Category: MLB

Welcome to the Postseason. Welcome to the beginning of an historic World Series run, or the last two days of the season. Welcome to heroes becoming goats and GOATs becoming legends. This is first day of the rest of our fandom, or another fruitless day. This is the best time of the year, and a celebration intertwined with opportunities to cheer our team longer.

On the hill for the Braves will be 10-time All-Star Chris Sale, who brings one World Series title and 63.5 career WAR into this matchup. He has a 2.16/2.29/2.82 (55/51/67) line this season. He’s struck out 86 versus 5 walks since the All-Star Break.

Against Sale will be Jesús Luzardo, at least to start the game. The last time the Braves saw him was a complete game shutout and a game score of 100. We questioned the Braves approach versus Luzardo here. Let’s hope they have better ideas this afternoon. We don’t know how long Luzardo will pitch today. But we don’t know how long anyone will pitch today. There’s no reason to save anyone. Thursday isn’t guaranteed.

Game Notes

Pitching Matchups

Lineups

Wild Card Series Roster

Here’s why the Atlanta Braves can win the World Series

2026 Wild Card Series Preview: Braves tangle with Phillies yet again

Braves stay loose and focused on Workout Day

Before we begin

If you have ever been here, you will know that we don’t allow users that have created their account today to participate in this thread or the post-game thread. We are waiving this requirement for the postseason. Many of our current users found us by joining this time of year, and we would like you to join us. However, please tread lightly. If you are newly minted you may receive more scrutiny. Please don’t be offended, just join in.

We’ve had trouble with Phillies trolls in this space, and this is a rule created to help handle this. I know this may seem unusual since Philadelphia sports fans are the greatest fans in the world. They will tell you this while they are trolling the site after a Braves playoff loss deep into the night, and creating multiple alts to do so. Trolls, by definition, aren’t going to follow the rules anyway. So everyone else, come on in.

We also don’t allow suggesting that the game is over and how the rest of the series will end for the Braves in this thread aka posting “ballgame” or the like. It just creates arguments, and isn’t welcome here. The other rules are here.

OK, we’re ready to go. battery666, if you please…

Tar Heel baseball fans will have a clear favorite Major League Baseball team as the 2026 postseason gets underway today.

According to Baseball-Reference.com, nine former Tar Heels were active on MLB rosters during the 2026 season. However, only one player appears set to see October (or at least very late September) baseball.

His Name is Michael Busch…

…and he is a bad man.

Fans of North Carolina baseball from 2017-2019 will remember Busch well as a standout first baseman for the Tar Heels. For those who do not recall, or those who simply yearn for a walk down memory lane, gaze upon four minutes of Michael Busch UNC highlights:

Over three seasons at UNC, Busch posted a 0.921 OPS with 32 home runs, 169 runs scored, and 142 walks. He is second all-time in walks in Carolina Baseball history.

Drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2019, Busch worked his way through the minors and made his major league debut on April 25th, 2023. He was traded to the Cubs in the offseason ahead of the 2024 season and has been a staple at first base ever since.

The 2025 season was his best yet as a pro, hitting 34 home runs with an .866 OPS and 4.5 WAR, all of which was good enough to help him finish 16th in the National League MVP voting. The 2026 season has seen a drop in power as he’s only hit 20 home runs, but his patience at the plate has yielded him a 13.0% walk rate, which is 17th best in the league.

He’s 28 years old, played in 160 games this season, and won’t be a free agent until 2030. There’s a lot for Cubs fans to like about Busch.

Postseason Experience

Last season was Busch’s first experience playing postseason baseball, and in the Wild Card round he absolutely raked.

Facing the San Diego Padres (who Busch is slated to face again in the 2026 Wild Card), Busch posted 4 hits, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 HR, and 1 BB in 12 plate appearances over three games. The NLDS had even more in store for Busch, as he hit three home runs in just 19 plate appearances over five games. Although the Cubs lost the series to the Brewers, it was a fantastic first foray into postseason baseball for Busch. He finished the postseason with a .296 BA and 1.128 OPS.

The Postseason Starts Now

It’s once again time for postseason baseball for Michael Busch, and he will enter tonight’s matchup against the San Diego Padres as the only former North Carolina Tar Heel on a postseason roster. Tonight, a little after 10:00 pm Chapel Hill time, he’ll climb into the batter’s box at Petco Park, stare down Michael King, and swing with the full weight and momentum of Tar Heel Nation in his bat.

