ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 07: A general view between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers during the fourth inning in game four of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 07, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves are heading into an important offseason after another NL East title ended with a disappointing postseason exit. While the team put together a 94 win season, there is still work to be done if Atlanta hopes to make a deeper playoff run in 2027. With plenty to evaluate from the past season, it’s time to look at what went right, what fell short, and what changes could help the Braves get back to the World Series.
MLB News:
Major League Baseball has proposed a shorter regular season and changes to the playoff format. The Players Association is working to review the proposals.
The ALDS is headed to Game 5 after Thursday’s matchup between the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - OCTOBER 03: Manager Aaron Boone #17 of the New York Yankees speaks to the media prior to Game One of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Saturday, October 3, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Ringer | Ben Glicksman: The Yankees have, famously, not beaten a team seeded higher than them in October under Aaron Boone’s leadership*. There are a number of structural problems with the organization, and it’s never entirely clear how much influence any manager has in MLB in 2026, but a case is starting to be made on the beat that it’s time to move on from Boonie. He still has a year on his contract, but any manager on a one-year deal should feel some shaky ground anyway.
*Save for a best-of-three 2020 Wild Card Series in Cleveland with no fans in attendance. Make of that what you will.
New York Daily News | Peter Sblendorio: Anthony Volpe nearly had the biggest moment of the Yankees’ playoff run, a home run that tied the decisive Game 3 at four runs apiece. Upon further review, that fourth run was taken back, and Volpe was sent to second base. It was at best a mercurial season for the former top prospect, who with Jazz Chisholm Jr. set to hit free agency now finds himself as a potential Opening Day starter at second base in 2027, even after losing the shortstop job. (Chisholm says he wants to stay, but at least right now, it seems like it won’t be a match.) On a roster with so many question marks for this winter, Tony Fox is one of the bigger ones.
New York Post | Dan Martin: Speaking of question marks, here’s a helpful list! The biggest cloud to clear is how many games the 2027 season features, as labor strife needs to be resolved before anything else starts to matter. The Yankees have to agree to new contracts with both Brian Cashman and Matt Blake, as well as QO decisions for Chisholm and David Bednar. That’s just the start of the to-do list for a very busy, very uncertain winter.
FanGraphs | Ben Clemens ($): We close with a little more pan-baseball news, as Clemens breaks down the optimal ways to deploy a starting rotation in October. The Chris Sale Wild Card decision loomed large at the time, and didn’t end up mattering in Atlanta’s NLDS loss to the Dodgers. FanGraphs has made their playoff coverage a subscriber-only feature, but it’s still a worthwhile read.
Hagen Smith and Grant Taylor have been all over this American League Division Series for the Chicago White Sox, the rookie Smith starting two games and Taylor saving a pair himself as the papal-powered South Siders pushed their division rivals from Cleveland to the brink of elimination.
Yet like a volatile stock, Smith and Taylor and the White Sox are experiencing the cruel playoff reality of diminishing returns.
And as their stuff flattens out and Guardians hitters get more familiar with their repertoires, a 2-0 ALDS lead evaporated into the black of Rate Field.
Now they’re all in a free fall, with one faint chance to catch themselves.
Odds are, the White Sox’s season ends in a decisive Game 5 Saturday, Oct. 10 at Cleveland’s Progressive Field. It’s been a great run, their climb back from 121- and 102-loss seasons into the playoffs a well-documented, feel-great story.
But minus the horses traditionally associated with playoff teams, the White Sox are trying to head-fake their way through these playoffs with the ever-popular “pitching chaos,” where pretty much everybody pitches at least every other day, both to maximize platoon advantages and camouflage your own deficiencies.
It looked great when the White Sox won their first four postseason games, sweeping Houston in the wild-card series. Now?
They are just the latest club to prove this approach unsustainable – the latest illustration of Major League Baseball’s starting pitching crisis.
Hey, we know it’s not 1968 anymore, nor 2012, or even 2022. The starting pitcher is nearly extinct, in a global sense, a hard reality evidenced by four of the eight wild-card teams opting for bullpen games in Game 1 of their playoff openers.
Grim.
Our current predicament is more than a decade, maybe two, in the making. Teams opted to protect young pitching “assets” in the minor leagues, babying them and putting significant governors on innings.
The max velocity revolution exacerbated all those problems. For every Jacob Misiorowski, there were dozens of other pitchers who either blew out or could not pair power with precision consistently and ended up in a bullpen somewhere.
Which brings us to White Sox-Guardians.
In retrospect, it’s kind of remarkable the White Sox won 84 games, what with just three guys – Anthony Kay, Sean Burke and Davis Martin – making more than 15 starts. In this ALDS, Kay has been reduced to opener or situational guy, Martin virtually invisible and Burke a bulk pitcher.
That’s left Smith, the rookie from Arkansas who debuted in August, to start Game 1 of the wild card series. And Game 1 of the ALDS. And also Game 4 of the ALDS, with a relief appearance sandwiched into Game 3.
Like a boxer who came out a little too spry, his punches have failed to land as the bout dragged on.
