Category: MLB

The Seattle Mariners have made use of the waiver wire to start October, claiming 1B/OF Michael Toglia from the Cincinnati Reds. The 28 year old switch-hitter missed much of the 2026 season with a dislocated right shoulder suffered while making a diving catch. The preparation for the surgery revealed a torn labrum as well, which led to season-ending surgery after just 10 games in Ohio.

Toglia was well-regarded by many (this author included) out of Gig Harbor High School in 2016 and particularly again after a strong career at UCLA. The Colorado Rockies made Toglia their first round pick in 2019, selecting him 23rd overall on the heels of a .307/.410/.573 line and top-notch glovework at the cold corner. A standout, 6’5 athlete, Toglia received some of the descriptors Evan White received as a prospect, noting his excellent athleticism was almost wasted at first base, anticipating at least nominal utilization in the outfield to expand his utility.

While that is what occurred in his progression through Colorado’s system, some of the similar issues White encountered arose as well. Toglia’s strikeout rates ballooned in pro ball, averaging around a 30% punchout rate despite clubbing prodigious home run totals before his big league debut in 2022. That debut was difficult for the then-23 year old, and he’s found little consistency subsequently. A .198/.275/.384 career line with 42 home runs in 1095 plate appearances is good for a .286 wOBA, troubling enough on its own. But Toglia’s home park his entire career has been Coors Field, save the 10 games mostly at home in Great American Ballpark with Cincinnati, meaning the most hitter-friendly parks in MLB have not been enough to foster quality numbers for him. The difficult nature of it is that Toglia’s 69 wRC+, combined with the challenging task of roaming the outfield of Coors and some poor ratings at first base to boot has meant Toglia’s fWAR of -3.5 ranks as worst in MLB since 2020.

So why the claim?

Toglia has a profile somewhat similar to fellow former Rockies OF/1B Nolan Jones, whom the M’s took on in the Luis Castillo trade with the White Sox. In a sense, both players have overlapping talents to Luke Raley and Lazaro Montes, both of whom have demonstrated more potent big league success thus far in their careers. Moreover, Toglia’s tools and adjustments after a midseason demotion in 2024 popped significantly, a season where his Baseball Savant profile looked exceptionally promising.

Toglia has immense raw power, and has shortened his swing in the past couple seasons to attempt to reflect that he does not need massive hacks to deliver ample damage. His swing length in the past two seasons has been in line with league average, while his bat speed and hard hit rates have been near the top of the league. Add that Toglia doesn’t chase excessively, and most of his strikeouts stem from that overswinging and a patient approach that boosts his strikeout rate in kind naturally, and there is a ton of Luke Raley to be seen from the left hand side, while a great deal of Mitch Garver from the right.

And yet, Toglia has been incapable of compiling all these characteristics into a capable big leaguer thus far. His best year, that alteration-including 2024, still topped out at a 99 wRC+ with 25 homers and 10 steals in 116 games and 458 plate appearances. Seattle can likely see the outline of a big leaguer still with Toglia, and few love to give a former top 100 prospect a look as much as Jerry Dipoto, but for the local kid to make good he’ll need to find a way to make much more in-zone contact in the bigs, no longer with the benefit of the sport’s best ballparks to bash.

The California Post’s experts make their predictions on the Dodgers-Braves and Padres-Brewers NLDS matchups, which are scheduled to begin Saturday:

DODGERS-BRAVES

Rich Barak

Dodgers rotation (and restocked bullpen) will prove to be the difference.

Dodgers in 5

Kendall Capps

Starting pitching. Starting pitching. Starting pitching.

Dodgers in 4

Michael J. Duarte

Atlanta spent six regular-season games proving it can bloody the two-time champs, but October has handed the Dodgers a rested four-headed rotation while the Braves arrive at Dodger Stadium with their pitching staff held together by tape, adrenaline and Chris Sale’s overworked left arm. I think Atlanta steals a game at home, but the Dodgers’ pursuit of a three-peat will survive its first series punch, facing either a rematch with Milwaukee or a heated rivalry with their neighbors to the South.

Dodgers in 4

Jack Harris

The Braves can be dangerous, but their pitching (Chris Sale, especially) has already been worn down. If the Dodgers look anything like they did in September, they’ll be on to the NLCS.

Dodgers in 4

Dylan Hernandez

The Braves are spent after surviving the Phillies in the wild-card round.

Dodgers in 3

Christian Orozco

The Dodgers will look to make a statement in their opening round on the road to their three-peat. Even if their bats struggle, I trust their starting rotation.

Dodgers in 4

PADRES-BREWERS

Rich Barak

The Mizard of Oz will propel Brew Crew on path to NLCS.

Brewers in 5

Kendall Capps

Compelling series pitting the hottest team against the best team. I always prefer momentum and the Padres have something special going on.

Padres in 5

Michael J. Duarte

The Padres have enough star power and late-inning gasoline to make this series a five-game fistfight, but Milwaukee earned home-field advantage for precisely this kind of October moment. If it comes down to one night in Wisconsin with Jacob Misiorowski holding the baseball and American Family Field shaking around him, I’ll take the Brewers to survive.

Brewers in 5

Jack Harris

The Padres’ biggest strength is their bullpen. Never is that more important than in a shorter five-game series. Once they take a lead, they don’t give it up.

Padres in 4

Dylan Hernandez

Padres are dangerous whenever they’re riding an emotional high.

Padres in 5

Christian Orozco

Jacob Misiorowski will bring the Padres back down to earth after their hot wild-card round. The Brewers find a way to finish the series through their bullpen.

Brewers in 4

The past seven days have been highly successful for the San Diego Padres organization.

After giving starter Casey Mize a chance to show he was healthy enough to participate in the postseason, the Padres placed the right-hander on the injured list after he surrendered seven hits and seven runs in four innings in the 11-4 loss on Sept. 25, to the Diamondbacks.

Walker Buehler started Game 2, which the Padres won 10-7 to clinch home-field advantage for the Wild Card round of the NL playoffs. Buehler was not particularly sharp, but the Padres eeked out the win despite a rare hiccup by Mason Miller, pitching in a non-save situation to finish the game.

In a game that meant nothing in the playoff picture, Rándy Vásquez went six strong innings to lead the Friars to another win. He combined with Griffin Canning to finish off the D-backs and give the bullpen two full days of rest before their homestand against the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card series.