Bonus Note: I should mention that former Tar Heel Trent Thornton is currently on the 15-day Injured List for the Cubs. If Chicago makes it past San Diego, there’s a chance Thornton makes it on the NLDS roster. Did you need another reason to cheer for the Cubs?

It’s time to get rocking and rolling around here. Not too long from the time that I’m typing this, the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies wil be renewing their Postseason rivalry for another season. While the fans are never going to get on the field and make plays or anything like that (nor would anybody want to see that), it still means a lot that the Braves are getting to have home field advantage for the entirety of this Wild Card Series.

Ozzie Albies was asked during the pregame press conference about what it meant to be able to play this series right here in Truist Park and as you could imagine, he’s pretty excited about it. “Yeah, definitely the home crowd helps us a lot,” stated Ozzie. “I want to say thank you to all the fans that comes and support us every day and out. It makes the game better for sure. I know Braves Country always supports us, and definitely playing at home is going to be much more fun.”

Ozzie has been here for nearly of the ups-and-downs that this team has experienced during this particular era.I asked him about what makes 2026 different from the rest of them and he mentioned the fact that he was pretty jazzed up about facing the Phillies again.

“Every run is different and special. For us to go through and face the Phillies again, we’re definitely going to be hyped,” explained Ozzie. “We’re looking forward to playing as hard as we can to win tonight and the upcoming games against them because it’s super important.”

“At this point, winning is everything,” continued Ozzie. “Definitely it’s different, new year, new players, new everything. But it’s going to be a fun one.”

Perhaps the biggest story of the day was the revelation that guys like DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Rowdy Tellez and Luke Williams were going to be included on the roster. Tellez and Williams were particularly surprising choices and Walt Weiss was asked about those decisions in the pregame press conference.

“Rowdy is a big left-handed hitter over there that maybe puts some fear into some people,” explained Weiss. “We got a glimpse of him during the season and he hit a pinch-hit homer for us. He can do that. Keirsey obviously as a base runner did a great job, Triple-A, stealing bases, running the bases. He’s been impactful in that role in his short time here at the end of the year. I think virtually every time I’ve pinch ran him, he’s scored a big run for us.

“Luke is a really smart base runner,” continued Weiss. “Luke is a guy that can cover you all over the field too. Without the ghost runner at second base, these games could go 15, 16 innings. That kind of versatility helps if you get to that point. But [he’s] primarily [here to be a] base runner, base stealer, Luke.”

Lastly, Weiss’s reaction to Jesús Luzardo getting tabbed as the “opener” drew a laugh from everybody in the room. He was asked about whether or not he was skeptical about Luzardo “simply” being an opener and when he clarified that Don Mattingly was the one who said that, Weiss very dryly stated that he was “very skeptical” of that.

Whether it’s a bit of gamesmanship or the real deal, it sure feels like the Braves are ready for whatever the Phillies may have in store this game and the series as a whole. It really feels like one of those series that will be balanced on a knife’s edge and hopeflly the Braves will be the ones who come out victorious — especially with Chris Sale starting Game 1. We’ll see what happens, folks.

For the record, this essay is emphatically not a prediction.

Nor is it an exercise in pointing out the obvious flaws of a team that ultimately went on to win a World Series, forcing me to cook duck and creating the ability to cause generational drama in the Bronx by simply uttering the phrase “Fifth inning.”

There’s bean footage, and then there is bean footage. For the record, you can see the original title I gave that infamous 2024 prediction essay before Eric Stephen threw me under the figurative bus.

There’s a funny side effect from being present at the last game of the 2025 season, which was generally hailed as one of the best baseball games ever played: I find myself blissfully calm at the upcoming proceedings. Having the ability to cue the Rojas homer or the final outs on command from my phone does wonders for both my mental health and self-esteem.

Just one more time for the road, I promise.

That footage is better than some vitamins, I say. Will the Dodgers repeat for a second year over the month? I have no earthly idea. It’d be nice.

To paraphrase one of my favorite ad campaigns from the early 2000s: that’s bliss, baby. Now, I suddenly want bad tea.

I can see how the Dodgers would prevail next month — just do 2025 but better. I’m looking at you, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, Freddie Freeman, Max Muncy, Andy Pages, and Tommy Edman. If Kyle Tucker is the answer, then my God, what is the question?

