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That’s a wrap on the regular season. The Red Sox lost the series finale, a boring and pointless affair, to the Chicago Cubs, 6-2. So, what did we learn?

Tanner Houck isn’t ready for the postseason roster

Tanner Houck started the game today for his first appearance since May 2025. The line was okay; he allowed three runs over three innings on four hits and one strikeout, but the stuff isn’t where it needs to be. His fastballs were about two miles per hour below where they were last year, and his sweeper didn’t have as much bite. He commanded his fastballs and his splitter well, but the whiffs weren’t there as hitters could handle his stuff. Aside from two Alex Bregman home runs, there wasn’t much loud contact, but I still wouldn’t want to trust Houck out of the pen. I’m happy that Houck was able to get an appearance in, but there are better options for the postseason.

Patrick Sandoval isn’t an option for the Wild Card Round

Patrick Sandoval took over for Wyatt Olds in the fourth inning with two outs and pitched until the ninth inning. The Red Sox let him go all the way up to 98 pitches, signaling that he won’t be an option for the Wild Card round. I never thought he would be, other than in a mop-up role, but it’s nice to know the team’s opinion of him is in line with mine.

The Trop is the worst

Trevor Story caught a fly ball that Jarren Duran was tracking because it hit a catwalk, and apparently that’s still in play? How is that place a real stadium that can affect the outcome of playoff games?

Drake Maye has brain worms

What the heck is up with that guy?

Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela are playing hurt

I think we already knew this one, but the fact that they both only played four innings and got two at-bats was illuminating. It’s clear that they’ve been battling through injuries, but this game had a real rehab-assignment vibe to it for those two. They’ll get another day off before they’re both probably in the lineup for game one against the Yankees.

The Astros and Phillies will be in the playoffs

The Phillies knocked off the Rays, and the Astros took care of business against the Athletics to secure the final playoff spots. If we’re lucky enough to face the Astros in the American League Championship, I pray they learn not to pitch to Yordan Alvarez. Just walk him.

The Yankees Still Suck

They only played 161 games because they’re witches who melt in the rain.

That’s all I got. Next stop, postseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have established a dynasty in the National League West and the Milwaukee Brewers are pretty much unbeatable in the Central. 

That leaves the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs to battle on the undercard - and that was a pretty compelling match one year ago. 

This time, it's San Diego's Petco Park, not Wrigley Field, that will host the two teams that battled through three games before the Cubs prevailed in the decisive finale a year ago. 

And now, the Cubs have Alex Bregman on their side. 

The two-time World Series champ and postseason constant bounced back from facial fractures suffered Sept. 20 when he was struck in the left eye by a foul ball. Five days later, he was back in the Cubs lineup and Sunday, he hit two home runs and had three hits in the Cubs' season-finale against Boston, moved to Tropicana Field for weather purposes.

Yet in a series matching a pair of rotations that fall shy of dominant, the Padres bullpen may provide the difference. Closer Mason Miller is the final boss of a unit that can match up lefties and righties with equal ease.

San Diego is looking to advance past the wild card round for the first time since 2022, when it reached the NLCS. The Cubs fell in a five-game NL Division Series at Milwaukee after vanquishing the Padres. 

Game 1 will be Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Michael King expected to get the start for the Padres.

Get Padres vs Cubs tickets

Padres vs. Cubs predictions

• Bob Nightengale: Padres in 2
• Gabe Lacques: Padres in 3
• Kristie Ackert: Cubs in 3
• Jesse Yomtov: Padres in 3

Padres vs Cubs schedule

Wild card series at Petco Park in San Diego. Game 3 time subject to change

• Game 1, Tuesday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
• Game 2, Wednesday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
• Game 3*, Thursday: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET

Watch Cubs-Padres on Peacock

Sunday was a day of farewells for the Mariners on and off the field. Making official what many have suspected, sources inside the Mariners organization say that the Mariners and manager Dan Wilson have parted ways. According to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com and Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times, Wilson informed players he would not be returning in a meeting prior to Sunday’s season finale against the Angels. Wilson went on to manage the rest of the game, including two mid-inning defensive changes to allow fan appreciation moments for both J.P. Crawford and Randy Arozarena, both of whom are set to become free agents this season.

Wilson’s firing was essentially a fait accompli after the team underachieved to an almost unimaginable degree in 2026 following a deep playoff run in 2025. It was a baffling turn of events for a team that was projected as the favorites to win a weak AL West while returning essentially the same group of players and of staffers in 2026. Instead, the Astros once again captured the AL West, winning out over the Rangers. Neither club was particularly good this season; both were better than the Mariners.