A fairytale series

It couldn’t have gone any better for the Padres against the Cubs. Rookie manager Craig Stammen had the least stress-inducing playoff series any manager could have. 

After naming a playoff roster that surprised many by including both Joe Musgrove and Gavin Sheets, Stammen used both of those Padres in two dominant performances versus Chicago. 

Musgrove, who had spent almost two years on the IL, pitched in the ninth inning of the first game, finishing off the Cubs for the first win.

Stammen was given the softest landing ever imaginable for both himself and Musgrove. 

Sheets, who spent most of the past month in a boot for a plantar fascia tear in his left foot, was activated at the end of the season and played in two games versus the D-backs. After showing he was able to perform in those games, Sheets provided the pitching staff with some breathing room in the second game, blasting a 101 mph fastball 394 feet into the right-field stands. 

The Padres pitching staff held the best offense in the National League to one run on eight hits in the two games. The two best hitters on their roster, NL MVP-to-be Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman, went 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts against the Padres dominant pitching staff.

Meanwhile, Fernando Tatis Jr. put on a show in the first game with a leadoff home run while also scoring from first on a stolen base and a throwing error in his last at-bat.

Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts turned their worst professional seasons around by going 7-for-15 with two homers, two doubles and four RBI combined in the two games.

Second-half momentum carries on

The Friars had a 50-53 record before their second-half surge. After struggling offensively for much of May, June, and July, the Padres went on a 43-18 tear to end the season. They carried that over into the series against the Cubs.

With home-field attendance that topped 47,000 for both games, the Padres had a vocal and raucous crowd behind them that served as their 10th man in snuffing out the Cubs.

The stars were stars

The Padres’ top four earners are Machado, Tatis Jr., Bogaerts and Musgrove. For the first time in two years, all four played for the Friars during the Cubs series. Although limited to one inning of work, Musgrove was able to contribute to a win. All the others played the way we would expect them to play in the postseason.

NBC scores a win

Including Musgrove in their plans for the postseason gave the team and their fans a huge emotional lift. Even the decision-makers at NBC acknowledged the importance of Musgrove’s inclusion. 

Rather than cut away at the end of the eighth inning, NBC bypassed its lucrative commercial break and showed Musgrove’s entrance from the bullpen. As the left-field crowd rose and began cheering, Musgrove stepped through the bullpen gate and set foot on the Petco Park field for the first time since October 2, 2024.

The ensuing spread of cheers through the park and Musgrove’s entrance was covered live for the TV audience. It was a brilliant moment for San Diego.

Postseason ambition

After reaching the postseason for a record third consecutive season, the Padres have also reached at least 90 wins for the third straight season. In an unprecedented era of success for the organization, new Padres owner Jose E. Feliciano paid tribute to late owner Peter Seidler with his attire for the second game versus the Cubs.

With their official ownership of the team now almost two months in, Feliciano and Kwanza Jones are enjoying the first fruits of their investment in the Padres. Attending the season-ending games in San Diego and the playoff games versus the Cubs, Jones and Feliciano have shown their support, and Jones’ dancing skills, on the field and in the locker room.

On to Milwaukee to play the Division Series against the team with the best record in baseball. In a best-of-five series, the Friars take on hard-throwing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski in Game 1. After two in Milwaukee, the Padres return home for Tuesday and Wednesday games at Petco Park. 

There is little doubt that home-field advantage will be in full force at Petco. The magic of the Cubs series could carry over into a series win at home against the Brewers.

The baseball gods could be shining on San Diego.

Why not the Padres? Why not us?

The Post’s staff makes their predictions for the Yankees-Rays ALDS.

Jon Heyman: The Yankees rotation couldn’t be in better shape, and the extra days off don’t hurt, either. They’re also looking better with the bats lately too. YANKEES IN 4. 

Greg Joyce: It won’t be nearly as easy as the wild-card series was, but the Yankees rotation shoulders the load again, allowing them to survive the Rays’ dominance at Tropicana Field. YANKEES IN 5. 

Dan Martin: The Rays have home-field advantage and the Yankees are almost certain to be without Aaron Judge, but the Rays are built for a long season, not a short playoff series. YANKEES IN 5. 

Mark W. Sanchez: The Rays offense will put constant pressure on the Yankees defense, which has not been a great strength of the team. RAYS IN 5. 

Joel Sherman: The Yankees must limit mistakes, especially at The Trop. But their rotation strength and some iffiness with the Rays getting the ball from their starters to terrific closer Bryan Baker opens enough of an offensive avenue for the Yankees to advance. YANKEES IN 5. 

Mike Vaccaro: Unlike the pillow fight they just enjoyed with the Red Sox, the Yankees know well just how good the Rays are. I expect both teams to hold serve. And that bodes well for the team that will host do-or-die Game 5. RAYS IN 5.

There’s an elephant in the Dodgers’ clubhouse, and it’s sitting in Tarik Skubal’s locker.

While the Dodgers are on a quest to capture their third consecutive World Series title in October, everyone knows that starting pitcher Tarik Skubal is set for a massive payday this offseason.

Well, except for maybe Skubal.

According to teammate Max Muncy, Skubal has not peeped a word about his impending free agency to his teammates.

“I’ve never heard him mention one thing about free agency,” Muncy said after the Dodgers’ Tuesday team practice. “All he’s talked about is pitching here or competing with us, making it through this playoff run.”

Muncy said Skubal’s clubhouse demeanor is rare and called it “pretty special.”

“He’s looking at a big payday coming up, for sure,” Muncy said. “For him to not even mention it once. We’ve had a lot of guys come over here, and they’re free agents the next year, and they talk about it, and it’s not a bad thing; you’re supposed to talk about it.”

As Muncy mentioned, Skubal has been focused on what the Dodgers have been building since he was traded to them ahead of the MLB trade deadline.

Skubal has started 10 games with the Dodgers this season and has been as good as advertised, going 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA and punching out 70 batters.

On Friday, the Dodgers tabbed Skubal as their Game 1 starting pitcher of the NLDS against the Braves on Saturday.

Aside from making an impact on the field, he’s also made an impact in the clubhouse.

On Thursday, teammate Tyler Glasnow appeared on “Dodgers Territory” and spoke about how Skubal and Blake Snell have developed a close friendship, calling it “love at first sight.”

