Category: Baseball

LOS ANGELES — Kyle Tucker hit one of the Dodgers three home runs in Saturday afternoon’s 5-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium, carrying over his strong September play into October.

KING TUCK. 👑 pic.twitter.com/O6rvprvqZQ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 3, 2026

“I’m just trying to swing at good pitches, trying to put the barrel on the ball, having competitive at-bats, and keep the line moving,” Tucker said on Saturday, after hitting his seventh home run in his last 23 games. “Our pitching staff has done a good job all year long giving us opportunities to win games, so we’re just trying to do our part.”

The home run came in the sixth inning, two innings after Tucker singled and stole second base.

Power and speed have been a part of Tucker’s game throughout his career, averaging 27 home runs and 21 stolen bases in his previous five seasons before signing with the Dodgers in January, including three years with at least 22 home runs and 25 steals.

Even with the strong finish to his season, Tucker finished with 17 home runs in 154 games, his lowest power output since 2020. He was more opportunistic when running, stealing only 12 bases but was never caught trying.

In 73 career postseason games, Tucker is up to 10 home runs and eight steals now, but Saturday was his first time in the playoffs doing both in the same game.

“It’s been well talked about, the struggles he had this year. I give him a lot of credit for grinding through it, not running from it, always posting and kind of getting to the other side of it,” manager Dave Roberts said of Tucker. “Obviously for us it’s about winning a championship. Our fans, they really remember what you do in the postseason. So this is certainly a way to change the story for a season in 2026.”

Hitting a home run and stealing a base has only been done 14 times in Dodgers postseason history, from Wes Parker in Game 4 of the 1965 World Series to Freddie Freeman in the 18-inning marathon Game 3 of the 2025 World Series, and now Tucker.

Davey Lopes and Max Muncy are the only Dodgers with two postseason games with a home run and steal. Lopes did it in Game 4 of the 1977 World Series and Game 6 of the 1978 World Series. Muncy did it in Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS and Game 2 of the 2024 NLCS.

Twelve of the 14 Dodgers homer/steal postseason games have come at Dodger Stadium, and four were against the Braves, including Muncy and Kiké Hernández in the same contest, Game 1 of the 2018 NLDS.

Player	Game	Opponent	HR	SB
Wes Parker	1965 WS G4	Twins	1	1
Joe Ferguson	1974 WS G2	A’s	1	1
Davey Lopes	1977 WS G4	Yankees	1	1
Davey Lopes	1978 WS G6	Yankees	1	1
Kirk Gibson	1988 NLCS G5	at Mets	1	1
Carl Crawford	2013 NLDS G4	Braves	2	1
Max Muncy	2018 NLDS G1	Braves	1	1
Kiké Hernández	2018 NLDS G1	Braves	1	1
Cody Bellinger	2018 NLCS G7	at Brewers	1	1
Mookie Betts	2020 WS G1	Rays	1	2
Max Muncy	2024 NLCS G2	Mets	1	1
Tommy Edman	2024 WS G2	Yankees	1	1
Freddie Freeman	2025 WS G3	Blue Jays	1	1
Kyle Tucker	2026 NLDS G1	Braves	1	1

This season I have probably watched more Braves baseball than any other season. And one of the recurring themes of this season and some of the previous seasons is the idea of “punting”. It’s saving your best pitchers, or designating which three of four of the bottom end of the bullpen will only pitch that particular game. It rubs many of you the wrong way.

To be honest, to me a punted game in May is disappointing but somewhat expected. To survive a 162-game season over 6 months, you need to reserve your strength. You don’t have to major in it as was done in 2024, and have it bear no fruit fruitlessly in the penultimate game. But it’s a cost of doing business. To survive, you may have to utilize you 12th or 13th best pitcher on your roster more than you would like. Or in some cases, 17th and 18th best. We at Battery Power are aware of this because we write up every roster move.

But Walt, this isn’t May, June, or even September.

KING TUCK. 👑 pic.twitter.com/O6rvprvqZQ

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 3, 2026

What is this?

That's 17 postseason homers from Max! pic.twitter.com/n1yMnDt5Tv

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 3, 2026

Or this? Why is objectively your 12th best pitching option serving meatballs in a NLDS game?

We can’t have this. This game deserved Dylan Dodd for three, Brent Suter for three, and perhaps AJ Smith-Shawver if necessary for three hitters or less. Then you see where you are in the seventh. If you are down, maybe downshift. If it’s remotely close then upshift.

Because for exactly this reason here.

Ozzie, we love him!#LetItFlypic.twitter.com/ahyDJESkQk

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 3, 2026

The only excuse for today would be if Chris Sale cannot pitch Game 2. If he can’t, today could make sense. If he can, it’s absolutely infuriating and completely unnecessary. You saved your premium options only for Chris Sale to possibly go into the eighth inning tomorrow.