He pitched a crisp 2 ⅓ innings in ALDS Game 1, striking out four but walking three. Less sharp in a Game 3 relief appearance, getting two outs while walking two, giving up a hit and a run.
And then Game 4, the black-clad Sox Park crowd roaring for a Cleveland kill shot. And Smith could only record one out, while walking three batters.
By night’s end, he’d faced 21 batters in this series – more than two whole trips through the Guardians lineup. Lots of looks.
He’s got nothing on Taylor, though. Taylor was the hero in Game 1, a stunning and efficient four-inning save in which he threw 42 pitches. After an off day, a four-out save in Game 2.
Yet by Game 4, the wheels came off.
Summoned in the sixth inning of a 4-4 tie, runner on second, Taylor, charitably, had nothing. The Guardians went single-walk-walk-single-single-single off him, 4-4 becoming 9-4 and clubhouse champagne giving way to a Friday flight to the shores of Lake Erie.
Little wonder. By the time Taylor took the ball in Game 4, he’d faced 18 Guardians. There were no more secrets.
Eventually, the discipline improves. The chase decreases. The balls get squared up, and chaos comes back to haunt you.
“They’re making really good swing decisions, making good contact,” White Sox manager Will Venable said after Game 4. “When you walk guys, they make you pay. We were able to get away with it the first couple games.”
Kind of the definition of “unsustainable.”
And consider this: There are two more playoff rounds remaining, both best-of-seven and not these three- and five-game tuneups. Imagine what the White Sox staff might look like at the end of a seven-game ALCS?
These are the sorts of things that get lost when half-serious proposals such as an expansion of the Division Series from five to seven games get tossed out.
Who's pitching Game 5 for White Sox?
Chicago’s pitching looks like it’s been through the Cuisinart already. Adrian Morejon, San Diego’s best reliever not named Mason Miller, lasted just two games in their NLDS before his shoulder barked too hard.
And now the Guardians and White Sox face one more all-hands meeting Saturday. Heck, Cleveland’s not in great shape either, with rookie ace Parker Messick struggling in both his starts and AL strikeout king Gavin Williams forced to get the final three outs of Game 4, simply because manager Stephen Vogt tried to stretch All-Star closer Cade Smith across two innings on consecutive nights.
Not enough pitching.
That’s where all these suboptimal decisions come from, and why it’s no coincidence the three teams safely on to the LCS round – the Dodgers, Rays and Brewers – have a deep well of arms to call upon.
Sure, maybe the Brewers only have two reliable starters in Misiorowski and Logan Henderson, but they truly lean on all their arms in leverage situations and, with off days, should navigate the remainder of the postseason just fine.
The White Sox? Well, in Game 5 they’re starting Burke – an actual starting pitcher, his second start this postseason. He’ll go as long and as hard as he can, and then Venable will have to hope the buttons he pushes don’t make the dashboard smoke.
Hope, they say, is not a plan. Eventually, well-considered chaos isn’t, either. And somehow the White Sox must find nine more innings to keep their dream season alive.
CHICAGO — José Ramírez homered and drove in three runs, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5 on Thursday night to send their AL Division Series to a winner-take-all Game 5.
Patrick Bailey also went deep as the Guardians won for the second consecutive day in Chicago after beginning their postseason with two straight losses at home.
Jo Adell hit a two-run single to cap a six-run sixth inning for the AL Central champions.
Cleveland is looking to become the first major league team to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a best-of-five playoff series since the 2017 Yankees accomplished the feat against, well, Cleveland.
Teams with a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have gone on to win 83 of 93 times.
José Ramírez watches his two-run homer leave the yard during the fifth inning of the Guardians’ 9-5 win over the White Sox in Game 4 of their ALDS series on Oct. 8, 2026 in Chicago. Getty Images
Game 5 is back in Cleveland on Saturday night, and the winner will open the American League Championship Series at Tampa Bay next Monday.
“As we’ve battled back and forth with these guys, obviously fitting that it’s going to come down to this,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “It’s been how the back and forth has been all year.”
Chicago’s bullpen — one of its biggest strengths in a surprising season — is suddenly looking very tired. Grant Taylor was hit hard after pitching 5 1/3 scoreless innings over the first two games of the series, allowing four runs and four hits without retiring any of the six batters he faced during Cleveland’s rally in the sixth.
Miguel Vargas homered late for the White Sox, who flopped in their second straight bid to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since the 1906 World Series against the Chicago Cubs.
Sam Antonacci drove in two runs.
Game 2 starter Gavin Williams got the last three outs on two days of rest for Cleveland after Vargas began the ninth with his first postseason homer.
It was the first career relief appearance for Williams, who could start Game 5 as well.
The right-hander threw 18 pitches after throwing 98 on Monday. He was the seventh Guardians reliever as the teams combined to use 15 pitchers in a game that took 3 hours, 39 minutes.
Williams went 14-8 this season and led the AL with 248 strikeouts.
Cleveland trailed 2-0 before rallying in the fifth. Bailey led off with a pinch-hit homer, and Steven Kwan chased Erick Fedde with a one-out single.
The MLB playoff bracket.