“He’s been focused on what we’ve got going on this year. I think that speaks to him, but that also speaks to the culture we’ve got in here,” Muncy said. “…Whatever happens in the future is going to happen. But we can control what we’re doing right now.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Another eve of a playoff round, another day spent with all eyes on Aaron Judge. 

The Yankees’ three-time MVP took batting practice at Tropicana Field on Friday after working out on the grass at the club’s spring training home in Tampa earlier in the day, as he once again tries to show that he and his right calf are healthy enough to be added to the roster for the ALDS. 

Judge’s late push was not enough to be included on the AL wild-card series roster against the Red Sox, but after the Yankees took care of business without him, he seems to have a better shot of joining them against the Rays, even if he is not immediately a full player. 

“We’re looking at the days and so it’s more, is he going to be available at some point in this series, potentially, as a player?” manager Aaron Boone said Friday afternoon before the Yankees worked out on the turf. “That’s what we’re kind of weighing and then seeing where he’s at now these last few days having taken live [batting practice].” 

The schedule could play into Judge’s favor. There are off days after Games 1, 2 and 4 in the best-of-five series, giving him more time to recover from the moderate right calf strain that he suffered Sept. 16. And while the Yankees may not want him playing on the turf at Tropicana Field — they do not seem inclined to use him at DH either, which would force Ben Rice to first base and Luis García Jr. to the bench — it is possible he could take on the role of Giancarlo Stanton in the wild-card series as a pinch-hit threat in the first two games and then be ready to play right field by Game 3 back in The Bronx. 

But as was the case for the wild-card series — and Judge’s entire comeback from the calf injury — the Yankees were not offering much insight on how they were leaning. 

“The trainers will obviously play a big part in this,” Boone said. “As the day unfolds, we’ll see where we’re at and what it potentially looks like for the series.” 

Judge took live batting practice for the first time Monday, did some light running in the outfield Tuesday, then took live batting practice on both Wednesday (in Somerset) and Thursday (at Yankee Stadium) before the Yankees flew here. The biggest box left to check appears to be running the bases, but after taking on-field batting practice at Tropicana Field on Friday, he did not do any running or defensive work on the turf. 

“Sometimes running the bases, they replicate things in other ways,” Boone said. “We’ll make those calls probably later [Friday night].” 

The amount of off days in the series could also benefit Judge in that it may allow the Yankees to carry more position players than they might if it was condensed. Boone mentioned deciding between 10-12 pitchers, which means 14-16 position players, after carrying 16 position players and 10 pitchers for the wild-card series. It might be risky to carry someone who is not a full player if they were limited in bench options, but with an extra spot or two, it could be worth taking Judge. He only hit 4-for-23 with one home run, one walk and 13 strikeouts in seven games after returning from a three-month absence for a broken rib. But it is Aaron Judge. 

The Rays, meanwhile, were doing their prep work as if Judge would be in the lineup — if only because doing so was the best defense mechanism. 

“I was thinking that Aaron Judge was going to be there a week ago just so I’m not devastated when he’s on,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “I expect him playing right field, hitting third.” 

“I’ve done my deep dive on Aaron Judge,” Game 1 starter Drew Rasmussen said with a chuckle. “I think we make the assumption he’s in there until he’s not.” 

But Cash offered praise for how the Yankees have played without Judge. They survived his extended absence this summer, going 45-39, but then played their best without him against the Red Sox in the wild-card series, with guys chipping in up and down the lineup. 

“It’s incredibly impressive,” Cash said, “the offensive success that they have had missing the best hitter in our sport.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — “The competitor” in Ryan Weathers did not want to throw live batting practice Monday night at Yankee Stadium because he knew it would mean not being on the roster for the AL wild-card series. 

Four days later, though, the left-hander was glad he did, because after with the Yankees advanced to in the ALDS, Weathers has a strong chance not only to join the roster but also to pitch more often now that he is slightly more built up after coming back from a left forearm flexor strain late in the regular season. 

“I needed that second live just to sharpen up a little bit more,” Weathers said Friday at Tropicana Field before the Yankees worked out. “I feel super healthy enough to be on [the roster]. We’ll see where it lands [Saturday].” 

Aaron Boone was not yet ready to commit to Weathers being on the roster — or any roster decisions, for that matter — though the manager said earlier in the week that the lefty could play a “massive role” out of the bullpen moving forward. 

If Weathers had been included on the wild-card roster, he might have been able to throw only one inning the entire series, even if it went to three games.

Now, after getting a second live batting practice (on Monday) and an additional bullpen session (on Wednesday) under his belt, he could be in a position to pitch more often in the ALDS, especially with off days after Games 1, 2 and 4. 

“Hopefully I can be available for a few games of this series,” he said. 

Boone indicated the Yankees were debating carrying 10, 11 or 12 pitchers. That could mean Weathers becoming the 11th pitcher or potentially replacing another lefty in Ryan Yarbrough, though Yarbrough’s length could be valuable, especially with Carlos Rodón no longer expected to be an option out of the bullpen now that he is set to start Game 3 or 4. 

The Yankees had a travel snafu getting here during Thursday’s off day, which Boone categorized as “first-world problems.” 

They were originally scheduled to fly out of Westchester County Airport and arrived there around 2:30 p.m. But because of a hydraulics issue, according to Boone, they were delayed and then had to get off the plane around 8 p.m. to drive to LaGuardia Airport, where they boarded another charter and did not get to their hotel until around 1 a.m. 

“We drove further away from Tampa and then worked our way closer back to Tampa, and then we flew to Tampa,” said Game 1 starter Gerrit Cole, adding that they killed time with “cards, conversations, ribbing each other, video games, doom scrolling.” 

“It was a cluster,” Weathers added with a laugh. “It was a long day.” 

The Rays are declining to reveal their rotation beyond Drew Rasmussen starting Game 1 on Saturday. Their options to follow him include ex-Met Freddy Peralta, Fordham’s Nick Martinez, Griffin Jax and lefty Ian Seymour. 

“I feel like our five starters throughout the course of the year deserve to pitch a really big role in this,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “How we’re going to line them up will be dependent on how we get through Game 1.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees’ workout Friday, on the eve of the ALDS, was targeted. 

Several Yankees hovered around home plate as Austin Wells rolled a few balls down both foul lines. Brett Weber, the team’s senior director of advance scouting, studied how and in which direction the balls rolled, along with how they interacted with the lip of the turf.