I am going to tell you that I really like AJ Smith-Shawver. He should not lose heart. He should absolutely be ready to mow down three hitters right now and break into the starting rotation in 2027. I love Victor Mederos. I think he’s been a revelation and I love his enthusiam. But we scrimp and save for seven months just for the opportunity to get into the Postseason. The Braves should spend their options lavishly and perform with their best players when we get there. If Sale is available tomorrow, I don’t want to hear it.

Weiss told reporters that “today was going to be tough for us to chase from behind because of how we emptied the tank on Thursday night.” I don’t know, Walt. if it was so tough, why pursue it with Brent Suter for two innings in the eighth? Walt did reveal later, “Look, you’ve got Sale and Mahle still. Tomorrow a much more rested bullpen. Yeah, I don’t have any worries about … having enough pitching. We’ve got plenty of pitching.” And also, “We weren’t going to pitch Fuentes from behind. It would have been 4 out of 5. Then he’s at risk tomorrow in a game that we’re up. Suarez was down because of the elbow, missing three months. We weren’t going to use him at all.” It rather sounds as if he approached this game as if Sale would not pitch, and the punt was on.

It’s been hard enough for Atlanta in the Postseason as it is. It’s harder when you don’t have your best options available, or decline to use them.

The Atlanta Braves have opened up this five-game series on the short-end of the stick to start things off, as they took a 5-3 loss on the chin against the Los Angeles Dodgers to begin the 2026 NLDS.

It’s a bit of a flattering result, since Tarik Skubal spent most of the game in complete control and the Braves were down by as much as four after AJ Smith-Shawver gave up a pair of dingers that really gave the Dodgers serious control of the game.

As far as the questions go about who did or didn’t pitch for the Braves today, it’s clear that Walt Weiss had bullpen load management in mind with some of the decisions that he made today. “It’s a challenge. Even today was going to be tough for us to chase from behind because of how we emptied the tank on Thursday night,” said Weiss when he was asked about how the bullpen is looking for the rest of the series.“

“We weren’t going to pitch Fuentes from behind. It would have been 4 out of 5. Then he’s at risk tomorrow in a game that we’re up. Suarez was down because of the elbow, missing three months. We weren’t going to use him at all.”

When Weiss was asked about whether or not the Braves have enough pitching to make it through this series, Weiss remained bullish about the pitching staff. “Look, you’ve got [Chris] Sale and [Tyler] Mahle still. Tomorrow a much more rested bullpen,” stated Weiss. Yeah, I don’t have any worries about that, about having enough pitching. We’ve got plenty of pitching.“

Speaking of Chris Sale, his potential availability for the Los Angeles portion of this series has been a big question. Obviously, the Braves would like to steal one on the road and gain home field advantage for the rest of the series and it’ll be a big question as to whether or not Sale can or will be fully effective since he’s already taken on a heavy workload here in the Postseason.

Weiss was asked directly about his pitching plan for Game 2 and whether it involved Chris Sale started and he explained that it’s too soon to figure it out. “We still haven’t decided yet. The game just got over,” said Weiss. “We’ll have some conversations about this. So not sure who’s going to start. That’s where we’re at right now.”

I’d imagine that they’re going to think it over and wait until tomorrow afternoon to announce who the starter is. If it’s Sale, then I’d imagine that it’d be a similar case to what happened the morning of Game 3 where Sale barges into Weiss’s office and tells him that he’s good to go. If it happens, it’ll be very intriguing to see how long he goes and how effective he’ll be. It’ll certainly be one of the future Hall-of-Famer’s biggest tests of his career — and doing so at age-37, no less.

Either way, it’s tough to win games when the offense lies dormant for most of it and that was the case for the Braves. All of the runs today were scored via the long ball, but Atlanta was unable to really do much of anything to Tarik Skubal while he was out there (outside of Sean Murphy’s homer) and then only Ozzie Albies’s ninth-inning dinger kept the score respectable in the end. The offense will have to be more consistent — easier said than done, I know, but it’s the Postseason. The job’s gotta get done.

Either way, Weiss tipped his cap to Skubal and the performance he put on against Atlanta’s lineup today. “[Skubal] looked like he was in top form today. He’s obviously a really good pitcher. Yeah, he was tough,” said Weiss when he was asked about Skubal’s start. “We knew it was going to be a rough ride, but yeah, he did a helluva job.”

It’s not going to get much easier going forward considering the quality of LA’s pitching staff but again, there’s no choice but to execute and the lineup has to get better going forward. Momentum is a bit overrated in my opinion but hopefully what the Braves were able to do in the ninth inning of Game 1 will carry over to Game 2. Otherwise, Atlanta might be in a hole once they return to Cobb County. We’ll see what happens, folks.

After a well-deserved week of rest, the Milwaukee Brewers are finally set to start their postseason action. A week filled with preparation, simulated games and workouts all leads up to the Crew’s first ever postseason matchup against the San Diego Padres.