While Wilson didn’t have direct experience managing, he did have a longstanding relationship with many of the team’s young players, having worked for years as a minor league coach/coordinator in the organization. Wilson had a particularly close relationship with fellow catcher Cal Raleigh, who always eagerly sought Wilson out for advice even before he was installed as the manager. Wilson’s first full season of managing was Raleigh’s historic 60-home run season, but Raleigh’s 2026 was a shocking disappointment that saw him go from one of the league’s best hitters to the league’s worst.

Moving on from Wilson is the first step in what promises to be an off-season of change for the Mariners, whose abysmal sub-.500 record ensure they cannot “run it back”. Given the young core and recent playoff run, Seattle should be an attractive destination for a manager. But how much control will that manager want to exert over bringing in their own choices for staffing? Pitching coaches Pete Woodworth and Trent Blank still have time left on their contracts, as does infield coach Perry Hill. There are questions to be solved on the roster, as well, as the. Mariners will have to replace the assumed departures of Randy Arozarena and J.P. Crawford, in addition to shoring up a bullpen that was both injured and ineffective. But those are questions for the front office, specifically Jerry Dipoto and Justin Hollander, who are scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday. The looming lockout also poses a wrinkle in the upcoming down time, making it an off-season of uncertainty all around.

One thing is clear: the Mariners will have a new manager in 2026, for the third time in four years.

The situation was clear for the Phillies: Win on Sunday afternoon and qualify for the playoffs. We can lament they didn’t take care of business earlier in the week, but on Sunday, Zack Wheeler and company took care of business, defeating the Rays 7-3, and earning the final spot in the National League’s playoff field.

It would have been preferable to have saved Wheeler for the playoffs, but if you needed one guy to start a must win game, there are few pitchers you’d rather have on the mound. And Wheeler delivered. He struck out the side in the first, setting the tone, and while he didn’t continue that level of dominance the rest of the way, he kept the Rays in check. His final line: One run on five hits over six innings to earn his 14th win of the season.

After a few games of offensive ineptitude, it was nice to see the Phillies get on the board early on Sunday. Kyle Schwarber singled and was doubled home by Bryson Stott to give them an early 1-0.

They extended that lead in the second when J.T. Realmuto finally broke out of his hitless streak to drive in the team’s second run.

After a Trea Turner single, Schwarber blasted a double off the fence to put the Phillies up 4-0.

The bats quieted down for a few innings, and the Rays finally got on the board thanks to a Jonny DeLuca home run to start the fifth. Maybe the Phillies’ hitters needed that to snap them out of any sense of complacency, because they came back to life in the bottom of the innings.

Bryce Harper led off the frame with a home run.

After a Stott double, a ground out, and a Brandon Marsh sacrifice fly, Edmundo Sosa added another solo shot to make it 7-1.

Alex McFarlane relieved Wheeler and was a little shaky in the seventh, giving up two runs, including DeLuca’s second home run of the game. Get that out of your system, Alex!

I didn’t agree with the decision to use Jesus Luzardo in the eighth. My hope was he could be the game one playoff starter, and I didn’t like putting a guy fresh off the Injured List onto a mound that was clearly deteriorating due to the rainy conditions. Fortunately, the Rays, with nothing to play for, seemed content to just swing at anything, and Luzardo got through the inning in four pitches.

Jhoan Duran got the ninth, and despite it not being a save situation, it was perhaps his most important appearance of the year. Three easy outs later, and the Phillies’ ticket to the playoffs was punched.

I understand if you’re frustrated with the Phillies. But this is a franchise that recently missed the playoffs ten straight years. I can’t turn up my nose at playoff spots, no matter how narrowly they made it.

Besides, everything that happened in the regular season doesn’t really matter. When they take the field in Atlanta on Tuesday, it doesn’t matter that they barely made the playoffs. Maybe the Phillies don’t inspire anyone with much confidence that they’ll make much noise in the postseason, but who knows? You can’t win the World Series without making the playoffs, and the Phillies at least have a chance now.

See you on Tuesday!

Last Sunday, Alex Bregman was hit in the face by a foul ball off the bat of Michael Busch in Cincinnati. He suffered facial fractures and missed three games.

Bregman came back Friday as the DH and Sunday, just a bit over exactly one week since that accident, he hit two home runs and also singled, doubled and walked. His 4-for-4 afternoon led the Cubs to a 4-2 Game 162 win over the Red Sox, a game played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Bregman didn’t waste any time Sunday, either. Pete Crow-Armstrong led off the game with a single and then departed for pinch-runner Tyrone Taylor.

On the very next pitch, Bregman left the yard [VIDEO].

That was great to see. Bregman seemed totally locked in from the moment he stepped into the batter’s box. And that ball was crushed! [VIDEO].