Jordan Hicks came in and Ramírez drove a 99.9 mph fastball deep to right-center for just his second homer since Sept. 1, a span of 26 games. The seven-time All-Star had surgery after he broke a bone in his left hand on a swing June 13.
It was Ramírez’s first postseason homer since 2024 and No. 5 overall. He also starred in Game 3, finishing with two hits and two RBIs in Cleveland’s 9-3 victory.
Chicago responded with two runs in the bottom half, sending a charge through the crowd of 39,920. Antonacci was hit by a pitch from Tim Herrin with the bases loaded, and Brenton Doyle made it 4-3 with a sacrifice fly.
The White Sox had the bases loaded with two down, but rookie Braden Montgomery struck out swinging against winning pitcher Erik Sabrowski.
José Ramírez celebrates after hitting a two-run homer during the fifth inning of the Guardians’ Game 4 win over the White Sox. Getty Images
Antonacci has been plunked 33 times this year, including a franchise-record 29 in the regular season.
The rookie became the first player in postseason history to be hit by a pitch with the bases loaded multiple times in a career, after he was also plunked in the same situation in Game 3.
Losing pitcher Anthony Kay started the sixth for Chicago, but the left-hander was replaced by Taylor after Travis Bazzana’s RBI double tied it at 4.
Bailey greeted Taylor with a run-scoring single, and Cleveland started to pull away.
Walks by Brayan Rocchio and Kwan loaded the bases for Ramírez, who made it 6-4 with an infield single. Chase DeLauter added another run-scoring single before Adell capped the outburst with a liner to right that drove in Kwan and Ramírez.
“They’re making really good swing decisions. They’re making contact. We talked about how good a job they do of doing that,” Venable said. “When you walk guys, they make you pay. We were able to get away with it a couple times the first couple games. These last two, just weren’t able to.”
Adell hit a three-run triple during Cleveland’s Game 3 victory. He has four hits, three walks and six RBIs in the series.
Going yard: Miguel Vargas went deep in the ninth for the only White Sox homer of Game 4. Vargas reached base safely four times in the loss. | Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
With a second opportunity to seal the series at home, the White Sox (84-78) laid an egg against the Guardians (85-77), who tied the series with a 9-5 victory. The only ongoing Division Series is tied at two, and the only remaining game will happen in Cleveland.
Left-handed pitcher Hagen Smith got the start for the South Siders. Smith issued a six-pitch walk to Steven Kwan to open the game, but he retired José Ramírez with a fly out to medium-deep center. From there, Smith nearly got out of the first inning with a modest 11-pitch workload. The White Sox had a chance to turn a 3-6-1 double play when Chase DeLauter hit a grounder to first. Murakami made a quick throw to second, but on what was turning out to be a close play at first, Smith failed to handle Colson Montgomery’s return throw. As a result, DeLauter was safe at first.
Jo Adell proceeded to work an eight-pitch walk to extend the inning, and Nathaniel Lowe drew yet another eight-pitch walk. That increased Smith’s pitch count to 27, and the bases were suddenly loaded with two outs. In addition, Kyle Teel used a challenge on the 3-2 pitch to Lowe that missed the bottom of the zone by 2.2´´, not a wise challenge. At that point, Erick Fedde entered the game for his first appearance of the series. Fedde’s task was to retire Angel Martínez, and on a 1-2 sweeper, he did just that. Martínez chased the sweeper in the dirt, and the threat was gone. The crowd for this blackout game collectively exhaled and cheered.
Cleveland lefty Parker Messick got off to a strong start against the White Sox, retiring three of four batters he faced in the first. The only White Sox hitter to reach was Miguel Vargas, who drew his sixth walk of the series. Vargas drew that walk with two outs, and Messick struck out Murakami to strand Vargas at first.
Fedde got through the top of the second without drama, and things appeared to be looking up when Tommy Pham drew a leadoff walk in the White Sox half. However, Brenton Doyle looked at a 3-2 fastball that caught plenty of the plate, Teel chased a changeup in the dirt, and Braden Montgomery struck out swinging. Braden got ahead in the count at 2-0, and the third pitch was incorrectly called a strike. The rookie thought of challenging the pitch, but held off due to potentially using up the team’s the second ABS challenge just two innings into the game. Braden struck out two pitches later.
After another strong inning by Fedde in the top of the third, the White Sox offense got down to business in the bottom half. Colson Montgomery hit a soft grounder back to the mound. Messick attempted to field the ball with the glove behind his back, but he could not gather it cleanly. The ball squirted off to the side, and Colson had an infield single. Chase Meidroth followed with a double to the left field corner. Colson advanced to third, and the White Sox had a pair in scoring position with no outs. Randal Grichuk struck out swinging at a fastball above the zone, but Vargas worked an excellent plate appearance to draw a seven-pitch walk and load the bases. In a high-leverage spot, the stage was set for Murakami, who also displayed an excellent batting eye by drawing a six-pitch walk to force in the game’s first run. With the boisterous crowd going wild, Messick was removed from the game with the bases loaded and one out. Right-handed reliever Shawn Armstrong took over to face pinch-hitter Sam Antonacci, who replaced Pham. On Armstrong’s first pitch, Antonacci took advantage of a breaking ball that caught a large part of the plate and lined it toward right-center. DeLauter ran it down, so Antonacci had to settle for a sacrifice fly, but that was enough to double the lead. Armstrong got Doyle to line out, but the damage was done. The White Sox led by a score of 2-0 after three, and Cleveland’s ace was already out of the game.