The Brewers will have their ace on the mound in Jacob Misiorowski. The leading NL Cy Young contender, Misiorowski led the league in ERA (1.80) and strikeouts (252). The Padres will have the veteran left-hander Robbie Ray on the bump. Ray pitched to a 3.59 ERA this year, making 30 starts. He was a deadline acquisition from the San Francisco Giants. In Ray’s nine starts with the Padres, he had a 5.02 ERA.

The Padres used their two best starters to get through the Cubs in the Wild Card series. We’ll see just how deep into the game the Padres are looking to have Ray go against this Brewers lineup.

Even though there’s a left-handed starter on the mound, Pat Murphy elected to not put Andrew Vaughn in the starting lineup and went with Christian Yelich as the DH. When asked for the calculus as to why, Murphy said “I don’t think there’s calculus involved in that one.” Referring to Yelich’s body of work over his career as a large factor in the decision.

Murphy went on to say that Jake Bauers is still dealing with the toe and shin injuries and that if Bauers were 100% healthy, that he could have been an option in the outfield and put Vaughn at first. But the “risk of less defense” led him to keep Bauers at first base and put Lara in right.

That wasn’t the only interesting lineup decision from Murphy for Game 1. Cooper Pratt is batting 6th in the starting lineup, marking the first time in his young career that he has started higher than 7th. Pratt has been hitting .315 with a .794 OPS over the last 28 days, so he’s on a hot streak.

“You’re considering the other team, your own team, your individual player, his psyche, the options it gives you later, the mindset of who’s pitching” Murphy said. “We feel like with what we’re facing, Cooper is the best option there and letting Joey [Ortiz] hit down in the order.”

Brandon Woodruff also shared an update pregame that he will start throwing off a mound soon, though he does not have an exact date. The earliest he could possibly return would be if the Brewers made it to the World Series.

The Padres are staggering four lefties throughout their lineup against Jacob Misiorowski: Dustin Harris (2nd), Jackson Merrill (5th), Ethan Salas (7th) and Jake Cronenworth (9th). But mixed in between are some heavy hitters with Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, Ty France, Xander Bogaerts, and Luis Campusano.

Game 1 is here. The Brewers have their ace on the mound and need him to set the tone. We’ve seen Misiorowski step up in big moments before, and the energy of the playoffs will light up the radar gun.

The squad behind Miz for Game 1

📺: FS1
📻: WTMJ#WinOurWaypic.twitter.com/vhpRsYviGp

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) October 3, 2026

It’s about that time. pic.twitter.com/KFazHKGN3N

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 3, 2026

Though the Dodgers would eventually break open the game via the long ball, and despite the Atlanta Braves being forced to throw a bullpen game coming out of a taxing wild-card round, Game 1 of the National League Division Series began as a pitching duel.

Braves left-hander Dylan Dodd held the Dodgers to just two hits through three scoreless innings. But Dodgers left-handed starter Tarik Skubal was even more impressive, despite the heat. He set the Dodgers up for a 5-3 victory to take control of the series.

“A really good starting rotation obviously is really helpful, but it is very impactful for quality of life,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said before the game. “We have gone through years where our starting rotation hasn’t been as good. In ’24 that wasn’t a strength of our roster. We won the World Series. The quality of life is way more difficult than being able to pencil in a Skubal, a [Blake] Snell, a [Yoshinobu Yamamoto], and a [Tyler Glasnow.]”

The temperature at first pitch was 100 degrees, and still climbing, making it the second-hottest recorded first-pitch temperature in postseason history, behind only Game 1 of the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Astros (103), according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The announced attendance was over 50,000, but far fewer fans were in their seats in the dangerous temperatures.

Skubal’s command wasn’t at its sharpest in the first inning, with his changeup consistently missing high. But he adjusted before the second and went on to limit the Braves to one run through six innings.

The difference was clear when contrasting Braves leadoff hitter Drake Baldwin’s first and second at-bats against Skubal.

Skubal fell behind with his first pitch of the game, a fastball below the zone. He worked back, with another fastball for a strike and a foul-tipped changeup low and away. But then, in a two-strike count, Skubal missed his spot, giving Baldwin a thigh-high changeup that he could drive.

That sharp single through the middle of the infield was one of just two hits he gave up Saturday. And after it, he retired 15 straight batters.

By the time Skubal faced Baldwin again, with two outs in the third, his whole arsenal was dialed in. Four of the last five outs he’d recorded were strikeouts, with a different putaway pitch for each: slider, sinker, curveball, changeup.

This time, Skubal was the aggressor, getting to a 0-2 count with a slider and sinker inside. Then Baldwin avoided chasing a pair of sliders to even the count. Skubal came back inside with a fastball that Baldwin fouled off.

So, to end the at-bat, Skubal went to his signature changeup, which he’d regained feel for the previous inning. It dove out of the bottom of the strikezone, and Baldwin swung through it, ending the inning on a strikeout.

