Baseball News
Four games today? Four games today!
Let’s talk about all the goodness.
With a win tonight, the Braves can head to Los Angeles all tied up.
Walt Weiss is hoping another new batting order will provide the offensive spark to wake up an offense that needs to win to reach Game 5.
Center fielder Michael Harris II will lead off for Atlanta, followed by Ronald Acuña Jr., who returns to right field after a late switch to DH following reports of a sore knee. First baseman Matt Olson remains in the third spot. Ozzie Albies is slated to hit cleanup. Drake Baldwin drops down several spots to hit fifth as the designated hitter. Mike Yastrzemski gets the start in left field while Mauricio Dubón mans shortstop. Austin Riley is at his usual base and set to bat eighth and Sean Murphy will catch for Tyler Mahle and hit ninth.
Dave Roberts is going all in on alternating-handedness for today’s lineup. Mookie Betts continues to lead off and play shortstop. Freddie Freeman moves up from third to second as one of two Dodgers with two home runs off starter Tyler Mahle. Will Smith will bat third and catch for Tyler Glasnow. Shohei Ohtani’s stint batting fifth was brief, as he moves up to cleanup today. Teoscar Hernández is in left field and hitting fifth, followed by third baseman Max Muncy. The bottom of the order is second baseman Kiké Hernández, right fielder Kyle Tucker, and center fielder Andy Pages.
Per The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, BravesVision’s Brandon Gaudin will be on the call tonight filling in for Joe Davis.
We’ve seen the Braves rise to the occasion when under pressure, the most recent instance being last week’s Game 3 to eliminate the Philadelphia Phillies. Can this team fire on all cylinders to extend their season?
This will be the last day of 2026 in which there will be four MLB games. This thread is for the first two, Game 3 of the Guardians/White Sox ALDS and Game 4 of the Dodgers/Braves NLDS.
Another thread will post at 6:30 p.m. CT for the two night games.
TV: TBS, truTV, HBO Max (streaming). Announcers: Alex Faust, Ron Darling and Lauren Jbara.
Daniel Espino, RHP vs. Sean Newcomb, LHP
Baseball-reference.com preview
TV: FS1. Announcers: Joe Davis, John Smoltz and Ken Rosenthal.
Tyler Glasnow, RHP vs. Tyler Mahle, RHP
Here’s the Guardians’ lineup:
Here’s the White Sox lineup:
Let’s go, Guardians!
The day of judgment may be at hand for teams today. The League Championship Series could be determined today as the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays aim for a three-game series sweep over their opponents. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers each have a 2-1 lead in the series over their opponents.
There is a lot of important baseball being played today. It should be a good day.
As a reminder, the ALDS games will be on TBS/HBO Max and the NLDS games will be on FS1/ Fox One.
And now to the details. We’ll add lineups as they become available.
Pitching Matchup: RHP Daniel Espino (0-0, 4.11 ERA) vs. RHP Sean Newcomb (2-5, 3.09 ERA)
SB Nation Sites:Southside Sox, Covering the Corner
Lineups:
Pitching Matchup: RHP Tyler Glasnow (5-2, 3.53 ERA) vs RHP Tyler Mahle (7-10, 3.99 ERA)
SB Nation Sites:True Blue LA, Battery Power
Lineups:
Pitching Matchup: RHP Nick Martinez (15-6, 3.10 ERA) vs. LHP Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA)
SB Nation Sites:Pinstripe Alley, DRaysBay
Lineups:
Pitching Matchup: LHP Robert Gasser (5-5, 3.87) vs RHP Walker Buehler (9-6, 4.63 ERA)
SB Nation Sites:Brew Crew Ball, Gaslamp Ball
Lineups:
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The Dodgers are back in Atlanta for Game 4 of the NLDS on Wednesday, needing just one more win to clinch the series. After getting to Chris Sale in Game 3, the Dodgers will face right-hander Tyler Mahle, who has turned heads since being acquired at the trade deadline from the San Francisco Giants.
After batting fifth in the starting lineup for the first time as a Dodger, Shohei Ohtani will once again be hitting in the middle third of the order, this time moving up to the cleanup spot with Teoscar Hernández sliding down to the fifth spot in the order.