After a quiet fourth inning, the Guardians offense came to life in the fifth, finally managing to put themselves on the board. Catcher Patrick Bailey entered the game as a pinch-hitter and launched a solo homer against Fedde, who had been cruising up until that point. After a line out by Brayan Rocchio and a single by Kwan, Fedde’s strong outing was over with a runner on first and one out. Jordan Hicks took over on the mound and got a favorable call on the first pitch he threw to Ramírez. However, Ramírez was expecting another high fastball, and this time, he turned on it and drove it over the wall in right-center. Just like that, the Guardians had a 3-2 lead and plenty of momentum.
The White Sox were not behind for long. Meidroth added to his strong performance with a leadoff walk, and although Tristan Peters struck out, Vargas drew yet another free pass. That prompted a pitching change, as Tim Herrin replaced Armstrong on the mound. That move nearly backfired immediately in spectacular fashion, as Herrin’s first pitch to Murakami was a hanging curveball that Murakami crushed. Off the bat, it looked like it could be trouble, but Murakami was barely early on it, and the ball drifted foul down the right field line. Two pitches later, however, Murakami lined a single to left to load the bases. Up to the plate stepped Antonacci, who was hit by yet another pitch. Antonacci seems to be a magician when it comes to HBPs, and this was his fourth one already this postseason. This HBP forced in the tying run, and the White Sox still only had one out. From there, Doyle got the job done with a sacrifice fly to drive in Vargas, and suddenly, the White Sox were back in front, 4-3.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the sixth, when Anthony Kay took over on the mound for the White Sox. After retiring Lowe to open the inning, outs were difficult for Kay and the White Sox to collect. Kay hit Martínez, who proceeded to steal second despite an accurate throw by Teel. With Martínez on second, Bazzana hit a liner to right. Braden Montgomery appeared to have a bead on it, but he could not track it down. Martínez scored, and Bazzana parked at second with a double to tie the game at four. At that point, with the game being in the balance, Grant Taylor took over.
Taylor entered the game as the MVP of the series with +3.42 cWPA (Championship Win Probability Added). Taylor relinquished that spot with this outing, which went as poorly as it could have gone. The first batter against Taylor was Bailey, who poked a grounder through the left side for a go-ahead RBI single. That put the Guardians ahead, 5-4, and they were not done. Taylor issued back-to-back walks to Rocchio and Kwan to load the bases for Ramírez. Taylor got Ramírez to hit a curveball into the ground, and it appeared the White Sox would be able to pick up at least one out. However, Meidroth, who was playing in, did not field it cleanly, and everyone advanced 90 feet safely. From there, the situation got out of hand. DeLauter drove in an insurance run with a single, and Adell continued his attack on White Sox pitching with a two-run single. Incredibly, Adell became the eighth consecutive Guardian to reach base safely, and the score was 9-4. Finally, Taylor’s nightmarish outing was over after failing to retire any of the six batters he faced.
After the dust of that top of the sixth inning settled, the game intensity plummeted given Cleveland’s lead. What was surprising, however, was that after that bizarre sequence, nobody scored again until the bottom of the ninth. Part of that was because Cleveland put Cade Smith in the game to open the bottom of the eighth, even though Cleveland had a five-run lead. Smith shut the White Sox down in the eighth, but the Vargas got the best of Smith in the ninth, launching a solo homer to open the frame.
That cut the deficit to four, but the South Siders were still deep in the woods. Smith proceeded to walk Murakami before being pulled after 31 pitches. Another surprising development occurred when presumed Game 5 starter Gavin Williams took over on the mound in relief of Smith. Antonacci was the first batter to face Williams, and he singled to bring the potential tying run to the on-deck circle. As a result, there was a glimmer of hope for the White Sox, who had runners on first and second with no outs in a 9-5 game. However, Williams got pinch-hitter Andrew Benintendi to chase a couple of breaking balls in the dirt for the first out, and Williams got into a groove from there. Teel worked an intense plate appearance, but on the eighth pitch, Teel grounded into a fielder’s choice at second base out for the second out of the inning. With the potential tying run still in the on-deck circle, Braden Montgomery hit a soft liner to left that appeared to have a chance of falling for a single. However, Kwan, who has won four Gold Gloves, got a good jump on the ball to make a nice catch. As a result, Williams iced the game, though he needed 18 pitches Cleveland surely didn’t want to burn.
The White Sox will be back in action on Saturday in Cleveland at 7 p.m. CT. This time, there will be no wiggle room, as the winner of that game will take the series and face the Rays (98-64) in the ALCS. TBS/HBO Max and TruTV will televise Game 5, and WMVP 1000 AM will have the radio coverage. We will see you then for a crucial matchup.
Seriously. The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox burned through their pitching staffs just to get to a Game 5 on Saturday, Oct. 10, when they'll both likely have to do it all over again. Then one of them will have to head straight to Florida for Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday, Oct. 12, the arms of their pitchers hanging by a thread.