Skubal strutted off the mound, hit the palm of his glove twice, and slapped hands with catcher Will Smith.

Skubal didn’t allow another baserunner until the sixth inning, when Sean Murphy launched a top-rail sinker for a solo homer.

The Dodgers’ lead, however, remained intact. Two innings earlier Dodgers left fielder Teoscar Hernández broke up the scoreless tie with a two-run homer.

Hernández knows how to fire up a crowd in a big postseason moment. And he seized his chance when he got a cutter down the middle from Braves reliever Victor Mederos. Hernández tossed his bat back toward the home dugout, and it sliced through the air end-over-end.

With the Dodgers’ lead cut to one run, Skubal labored through the rest of the sixth inning, issuing a pair of walks, his first of the game. Smith and pitching coach Mark Prior came out for separate mound visits. But manager Dave Roberts stayed in his seat and trusted his Game 1 starter to face Braves cleanup hitter Matt Olson for a third time.

Skubal escaped the inning by getting Olson to chase an outside fastball and fly out to left field.

In the bottom half of the inning, the Dodgers’ bats came alive. Right fielder Kyle Tucker, in his first postseason game as a Dodger, hit a two-run home run. And Max Muncy joined in with a solo homer of his own.

Dodgers relievers Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia each retired the side in order, in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively. Lefty Tanner Scott, whom Roberts plans to use in a fireman role, surrendered a two-run homer to Ozzie Albies in the ninth. But right-hander Evan Phillips came in to record the final out.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

The Braves had a mountain to climb as heavy underdogs against Tarik Skubal and the Death Star Dodgers, with a bullpen game opened by Dylan Dodd on tap.

The story of the first couple innings was a horrid strike zone being called by home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz. There was a flurry of challenges and missed calls against both teams, but it was really an embarrassment for MLB on this big of a stage. Dylan Dodd matched Skubal with 3.0 scoreless innings on 4 strikeouts, throwing 46 pitches. That’s a massive performance from Dodd, following in Ray Kerr’s footsteps from Thursday.

Skubal continued to cruise through the fourth with a little bit of BABIP luck, while Victor Mederos took over for Atlanta. The Mederos experience did not go well, as he recorded one out before walking Freeman on four pitches and giving up a massive two-run homer to Teoscar Hernandez. He then allowed a bloop single to Tucker before giving way to Smith-Shawver. AJ did well to stabilize things, keeping it at 2-0 going into the sixth inning. Sean Murphy brought one back with a big solo homer off of a 99 MPH Skubal sinker at the top of the zone to lead off the sixth.

Sean Murphy gets a run back for the Braves! pic.twitter.com/gnYVw8YD7A

— MLB (@MLB) October 3, 2026

Ha-Seong Kim chipped in with a walk, following Murphy, driving up Skubal’s pitch count and giving them a baserunner for the top of the order. Baldwin and Acuna chopped out, but avoided the double play. Ozzie was able to draw a walk, with Skubal struggling for command a bit. Olson flied out after a decent AB to end the inning, but the Braves now were only down by 1 run and had Skubal’s pitch count up near 100. Unfortunately, AJ allowed a single and two homers to Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy, giving the Dodgers a strong 5-1 lead in the bottom of the sixth and giving Murphy’s homer right back and more. The decision to leave Smith-Shawver in long enough to see Tucker and especially Muncy is definitely a debatable one, given what was a close game coming into the inning.

The Braves offense didn’t have anything to offer against the first arm out of the LA bullpen and sent the game on to the bottom of the seventh. Brent Suter got the bottom of the inning, perhaps with an eye towards covering multiple innings in the absence of offense. Suter worked around a Freeman single to get the job done in a scoreless inning, but the Braves were running out of time to show up on offense. The offense instead put up another 1-2-3 frame in the eighth and Suter came back out for another frame and continued to do his job with a scoreless frame.

Ronald singled to lead off the ninth against Tanner Scott and Ozzie hit a homer swinging from the right side to give the Braves a glimmer of hope now down 5-3 with no outs in the ninth. Olson and Harris gave Scott two quick groundouts, but the Dodgers went to Evan Phillips to face Dubon for the platoon split out of the bullpen. Dubon drew a walk, making Austin Riley the tying run at the plate with two outs in the ninth. Austin took a hanging breaking ball at the start of his plate appearances and grounded out to end the game.

There are fair questions to ask about the lack of urgency in terms of bullpen management from Weiss, but 3 runs seems unlikely to win a game against the Dodgers in a bullpen game started by Dylan Dodd. Perhaps the Braves win this game with more aggressive bullpen management when they got within one run with Skubal departing, but we still need to see more from the offense for this season to be winnable. Two home runs from Murphy and Albies is an encouraging sign to that point. We also really need a better home plate umpire.

Join us again tomorrow at 8 PM ET for a critical Game 2 before the series heads back to Atlanta.