Max Muncy makes his first start this series since batting 8th in Game 1 against left-hander Dylan Dodd, this time batting sixth in the lineup with Miguel Rojas getting the day off after dealing with bat tightness. The hero of Game 3 on offense, Kiké Hernández, makes his second straight start, this time batting seventh while getting the start at second base. Kyle Tucker once again hits in the 8 spot while Andy Pages rounds things out after a multi-hit performance.
Runs have been hard to come by so far this series, as the Dodgers have plated just 10 combined runs over their first three postseason games, all of which have come via home runs. The main Achilles heel for the Dodgers has been their consistent inability to produce with runners in scoring position, as the team is 0-13 in those situations. The Braves, to their credit, have managed to get one hit with runners in scoring position, albeit across 14 at-bats, and have combined to score just eight runs over the first three games.
The Dodgers have fared well in previous matchups against Mahle, as the right-hander has a combined 3-3 record with a 3.15 ERA. Most of the damage came when Mahle was still with the Cincinnati Reds, and in his most recent start against the Dodgers back when he was with San Francisco, he shut them down over seven shutout innings in a 3-0 Giants win on April 22. Since joining Atlanta, Mahle finished the regular season with a 1.99 ERA and limited the Philadelphia Phillies to just one run in his most recent Wild Card start.
There are four — count ‘em, four — LDS games going on today.
The White Sox host the Guardians in the early game, with Chicago in position to sweep and move on to the ALCS with a win. Its a 3 p.m. Central start on TBS.
The Braves host the Dodgers in the late afternoon game. Los Angeles is up 2-1, so the Braves need to win in order to force a game five in L.A. The game starts at 5 p.m. and is on FS1.
The Yankees, down 0-2, host the Rays in the early evening game. It is on TBS and starts at 7 p.m. Central.
Finally, the Brewers, up 2-1, play in San Diego against the Padres in the late game. It is a 9 p.m. start on FS1.
Talk about the games here.
Yoshinobu Yamamato starred for the Dodgers on Tuesday as they took a 2-1 lead over the Braves. The Padres scrapped their way to a victory to avoid elimination by the Brewers as starter Michael King filled in for ace closer Mason Miller, who is on paternity leave. On Wednesday, all four series are back in action, and four teams face elimination. The Guardians, Yankees, Padres, and Braves are all in a tight spot here and have to win or go home.
Here are the matchups for Wednesday, October 7.
Cleveland Guardians at Chicago White Sox (2-0): 4:00 p.m. ET, TBS
RHP Daniel Espino vs LHP Sean Newcomb
Los Angeles Dodgers (2-1) at Atlanta Braves: 6:00 p.m. ET, FS1
RHP Tyler Glasnow vs. RHP Tyler Mahle
Tampa Bay Rays (2-0) at New York Yankees: 8:00 p.m. ET, TBS
RHP Nick Martinez vs. LHP Max Fried
Milwaukee Brewers (2-1) at San Diego Padres: 10:00 p.m. ET, FS1
TBD vs RHP Walker Buehler
White Sox lead, 2-0
First pitch: 4:00 PM EDT
TV: TBS/HBO MAX
Probable pitchers: Sean Newcomb, LHP (CWS), Daniel Espino, RHP (CLE)
Dodgers lead, 2-1
First pitch: 6:00 PM EDT
TV: FS1/FOX ONE
Probable pitchers: Tyler Glasnow, RHP (LAD); Tyler Mahle, RHP (ATL)
Rays lead, 2-0
First pitch: 8:00 PM EDT
TV: TBS/HBO MAX
Probable pitchers: Max Fried, LHP (NYY), Nick Martinez, RHP (TB)
Brewers lead, 2-1
First pitch: 10:00 PM EDT
TV: FS1/FOX ONE
Probable pitchers: TBD (MIL); Walker Buehler, RHP (SDP)
After an exciting 4-3 victory, the White Sox (84-78) incredibly hold a 2-0 series lead over the Guardians (85-77) in the ALDS. The South Siders are one victory away from advancing to the ALCS, where they have not been since 2005.
Sean Newcomb, 33, will start on the mound for the South Siders. Newcomb posted a 3.09 ERA and a 3.21 FIP in 90 1/3 regular season innings. Newcomb accumulated 1.7 fWAR, a very high single-season total for a relief pitcher. Newcomb pitched 8 1/3 innings against Cleveland in the regular season, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits. In that limited sample, the Guardians posted a .226/.368/.355 slash line against him.