The Rays, meanwhile, are chilling, having completed their sweep of the New York Yankees on Wednesday, Oct. 7. They could enjoy Cleveland's 9-5 win that forced Game 5, watching their would-be opponents beat each other up while the Rays pitchers are getting another breather and manager Kevin Cash is lining up his pitching staffs and batting order exactly how he wants them.
No word on whether the Rays are sipping margaritas and mai tais while they wait.
"We'll worry about that Monday if we're fortunate enough to get there," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
"It's always a concern. You're always concerned with workload this time of year," he added. "We ask a lot of these guys, and they step up."
This wasn't how it was supposed to go. The upstart White Sox, the first team to reach the playoffs after consecutive 100-loss seasons, had rolled through the first four games of the postseason, sweeping the Houston Astros in the wild-card round and taking the first two games against the Guardians in Cleveland.
They returned to Rate Field triumphant, having two games to get one win and clinch their first postseason series at home since 1906.
But this is what happens when one team lacks experience and adequate pitching and the other is desperate. Together, Chicago and Cleveland used 15 pitchers who threw a total of almost 370 pitches.
"We punch back," Vogt said of Cleveland refusing to exit the series quietly. "As soon as we went to the bullpen, it felt like it was going to be that type of a back-and-forth game."
Chicago starter Hagen Smith was gone before the first inning was over, giving up three walks to the first five batters he saw. The White Sox chased Cleveland starter Parker Messick by the end of the third inning. And while it's little consolation for having to go back to Cleveland, Chicago forced the Guardians to use ace Gavin Williams out of the bullpen.
Williams, who started Game 2, came in in the ninth after Cade Smith gave up a lead-off homer to Miguel Vargas and walked Munetaka Murakami. Williams threw 18 pitches before ending the game.
"Small victories there, I think," White Sox manager Will Venable said.
Oh, the two games in Chicago each lasted longer than 3 hours, too. There aren't enough ice baths and electronic stim machines in the world that's going to erase all those aches and pains. Especially when there's a flight, albeit a short one, involved.
"Obviously fitting that it's going to come down to this. It's how the back and forth has been all year," Venable said.
This was the 17th game the AL Central rivals have played against each other this year, and neither team has any secrets from the other by by now. They know the other's philosophies and tendencies, and they know how to get to every player on the other's roster.
The ease, if you want to call it that, of how the White Sox won the first two games was the outlier. The battles of the last two games is more the norm.
"If we lose, we're gone. Might as well go out there and win," said Patrick Bailey, who had a pinch-hit home run in the fifth and an RBI single as part of Cleveland's six-run sixth inning. "We've still got one more to win at home."
But there's a price for this backyard brawling. Only after Game 5 will the winner be able to turn their attention to the Rays. Instead of being able to rest and regroup before the ALCS, both teams have to spend the next three days grinding.
The Rays were going to be favored in the ALCS, anyway, having finished the regular season as the American League's best team. But the White Sox and Guardians are making Tampa Bay's job a whole lot easier.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
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They forced a Game 5 in the American League Division Series with a 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Oct. 8 amid a blackout at Rate Field.
In the fifth inning, José Ramírez hit a go-ahead, two-run home run to put the Guardians up 3-2. With the count 0-1, the third baseman was tossed a fastball by White Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks just above the strike zone. He smacked it hard and watched it sail into the bullpen in right field. Steven Kwan also scored after hitting a single.
Earlier that inning, Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run to put the Guardians on the board. Cleveland had not hit a home run in the first three games of the series.
Chicago answered in the sixth, taking a 4-3 lead. The White Sox scored when Sam Antonacci was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and then Brenton Doyle hit a sacrifice fly.
Cleveland fought back with six runs in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 9-4. Travis Bazzana tied things up with an RBI double, with Bailey, Ramirez, Chase DeLauter and Jo Adell (two) adding RBIs in the inning.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 07: Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres reacts after flying out against the Milwaukee Brewers during the eighth inning in game four of the National League Division Series at Petco Park on October 07, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Whether you’re an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist, the 2026 San Diego Padres season will look different to you. The dramatic swings within the 162-game regular season gave many Padres fans whiplash.
The bullpen’s excellence remained the one constant throughout the season. That part of the roster showed consistency until the very end of the year. Ultimately, the overuse of the relief corps resulted in fatigue and inconsistency during the past month.
Just about every other aspect of the team’s performance was as unpredictable as any season could be.
The offense and starting pitching weren’t reliable, but the effort was always there.
The Padres had weaknesses
There was never a real starting rotation. Michael King was excellent all year, a staff ace. The rest were a patchwork and could not provide reliability.
The offense took almost four months to find its feet. Going from almost the worst in baseball to a top-five offense is a credit to the players and the coaches who put in the work.
The bench was a rotating cast of characters. Injury was a major factor, and without the scouting and coaching within the organization, the Padres would have been floundering by midseason.
Being led by a rookie manager with several coaches who were also rookies at their jobs has inherent risk. Mistakes were made; there can be no denying that fact. Craig Stammen would be the first to acknowledge it. Those mistakes were not the reason this team faltered in the postseason.