LOS ANGELES — It took a while for the Dodgers offense to get going, but they eventually did feast on the underbelly of the Atlanta Braves relief corps, backing a strong start by Tarik Skubal in a 5-3 win in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on a toasty Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.

Injuries and ineffectiveness wreaked havoc on the Braves rotation down the stretch, and they needed the full three games to beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the wild card game. So Saturday was always going to be a scramble for Atlanta.

“The advantage for us is we have an opportunity to not let their pitching staff come up for air, and how do you do that? You have to exhaust the starter,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Friday. “You have to get in their pen, and you have to have them deploy arms as soon as possible and get that carousel going and continue to beat starters. Then you can suffocate them.”

But the Braves got three scoreless innings and four strikeouts out of left-hander Dylan Dodd to open Game 1 against the Dodgers in what had to be a best-case scenario, similar to the 10-out shot in the arm provided by Ray Kerr on Thursday night to beat Philadelphia.

The suffocating began once Dodd left.

Freddie Freeman walked with one out in the fourth off right-hander Victor Mederos, then Teoscar Hernández smashed a two-run home run into the left field pavilion to open the scoring.

ALL EYES ON TEOSCAR. pic.twitter.com/JCf9KweGs8

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 3, 2026

The home run by Hernández traveled 431 feet, long enough to satisfy a requirement for fans to sign up to receive a free soft drink out of the deal, as Dodger Stadium public address announcer Todd Leitz announced to the crowd during the pitching change shortly after Hernández’s (baja) blast.

Production from corner outfielders was a problem for the Dodgers for most of the season. But beginning with an August 30 home run in Detroit, Hernández ended his season on a hot streak, with 10 extra-base hits while hitting .352/.433/.582 with a 179 wRC+ over his last 25 games of the regular season.

Hernández also singled in the sixth inning off AJ Smith-Shawver, bringing up Kyle Tucker, who similarly came alive in September, hitting .262/.354/.536 with a 140 wRC+ and six home runs. Tucker also hit a two-run home run, just his sixth at Dodger Stadium all year compared to 12 long balls hit on the road.

Max Muncy added a solo shot, also in the sixth inning off Smith-Shawver, to widen the Dodgers lead. Muncy’s 17 postseason home runs are the most in Dodgers history, as are his 143 home runs at Dodger Stadium in the regular season and postseason combined.

---

Skubal’s first postseason start with the Dodgers — and the first time in seven career postseason starts that he pitched at home — was a good one, with seven strikeouts in his six innings.

“The biggest thing with him is just his presence of commanding the ball,” Game 2 starter Blake Snell said of Skubal on Saturday. “If he’s throwing it and he’s confident, it’s going to be a tough day for any offense.”

Atlanta got just two hits off Skubal, a single by leadoff batter Drake Baldwin in the first inning, then a solo home run by Sean Murphy to open the sixth. In between, Skubal retired 15 in a row. The sixth was the only truly taxing inning for Skubal, who had only one three-ball count in the first five innings but had three in the sixth inning, including walks of Ha-Seong Kim and Ozzie Albies.

Both were stranded, but the 28-pitch inning ended Skubal’s outing on a 100-degree day in Los Angeles, the second-hottest postseason game in Dodger Stadium history.

Skubal has lasted at least six innings in all seven of his career postseason starts, with a minuscule 1.97 ERA with 63 strikeouts (a 37-percent strikeout rate) against only seven unintentional walks in 45 2/3 innings. Pretty much exactly what the Dodgers hoped for when they traded for him in August.

Brock Stewart in the seventh and Alex Vesia in the eighth each pitched perfect innings. Tanner Scott ran into some trouble in the ninth, allowing a leadoff single to Ronald Acuña Jr. before Ozzie Albies hit a two-run shot to cut the Dodgers lead in half. Scott retired his next two batters before giving way to Evan Phillips.

Phillips, who has 46 career saves with the Dodgers and has never allowed a run in his now 13 postseason appearances, walked Mauricio Dubón before inducing an Austin Riley groundout to record his first postseason save.

Notes

• The Dodgers improved to 25-8 (.758) when hitting at least three home runs in a postseason game, including wins in their last six such games dating back to the 2024 World Series.
• Since 2013, the Game 1 winner in the Division Series has won 42 of 52 series (.808).

NLDS Game 1 particulars

Home runs: Teoscar Hernández (1), Kyle Tucker (1); Sean Murphy (1), Ozzie Albies (2)

WP — Tarik Skubal (1-0): 6 IP, 2 hits, 1 run, 2 walks, 7 strikeouts

LP — Victor Mederos (0-1): 1/3 IP, 2 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk

Sv — Evan Phillips (1): 1/3 IP, 1 walk

Up next

The Dodgers tapped another left-hander in Blake Snell to start Game 2 on Sunday evening (5:03 p.m., FS1). The Braves might go with ace left-hander Chris Sale, but after heavy usage this week might not decide that until Sunday morning to see how Sale feels, manager Walt Weiss said Saturday.