Daniel Espino, 25, is a right-handed pitcher who will open the game against the South Siders. Espino posted a 4.11 ERA and a 3.75 FIP in 15 1/3 innings, resulting in an accumulation of 0.1 fWAR. Espino has pitched two innings and allowed one run against the White Sox. Miguel Vargas got the best of Espino on September 14, when he launched home run No. 31 out of 33 of his season.
Here are today’s starting lineups:
Baseball Reference keeps a statistic called cWPA, or Championship Win Probability Added. In this series, Grant Taylor (+3.42%) leads the way due to his ability to shut down the Guardians and close the first two games. Sean Burke (+3.00%) is No. 2, as his strong performance in Game 2 was crucial. Among hitters, Vargas (+2.81%) is the leader, as he is 2-for-4 with four walks. Munetaka Murakami (+2.07%) is next, which is no surprise, given that he is 3-for-8 with a homer. Up next is Braden Montgomery (+1.53%), who is only 1-for-7, but the lone hit was a clutch double that put the White Sox ahead.
This game is available on TBS and HBO Max, and the first pitch is scheduled to take place at 3:00 p.m. CT. Will the South Siders pick up another postseason series sweep? We will find out soon.
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We’re all in favor of a stirring rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game’’ but it was something else that had the crowd at Petco Park rocking Tuesday, Oct. 6.
A crowd of more than 47,000 sang in unison to “All The Small Things” by Blink-182, a pop-punk band with roots in the San Diego area.
Tom DeLonge, Blink-182's frontman, clearly enjoyed the moment as the crowd belted out one of his band’s hits while the Padres clung to a 4-3 lead over the Milwaukee Brewers heading into the bottom of the eighth.
DeLonge twirled a yellow Padres towel, and when a TV cameraman got close, he belted out a few of the lyrics, too.
The Padres beat the Brewers, 4-3, pulling within 2-1 in the NLDS Series.
It was a critical victory for the Padres and their fans, perhaps best captured by these lyrics from “All the Small Things.’’
Say it ain’t so, I will not goTurn the lights off, carry me home
The Padres will try to even the series Wednesday, Oct. 7, when they play the Brewers in Game 4 at Petco Park.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Padres' fans rock out in Petco Park to hit song in win over Brewers
Diamondbacks News
Arizona Parting Ways with Pitching Coach Brian Kaplan
One of these days, the team will find some stability here.
Kaplan Out After Two Seasons
The last two years have been something of a mixed bag with the team’s pitching.
How the Diamondbacks Will Treat Marte Differently in 2027
Ketel Marte will not have nearly the amount of interference being run for him that he enjoyed in previous seasons.
Diamondbacks Linked to All-Star Outfielder
The Diamondbacks have apparently been linked to impending free agent, Randy Arozarena. Just so everyone knows, I was once tabbed to potentially marry Anne Hathaway one day. I’m pretty sure my chances are still higher than Arizona’s.
Arizona Diamondbacks Arbitration Projections and Tender Decisions
Seems just about everyone is in agreement that Pavin Smith is destined to be non-tendered.
Other Baseball News
The two big game pitchers faced off on Tuesday night while Kike Hernandez did his postseason thing.
Padres Force Game 4
The Brewers may regret not having closed things out. Time will tell.
Previewing the Upcoming Starting Pitcher Free Agent Class
A list of players Arizona will almost certainly not be linked to.
Alex Cora Again Declines Opportunity to Manage Philadelphia
The controversial skipper says he plans to take 2027 off.
The only Dodger more excited for this game than Max Muncy, who finally gets a chance to start once again after sitting against a pair of left-handers, is Tyler Glasnow. Much like the case with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Glasnow will take the ball following a long layoff—having last pitched roughly two weeks ago—only without the same track record of postseason dominance to project total security in his upcoming performance, set to battle his namesake, Tyler Mahle.
Utilizing only two relievers in Game 3, involved in a series in which runs have come at a premium and with off days on either side of the two games in Atlanta, Dave Roberts is likely to manage this game aggressively—if not ready to turn to the bullpen at the first sign of trouble, at the very least unwilling to push the envelope with his starter.