Conversely, I can see how the team would fall flat on their face. You did too; it was called the Summer Swoon. What if everyone I just mentioned plus Shohei Ohtani couldn’t hit water from a boat? That failure, especially with runners in scoring position, would likely do it.

Jacob Macofsky wrote a lovely essay worth your time on the happier side of things as a palate cleanser.

But if I give the upcoming tournament much thought, and you were inclined not to join me in my state of relative bliss, there are only two situations that would probably annoy me, much less anger me.

Scenario One: The Padres win it all

That’s it. Any other National League winner elicits no reaction from me apart from “Oh. Neat.” Maybe the Cubs; I did just gag a little.

Don’t get me wrong. I was quite annoyed when I had to live in a universe where the San Francisco Giants won a World Series. Then they did it again…and again…and have been irrelevant ever since, so it got better. My annoyance at a hypothetical Padres title does not rise to the level of agita I just described.

It’s just that the Padres have beclowned themselves at just about every opportunity when they have had actual expectations placed on them.

Expectations that the Padres would make a deep playoff run after finally besting the Dodgers in 2022? Nope, as apparently the job was done and the Dodgers’ failure was made worse when Philadelphia romped to the Fall Classic with modest effort.

Expectations that the Padres were going to win the NL West in 2023? Nope, as the team evacuated its figurative baseball bowels promptly, thoroughly, and repeatedly.

Expectations that the Padres would win the 2024 NLDS, likely costing Dave Roberts his job? Nope, as the Padres’ offense decided to go on holiday, not scoring for 23 innings to conclude the proceedings.

At this point, that team is practically daring me and others to pick it for a deep playoff run, potentially setting up a Dodgers-Padres NLCS.

I’m not falling for this bit again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us. Fool me four times, get a new hobby.

Honestly, it’s not animus towards the city of San Diego or its ballpark. It’s nice, on both counts.

It’s this current group of players who are as unlikeable and obnoxious as any bunch I can recall. The funny thing is that if they had actually done anything to justify the attitude, I would accept it as the winner’s prerogative.

Since they haven’t won anything, it’s just obnoxious.

Yes, they have been playing well in September, and their bullpen is formidable. I wanted the Dodgers to trade for Mason Miller last year. I even went to Sutter Health Park on his bobblehead day to get both the bobblehead and art for the subsequent Guide entry. Oh well.

The Padres have to get past the Cubs, which is an oddly compelling matchup that could easily fill a five-game or even seven-game series. Alas, it’s only three games as an amuse-bouche.

We don’t need extra playoffs; we need to savor what we have.

Seeing the Padres send the Cubs packing would likely be quite satisfying. In some respects, I am honestly rooting for every game to go to extra innings, and if a wayward meteor or an errant probe looking for whales happened by, who is to complain?

The just reward of that hypothetical Padres’ victory is that the Brewers are waiting, looming, if not salivating, for the winner. Most likely, the Padres’ dreams are smashed in Cream City, but not until giving the Brewers all that they can handle.

Scenario Two: Summer Swoon Coda

The Dodgers’ pitching core should be elite. Yes, the bullpen has seen better days, but this time of year is when the usual characters of Blake Treinen are out, and Justin Wrobleski and Roki Sasaki are in.

If we’re being honest, and the Dodgers themselves were being honest, they would probably admit they are either going to win it all again or flop out right quick.

The problem with a best-of-five series is that all the benefits of depth are essentially negated. In a long enough series, the Dodgers should eventually beat just about anyone in the field. In a five-game series, the margin for error shrinks that much quicker.

I’ve been to Atlanta and Philadelphia. Those venues will be rocking if there is any sense of blood in the water, if the veneer of Dodger invincibility is scraped away.

Speaking of someone who has looked quite mortal since mid-August, Shohei Ohtani was eventually put on the injured list this September. Since his return, apart from one game, he hasn’t looked quite like himself.

He’s looked and hit better than Freddie Freeman, who didn’t sit for ten days in a gambit that has all but backfired at this point, but that observation really isn’t saying much.

• Freeman (20 games): .184/.259/.224. 14 for 76, 6 R, HR, 7 RBI, 6 BB, 23 K, 4 GIDP
• Ohtani (5 games): .238/.273/.286. 5 for 21, 2B, RBI, 1 BB, 8 K

Now, however unlikely, if the Dodgers reenact either 2022 (flopping after one victory) or 2023 (getting swept meekly), I would be modestly disappointed.

Reenacting 2021 (sputtering out in the LCS) wouldn’t raise my hackles, because sometimes a team either just sputters out or runs into a better team.