Today marks Dave Winfield’s 75th birthday.

Winfield enjoyed a remarkable 22-year Major League Baseball career, earning a spot in the Hall of Fame and playing a memorable season with the Blue Jays.

In 1992, at age 40, Dave joined the Blue Jays as a free agent. The team was strong but lacked a designated hitter, a role Winfield filled exceptionally well. He hit .290/.377/.491, producing 26 home runs and 108 RBI. Batting cleanup behind Devon White and Roberto Alomar—who frequently reached base—Winfield was in a prime position to drive in runs. Notably, he batted .303/.419/.545 with runners in scoring position.

Winfield emerged as a vocal leader for the team. In 1992, when Jays fans were seen as too quiet and polite, he famously encouraged them to make more noise—a moment later written about by Minor Leaguer.

Winfield, along with Joe Carter, once played a practical joke on rookie Derek Bell by pretending to give away his car as a prize on Fan Appreciation Day.

Winfield developed a reputation for struggling in the playoffs. George Steinbrenner dubbed him ‘Mr. April,’ a play on Reggie Jackson’s ‘Mr. October’ nickname. Winfield notably struggled in the 1981 World Series, going just 1-for-22 during the Yankees’ six-game loss to the Dodgers.

With the Blue Jays, Winfield performed better in the postseason. He hit .250/.357/.542 with 2 home runs in 6 ALCS games against the A’s. In the World Series against the Braves, he hit .227/.292/.273 with 3 RBI, and ultimately earned his only World Series ring.

Over his career, Winfield hit .283/.353/.475 with 465 home runs across 2,973 games. He was an excellent defensive right fielder, possessed good speed (stealing 223 bases), and was always entertaining to watch.

Happy birthday, Dave!

---

Today is Darrin Fletcher’s 60th birthday.

Darrin spent 14 seasons as a Major League catcher, including five with the Blue Jays and six with the Expos.

Fletcher joined the Blue Jays as a free agent prior to the 1998 season. In 1997, the team’s catcher, Benito Santiago, hit .243/.279/.387, highlighting the need for an upgrade.

The left-handed hitting Fletcher batted .276/.318/.434 with 61 home runs in 540 games as a Blue Jay. His best season came in 2000, when he posted a .320/.355/.514 line with 20 home runs. The following year saw a decline, as he hit .226/.274/.353 with 11 homers. He played 45 games in 2002 before retiring.

Over his career, Fletcher hit .269/.318/.423 with 124 home runs in 1,245 games.

He was regarded as a solid hitter but a below-average defensive catcher, particularly due to his weaker arm. It’s difficult to assess how well he handled his pitchers.

Fletcher also worked as a TV analyst for Jays broadcasts. I thought he did a good job, perhaps in part because he wasn’t on air for 150 games a year—so we never had a chance to tire of him.

Happy birthday, Darrin!

---

Today is Junior Felix’s 59th birthday.

Well, perhaps he’s turning 59—rumours circulated that Felix was older than he claimed. In those days, fake birth certificates were common in the Dominican Republic. Younger prospects had an advantage: a 17-year-old with the physique and skills of a 22-year-old would be seen as having greater growth potential, whereas at 22, teams expected less development.

Some believe he could have been as much as ten years older than his reported age.

So, today might be his birthday—or it might not.

Regardless…

Junior Felix was an outfield prospect for the Jays. After the team traded Jesse Barfield to the Yankees for Al Leiter in April, opening up a spot in the outfield for Felix.

In 1989, Felix hit .258/.315/.395 with 9 home runs, 8 triples, and 18 stolen bases over 110 games, primarily in right field. The Jays made the playoffs that year, and Felix went 3-for-11 in the three-game series loss to the A’s.

The next season, Felix hit .263/.328/.441 with 15 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 127 games. At just 22 years old—or so it was believed—I thought we had a promising outfielder for the future. It’s funny how quickly a player can become a favorite.

After that season, the Jays traded Felix and Luis Sojo to the Angels for Devon White, Willie Fraser, and Marcus Moore. I recall not being thrilled with the move. At 28, White had hit .247/.295/.389 over six seasons with the Angels, and despite his defense and speed, I didn’t see him as an upgrade. I was mistaken.

Felix played four more MLB seasons, batting .266/.313/.408 with 31 home runs in 348 games. Meanwhile, White won two World Series rings with the Jays. In hindsight, it’s safe to say the trade worked out well.

Happy birthday, Junior!

Here’s your thread for the two Division Series night games today.

5:30 p.m. CT: Yankees at Rays

TV: TBS, truTV, HBO Max. Announcers: Brian Anderson, Jeff Francoeur and Lauren Shehadi.

Gerrit Cole, RHP vs. Drew Rasmussen, RHP

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

7:30 p.m. CT: Padres at Brewers

TV: FS1. Announcers: Adam Amin, Adam Wainwright, A.J. Pierzynski (analyst) and Tom Verducci.