Afterward, Weber stood at shortstop and infield coach Dan Fiorito at second with bats, taking turns cracking mostly one-or two-hoppers at Wells, mimicking a relay play to help the catcher judge how springy the artificial turf plays. 

The Yankees then rolled a machine out behind the plate to fire high fly balls and pop-ups, giving the club a chance to begin figuring out how best to pick out a white baseball against a white fabric backdrop. 

After dozens of reps, the group shifted to infield and pitcher-fielding practice, simulating game situations and testing how fast the ball would get to fielders on the synthetic turf. 

Yes, the Yankees routinely play at Tropicana Field, the home of a division rival that hosted seven of the head-to-head matchups this season. But only two of those were Yankees victories, and Aaron Boone’s bunch has never played a postseason game at The Trop, whose trap doors and booby traps could help decide which AL East power moves on to the ALCS. 

It is a field that the Rays — baseball’s best team at making contact and most prolific team at bunting, the American League leader in steals and the unofficial regular-season champions in what manager Kevin Cash called “creating some havoc for defenses and pitchers” — clearly have embraced, posting the majors’ best home record at 55-26. 

“I know online I always get to see about someone’s complaining about the catwalk, someone’s complaining about the roof, someone’s complaining about something or another,” Rays Game 1 starter Drew Rasmussen said. “Obviously, we’ve adapted to it very well.” 

“It’s a different field for sure,” José Caballero, a Ray in 2024 and ’25, said with a smile. 

Caballero said he has advised some teammates about what to expect. Neither George Lombard Jr. nor Spencer Jones, who both figure to be in Saturday’s Game 1 lineup, has played a game in the majors’ most peculiar domed ballpark. 

The ball moves faster on the ground, Caballero said, which is a difference that fielders can adjust to. The bigger adjustment in The Trop, Caballero added, is finding fly balls and preparing for the unknown that often comes at this ballpark. 

“It’s really tough to see, with the roof being the same color as the ball,” said Caballero, who has told teammates they need to track balls hit high even if they are not in the vicinity. “… It could hit the catwalk and kick any direction. 

“Even if the initial hit was not hit in your direction, you still have to pay attention to the ball.” 

It does not help that the Rays — athletic, fast and experienced on their home turf on defense — are also pests on offense, striking out 18.8 percent of the time to lead the majors. 

They will do whatever they can to pressure the Yankees, who did their best Friday to prepare for whatever Game 1 brings. 

“They put the ball in play. They can run. They push the envelope,” Boone said. “You’ve got to take care of the ball against them.” 

As the Dodgers entered the final portion of the regular season this year, manager Dave Roberts gathered some of his hitters to deliver a late-season reminder.

Nine months earlier, the Dodgers had openly proclaimed their ambitions to complete a World Series three-peat this year, stating the goal clearly (and repeatedly) during a parade to celebrate their second consecutive championship last November.

A few months after that, they reported to spring training and were bombarded with questions about the historical significance of such a quest, reminded time and again of a feat no National League team has ever accomplished, and no club in all of Major League Baseball has pulled off since the New York Yankees from 1998-2000.

Over the course of the year, the narrative only intensified, fueled by another 100-win campaign from the two-time defending champions — and stoked by a brewing labor battle at which, ahead of a likely lockout this offseason, the Dodgers’ dominance wound up being in the middle.

Thus, shortly before the trade deadline, and with October only barely starting to appear on the horizon, Roberts wanted to make sure his veteran core was in the right headspace.

Yes, the chance for history was within their grasp.

But no, they couldn’t afford to become preoccupied with the magnitude of such a task.

“We had a little conversation with Doc the other day, the position player group, and he’s really into winning this year,” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said at the time. “Obviously he cares about winning the last two [years], and it’s really important for him and for us. But he said he doesn’t really care about what happened the last two years. He wants to win this year. So it’s kind of like a pressed button for us to kind of continue to go and not let the rest of the league catch up to our standards. We just gotta keep it up there.”

Indeed, two months on from that day, that message continues to permeate as the Dodgers enter the playoffs, beginning with Game 1 of the National League Division Series against the Braves on Saturday.

Once again, the subject of a third consecutive title has been raised repeatedly this week.

And yet, the Dodgers have brushed it off at every turn, staying hyper-focused on the challenge of simply winning one World Series — and not the larger historical stakes hanging in the balance this October.

“When you talk about three-peating, you’re putting that extra pressure on it that doesn’t need to be there,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “Winning a World Series is already hard enough as it is. So for us, we’re just trying to focus on what we have ahead of us and without the added noise to it.”

“I think if you think big picture in this moment, you’re going to lose sight of some things,” first baseman Freddie Freeman added. “You just got to take each day one day at a time. And we do understand the bigger picture. But if you’re looking at the bigger picture, then you won’t be able to get to that big picture, if you’re not focusing on the now.”

That’s all been music to Roberts’ ears.

Ever since the team set its three-peat aim at last year’s parade, he has been trying to narrow its aperture, emphasizing the need to “put on blinders” and ignore outside noise and be prepared for the adversity the Dodgers will inevitably face during yet another postseason march.

“It’s still a different season. There’s going to be different challenges,” Roberts said. “I understand our guys understand what’s at stake. But I think for me, it’s balancing the importance, the opportunity that we have, versus trying to add more pressure than there is already.”

The Dodgers have plenty of practice, of course, handling such weighty expectations.

Over the last decade, they’ve gone from trying to snap a generational title drought, to trying to validate a shortened-season championship in 2020, to trying to cement a modern-day dynasty with back-to-back World Series triumphs.

Each of those boxes has now been checked.

The one that’s left — attempting to join only the Yankees and Athletics as MLB franchises to win three straight World Series — might be the toughest of all.

That much, they know. But as another October begins, they’re trying not to pay it much mind.

“You can’t get there unless you win the game that’s ahead of you,” Muncy said. “So we’re just focused on the game we got coming up.”

Maybe the Padres like facing the National League Central Division. 

San Diego took care of some unfinished business against one NL Central opponent this week, now they get the division’s heavyweight. 

The Padres swept the Cubs out of the NL Wild Card Series on Wednesday and head to Milwaukee for an NLDS matchup against the 103-win Brewers, the team with the best record in baseball this season. 

