer’s sacrifice fly scored Ernie Clement in the fifth inning with the go-ahead run. It was still 2-1 in the seventh when Nathan Lukes gave the Jays some breathing room with a one-out two-run single. Myles Straw tacked on an RBI single in the eighth.
But you have to credit the Jays’ pitching staff for clutching up with a bullpen game. Eight arms — Louis Varland, Mason Fluharty, Seranthony Domínguez, Eric Lauer, Yariel Rodriguez, Brendon Little, Braydon Fisher and Jeff Hoffman — combined to allow just six hits and two runs, walking one and striking out six.
Meanwhile, the Yankees, who finished with the same record as the Jays but lost a tiebreaker to be relegated to a wild-card role this postseason, face big questions this offseason, with first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, reliever Devin Williams and center fielder Trent Grisham among the players hitting free agency and ace Gerrit Cole’s return to the rotation uncertain as he recovers from Tommy John surgery in March.
GUESS WHO?!Vladimir Guerrero Jr. strikes again 🤯
A sacrifice fly from George Springer puts the @BlueJays back in front 👀
Nathan for YouNathan Lukes delivers a clutch 2-run single in the 7th!
Myles Straw pokes in a single and adds an insurance run for the Jays!
— Talkin’ Baseball (Bot) (@talkinbaseballbot.bsky.social) 2025-10-09T01:50:13.000Z
Game overSeries overThe @BlueJays punch their ticket to the #ALCS 🔥
Flurry Of Homers Helps Tigers Force Game 5
Final score: Tigers 9, Mariners 3
Series: Series tied 2-2
Next game: Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal vs. Mariners RHP George Kirby, Thursday, 8:08 p.m. at T-Mobile Park (Fox)
Just when it looked like the Seattle Mariners were about to put the finishing touches on a trip to the American League Championship Series, the Detroit Tigers flipped the script. Which has been the Tigers’ postseason theme. Riley Greene hit a tiebreaking homer and Javier Báez a two-run shot as part of a four-run sixth inning as the Tigers rallied for a 9-3 victory over the Mariners at Comerica Park to force a decisive Game 5. And you couldn’t ask for a much better pitching matchup for a do-or-die game as Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, the favorite to win a second straight AL Cy Young Award, will face Mariners right-hander George Kirby on Friday at T-Mobile Park. The Tigers are looking to return to the ALCS for the first time since 2013, while the Mariners haven’t been there since 2001. Skubal lost Game 5 of last year’s ALDS to the Cleveland Guardians.
Seattle scored one in the second, once in the fourth and another in the fifth on a Cal Raleigh RBI single for a 3-0 advantage. But the Tigers clawed back with back-to-back run-scoring doubles by Dillon Dingler and Jahmai Jones and Baez’s game-tying single. The Tigers, punchless for much of this offseason, then flexed their muscles in the sixth as Greene hit the second pitch from left-hander Gabe Speier for a leadoff homer to snap the 3-3 tie and, after a Zach McKinstry RBI single, Baez rocketed his first homer of this postseason for a two-run blast, quickly giving the Tigers a 7-3 lead. Gleyber Torres tacked on a solo homer in the seventh and Baez made it 9-3 on a run-scoring fielder’s choice. Baez had four RBIs and a stolen base.
Right-hander Troy Melton picked up the win with three scoreless innings of relief and Will Vest closed it out with a perfect ninth.
Cubs Remain Alive With Big First Inning
Final score: Cubs 4, Brewers 3
Series: Brewers lead 2-1
Next game: Brewers TBA vs. Cubs TBA, today, 9:08 p.m. at Wrigley Field (TBS)
It has now become a given that the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs will each score runs in the first inning of whatever game they are playing in the NL Division Series. Now, it is just a matter of how many and if they can add on. Thanks to a Michael Busch homer and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run single, the Cubs broke a record streak of futility by scoring four runs in the first inning to hung on for a 4-3 win over the Brewers at Wrigley Field, trimming Milwaukee’s edge in the series to 2-1. The four-run outburst snapped a 13-game streak of scoring three or fewer runs in a postseason game, the longest streak in MLB history. And it came against one of the Brewers’ most consistent starters.
But it was the Brewers, as the visiting team, who struck first — thanks to a bizarre play. Christian Yelich hit the second pitch of the game from Cubs starter Jameson Taillon for a double and Jackson Chourio drew a one-out walk. That brought up William Contreras, who hit a popup toward first base. But with the way the wind was blowing combined with the position of the sun, Busch, the first baseman, never saw it, leaving second baseman Nico Hoerner having to scramble, only to see it drop about 20 feet in front of first base just inside the foul line. Yelich and Chourio, taking advantage of no one covering the next bases, each advanced to third and second, respectively, to load the bases with one out. There was no infield fly rule invoked because no infielder was in position to make an “ordinary” catch, as the rule states, the same basic explanation given by the umpire supervisor. Sal Frelick followed with a sacrifice fly to left to plate Yelich, but Taillon then retired Caleb Durbin to end the threat by the NL’s No. 1 seed after posting MLB’s best record.
As the Brewers did in watching the Cubs take 1-0 and 3-0 leads in each of the first two games, Chicago came right back in the bottom of the first with runs of its own. Busch, who set the tone for this series with a leadoff homer in Game 1, did it again to begin Game 3, driving a 3-2 pitch from Quinn Priester out to right-center. Busch tied the MLB record for most leadoff homers in a postseason. Unlike Game 1, the Cubs weren’t done there. Hoerner singled and Kyle Tucker walked. Seiya Suzuki, who hit a three-run homer in the first inning of Game 2, then hit a slicing fly ball down the right-field line that Frelick made a nice sliding catch on, with Hoerner going to third. Ian Happ walked to load the bases, then Crow-Armstrong lined a tiebreaking two-out single to right to bring in Hoerner and Tucker for a 3-1 lead. Priester got the quick hook with right-hander Nick Mears coming on. Mears then unleashed a wild pitch as Crow-Armstrong stole second, allowing Happ to score from third for a 4-1 Cubs advantage.