For the superstitious crowd, you’ll be pleased to know that the Dodgers were 6-0 last postseason when Glasnow took the mound, four times as a starter, and a couple more out of the bullpen. Looking back, the perception of his postseason performance was affected by the 11 walks in 21.1 innings, but apart from a shaky Game 3 of the World Series against the Jays, run prevention wasn’t a problem for the former Ray.
Prior to the Game 3 win, the threat of Chris Sale loomed large, almost regardless of how much this team trusted Yamamoto. Mahle, today’s opponent, doesn’t have the track record, but the reality is that through the last months of the season and into the start of the playoffs, few have done it better than the right-hander. And the Dodgers offense isn’t exactly performing at its highest level.
The Yankees of the early 1960s were a behemoth. Led by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in the lineup and Whitey Ford in the rotation, the team was stacked and fearsome, still operating at the peak of its power and winning the AL pennant nearly every year. But championships are not won solely by the top of a roster. Even the most star-studded squad needs contributions from role players to get them over the hump. One of these unheralded contributors was a journeyman lefty who brought his experience to bear in their bullpen.
Leavitt Leo “Bud” Daley
Born: October 7, 1932 (Orange, CA)
Died: October 15, 2024 (Riverton, WY)
Yankees Tenure: 1961-64
Bud Daley grew up in southern California. He came to baseball late, playing his first organized game while enrolled at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach. By his senior year, he was hitting .450 and pitching to an 11-1 record, drawing the attention of the pros. Of the many teams that came calling, he picked Cleveland because their star hurler, future Hall of Famer (and, later, Yankees manager) Bob Lemon was also an alumnus of Woodrow Wilson.
Daley had a rough start to his pro career in 1951, pitching to a 5.54 ERA in 25 appearances with Class-C Bakersfield. He started to straighten things out the following year, winning 14 games with a 3.09 ERA for Class-B Cedar Rapids, but still struggled with control, walking 125 in 227 innings. His improvement was enough to earn him a promotion to Triple-A the following year. He got his free passes in check, and by 1955, at the age of 22, he got the call to the Show.
Daley would spend all three of his years in Cleveland shuttling between the big club and Triple-A, struggling to find a consistent role. In ’58, he was traded to the Orioles as part of a deal that brought back franchise icon Larry Doby for a second act with the club. Baltimore flipped Daly before he could appear for the O’s, this time to the Athletics.
It was in Kansas City that Daley would find his greatest success. After a solid first campaign as a swingman, he joined the rotation in earnest for the ’59 season. It would be the high-water mark of his career. Daley took the decision in 16 of the A’s 66 wins, posting a career-best 3.16 ERA while making both of the year’s All-Star squads and earning down-ballot MVP votes. He’d make the All-Star teams and receive MVP votes again the following year, though perhaps largely on the strength of his breakout the year prior; Daley allowed the most runs in baseball in ’60. His All-Star berths did lead to a career highlight for the 27-year-old, who got to finish off one of the games in front of his hometown fans.
“That was one of the biggest thrills I ever had,” Daley later said. “I came in in the ninth inning to pitch the last inning and the bullpen was in dead center field. I opened the gate and started walking in. From the time I opened the gate until I got to the mound I had a standing ovation the whole way.”
The A’s were sold that offseason to the notoriously stingy Charlie Finley. After Daley got off to a slow start, he found himself on the trading block once again, this time headed to New York.
Daley’s performance was uneven down the stretch, leading to the loss of his regular spot in the rotation. But, come October, he settled into a new role. In Game 3 of the World Series, with both the game and the series knotted at 1-1, Daley entered in a critical spot. Yankees starter Bill Stafford had exited with two outs and two on in the seventh. Yankees manager Ralph Houk called on his southpaw reliever to face the left-handed Vada Pinson. The 23-year-old was one of the game’s most dangerous hitters, having just led all of baseball with 208 hits. Daley got two strikes on Pinson before inducing a fly out to right. It would be the only batter he’d face in an eventual 3-2 victory.
In Game 5, Houk would lean on his swingman for more length. With the Yankees up 6-3 with one out in the third, the skipper brought in Daley. He’d end up going the rest of the way, allowing only two unearned runs in 6.2 innings of work, earning the win as the Yankees clinched the title. Not many players in big-league history can say that they were on the mound when a championship was secured, but for all his days, Daley could.