Despite their dominant regular season, the Brewers won’t be thrilled to see San Diego on Saturday. The Padres won four of the six meetings between the teams this season, including a three-game sweep at Petco Park in August. 

San Diego is also the hottest team in baseball over the last two months and went 18-6 in September before dismantling MLB’s highest-scoring offense in two games in the wild-card matchup.

If the Braves and Dodgers NLDS is billed as a classic David vs. Goliath matchup, then the Padres and Brewers is the unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. 

Milwaukee also went 18-6 in September and has had an identical number of wins as San Diego since the start of August with 38. This best-of-five collision is between the two hottest teams left standing. 

Game 1 is set for Saturday night at American Family Field, where the Brewers went 55-26, tied for the best home record in baseball this season. The Padres counter with a roster loaded with postseason scars and star power. Oh, and we didn’t even mention they have the most terrifying bullpen in the playoffs. 

The Post’s Michael J. Duarte takes a look at how the Padres and Brewers stack up this October:

At the plate

This is where Milwaukee quietly suffocates teams.

The Brewers led the majors in batting average (.258) and on-base percentage (.341), scoring 832 runs despite finishing near the bottom of baseball with 154 home runs. 

The Brewers don’t need to bludgeon you. They peck, scratch, walk, run and generally turn a pitching staff’s evening into a root canal appointment. 

Milwaukee also tied for the MLB lead by seeing 3.97 pitches per plate appearance. That kind of plate discipline is important in October, when knocking an elite starting pitcher out of the game can be as valuable as hitting a home run off them. 

Brice Turang has become the Brewers’ engine. He finished with an .816 OPS, 21 homers and 100 RBIs and then hit .361 with a .475 OBP in September. William Contreras drove in an MLB-best 24 runs during the final month. Jackson Chourio gives Milwaukee another dynamic threat near the top.

The Padres’ full-season .319 OBP doesn’t belong in the same neighborhood, but that number is increasingly misleading. Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Xander Bogaerts and Ty France all surged late, and the Padres had baseball’s hottest offense in September before scoring 12 runs in their two-game domination of Chicago.

Most importantly, San Diego doesn’t strike out excessively. The Padres ranked 10th in MLB at avoiding strikeouts, a valuable commodity when October pitching starts throwing napalm.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters

Edge: Brewers

Power

Here is where the Padres can change a game before the beer vendor finishes walking down the first aisle.

San Diego hit 183 homers to Milwaukee’s 154, with Manny Machado reaching 30, Merrill 26, Tatis 25 and France 21. Tatis’ season was especially bizarre: After going homerless for nearly two months, he hit 25 beginning May 30 and carried that heater into October with a leadoff blast against Chicago. Machado followed four pitches later. Bogaerts and Gavin Sheets also went deep for the Padres in the wild-card round.

The Padres also possess a particularly intriguing weapon against Jacob Misiorowski.

Nobody in baseball handled premium velocity better than San Diego. They led the majors with a .343 wOBA against fastballs of at least 96 mph. In September, that number exploded to .441. The Padres also tied for second in baseball in average bat speed at 72.8 mph. Milwaukee ranked third against 96-plus velocity at .325, so the Brewers aren’t exactly bringing a butter knife to this gunfight, either.

Still, Misiorowski isn’t merely another hard thrower. He is the soon-to-be NL Cy Young Award winner and a pitching lab experiment that escaped containment. His fastball routinely reaches triple digits, and he finished with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts, a 0.80 WHIP and a .157 opponents’ batting average — the lowest recorded by a starter.

The most irresistible matchup of Game 1 is baseball’s best high-velocity offense against perhaps baseball’s most violent fastball.

Edge: Padres

Projected Lineups

Padres

1. Fernando Tatis Jr., RF

2. Dustin Harris, LF

3. Manny Machado, 3B

4. Ty France, 1B

5. Jackson Merrill, CF

6. Xander Bogaerts, SS

7. Austin Hays, DH

8. Jake Cronenworth, 2B

9. Luis Campusano, C

Brewers

1. Jackson Chourio, LF

2. Brice Turang, 2B

3. William Contreras, C

4. Andrew Vaughn, 1B

5.  Christian Yelich, DH

6.  Sal Frelick, RF

7. Joey Ortiz, 3B

8. Garrett Mitchell, CF

9. Cooper Pratt, SS

In the field

On the diamond, Milwaukee has one of the best defensive second basemen in baseball in Turang, whose 23 defensive runs saved ranked second among all major-league position players. 

Rookie Cooper Pratt has been impressive at shortstop, and Joey Ortiz was excellent after shifting to third. Milwaukee finished with 62 defensive runs saved as a team.

The Padres’ infield might be older, but they aren’t statues. 

Machado remains magnificent at third and led the position with +8 Fielding Run Value. France produced +7 Outs Above Average at first, second only to Matt Olson among MLB first basemen. Bogaerts isn’t the shortstop he once was, but October isn’t foreign soil for a man with 56 career postseason games.

Jake Cronenworth versus Turang is the biggest mismatch. Cronenworth produced a career-worst .629 OPS in an injury-shortened season, while Turang became one of the sport’s most valuable second basemen.

Behind the plate, Contreras gives Milwaukee another advantage. He threw out 34.2% of attempted base stealers and supplied significantly more offensive certainty than San Diego’s three-headed catching arrangement of Campusano, Freddy Fermin and 20-year-old Ethan Salas.

Edge: Brewers

In the outfield

In the outfield the pendulum swings. 

Tatis is still one of baseball’s premier defensive right fielders, with two Gold Gloves and two Platinum Gloves already on his resume.  Put the glove together with 25 homers, 38 steals and his scorching finish, and there aren’t many players remaining in October capable of affecting a game in more ways.

Merrill gives San Diego another difference-maker in center. His .743 OPS was disappointing by his standards, but he still hit a career-high 26 homers, stole 27 bases and finished fourth among MLB center fielders with 4.2 fWAR.

Left field is San Diego’s soft spot after Ramón Laureano’s season-ending hip surgery, leaving Harris, Austin Hays, Samad Taylor and others to piece the position together.

Milwaukee is much more complete.

Chourio became the first player in MLB history with three 20-homer, 20-steal seasons before turning 23. Garrett Mitchell produced +7 OAA in center while posting a .354 OBP. Sal Frelick doesn’t bring much power, but he almost never swings through anything.