The Brewers did chip away thanks in large part to Jake Bauers. Bauers had an RBI single in the fourth inning to make it 4-2, then hit an opposite-field homer in the seventh inning to pull the Brewers within 4-3. Bauers had a chance to play hero in the eighth inning as the Brewers loaded the bases with two outs, but he struck out against right-hander Brad Keller, who got the final four outs for his second save this postseason. Meanwhile, the Brewers’ bullpen continued a masterful performance in this season with 7⅓ shutout innings. That follows 3⅓ and 7⅓ scoreless innings from relievers in the first two games.
The Cubs let this pop up fall and the bases are loaded
— Talkin’ Baseball (Bot) (@talkinbaseballbot.bsky.social) 2025-10-08T21:17:44.000Z
MUST SEE: This play was WILD 😳
BASES LOADED 😳BASES ERASED 😤
Schwarbombs Help Phillies Avoid Sweep By Dodgers
Final score: Phillies 8, Dodgers 2
Series: Dodgers lead 2-1
Next game: Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez vs. Dodgers RHP Tyler Glasnow, today, 6:08 p.m. at Dodger Stadium (TBS)
There are Schwarbombs and then there are SchwarBOMBS. Kyle Schwarber doesn’t discriminate when hitting home runs. The Philadelphia Phillies‘ designated hitter, mired in an 0-for-22 slump, broke out of it at the right time, hitting a pair of homers — including a massive 455-footer — to extend Philly’s season another day with an 8-2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. The Phillies, the No. 2 seed in the NL as the East champs, dropped both games at home to open this season and faced elimination at the home of the defending World Series champions, who won the NL West and are the No. 3 seed.
The Dodgers struck early as Tommy Edman hit a solo homer off Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez, who came on in relief of starter Aaron Nola to begin the third inning. But Schwarber, who grounded out on the first pitch he saw from Dodgers right-handed starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the first inning, got out of his slump by crushing a 2-0 four-seamer 455 feet to the pavilion in right field, an area not many sluggers reach at Dodger Stadium to tie it 1-1. That lit a spark under the Phillies. Bryce Harper followed with a single and Alec Bohm singled to center, with Harper advancing to third. The throw from center fielder Andy Pages bounced past third baseman Max Muncy, sending Harper home and Bohm to third, giving the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Brandon Marsh then hit a sacrifice fly to left.
It stayed 3-1 until the eighth inning as the Phillies broke it open. J.T. Realmuto lead off with a homer off Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who come on in relief to begin the seventh. Trea Turner then had a two-run double with one out and Schwarber followed with two-run homer just over the right-field wall, putting the Phillies up 8-1. Suarez settled in after giving up Edman’s homer, going five innings, allowing five hits and a walk with four strikeouts.
By The Numbers
⚾ The Yankees’ streak of not winning a World Series is now at 16 seasons, one of the longest droughts in franchise history.
⚾ Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has 23 career postseason homers, third in MLB history and most among left-handed batters.
⚾ With their nine runs, the Tigers scored their most in a postseason game since putting up 13 in Game 6 of the 1968 World Series.
⚾ The Brewers-Cubs NLDS is the first postseason series in MLB history where both teams have scored in the first inning in each of the first three games.
Best Moments From Yesterday
Don’t Forget Ernie!
Ernie Clement of the Jays was doing an interview when the team photo was taken. So they did it again.
ALRIGHT! TEAM PHOTO!*takes photo*NO! NO! WE'RE MISSING ERNIE CLEMENT!*takes photo again*
Naylor-ed Him
Josh Naylor does a lot for the Mariners. Defense might be his best attribute. Just look at how he executed this double play.
Throwing Cheese
Bryce Miller has some gouda nicknames for members of the Mariners’ rotation.
Baseball is the BEST 😂🧀
Picturesque Pregame
The skies were alive in L.A. before Game 3.
Noteworthy News
Extra Bases
⚾ For the second game in a row, outfielder Harrison Bader was not in the Phillies’ starting lineup as he battles a groin injury.
⚾ Dodgers left-handed reliever Tanner Scott was not at Dodger Stadium for Game 3 due to a personal matter.
⚾ Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette continued to possibly work his way back to the active roster, jogging before Game 4.
⚾ You can tell how much leeway new leadership has by what moves they are able to make. For the Washington Nationals, Paul Toboni, recently hired as president of baseball operations, appears to be clearing house with veteran front-office members among dozens of employees not returning. However, interim general manager Mike DeBartolo is remaining with the organization. The Colorado Rockies, meanwhile, had another key resignation.
Articles You Should Read
Inside the Phillies’ home clubhouse: Who sits where — and why? — Chalotte Varnes, The Athletic
Left off roster, frustrated Hoskins trying to help Brewers any way he can — Curt Hogg, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
40 standout hitting prospects from the 2025 international signing class — Ben Badler, Baseball America
Five numbers that demonstrate Orioles’ offensive woes — Andy Kostka, Baltimore Banner
Fantasy Baseball Coverage
Podcast: Wins Above Fantasy — Chalkboard Review — Steve Gesuele, Pitcher List