And that ball went a long way! [VIDEO]

Shōta Imanaga started for the Cubs and threw just the first inning, allowing a home run to Adley Rutschman. That was the 35th homer off Imanaga this year, second-most in MLB this year to Aaron Nola’s 37. Imanaga threw only 12 pitches in this game, which theoretically leaves him available to pitch in the Wild Card Series, maybe Thursday or perhaps even Wednesday. Apart from the homer, Imanaga struck out the other three hitters he faced.

Braxton Garrett, who the Cubs acquired from the Marlins at the trade deadline for minor leaguers Jonathon Long and Jace Beck and who’d been at Triple-A Iowa since, was recalled for this game and went into the game as the “bulk guy” and threw very well. Garrett threw five innings and allowed four hits and a run, though he did issue three walks. He threw 70 pitches and will be in the mix for a starting rotation spot next year.

While all this was going on, Bregman went deep again in the third [VIDEO].

Bregman drove in all four Cubs runs in this game and finishes with 93 RBI on the season. It’s so good to see him productive after that freak injury. Even if he is limited to DH duty for the Wild Card Series, as noted on the Marquee broadcast, he’s been the Cubs’ second-best hitter (behind PCA) all year and they are going to need that hitting. I noticed that Bregman was wearing a double-flap helmet on the basepaths, though as you can see, not when he hit the home runs.

BCB’s JohnW53 has this fact about Bregman’s two-homer afternoon:

Today’s game was Alex Bregman’s fifth of the season with multiple home runs. Pete Crow-Armstrong has seven such games; Dansby Swanson, three; and Michael Conforto, one, for a total of 16.

The Cubs had a team-record 20 such games last year. They had 19 in 2019, 18 in 1998 and 2004, and 17 in 1930 and 1958. They also had 16 in 2021.

Going into today, the Astros had 16 this year, second to the Rockies’ 18. The Padres had 15.

The Cubs flashed some glove while Garrett was in the game. Here’s a nice stop by Matt Shaw in the fifth [VIDEO].

Jacob Webb succeeded Garrett in the seventh inning and retired all three hitters he faced on just 10 pitches. I don’t think I have to tell you how important it would be if Webb could recover the form that got him 24 straight scoreless appearances before the big meltdown he had at the end of August in Seattle and Arizona.

Colin Rea entered to throw the eighth inning and also retired the Red Sox in order, on just six pitches.

The Cubs then put the game away with a three-run ninth. Miguel Amaya led off with a single and went to third on a single by Taylor. That brought up Bregman, and he came through yet again with this RBI double [VIDEO].

Fact about Bregman’s game from John:

Bregman is just the sixth Cub to hit multiple homers and also have at least one double, one single and one walk. He is the first to do so on the road.

Pete Crow-Armstrong did it in on Aug. 17 in the Cubs’ 10-inning, 7-5 win at home over the White Sox, with his second homer walking it off.

The four others:

Hank Sauer: May 2, 1954, in an 18-10, eight-inning loss to the Pirates
Ryne Sandberg: Aug. 10, 1989, in a 16-13 loss to the Phillies
Corey Patterson: Sept. 7, 2004, in a 7-6, 12-inning loss to the Expos
Chris Coghlan: Sept. 20, 2014, in an 8-7 win over the Dodgers

All had two homers, one double, one single and one walk.

Taylor stopped at third on Bregman’s double, but he then scored on this sac fly by Gabriel Arias [VIDEO].

As mentioned on the Marquee broadcast, Arias is a very good bench player. He can play all infield positions and his bat plays well enough, a really useful guy to have around. That made it 5-2. Ian Happ then struck out, but Michael Conforto doubled, scoring Bregman to give the Cubs a four-run lead [VIDEO].

Rea remained in the game in the ninth to finish up, and he recorded his second save. Here’s the final out [VIDEO].

In other postseason-related news, the Phillies won Sunday and so they take the final wild card spot and will face the Braves in Atlanta in another Wild Card Series beginning Tuesday. The Rangers lost to the Twins, which clinched the A.L. West title for the Astros (who are leading the A’s late and likely will finish 81-81). Houston will host the White Sox in a Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.

One more game note from John:

The Cubs’ six runs made their final total 850, their fourth most in the Modern Era, which began in 1901. They scored 998 in 1930, 982 in 1929 and 855 in 2008. They played 156 games in the first two seasons and 161 in the last.

And for whatever it’s worth, the win gave the Cubs an 89-73 record to the Red Sox’ 87-75. That means that if, somehow, those two clubs meet in the World Series, the Cubs would have home field. The Cubs have the better record over four of the six American League postseason teams; only the Rays and Yankees are better.