The Brewers are deeper, but the Padres have the two best outfielders in the series. 

Edge: Padres

On the basepaths

Don’t look away when either team gets somebody aboard. The Padres stole 164 bases during the regular season. Milwaukee stole 162.

San Diego’s Big 3 are Tatis (38), Merrill (27) and Bogaerts (22), but Milwaukee can answer with Chourio, Turang, David Hamilton, Pratt, Mitchell and enough team speed to turn a routine single into a traffic violation.

Contreras and Campusano both have strong throwing numbers, so neither club can run recklessly.

Edge: Even

Bench

Sheets already showed what San Diego’s bench can do when he came off it and blasted a two-run homer against the Cubs. Miguel Andujar gives the Padres a dangerous right-handed bat. Hays can start against certain matchups, and San Diego can mix and match at catcher with Campusano, Fermin and Salas.

That three-catcher construction is unconventional, but October rewards specialization.

Milwaukee counters with considerably more positional flexibility. Andrew Vaughn can supply a right-handed bat at first or DH. David Hamilton brings elite speed and can handle multiple infield spots. Gary Sánchez provides instant power at catcher or DH, while Luis Lara and Brandon Lockridge offer Pat Murphy additional outfield configurations depending on matchups.

Edge: Brewers

On the mound

Let’s start with the starting rotation. This is Milwaukee’s clearest advantage, but the chasm is not as wide as you think.

The Padres will give the baseball to Robbie Ray in Game 1 against Jacob Misiorowski, saving Michael King for Game 2 on Sunday against Logan Henderson.

Ray has plenty of October mileage and gives the Brewers a different look from the right-handers behind him, but his arrival in San Diego has been turbulent. He posted a 5.02 ERA after the trade and now gets the unenviable assignment of matching zeroes with the most overwhelming starting pitcher in baseball.

Misiorowski just authored one of the most outrageous seasons by a young starter in recent memory: 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA, 252 strikeouts, a 0.80 WHIP and a .157 opponents’ batting average.

That’s the mountain waiting for San Diego on Saturday night.

King returns on normal rest Sunday after carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Cubs in the NL Wild Card Series. He has become San Diego’s October ace, with a 2.05 career postseason ERA, and pushing him to Game 2 creates another enormous benefit: If this series reaches a winner-take-all Game 5, King can take the baseball on normal rest again.

Milwaukee will answer Sunday with Henderson, the 24-year-old right-hander who went 11-3 with a 2.47 ERA and has never allowed more than three runs in any of his first 23 major-league starts.

Nick Pivetta should follow in Game 3 at Petco Park. After missing nearly five months with a flexor strain, Pivetta has been excellent since returning, even if his wild-card start against Chicago lasted 3.1 innings. Pivetta was easily the ace of the Padres’ staff last season.

Game 4 is where both teams may begin emptying the junk drawer.

San Diego could return to Ray on short rest, use Walker Buehler or construct a bullpen game. Milwaukee has Robert Gasser, Dustin May and a collection of potential openers and bulk arms available depending on how the first three games unfold.

Edge: Brewers

If the Brewers’ strength is starting pitching, then the Padres is their bullpen. 

San Diego’s bullpen is a monster hiding under the bed. 

The Padres led MLB relievers with 8.9 fWAR and produced a major-league-best 3.33 xERA. Adrián Morejón gives manager Craig Stammen an elite left-handed setup option. Bradgley Rodriguez throws 98. Jason Adam is healthy again. Yuki Matsui provides another left-handed look. And then the bullpen doors open for Mason Miller, one of the best closers in all of baseball.

Miller struck out 129 batters in 70 innings — 16.6 per nine — while finishing in Statcast’s 100th percentile in xERA, expected batting average, fastball velocity, whiff percentage and strikeout percentage.

If San Diego leads after six, the Brewers may effectively have three outs left to save their evening.

Milwaukee’s bullpen was excellent, finishing with a 3.40 ERA. Trevor Megill saved 30 games with a career-best 0.89 WHIP. Abner Uribe has closer-quality stuff, Aaron Ashby gives Murphy a durable left-handed weapon, and DL Hall, JoJo Romero and others give the Brewers considerable matchup flexibility.

Most years, that would be enough to own this category. Not this year.

Edge: Padres

Manager

This might be the most fascinating managerial matchup of the Division Series.

Stammen is doing this in his first season as a major-league manager after replacing Mike Shildt. Instead of inheriting a cruise ship, he inherited a roster with an aging core, rotation uncertainty and enormous expectations.

Things got off to a rocky start through July, when Stammen said the team got together to have some “hard conversations.” But after that they caught fire in August and September and still managed to win 90 games. 

Then he navigated the wild-card round beautifully, trusting King deep into Game 1 and aggressively deploying his bullpen to finish Chicago in Game 2.

Across the diamond is a man San Diego knows quite well.

Murphy got his first major-league managing opportunity as the Padres’ interim skipper in 2015. A decade later, he has turned Milwaukee into a winning machine.

The back-to-back NL Manager of the Year has guided the Brewers to four consecutive NL Central titles, and this year’s 103 victories established a franchise record. His club isn’t constructed around a billion-dollar payroll or a lineup of future Hall of Famers. Milwaukee wins with development, defense, depth, matchups and an almost irritating refusal to beat itself.

Edge: Brewers

Intangibles

Milwaukee earned the right to put its feet up and rest a week while San Diego had to fight Chicago.

That gave Misiorowski, Henderson and the Brewers’ bullpen extra rest and allowed injured players such as Ortiz additional recovery time.

Normally, you’d hand Milwaukee the advantage and move along.

But the Padres aren’t exactly limping into the NLDS. They have been kicking down doors since August and have the best record in baseball over that time. They didn’t get to rest and probably wanted to keep playing considering how hot they’ve been. 

There is also something to be said for already having felt October’s pulse.

San Diego has played two elimination-style postseason games this week. Tatis has homered. Machado has homered. Bogaerts has delivered. King has dominated. Sheets has come off the bench cold and gone deep. Miller has already felt the ninth inning.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee hasn’t played since Sunday. 

Rest is valuable, but staying in a rhythm, especially the one the Padres have been in for the last two months, is better. 

Edge: Padres

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a rare session with reporters, Giancarlo Stanton declared himself “ready to go, however they need me.” 