An overworked bullpen
All through the season, the bullpen was used to buoy the starting pitchers. When the starters failed to provide length, the relievers stepped in and propped them up. That strategy will eventually catch up with you. As the regular season wound down and the postseason began, the wear and tear on the trusted arms in the bullpen began to show.
Both Mason Miller and Adrián Morejón exceeded career numbers for innings. Both showed the results of that strain as the season was finishing.
Bradgley Rodriguez, a 22-year-old rookie, lost velocity as the regular season concluded and had to be given rest. He also lost some effectiveness, allowing more hits and runs.
In the postseason, the repeated use of the trusted core of relievers resulted in David Morgan, Randy Vasquez, and Wandy Peralta never seeing the field during any of the six games played.
The postseason offense
What is the answer to why the Padres offense goes missing during the postseason?
Manny Machado was exceptional, defying logic that would dictate a decline in performance with age. He had a .350 batting average with a 1.080 OPS, hitting a homer with three RBI. Fernando Tatis Jr. had two home runs with three RBI but only hit .167 with six strikeouts in 24 at-bats. Jackson Merrill hit .292 but had no extra-base hits with eight strikeouts in 24 at-bats.
The lack of execution with runners in scoring position was the death knell for this team. In the divisional series, the Padres were 4-for-23 with 30 left on base over the four games.
This is the third straight postseason with the Padres’ offense underperforming when the lights are the brightest. Role players made minimal contributions, while Merrill and Tatis didn’t provide what was needed.
There is an explanation for the failures of the Padres in the postseason. The challenge is for the organization to find the answers.
Looking forward
Both Xander Bogaerts and Machado are still performing, despite their advancing ages. The window of opportunity for this team should remain open as long as they are both contributors on the positive side.
The young core of Tatis, Merrill, Luis Campusano, and the newly arrived Ethan Salas provides talent to build around.
Re-signing Ty France should be an offseason priority. He wants to be here and has been their most consistent player all season. He should also be named the team MVP.
Starting pitching must be a focus this offseason. Retain Michael King; that comes first. Decide what role Randy Vasquez will be filling. Use the offseason to assess what Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta can do going into next season. Move on from Yu Darvish unless he decides he can pitch next year.
Walker Buehler, Casey Mize, and Robby Ray are all free agents. The team needs more stability and length than what those three have provided.
Jhony Brito should be recovered from his Tommy John rehab and needs to be assessed for what he can contribute. It seems clear neither Griffin Canning nor JP Sears can be contributors for this team.
The bench includes Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar. The team can retain Samad Taylor and/or Dustin Harris, but a permanent solution for left field is not among those players.
Unfortunately, Jase Bowen has no clue how to hit major league pitching.
Sung-Mun Song is a defensive marvel, but can someone teach him how to hit?
The rules could change
The offseason labor situation will impact everything the Padres need to do for the next season. When that season begins is not even clear at this point.
Padres general manager A.J. Preller and his team have a lot of work to do, but they won’t know the guidelines they have to work within until the labor dispute is settled.
New owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones got an exciting introduction to owning a Major League Baseball team. Hopefully, that will just whet their appetite for more.
There is potential and excitement for this Padres organization, once the labor situation is decided.
They are so close to the final step that will take them all the way.
José Ramírez hit a go-ahead two-run home run to put the Guardians up 3-2. With the count 0-1, the third baseman was tossed a fastball by White Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks just above the strike zone. He smacked it hard and watched it sail into the bullpen in right field. Steven Kwan also scored after hitting a single.
Ramírez was the first batter Hicks faced after coming in for Erick Fedde.
Earlier that inning, Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run to put the Guardians on the board.
Cleveland had not hit a home run in the first three games of the series.
A poll conducted by The Post showed — unsurprisingly — that respondents want Aaron Boone gone after the ballclub fell well short of the lofty expectations bestowed upon it, with nearly 85 percent of more than 11,000 voters calling on the Yankees to give him the boot.
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“I’ve been calling for Aaron Boone’s firing for years, and not for any specific baseball reason. Just the simple fact that he hasn’t won with the talent on that team. George [Steinbrenner] would have fired him long ago,” one person commented on The Post’s website.
Boone has not won a championship since taking over as manager in 2018, making just one World Series appearance — a 2024 loss to the Dodgers — in nine seasons at the helm.
Aaron Boone and GM Brian Cashman are seen during pregame warmups before the Yankees’ win over the Red Sox on Sept. 12, 2025 at Fenway Park. Jason Szenes / New York PostHow readers of The Post voted.
Those same poll participants, though, aren’t generally fans of the general manager, with 73 percent (8,535) calling for Cashman’s job.
Cashman has been general manager for 29 seasons — including four World Series titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009) and seven American League pennants.
However, Cashman has faced plenty of criticism over his allegiance to Boone and the personnel moves he’s made over the past few seasons as the championship drought has dragged on.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. walks back to the dugout after the final out of the ninth inning of their season-ending Game 3 loss to the Rays in The Bronx. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
“Cashman should go or change the organization’s approach to hitting,” another voter commented. “Need to stop relying on the home run. That doesn’t work in the playoffs against better pitching. Concentrate on putting the ball in play and minimize strikeouts. Get players that can hit .270-.280. Play baseball the way it’s supposed to be played. Also, we need a typical leadoff hitter, not have Rice or the likes of Grisham batting leadoff.