So the Cubs will now head to San Diego to begin their own Wild Card Series against the Padres Tuesday evening. I’ll have lots to say about that over the next couple of days here, of course. Michael King has been announced as the Padres starter, but no Cubs starter has yet been named. It could be Matthew Boyd, who’d be going on normal rest, as he last pitched on Thursday against the Marlins at Wrigley Field.

Game time Tuesday is late, so get rested up! 9 p.m. CT, with the game on NBC Sports Network (cable) and streaming on Peacock.

Go Cubs!

And just like that, the regular season has come to a close. It feels like we were just starting to write up Spring Training games and Pre-Season predictions and here we are now; a full season complete, a winning record, another divisional title, and another October to remember.

Parker Messick needed some work, with Cleveland securing the bye, and had the most “we won the division last night and celebrated a lot” lineup that we’ve seen in some time. Messick got his work in, throwing 3.0 innings of one run ball. He struck out two and gave up six hits and a walk. Austin Peterson was called up for this game, with Craig Yoho being sent down, and gave Cleveland 5.0 innings of two run ball. Both runs were solo homers, but he otherwise kept the bases relatively empty. Peterson allowed three hits and two walks, striking out five.

Both of Cleveland’s runs also came on solo home runs with Daniel Schneemann and Jo Adell keeping this “meaningless” game lively.

This team finished with a loss, but gets a much needed rest until next Saturday when they take the field at Progressive to start the ALDS. This team has been a struggle to watch and write for at times, but also gave us enough to keep the hope alive. Of the five starting pitchers, three are still in the starting rotation going into the playoffs and haven’t missed a start. The bullpen has been as reliable and lights out as many fans have come to expect, especially in the later part of the season. After the trade deadline, the line up stopped becoming the slap hitting, “death by a thousand bloops” batters that we’ve known and starting to introduce more power. Chase DeLauter and Steven Kwan seem to always find ways on base. José Ramírez and his gaggle of students (Brayan Rocchio, Angel Martínez, Angel Genao, and Travis Bazzana) seem to always come up clutch when needed the most. Gavin Williams and Parker Messick have become a terrifying duo to reckon with. There are players that debuted with this club who we all expected to be pillars but are no longer even with the organization. There have been unlikely heroes, likely heroes, but never a dull moment.

This team, the staff, and this organization has made another successful season of Cleveland baseball. The regular season is over. There’s only one thing left to do.

Win the whole effing thing.

After an incredible Saturday game which featured all kinds of feelings, the season finale took place on another picture-perfect day in Detroit against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Tigers tried to go for the sweep of the Pirates, but ultimately lost 4-2.

It was going to be a game featuring the comeback of Jack Flaherty from the Injured List, but the starter was River Ryan, who is making a return from Tommy John surgery in late 2024. Ryan came to the Tigers in the Tarik Skubal trade and looked good in his one previous start for Detroit: three two-hit, run-free innings against Washington in which he walked one and whiffed three. Flaherty, meanwhile, has had an up-and-down season, and has been on the shelf with right flexor inflammation since July. But in his time on the mound in Detroit this season, walks have been a huge issue, which occasionally led to innings spiralling out of control.

Jared Jones, who also missed the 2025 season due to ulnar colateral ligament surgery — with a brace rather than ligament replacement (i.e., TJ) — took the mound for Pittsburgh. This was his twenty-first start for the Buccos this year, and his twentieth was sensational: he gave up one hit, walked none and struck out nine Cardinals on September 22. His eighteenth start also featured seven innings, one hit, and no runs, in a game in Chicago against the White Sox. Don’t get me wrong, he’s had some clunkers along the way (e.g. coughing up eight runs against the Mets in early August), but when he’s on he can be nearly unhittable.

Pittsburgh wasted no time getting on the board: on the second pitch of the game, Konnor Griffin clubbed his sixth home run of the year for a 1-0 lead.

The visitors added to the lead in the second, as Spencer Horwitz drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a single, advanced to third on a wild pitch, and came home on another single. Another walk loaded the bases with none out, with Ryan labouring and the bullpen warming. After Ryan struck out Billy Cook, he was shown the door and Beau Brieske took over. Four pitches later Griffin hit a crisp grounder to shortstop to start an inning-ending double play, closing the book on Ryan: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Not great, but it could’ve been a lot worse.

Early on, it certainly looked like we got Unhittable Jones: through two innings the Tigers had nary a baserunner, he threw 20 of his 30 pitches for strikes, and he struck out four.

Pittsburgh’s lead extended to 3-0 in the fourth with a Billy Cook double to score Nick Gonzales, and Griffin’s single scored Cook for a 4-0 lead.