Daley continued to work primarily out of the bullpen the next season and got another inning of work in the ‘62 Fall Classic, retiring Willie Mays and Willie McCovey to strand two runners in the eighth inning of Game 2. He wrapped up his postseason career without allowing a single earned run in eight innings of work.
Daley made just one appearance in ‘63 before suffering an arm injury that ended his season. He returned the following year but wasn’t the same pitcher. The Yankees traded him back to Cleveland before the ‘65 campaign but he failed to make their roster, hanging up his cleats at the age of 32. Daley and his family retired to Wyoming, where he lived until his passing in 2024.
While he’s far from the first name that comes to mind when remembering the mighty Yankees of the early ‘60s, Daley put together a strong, 10-year career that included excellence in World Series play. Please join us in remembering the legacy of Bud Daley.
See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.
The Atlanta Braves took the field in the home Friday reds on a Tuesday, hoping to take a 2-1 lead in the NLDS in front of a sold-out crowd. Instead, in a rematch of an August marquee pitching matchup, they were stifled by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and couldn’t overcome three runs on a pair of home runs allowed by Chris Sale.
A lack of run support for the Braves ace was unfortunately common for the regular season, but it was especially frustrating in a pivotal Game 3. For all the hand-wringing and Narrative about Braves pitching, the lion’s share of the blame should be focused on an underperforming offense.
“Let It Fly” doesn’t hit as hard when it’s the other team doing it in your park to beat you. Yes, it’s something Walt Weiss said to the team in spring training. That, plus probably a sweet bonus of being a subtle-but-deniable clap back at our Wild Card opponents, makes an amount of sense. But my advice to the marketing team as someone else in the field? It makes for great highlight clips, but maybe give a cursory glance to make sure the season’s offensive numbers and trends can back up the rally cry.
The Braves had a golden opportunity to win and advance at home. But this weird team prefers to do things the hardest of ways, so here we are: on the brink of elimination again for the second time this postseason. What will they do this time with their backs against the wall?
Fighting for a flight to Los Angeles, Tyler Mahle gets the ball for Atlanta. Mahle spun a gem in his playoff debut for the Braves with seven innings of one-run ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the Wild Card series. He surrendered half of his six hits in the first inning, where the one run scored. Otherwise, he walked one and struck out six on 95 pitches. The outing was overshadowed by the extra-innings loss and was all the more remarkable when Weiss revealed that Mahle had felt an abdominal pull prior to starting. But he and Mahle have reiterated it is not an issue for today’s do-or-die game.
Mahle also had a stellar start versus LA back in April as a member of the San Francisco Giants. He outdueled Shohei Ohtani and scattered three hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in seven shutout frames. The Dodgers with the most success against Mahle with an OPS over 1.000 are last night’s architects of defeat in Kiké Hernández and Freddie Freeman, as well as Will Smith. The latter two have a homer apiece off him. Max Muncy is 6-for-19 with a double to account for his .316 AVG and .778 OPS. Otherwise, everyone else drags down the team slash line to .208/.280/300.
The Dodgers will counter with a Tyler of their own. Glasnow has a career 2-6 record with a 4.43 ERA in the postseason. He spent some time on the IL for low back spasms, but owns a 5-2 record with a 3.53 ERA in 13 games in the regular season. He last faced Atlanta in August and gave up three runs on five hits in five innings while striking out seven.
The most ABs against Glasnow on the team belong to Rowdy Tellez, who is 5-for-19 with two doubles and two home runs. The only other Braves with a homer off him is Sean Murphy, which accounts for his one hit in four at-bats. Every Brave has at least one hit except for Ha-Seong Kim and Lane Thomas, but there hasn’t been much success in sub-15 PAs, leading to the .182/.243.303 team slash line.
The Braves have faced a true gauntlet of starting pitching, and you simply have to tip your cap to Yamamoto’s brilliance last night. But they’ve got to hit to win. Get to Glasnow early/often and live to play another day, or else someone else’s champagne will be on ice in your ballpark.
Game Time: Wednesday, October 7, 6:00 pm EDT
Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
Watch: FS1 / FOX ONE
Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM, ESPN Radio