A stat shown on the TBS broadcast showed Tampa opponents made 188 errors this year against them. Most in the majors. That’s because they make contact and force you to make a play. If Cashman won’t dictate that change then he must go.”
A majority of poll participants also want to see Jazz Chisholm Jr. (91 percent), Trent Grisham (88 percent) and slugger Giancarlo Stanton (86 percent) get the boot.
Anthony Volpe saw his stock rise among those who took part in the polling, with 79 percent saying he should stay with the team.
“Stanton, Chisholm gotta go. Yanks need [a] catcher big time,” another voter explained in a comment. “Stop playing with Volpe’s head [and] make him [the] everyday second baseman. Rice, Jones, Bellinger, Judge, Lombard, Volpe should be everyday. Add a 3rd baseman and catcher and lineup is set. Pitching, if healthy, is set. Boone time for a change.”
“We’re going to do our best to stay with them and beat them in 7 games.”
Manager Pat Murphy of the Milwaukee Brewers walks across the field after making a pitching change in the fourth inning. Getty Images
“We’re gonna be more ready than we were last time, I believe. That doesn’t guarantee anything but we got to be ready for what they say is the best team in baseball, but we think we are,” Murphy said after the Brewers defeated the Padres in the NLDS Wednesday night.
The Dodgers also faced Milwaukee in the NLCS last season, but the Brewers have played arguably better baseball in 2026. LA swept the Brewers on their way to the World Series in 2025.
This year, the Brewers have largely been unstoppable with a roaring offense and NL Cy Young candidate Jacob Misiorowski. In the same way, the Dodgers have also looking sharp with a 100-win season and a lights-out rotation full of aces.
The Los Angeles Dodgers celebrate in the locker room after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe Los Angeles Dodgers pose for after winning Game 4 of baseball’s National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. AP Photo/Mike Stewart
While Milwaukee boasts the best record in baseball, the Dodgers own back-to-back World Series titles to support their efforts in October.
The series won’t be easy for either team.
It’s a matchup poised for great baseball as the small-market Brewers take on the sport’s juggernaut. And the Dodgers have shown that spending money doesn’t guarantee a championship unless a team has all the right pieces.
Several minutes after both the predictable and unthinkable — another team celebrating on the Yankee Stadium turf, this time the Rays after sweeping through the ALDS — three Yankees lingered on the top step of the dugout. They stared. They absorbed. They stored what will be used as fuel.
Paul Blackburn peeled off the railing and began making his way to the clubhouse. Soon after, Aaron Judge followed.
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And finally, the last Yankee to force himself from watching the revolting sight was the youngest: George Lombard Jr.
“I’m going to have to learn from it and keep this feeling with it and use that in the work next year,” Lombard said after the Yankees were eliminated Wednesday night in The Bronx. “… It sucks. It hurts. There’s a lot of things that go into it, but yeah, it’s definitely a feeling that you don’t want to feel after your last game.
“It’s definitely going to be on my mind a lot.”
The Yankees will not fondly remember 2026, when Judge and Giancarlo Stanton missed much of the season, their replacements did not adequately replace them, and yet another campaign ended in disappointment, but it is at least possible it will be recalled as the year Lombard earned his shot.
A year that started in Double-A Somerset, where Lombard did not even last a month, ended as the everyday playoff shortstop for the Yankees.
George Lombard Jr. stares out to the field after the Yankees’ season-ending Game 3 loss to the Rays in The Bronx. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
He showed flashes of brilliance defensively, and his fourth-inning highlight — in which he charged a chopper that had leaped over Max Fried, barehanded it and slung a throw to cut down Junior Caminero — might have been remembered if the game had finished differently. He also showed that he is 21 years old, both with his six-game error streak and in being part of the Game 2 defensive meltdown.
Offensively, he performed better than expected. The Yankees would welcome further steps, but a prospect known more for his glove and headiness hit .237 with a .699 OPS in his first 42 games before holding his own in October.
George Lombard Jr. throws out Junior Caminero during the Yankees’ Game 3 loss to the Rays. Robert Sabo for New York Post
Lombard’s first playoff run, albeit brief, finished at 6-for-18 (.333) with six singles and four strikeouts. On Wednesday, he was a bright spot in stroking a hard-hit single, adding another on a slow roller to third and later walking, using an automated ball-strike system challenge — which has been a strength of his — to earn the trip to first.
“It was definitely a good experience for the first year,” said Lombard, who replaced Anthony Volpe and José Caballero at shortstop in early August. “I’m going to take everything with me because it’s not the way we want to end going forward.”
There is little known about the 2027 Yankees infield. Can they really bring back Ryan McMahon, who is owed $16 million for next season, made a costly error in Game 2, was benched in Game 3 and simply did not hit enough this season? Is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also was benched for the elimination game, a goner as a free agent? Are the Yankees serious about Luis García Jr. possibly getting work at second base, which would open first for Ben Rice? Is Paul Goldschmidt, who wants to keep playing, still an option as a lefty-killer at first? Where do Volpe and Caballero fit?