With two out in the bottom of the fourth the Tigers got their first hit of the day, as Kevin McGonigle hit a solid single to centrefield. The only baserunner Jones had allowed to that point was Spencer Torkelson, who he’d plunked.

Brieske gave way to Jack Flaherty to start the fifth inning, his first relief appearance since 2023; he had a six-pitch 1-2-3 fifth, which must’ve felt mighty nice. He gave up a harmless single in the sixth and that was it for Flaherty’s outing. Ty Madden pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, too, which was nice.

The Tigers got on the board in the bottom of the seventh with a McGonigle solo home run, narrowing the gap to 4-1.

After Riley Greene grounded out, Eduardo Valencia hit a sizzling 109.8 mph (177.9 km/h) home run, which went 441 ft (1323 hands) for a 4-2 score.

With two out in the inning, Jace Jung (pinch-hitting for Torkelson) struck out, but reached first base on a wild pitch, bringing the tying run to the plate in Zach McKinstry. Alas, McKinstry looked at a strike-three curveball and the side was retired.

Nice moment in the eighth: McGonigle took the field to start the inning, then AJ Hinch took him off the field to a nice ovation from the Comerica Park crowd, in recognition of the fantastic rookie season he had. Coming into today’s game he led the American League in both plate appearances with 704 and a 6.9 bWAR, and if he doesn’t win Rookie of the Year, I’ll eat my hat.

(I’m being told that I’m not currently wearing a hat.)

Madden ended up finishing the game with three hitless innings of relief, ending on a mile-high popup to Ben Malgeri in right field. It’ll be interesting to see what the Tigers do with him next year; is his stuff better suited for the rotation, or could he possibly be converted into a lockdown relief arm? Time will tell.

Mason Montgomery, one of a pair of triple-digit lefty closers for the Pirates (along with Gregory Soto), came out for the ninth to lock the game down. Valencia looked at strike three for the final out of the season, and that was that.

Final score: Pirates 4, Tigers 2

Three Cheers for Max

Max Scherzer started the day ten strikeouts behind Justin Verlander for his career, and my goodness, did he try to catch him. He had seven through seven innings — after 109 pitches no less — and, in what’s a somewhat unthinkable turn of events these days, he came back out for the eighth. Here he is getting talked-to by Jays manager John Schneider, but staying in the game in the seventh.

Alas, after a leadoff walk in the eighth, he left the game to a huge ovation in Toronto; after coming out of the game he hopped a short fence near the dugout to hug his family in the stands. If that’s it for Max (you never know, especially with him), what a career it’s been. Love that guy.

First Annual Recap Report

^{Data source: BYB Command Centre; data accurate to the best of our knowledge}

Too Many Numbers and Notes

• The Tigers finished the season with a 76-86 record. This was their fewest number of wins in a season since 2022, when that extremely-forgettable team went 66-96.
• Since 1901, the Tigers’ overall record (not including ties) is now 9839-9728, for an overall winning percentage of .503.
• Today was umpire Laz Diaz’s final game of his career. He was behind the plate on Saturday, and was at third base today. His first career game in the Major Leagues was at Tiger Stadium.
• That’s a mighty fine name for a baseball facility which is the home of a team called the Tigers, come to think of it. Mr. Ilitch, give me a call and we can talk.
• Based on their run differential, the Tigers should have gone 89-73. Funny how that works sometimes, though.
• Did you know there’s also a River Ryan, Nova Scotia? It’s on Cape Breton Island. It’s tiny.
• On this day in 1066, William the Conquerer set sail from France to go, uh, conquer something. I mean, it’s right there in the name.

On a gray afternoon in April, his club in last place and mired in an 11-20 hole, Christian Walker looked around the Houston Astros clubhouse, paused and told USA TODAY Sports, "There's a hundred wins in this room." 

He was wrong. The Astros only won 81 games this season - yet they're going to the playoffs, anyway. 

The Astros did just enough to capture the feeble American League West title, clinching the division on the season's final day with a resounding 9-0 victory over the Athletics in West Sacramento.

Houston became the first team in major league history to reach the playoffs with a non-winning record in a full season. The Astros captured the division by one game over the Texas Rangers, who finished 80-82 and lost their must-win season finale at Minnesota, that game going final just minutes before Houston finished off the Athletics. 

Houston will open the AL playoffs at home, taking on the upstart Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park in the best-of-three wild-card series beginning Tuesday. 

The Astros, owning the tiebreaker between the teams, needed just a win to get in. And they left no doubt. 

They jumped on Athletics starter Seth Johnson and reliever Brady Basso for four runs in the third inning. Walker homered in the sixth. Starter Peter Lambert and reliever Ethan Pecko provided five shutout innings before the Astros ran and hid. 