The Brewers are better and healthier than they were last year. Maybe it’s finally their year? Who’s to say? I swear that Pat Murphy’s faux-meek act is long past its expiration date, but specific analysis of the Brewers is a topic for a later day.

But it better not be the Padres’ year, unless they flop to the Tampa Bay Rays or, God forbid, some other AL team. I specifically think of a team that backed into the postseason with a non-winning record and somehow has a cakewalk path to the ALCS if Cleveland and Chicago play to expectations.

A Padres/Astros World Series would be 2002 Redux, and sequels and remakes are generally worse than the original. But doomsday scenarios aside, the above is how I learned to love the upcoming tournament.

11 victories from Los Angeles seal immortality. Let the games begin!

Both the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves have announced their rosters for the Wild Card round.

Phillies:

None of the Phillies trade deadline acquisitions made the roster. Some of that is due to unfortunate injuries. Caleb Kilian strained his oblique and Luis Arraez sprained his ankle. Brooks Raley has no such excuses. The 38-year-old left-hander had a 7.94 ERA in 16 games with the Phillies and became a non-option for the playoffs.

They’re also carrying 3 catchers because they have nothing else. It’s sort of fitting regardless of how the series turns out.

The Braves roster features 11 pitchers and 15 position players. It is surprising to see Ha-Seong Kim make it, let alone starting at shortstop. In 147 plate appearances, Kim hit just .116 with a .359 OPS. He is probably cooked.

Hello, Luke Williams!

The Wild Card round begins today, and while the Royals didn’t even sniff the postseason, some former Royals will get a chance at playoff glory.

Here are some old friends you can watch chase a ring this postseason.

Phillies vs. Braves

Jonathan Bowlan, Phillies

Bowlan was the big beefy pitcher the Royals took out of college in the draft class of 2018. He tossed a no-hitter in the minors, and showed some promise in in 34 games last year with the Royals, mostly as a reliever. But they wanted a more reliable veteran arm in the pen, and shipped Bowlan to Philadelphia for All-Star lefty Matt Strahm. Unfortunately, Strahm imploded, possibly due to a knee injury, while Bowlan thrived in Philly. He appeared in 59 games and struck out 73 in 56.1 innings with a solid 3.36 ERA.

Brewer Hicklen, Braves

Hicklen put up some great numbers in the minors as a guy that could hit home runs and steal bases. He kept grinding away, reaching the big leagues in 2022 with the Royals at age 26. They sold him to the Phillies in 2023, and he bounced around the league for a bit. He played in a career-high 20 games with the Braves this year, often as a pinch runner.

Mike Yastrzemski, Braves

Yaz was a big boost to the Royals offense when they acquired him at the trade deadline last year. There was some interest in bringing him back, but he instead signed a two-year, $23 million deal with the Braves. His numbers did decline in his age-35 season, but he still hit .224/.309/.380 with 12 home runs in 139 games. He will start at designated hitter for the Braves this afternoon

White Sox vs. Astros

Andrew Benintendi, White Sox

Benintendi played for the Royals in 2021-22, earning his only All-Star nod in his final year with the Royals, just before they traded him to the Yankees. He signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the White Sox in 2023, the largest contract in club history. But it has not gone well so far, and he is hitting .244/.307/.396, worth just 0.5 rWAR total in four seasons.

Randal Grichuk, White Sox

The Royals picked Grichuk up as a lefty-masher last year, and he appeared in 43 games. He started this year with the Yankees, but was let go in May. The White Sox picked him up and he thrived, hitting .299/.328/.598 with 15 home runs in 101 games.

Tommy Pham, White Sox

Pham played 23 games with the Royals down the stretch in 2024, and was even on their postseason roster that fall, hitting .455 against the Yankees in the ALDS. The White Sox picked up the 38-year-old veteran late in the year, perhaps for veteran presence, since he is just 3-for-30 (.100) in 17 MLB games this year.

David Sandlin, White Sox

Sandlin was a promising Royals pitching prospect sent to the Red Sox in the John Schreiber deal before the 2024 season. The Red Sox sent him to the White Sox before this year, and he made his MLB debut this year. The 25-year-old right-hander had a 5.58 ERA in 40.1 innings, and will pitch out of the White Sox bullpen.