George Lombard hits a single in the second inning of the Yankees’ Game 3 season-ending loss to the Rays. Robert Sabo for New York Post
The best bet among the group is that Lombard, a 2023 first-round pick whose first taste of major league life included more promise than problems, will be back at shortstop.
And motivated.
“Definitely a lot to take from it,” said Lombard, who was particularly upset about Judge, Stanton and Goldschmidt coming up short of a title. “It just sucks to go out like this.”
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 07: Fans arrive prior to game three of the American League Division Series between the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Guardians at Rate Field on October 07, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Hey folks, if you are doing a full detox from baseball in wake of the Yankees’ ugly elimination last night at the hands of the Rays, I totally get it. However, in case anyone here wants to chat about the one playoff game on tonight, I figured that I would throw a thread up, just in case!
The surprising White Sox lead their ALDS, two games to one, but unlike the Yankees, Cleveland won yesterday to force a Game 4. The aggressive White Sox bullpenning finally hit a wall of sorts, spoiling the fun of the first playoff game on the South Side of Chicago in five years. If the Guardians turn the trick again, we’ll be guaranteed of at least some baseball between now and the start of the Brewers/Dodgers NLCS on Sunday night. Game 5 would be Saturday in Cleveland.
With the Yankees out of it, I’m fully rooting for maximum-length series to squeeze however much competitive baseball I can out of the 2026 season, so go Guards. Either way, I’ll be hoping for a miracle in the ALCS and that one of these underwhelming AL Central teams can pull off an upset over Tampa Bay. A lad can dream!
Today’s Matchup:
American League Division Series Game 4
Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians (CWS leads 2-1)
CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 07: Chase Meidroth #10 of the Chicago White Sox and José Ramírez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians talk during Game Three of the American League Division Series presented by Booking.com between the Cleveland Guardians and the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jessie Alcheh/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
Three of the four Championship Series teams are set, and so far the postseason has gone straight chalk. In the National League, the #1-seeded Brewers and #2 Dodgers will square off for the second straight year. In the American League, the top-ranked Rays are ALCS-bound after sweeping the Yankees, to everyone’s delight. The Rays will wait to find out what opponent they’ll face, which could be decided tonight as the #6-seeded White Sox have the chance to crash the party of top-ranked teams.
Guardians at White Sox, 8:00 PM (TBS/HBO Max) — White Sox lead 2-1
LHP Parker Messick (CLE) vs. LHP Hagen Smith (CWS)
The White Sox failed to sweep the series yesterday, as the Guardians’ offense erupted for nine runs — four more than any other team has scored in the Division Series round — to keep Cleveland’s hopes alive for another day. As you might have heard, it’s been a minute since the White Sox clinched a playoff series at home. To be precise, it’s been 120 years, since the 1906 White Sox won the World Series over the crosstown Cubs at South Side Park. That was before there was televised baseball. Or televised anything. You could only keep up with sports or current events by reading something called a newspaper. Truly wild times.
Anyway, the White Sox have another chance to end that drought tonight. As has been their custom in this postseason, they’re just going to cobble together a bullpen game instead of using a real starting pitcher. The White Sox have used an opener in five of their six playoff games so far, including this one, where rookie lefty Hagen Smith will do the opening honors for the third time. He has pitched 5.2 scoreless innings in his two previous outings as an opener this postseason, so it seems to be working.
The Guardians, by contrast, have a strong starting rotation, and none are stronger than tonight’s hurler, Parker Messick. The 25-year-old lefty was an All-Star this season, going 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA in 32 starts. In his Game 1 outing against the White Sox, though, he labored for 87 pitches in 4.1 innings and gave up two runs in a Guardians shutout loss.
I don’t have a strong preference for who wins this series. I suppose it would be nice for the White Sox to finally celebrate a postseason series win at home after all this time, but if they do, that means we won’t have any more baseball until Sunday. If the Guardians win today, it’ll force a winner-take-all Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday.
HOUSTON, TEXAS - SEPTEMBER 30: The postseason logo is seen prior to game two of the American League Wild Card Series between the Houston Astros and the Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park on September 30, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images
And then there was one… Three of the Division Series finished yesterday. The Brewers and Dodgers both finished off their opponents in four games, and will face off again – as they did last year – starting on Sunday. Milwaukee are 0-3 in NLCS’s: as well as losing to LA in 2026, they did so in 2018, and the Cardinals in 2011. It has been 44 years since the Brewer last World Series appearance: the Pirates (47 years) and the Mariners (never) are the only franchises with a longer pennant drought. Meanwhile, in the American League, the Rays get to chill out until Monday, waiting for whoever prevails betwen the Guardians and White Sox.
If the White Sox win today, there’ll be no baseball until the NLCS kicks off Sunday. So I guess let’s hope for a Guardians victory, so we’ll have something to do over the weekend!
Cleveland Guardians @ Chicago White Sox (1-2): 5:00 pm, TBS/truTV