It looked easy. The season was anything but. 

They entered the final week after getting swept at home by Atlanta, erasing a one-game West lead and putting them a game behind the Rangers with six to play. But the Astros also had a nice voucher in their back pocket: Four games in Yolo County to finish the season. 

They took three of four from the woebegone Athletics (64-98), capping a 4-2 final week to overcome the Rangers. MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez finished the season as the AL batting champ, his .316 average 10 points greater than the Rays' Chandler Simpson. Alvarez finished second in home runs, his 42 one shy of Baltimore's Pete Alonso. 

It's the Astros' eighth AL West title in the past 10 years. And probably the strangest. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Astros become MLB's worst-ever playoff team with AL West title

And with that, the 2026 regular season comes to a close. 

The Atlanta Braves finish 94-68 as NL East champions and are looking for more. Postseason baseball begins Tuesday as the Braves will take on the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card round.

In this final tune-up, Atlanta regulars Ronald Acuña Jr., Drake Baldwin, and Michael Harris II got a full day off. Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies had a couple ABs apiece before getting off their feet. This final game and lineup was very much giving Game 162 as they dropped the series and season finale to the Marlins by a score of 5-3.

The Braves got on the board early courtesy of a home run by Mauricio Dubón. The effervescent Brent Suter, who’d joined the booth for an interview in the top of the third, had a great call. 

Ozzie Albies got the start today and notched his first season playing in all 162 games. He went 0-for-2 with a groundout and strikeout before exiting at 3:45 pm. Matt Olson’s day ended at 3:54 pm after a strikeout in the first and a flyout in the fourth. Hugs for Matty O, our modern iron man. 

Midway through an anecdote about JR Ritchie’s upcoming wedding, a changeup off the bat of Heriberto Hernández went screaming to left center to tie the ballgame 1-1. 

Dom Smith and Kyle Farmer took over at first and second base respectively to start the bottom of the fourth. The two combined for a nice play in the sixth.

Hernández continued to menace Ritchie by hitting a leadoff double in the sixth and, after two outs, came home to score on a single by Esteury Ruiz. Deyvison De Los Santos followed with another single, which prompted a mound visit. This didn’t end up helping much as the first pitch Jared Serna saw doubled home two more Marlins. After keeping them down for most of his 5.2 innings of work, Ritchie was lifted in favor of AJ Smith-Shawver. AJSS got Brian Navarreto looking for the third out. 

The Braves got within a run after Ha-Seong Kim worked a ten-pitch AB to walk, Brewer Hicklen blooped in a single down the right field line, an RBI groundout by DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and a single by Dubón off Calvin Faucher to make it 4-3. But Smith-Shawver gave a run back via a leadoff homer by Griffin Conine. He set down the next three in order, but the damage was done and the score would stay 5-3.

What of the other Braves getting some work in? Austin Riley exited after his 0-for-3 afternoon, so Dubón took over at third for the home half of the eighth and Yaz moved to left field. Sean Murphy had a nice day with a single apiece in the second and fifth. Ha-Seong Kim had two walks, a strikeout, and a stellar defensive play in the fourth.

Elieser Hernández entered and set the Marlins down in order in the bottom of the eighth. Sandy Alcantara came on for the save for the Marlins. No, you’re not missing anything, the Marlins are trying something new. Murphy reached to start the inning but would be stranded after the Cy Young winner set down Kim, Hicklen, and got Keirsey Jr. swinging to end it. But the Braves are unscathed and the Delta flight awaits to bring them back home.

Everything resets. Playoff baseball returns to Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon.

Box Score

The Brewers didn’t have anything left to play for, and today’s goal was very simple: no one get hurt. Milwaukee achieved that goal, but hey, why not go out and pick up a sweep and a franchise-record 103rd win while they’re at it? Jacob Misiorowski, in a postseason tune-up, put together one more excellent performance to cap what will almost certainly be a Cy Young-winning season, and the offense showed us exactly what has made them special all season as they picked up six runs on 10 hits early in the game before cruising to victory.

The first inning of this game felt like a perfect encapsulation of the Brewers’ regular season. In the top of the first, the presumptive National League Cy Young winner went out and quickly retired the side in order, cruising at around 101.5 mph. In the bottom of the inning, the first four Brewers, Garrett Mitchell, Jake Bauers, Jackson Chourio, and Brice Turang, all singled off of Cardinals starter Andre Pallante, the latter two of which scored runs. Turang, whose hit was of the infield variety, had his 100th RBI of the season and got a nice ovation from the home crowd.