The question the Yankees were set to ask among themselves Friday: Do they, indeed, need him for the AL Division Series? 

A remarkable comeback from three calf strains, which sidelined the slugger from late April until he was activated for the wild-card series, is in jeopardy. The Yankees, who carried just 10 pitchers with 16 position players in the best-of-three series against Boston, are considering 10-12 pitchers for the best-of-five ALDS against the Rays, manager Aaron Boone said. With more games, they may need more arms.

And against Tampa Bay rather than lefty-heavy Boston, the need for a righty who would only be used in pinch-hit scenarios lessens. Besides, it is at least possible Aaron Judge assumes that role if he can return to the field.

With rosters due Saturday morning before Game 1, Boone said Friday afternoon that the organization had not yet decided whether Stanton would remain active. 

Against the Red Sox, Boone came close to pinch-hitting Stanton, he has said, but did not pull the trigger in a couple of blowouts. On Friday, Stanton was asked if he would have preferred getting an at-bat so he could see real major league pitching for the first time since he suffered the initial calf strain on April 24. 

“I prefer to get two wins and be here now,” Stanton said. “Is it always good to get [at-bats] for anybody for their timing? Yes.” 

Stanton spoke in a media scrum for the first time since June — after his second calf strain and before a third that occurred in August — and declined to talk about how the “process was or the comeback” but offered: “I’m ready to help the team any way I can. … That’s all really I got to say about that.” 

The 36-year-old more commonly speaks with his bat, which owns a career .926 OPS with 18 home runs in 48 postseason games. 

He has worked his way into being, at the least, an option for the games he looks forward to the most and the games that one day could define his legacy. Stanton, like several prominent Yankees, does not have a World Series ring. 

“If there’s any time to erase a bad year, it’s in October,” Stanton said before taking batting practice at Tropicana Field. “So it’s the biggest opportunity to just show out for the city and do all we can do.” 

— Additional reporting by Greg Joyce 

Five weeks ago, Chris Sale was a problem for the Dodgers.

In a 1-0 win for the Braves at Truist Park, Sale pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 batters over nine innings.

He allowed only five hits.

He didn’t walk a batter.

But the Dodgers won’t see Sale on the mound at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in Game 1 of their National League Division Series.

They might not see him on Sunday in Game 2, either.

Because Braves manager Walt Weiss made the baffling decision to turn to Sale with a four-run lead to close out the deciding game of an NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies, there’s a chance the Dodgers won’t have to face the former Cy Young Award winner until the third game of the best-of-five series.

“A lot’s going to depend on how Chris feels,” Weiss said.

With one of the top bullpens in baseball, the NL East champion Braves present a real threat to the Dodgers on paper.

Reality won’t be nearly as dramatic.

Defeating the Phillies came at an extreme cost for the Braves, who enter this series looking more like cannon fodder than a realistic challenger.

“The Phillies series took a lot out of us, as far as our pitching,” Weiss said.

That series stretched to three games, with the games played on consecutive days. Closer Raisel Iglesias, fireballer Didier Fuentes and left-hander Dylan Lee pitched on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Fuentes returning to pitch again in the series finale.

In their bullpen game on Thursday, the Braves used six pitchers, including Sale, who was entrusted to take down the last four outs of a four-run game two days after he pitched 6 ⅓ innings in a Game 1 win.

The way the Braves used their relievers in the wild-card matchup will handicap a bullpen that was one of the best of baseball in the regular season. 

“The advantage for us is we have an opportunity to not let their pitching staff come up for air,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

In fact, with Weiss saying that sidelined starters Martin Perez and Bryce Elder won’t return in this round, the Braves could have to resort to bullpen games in Games 1 and 2.

In retrospect, Sale was more than a proverbial nail in the coffin for the Phillies — he was closer to an atomic bomb. But if Sale’s eighth-inning entrance detonated the minuscule chances of a Phillies comeback, it might have also nuked the Braves’ attempt to upset the Dodgers.

If Sale doesn’t pitch until Game 3, he will be limited to one start in the NLDS. So will Tyler Mahle, the only other usable starting pitcher on the Braves’ roster.

But say Sale can pitch by Sunday. What will the 37-year-old Sale look like after pitching in relief on Thursday? In that game, Sale threw four pitches in the eighth inning, sat on the bench for a half-inning, then returned to the mound to throw 17 more pitches.

Pitching in Game 2 would make Sale available to start Game 5 on four days’ rest, but, again, how will Sale look at that point? If Sale takes the mound for a hypothetical fifth game, he would be starting opposite Tarik Skubal, who would be pitching on five days’ rest.

Don’t begrudge the Dodgers for this advantage. They earned it by securing one of the NL’s top two seeds, which earned them a bye in the wild-card round.

In 2021, the Dodgers won a then-franchise-record 106 games but had to play in a winner-take-all wild-card game because they were edged for the NL West title by the Giants. After beating the Cardinals on a walk-off home run in the wild-card game, the Dodgers were pushed to five games by the Giants in the NLDS. Max Scherzer closed out the last game of the NLDS, which affected him in the next round against the Braves. Scherzer lasted only 4 ⅓ innings in his Game 2 start and had to be scratched from his Game 6 assignment. 

The record shows the Dodgers were eliminated by the Braves that year, but the truth was the damage they sustained in the Giants series is what ended their postseason run. 

This time, the Dodgers are on the other side of the equation.

Zack Gelof is one of those athletes who only has one speed: full bore ahead. It’s part of what makes him an elite athlete and at times it makes it difficult for him to stay on the field. But there is also a difference between playing with “reckless abandon” and having “no regard for your body,” and hitting the ER because the other team’s stadium operations executives had no regard for your body.

In July, 2017 the A’s acquired Dustin Fowler from the New York Yankees as he was recovering from a serious knee injury, a rupture of his right patella tendon. In December, 2017, Fowler sued the Chicago White Sox, claiming negligence due to an unpadded, metal electrical box that was located in precisely the area where Fowler impacted the wall. Fowler’s lawsuit settled for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Now comes Gelof’s lawsuit filed against the Detroit Tigers after Gelof badly lacerated his leg on July 9 when his pursuit of a foul fly ball took him into the side wall — where instead of padding there was a stretch of metal wiring that sliced Gelof’s knee like a Veg-O-Matic and kept him out of action for a month.