Robbie Ray, LHP vs. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

The Yankees will kick off the Division Series from Tampa, with Gerrit Cole on the mound and Ben Rice leading off as the Bombers look to continue the chase for 28.

Going with yet another lefty-heavy lineup, the Yankees are going with Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, Spencer Jones in right field, and Luis García Jr. at first over Paul Goldschmidt. The veteran first baseman may appear as a pinch-hitter, as may Giancarlo Stanton, who is on the roster again but won’t start.

Drew Rasmussen will get his second career postseason outing for the Rays, looking for a hot start to the series in Tampa Bay. The 31-year-old righty had a 2.67 ERA in 30 starts during the regular season. He’s posting a 2.86 ERA against the Yankees this season, allowing 14 hits and giving up seven earned runs in 22 innings.

We hope that you’ll come join us in the game thread as we kick off another postseason matchup as the Yankees race for the American League!

How to watch

Location: Tropicana Field – St. Petersburg, FL

First pitch: 6:30 p.m. ET

TV broadcast: TBS/TruTV

Streaming: HBO Max

Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | 95.7 FM / 620 AM, WESX 1230 AM (TB) ESPN Radio (national)

For updates, follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.

Game 1 at the Trop. #RepBXpic.twitter.com/f8f3Fx9CJQ

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 3, 2026

October Opener

👀: TBS/HBO Max
👂: 95.7 WDAE pic.twitter.com/wXDTfBi1xQ

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 3, 2026

Former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax made an appearance at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3.

The Dodgers were taking on the Atlanta Braves in the first game of the National League Division Series.

Koufax was among those in the crowd to watch the game up close with a seat in the second row despite the brutal heat in Los Angeles. The 90-year-old has frequently attended postseason games and the World Series in recent years. The Dodgers have an opportunity to complete a World Series three-peat this year.

It was 102 degrees, according to AccuWeather, during the bottom of the fifth inning in Los Angeles. There was a RealFeel of 106, with a wind gust of nine MPH.

The temperature was just under the record-high 108-degree day set in 1987. AccuWeather notes that the "extreme heat can be dangerous for outdoor activities."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 90-year-old Sandy Koufax braves 100 degree heat at Dodger Stadium

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have struck first in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.

The bats were kept quiet for most of Braves opener Dylan Dodd's three innings pitched as he managed to keep pace with Tarik Skubal on the opposing mound, but the Dodgers offense wasted no time in getting after Victor Mederos once the 25-year-old righty checked into the game in the bottom of the fourth.

Freddie Freeman worked a four-pitch walk, the first of the game by either team, before Teoscar Hernández jumped on a cutter down the middle, flipped his bat high in the air and admired the ball as it sailed a towering 431 feet halfway up the left-field pavilion seats at Dodger Stadium for a two-run home run.

ALL EYES ON TEOSCAR. pic.twitter.com/JCf9KweGs8

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 3, 2026

Kyle Tucker followed Hernández up with a base hit, after which Mederos was pulled from the game after throwing just 11 pitches.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teoscar Hernández's dramatic home run puts Dodgers up on Braves

In Los Angeles, they’re lining up multi-Cy Young Award winners and a World Series hero named Yoshinobu Yamamoto, ready to hang zeroes for the Dodgers. Over in the other dugout, Chris Sale lurks, a future Hall of Famer giving the Atlanta Braves a chance.

In St. Petersburg, the visiting New York Yankees are so pitching-rich that Gerrit Cole didn’t even need to pitch in the wild-card round, while he and presumed Cy Young winner Cam Schlittler will square off against a pair of Tampa Bay Rays All-Stars in Games 1 and 2 of their American League Division Series.

In Milwaukee, The Miz towers over this entire postseason, a 6-7 fireballer who has learned to stretch his 102-mph Dairyland cheese across six innings.

And in Cleveland, the American League strikeout leader and a dominant rookie left-hander made the Guardians prohibitive favorites in their ALDS.

The Chicago White Sox also showed up. With five relievers in a trench coat, impersonating a starting pitcher.

And the formula remains perfect so far in this postseason.

Forget the Pope. Papal power is no match for one booming home run from Munetaka Murakami and a fantastic pitching plan, executed perfectly by manager Will Venable. And in Game 1 of this ALDS Saturday, Oct. 3 at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, the White Sox showed they were for real-for real in this playoff field, recording a 3-0 victory over their Central rival Guardians.

This was a fantastic ballgame, befitting a pennant race that saw the 85-77 Guardians eke ahead of the 84-win White Sox at the end.

No biggie. The White Sox lost 121 games just two years ago, 102 last year. Now?

It feels like anything’s possible.

How could it not? This game ended with Grant Taylor, the White Sox’s sometimes-closer who never pitched more than 2⅔ innings this season, logging a four-inning save, striking out six and walking nobody.