Gary Sánchez made the first out of the inning on a fielder’s choice, but he hustled down the line and ensured that the Cardinals would have no double play opportunity. Captain Christian Yelich and Cooper Pratt continued the hit parade with two more singles, the first of which scored Chourio, and the Brewers had a 3-0 lead before Sal Frelick grounded into an inning-ending double play.

The first blemish on Misiorowski’s line came with one out in the second when Frelick was not quite able to make a diving catch on a lazy fly ball from Thomas Saggese in shallow right. But Miz retired the next two and had two scoreless innings to start his afternoon. Pallante had a much easier time in the second, and got David Hamilton, Mitchell, and Bauers in order.

Misiorowski continued with another scoreless inning in the third, as he worked around a one-out walk. Chourio led off the bottom of the third with his second single of the day. Turang, next up, smoked a line drive at 106 mph but hit it right to Saggese at shortstop for the first out. The next batter, Sánchez, got a hold of one to the opposite field and snuck it over the wall in right for a two-run homer, his 12th of the season. It also completed his chase for homers against all 30 teams, as the Cardinals were the last team remaining to have never allowed a Kraken homer.

Somewhat surprisingly, Misiorowski — who threw only three innings in his last outing — was back out for the fourth. To his own exasperation, he walked the leadoff hitter, Leo Bernal. But the next batter, Nolan Gorman, became Misiorowski’s 250th strikeout victim of the season, and Saggese grounded into a 5-4-3 double play that ended the inning.

Milwaukee struck again in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Hamilton reached on a dribbler that sat on the dirt down the third-base line, pretty much the most David Hamilton hit of all time. Mitchell drew a walk, and Bauers nearly cleared the bases with a 105-mph drive to the left-field gap, but Nathan Church ran it down for the second out. Chourio was next, though, and for the third time in the game he came through with a single, this one a two-out, run-scoring liner into right. Milwaukee led 6-0 after four.

Misiorowski had another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth — it was somewhat surprising to see him continue, but he was extremely efficient today and only had 64 pitches through five innings. Pallante had a clean fifth, and Misiorowski came back out for the top of the sixth — Pedro Pagés singled on the first pitch of the inning, but a three-pitch strikeout of Jordan Walker led to Pat Murphy making a semi-ceremonial pitching change that allowed his ace to get a standing ovation from the home crowd.

After DL Hall finished the inning, Miz’s afternoon — and his legendary regular season — were finished. His official ERA for the season ends at 1.80, by far the best ever for a qualifying starter in Brewers history, ahead of Mike Caldwell’s 2.36 in 1978. He also added his name to an extremely exclusive list:

Pallante gave way to Justin Bruihl in the bottom of the sixth and got a 1-2-3 inning, and Hall and Bruihl again followed with six more consecutive outs. César Prieto ended that streak when he led off the top of the eighth with a triple off of Chad Patrick, a ball which Mitchell nearly ran down in deep right-center but which deflected off his glove. Pagés continued his afternoon with a walk, his second of the game, and he hadn’t been retired in three at-bats. St. Louis plated its first run of the day on an RBI fielder’s choice from Walker, who avoided a double play and advanced to second when Pratt’s rushed relay throw got past Bauers at first.

Patrick walked Iván Herrera, which led to a visit from the dugout and a hurried Shane Drohan warm-up in the bullpen, but the next batter, Bernal, popped a deep home run to the second deck in right, cutting the score to 6-4. That was it for Patrick, who did not look sharp in his last outing before the postseason. Drohan entered and got the next two to stop the bleeding and preserve the Brewers’ lead.

The 24-year-old righty Hancel Rincon was on for his third career appearance in the bottom of the eighth, and a 1-2-3 inning became the first scoreless outing of his big-league career. Drohan made the ninth look easy, and after retiring all five batters he faced, Drohan had the second save of his rookie season, and the Brewers had a sweep and 103 wins.

Misiorowski added to his 2026 legend with 5 1/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball that led to his 16th win of the year. Jackson Chourio picked up three hits, scored twice, and knocked two runs in to finish with a .291 batting average. Turang picked up his 100th RBI. Sánchez hit a two-run homer. No one got hurt. The Brewers are ready for the playoffs.

The Brewers don’t play again until Saturday, but we’ll have plenty of stuff for you to read this week, and we’ll have discussions up for the Wild Card round. It’s been a magical season! Thanks for being a part of it.

People love their brackets, and Major League Baseball's playoff shootout has something for everybody. 

A 103-win club that makes the most of what it has? The Milwaukee Brewers will be waiting for the winner of the San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs. 

A two-time defending champ going for a rare three-peat? The Los Angeles Dodgers will lurk in the National League bracket until someone knocks them out. 