Some injuries are preventable and many aren’t. Some mishaps are the result of foreseeable gross negligence and many are just plain bad luck. Stadium operators are obliged to notice clear safety hazards, and many hazards only reveal themselves when a fluky play exposes a formerly unknown truth.

The question in front of a judge or jury, first to be mediated by posturing attorneys, is whether Gelof’s injury was caused by a negligence that anyone could have, and should have, reasonably foreseen. The law doesn’t compensate you for bad luck like it does for bad faith.

Did the Tigers expressly have an obligation to put padding, or avoid putting a wire facing, in a part of the playing field a fielder might slide or crash into? Did Gelof have some obligation either to avoid going full tilt into a very visible wire structure or to notice the hazard during batting practice and bring it to someone’s attention?

Separately there is the question of “damages” as the two sides haggle about the “value” of the case. Certainly there was appreciable pain and suffering — that much was clear at the time of the collision as well as the fact that Gelof could not take the field in a big league game for 32 days.

But he was also paid while on the IL and rehab assignments, so there was no loss of income there. His future value, and how this injury did or did not affect it, is a pretty subjective question, but we do know that Gelof put up a 116 wRC+ before the injury and a very similar 112 wRC+ after.

One thing is for sure: Fowler’s case will be raised, by both sides, in conversations around Gelof’s chances of prevailing in his lawsuit and the value of any settlement. Fowler created precedent that informs comparable cases. And once again, here is an outfielder who was racing into foul territory when he bludgeoned himself on an exposed and unforgiving barrier to his pursuit.

What do you think are the material facts in Gelof’s case and who do they ultimately favor? In all likelihood this case, like the one before it, will settle and never go to trial and the settlement amount will not be made public. But if you were on a jury and were asked to rule on the merits, what information would most inform your verdict and what would that verdict look like? In the end, will Gelof get the 65th win of the season to bring vengeance upon the stadium where Oakland’s season was ended 20 years prior?

There are all the stars in this series — Mookie Betts, Matt Olson, Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna Jr., Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal, Michael Harris II and more — and then there is the face of baseball around the world.

Major League Baseball wrapped a postseason advertisement around the front page of The Times this week. “OCTOBER STARTS TODAY,” the headline screamed.

Beneath those enormous letters, Shohei Ohtani smiled. Who else?

And so dozens of reporters crammed into a cramped room within Dodger Stadium on Friday afternoon, on the eve of the National League Division Series between the Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves, waiting for Ohtani to answer a few versions of “How are you?”

It’s not just about attracting casual fans to watch the icon whose face adorns everything from airplanes to skin care products. For the Dodgers and their fans, it’s about whether their most famous player can be a game-changer in October.

Read more:Nine concerns the Dodgers should have about facing the Braves in the NLDS

The Dodgers could have shut him down as a pitcher rather than let him continue to try to pitch through knee and biceps injuries. They didn’t, and that backfired.

The Dodgers could have shut him down as a hitter, not for the season but for a stint on the injured list. They didn’t. They gave him just a few days off, and that backfired.

Then the Dodgers did put him on the injured list, but activated him for the final five games of the regular season rather than give him extended rest for the playoffs, limiting his activity to controlled workouts.

That might backfire, or it might not, and the repercussions of the former could represent a significant hurdle in their quest for a third consecutive World Series championship. Giving Ohtani time off during the regular season would have carried no penalty; the Dodgers would have won the NL West with or without him.

If the Dodgers decide Ohtani needs a few days off now, they would face this unpleasant dilemma: play one man short, or put him on the injured list. Under MLB rules, a player put on the injured list during a postseason series must sit out the next series. So, if Ohtani starts wincing at the end of his swings during the NLDS, a stint on the injured list would mean he could not play again until the World Series — if the Dodgers get there.

Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. Since then, he is batting .157, and he has struck out in 41% of his at-bats. In those final five games, he hit the ball hard in the first two, then hit ground balls in the final three. In the on-deck circle, he did not always take a swing.

In batting practice Friday, he hit lots of home runs.

The general sense of how Ohtani is feeling now: good enough.

Ohtani said he feels “really good” as compared to before he went on the injured list, but acknowledged he isn’t sure what he might need to do to address the injuries over the winter.

“As of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts offered this medical update: “Shohei’s not 100%, but he’s going to be in the lineup.”

Same for Freddie Freeman, who has not homered in a month. The difference, Roberts said, is how encouraged the manager was by Freeman’s workouts this week.

“With Shohei, I’m not so sure,” Roberts said. “I know that once the lights turn on, the postseason starts, the focus will be heightened. I expect good things. I really do. We just haven’t seen it enough to really — for me to forecast it.”

Read more:'I'm excited for it.' Tarik Skubal to start for Dodgers in NLDS Game 1

Ohtani plays when he says he can. After he tore up his left shoulder in Game 2 of the 2024 World Series, he had trainers tape the shoulder in place and took 11 at-bats over the final three games of the series. He had one hit, a single.

“I do pride myself on playing every day,” Ohtani said. “I do see it as an obligation as a professional to be on the field every single day.”

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, acknowledged recently that communication with Ohtani has been “awesome” but “fully sharing exactly how he’s feeling, maybe not as awesome.”

Said Friedman: “He’s not always the best reporter of how he feels. Freddie’s the same way. Clayton Kershaw. I’ve been around a lot of these guys that feel like their job is to be out there to help the team however they can, and sometimes will downplay some things that are bothering them. But again, it’s because he wants to help the team win.”

The Dodgers are talented enough that Ohtani not hitting well would not damage their chances as much as, say, Sale not pitching well for the Braves. In the NLDS and the first three games of the NLCS last October, Ohtani hit .103 with no home runs and struck out in 48% of his at-bats.

Read more:‘We are the team to beat.' How the Dodgers are preparing for showdown with Braves

In the NLCS clincher, he hit three home runs (and struck out 10 batters). The Dodgers could trade a few bad days from Ohtani for that one really good day.

In that MLB advertisement, the one that featured Ohtani, the league acknowledged that its screaming headline was not exactly accurate. The explanation also fits the Dodgers’ hopes of Ohtani starring in October.

The ad, after all, appeared on Sept. 29.

October starts today?

“Logic and reason would tell you otherwise,” the ad read. “But October isn’t about being reasonable.

“It’s about belief.”

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

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.