The White Sox have now played three playoff games. They have never trailed. Nor has one of their starting pitchers recorded more than 12 outs.

Their winning pitchers? Relievers Jordan Hicks, Anthony Kay and Bryan Hudson, two of them earning Ws thanks to “scorer’s discretion.”

And why not? Hudson was the winner Saturday simply by recording the final out of the third inning, bailing starter (or, “starter”) Hagen Smith out of a bases-loaded jam. Biggest moment of the game, or at least it was until moments later, when Murakami destroyed a Messick pitch, sending it 440 feet into the Progressive Field right field seats. If anyone still doubted Murakami after his 35-homer season, 112 mph off the bat will, in fact, play.

Then again, you can’t shortchange what Taylor did. He won seven games and saved 10 this season, at least until the White Sox figured out his ability to punch dudes out (11.4 per nine innings) qualified him for “whenever we need him most” duty.

 Saturday, that moment came in the sixth inning, when Venable handed him the ball and a 2-0 lead. He never gave it back.

“Incredible. Grant has been our guy the entire year,” Venable said in his postgame press conference in Cleveland. “We go into that one not expecting four innings from him.

“But he was just so efficient, kept going, wanted the ball in the ninth there. Just weren’t comfortable with the cushion to go elsewhere. But he wanted the ball. He was efficient.

“I don’t know what else to say about him. He’s a beast out there. Some incredible stuff from Grant.”

As the game reached the top of the ninth, Taylor told reporters, he did not get a look from Venable that said, “you’re done.” So he went into the tunnel. Pitching coach Zach Bove came down and a wordless exchange ensued.

Bove gave him a look that Taylor says means, “How do you feel? What do you got?”

Taylor nodded. And finished the game.

“I think that’s the mentality – this is my game, while I’m on the mound,” says Taylor. “My job, at this point, is to go as deep as they let me and hand it off to the next guy.”

The next guy – Sean Newcomb, in this case – was never needed. And that brings us to the Game 2 pitching plan.

Predictably, Venable has an idea but nothing concrete. Sean Burke, their most starter-ish starting pitcher, will figure in; he ate up four innings in Game 2 of the wild-card series.

And this might concern the Guardians: The ALDS has a day off between Games 1 and 2, a wrinkle that’s supposed to benefit the team with superior starting pitching, what with two horses able to pitch Games 1 and 2 and then 4 and 5, if needed.

Yet this day off will allow the White Sox bullpen to reload. Taylor threw 42 pitches; it’d be yeoman’s work if he raised his hand again come Monday.

And there’s still the question of whether this is sustainable. October is just beginning. Diminishing returns from bullpens are littered through postseason history.

The White Sox can’t worry about that. This unpredictable ride wasn’t even supposed to happen. And the White Sox are getting by just fine, proving that just a little is more than enough.

“If we score one run,” Murakami said through his interpreter, “I have confidence we can win the game.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How dynamite Chicago White Sox have stayed perfect in MLB playoffs

The Milwaukee Brewers host the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night, opening the best-of-five clash.

Milwaukee won 103 games in the regular season and had the best record in Major League Baseball – earning a bye to this round – while San Diego swept the Chicago Cubs in the best-of-three wild card series to reach the NLDS.

"I think both teams are probably trying to play the same game – get out to an early lead and let the bullpen handle it the rest of the way," Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters. "They have a great one from the last guy to the first guy that's how we feel about our bullpen too. It will be a tough series. It will probably be a lot of close games because of that."

The Padres and Brewers are two of the five MLB organizations that have never won a World Series title, along with the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners. San Diego last made the Fall Classic in 1998 and the Brewers' only appearance came back in 1982.

Where to watch Padres vs Brewers today: TV channel, live stream

• Game time: 8:30 p.m. ET
• TV channel: FS1 and Fox Deportes
• Live stream: Fubo and Fox One

Watch Padres-Brewers on Fubo

Padres vs Brewers prediction

• Bob Nightengale: Brewers in 5
• Gabe Lacques: Brewers in 5
• Kristie Ackert: Padres in 5
• Jesse Yomtov: Brewers in 4

Brewers vs Padres schedule

• Game 1 (Saturday, Oct. 3): At Milwaukee, 8:30 p.m. ET
• Game 2 (Sunday, Oct. 4): At Milwaukee, 4 p.m. ET
• Game 3 (Tuesday, Oct. 6): At San Diego, 9:30 p.m. ET
• Game 4 (Wednesday, Oct. 7)*: At San Diego, 10 p.m. ET
• Game 5 (Friday, Oct. 9)*: At Milwaukee, 4:30 p.m. ET

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brewers vs Padres score, LIVE updates, where to watch NLDS Game 1 today

Our editors independently choose our recommendations. Some content is produced with paid support from a third party, however our editorial decisions remain independent. If you buy through our links, the USA TODAY Network may earn a commission. Prices and availability may change.