And in the American League, the most compelling action may come early, as East division stalwarts from New York, Boston and Tampa Bay will fight it out to see who advances to the AL Championship Series. 

It all begins with a Red Sox-Yankees tilt highlighting the best-of-three wild card series. Follow along with USA TODAY Sports all month: 

MLB playoff bracket 2026

American League

• Byes: Tampa Bay Rays (1), Cleveland Guardians (2)

Wild card series (best of three)

• White Sox* (6) at Astros (3) – Winner faces Guardians in ALDS
• Red Sox* (5) at Yankees* (4) – Winner faces Rays

AL Division Series (best of five)

• Guardians vs. Astros/White Sox
• Rays vs. Yankees/Red Sox

National League

• Byes: Milwaukee Brewers (1), Los Angeles Dodgers (2)

Wild card series (best of three)

• Phillies (6) at Braves# (3) – Winner faces Dodgersin NLDS
• Cubs* (5) at *Padres (4) – Winner faces Brewers

NL Division Series (best of five)

• Brewers vs. Padres/Cubs
• Dodgers vs. Braves/Phillies

The #Postseason field is set! pic.twitter.com/G84RAqZbsj

— MLB (@MLB) September 27, 2026

The road to the World Series is officially set.

After 162 games and six months of baseball, the 2026 MLB playoff field is complete. While the Milwaukee Brewers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians have secured first-round byes in their respective leagues, the other eight squads will open October with the best-of-three wild-card round that starts Tuesday, Sept. 29.

Here's a look at every team that qualified for the 2026 MLB playoffs, along with where they fit in the postseason bracket.

The Texas Rangers scored four runs but the Minnesota Twins scored six runs.

The Rangers stayed true to who they were until the bitter end. A sauceless bunch. The 2026 Rangers were a dry, unseasoned chicken breast served with a side of tap water.

Today’s game had everything you suffered with all summer bundled up neatly and handed to you with the neat little bow on top being another year without postseason baseball.

A first inning run allowed? – ✓

A disappointing, brief outing from MacKenzie Gore? – ✓

Endless fruitless micromanaging from Jared Michael “Skip” Schumaker? – ✓

At-bats ruined by poor ABS usage or non-usage while the other team shaved outs on the margins with successful attempts? – ✓

The lineup turtling up at the first sign of adversity? – ✓

Bunts while down multiple runs? – ✓

Tyler Alexander? – ✓

The Rangers won’t win the American League West because they did not win today. They would not have won the American League West regardless because the Houston Astros won today (presumably, they’re leading the Pacific Coast League Athletics 8-0 as I’m writing this). You could take solace in that fact, I suppose. Nothing Texas could have done today mattered in the end.

Of course, that ignores the other like 30 weeks. The fact is, the Rangers were incredibly fortunate to even be in the position they were in today — a bad baseball team with a chance to win the division on the last day — and they even squandered that fortune.

They didn’t squander it because the A’s laid down for the Astros. They squandered because they themselves went 6-7 against the A’s, including losing both series in West Sacramento, where Houston has outscored them 21-2 in the last two must-win games. They went 5-8 against the soon-to-be 100-loss, last place Angels. They went 2-4 in the final two series of the season against two clubs who ended the year a combined 151-173, losing both series. The Rangers had no business being alive and they still chose death.

Anyway, the Astros can have the title of worst playoff team, even if that would have been kind of novel in the way that the Rangers strive on being novel. I can’t imagine I’d be able to stomach the October version of Skip Schumaker managing in the playoffs where you are already expected to be playing 4D chess.

There’s some irony in them not finishing the season at .500 given their never-ending desire for keeping their record evening all year. But missing .500 by a game and not losing the division on a tiebreaker to a team they went 4-9 against is probably the more just outcome, despite the fact that Houston is also cheeks.

A couple of seasons ago, after the last game of the year, I wrote reflecting almost more on the 2023 October and how the 2024 season hadn’t dulled my enjoyment for what they accomplished. On the last day of the 2025 season, I wrote that while the season had basically become an unpleasant slog, I had come to understand that I would miss them.

This year, though, I won’t miss this team. Except for Nathan Eovaldi. That guy is awesome.

I’ll miss baseball, though. Eventually. Maybe it’ll even come back in 2028.

Player of the Game: At one point after weeks and months of being something of the poster boy for the ABS inefficiencies the team managed during this inaugural year of the challenge system, and for being among the main problem spots at the bottom of the order, Danny Jansen had begun to creep onto the list of my all-time most disliked Rangers.

Today, he homered for Texas’ only run until it was 5-1 in the eighth inning (when fellow catcher Elias Diaz also homered before Corey Seager ended his season with a two-run home run in the ninth) in a game the Rangers had to win and didn’t.

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