Red Sox vs. Yankees

Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox

The Aroldis Chapman era in Kansas City was fairly forgettable in 2023, but he did net us Cole Ragans in a deal that worked out great for the Royals and the Rangers, who won the World Series that year. The ageless Chapman has been fantastic in Boston, with a 1.51 ERA and 67 saves over the past two seasons, earning All-Star honors each season.

Nate Eaton, Red Sox

Eaton was a late round pick by the Royals in 2018 out of the Virginia Military Institute. He was a jack-of-all-trades who could play everywhere, run, and hit for some power. He looked good in 44 games with the team in 2022, but went 4-for-53 (.075) in limited action the next year. Now 29, he appeared in 24 games for Boston this year, hitting .160 and filling in mostly as a bench player.

John Schreiber, Yankees

Schreieber did not give up a run in five postseason appearances for the Royals in 2024, and he led the team with 74 relief appearances in 2025. In 188 games over the past three seasons, he posted a 3.71 ERA. He was placed on waivers late this year to save money on his salary, and he was fantastic down the stretch for the Yankees with a 1.68 ERA in 11 games.

Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees

The Royals brought Yarbrough in for the 2023 season as a rubber-armed crafty lefty that could fill any role they needed for their pitching-starved roster. He was solid for them with a 4.24 ERA in 51 innings before they traded him to the Dodgers for Derlin Figueroa and Devin Mann. He is in his second year with the Yankees, and has a 3.69 ERA in 63.1 innings this year.

Cubs vs. Padres

The official Cubs and Padres postseason rosters won’t be announced until later today, but here are the former Royals we could see.

Jason Adam, Padres

The Kansas City native was drafted by the Royals, but traded to the Twins to get Royals postseason hero Josh Willingham. He returned to the Royals where he made his MLB debut in 2018, but his career didn’t take off until 2022 when he became an elite reliever with the Rays. He was an All-Star last year with the Padres and had a 2.62 ERA this year, although injuries limited him to 38 games.

Freddy Fermin, Padres

Fermin was a popular backup catcher with the Royals and Gold Glove finalist, but he was traded to the Padres last summer for pitchers Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert. His bat has declined in San Diego – he hit just .203/.274/.315 in 96 games. But he has been very good behind the plate, ranking well in pitch framing, pitch-blocking, and throwing metrics.

Samad Taylor, Padres

Taylor was acquired by the Royals in the Whit Merrifield trade, and he had a memorable MLB debut with a walk-off single in 2023. He joined the Padres this year at age 27, and had a nice year as a bench player, hitting .316/.390/.408 with 13 steals in 47 games, playing mostly in the outfield.

In the next round, we could also see former Royals pitcher Foster Griffin for the Guardians and Kris Bubic with the Dodgers.

Who are you rooting for in the postseason?

The MLB postseason kicks off today! Four Wild Card Series will be played over the next three days, in which time the Brewers will learn whether they’ll face the Cubs or the Padres in their Division Series matchup. You can check out our Wild Card Series Preview here, but here’s a quick rundown of this week’s action, and where you can find it:

Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves (1:00 p.m. CT each day, NBC & Peacock)

The Phillies are back in the postseason for the fifth straight season and the third time as an NL Wild Card. Both of those Wild Card appearances have boded well for them, as they made the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, taking out the Braves in the NLDS both times. This year, they backed into the final playoff spot on the last day of the regular season after spoiling multiple chances throughout the week to clinch, but nonetheless, they’re here. The Braves, who had a disappointing 2025 after making the playoffs each of the seven seasons prior, are back as the champs of the NL East for the first time since 2023. They’re led by the resurgence of a late-career Chris Sale, who once again put his name into contention for the NL Cy Young with a strong season. The offense has been good, albeit inconsistent, led by Matt Olson, Michael Harris Jr, and Drake Baldwin.

Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros (4:00 p.m. CT each day, Peacock & NBC Sports Network)

What most would likely expect to be the most boring Wild Card Series, this set features the two worst teams in the postseason, at least by record. The Astros became the first division winner in MLB history to finish without a winning record, ending the year at 81-81, but I promise you they don’t care. They’re back in the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 years after missing the postseason last year. Even at .500, they led the league in homers this year, finishing in the top 10 in OPS, though their pitching staff ranked in the bottom-third of the league. The White Sox, who lost 100-plus games each of the last three seasons, are back in the postseason for the first time since 2021, when they lost in the ALDS to the Astros. They’re also an offense-first team, ranking in the top 10 in OPS, homers, and runs scored behind Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery, while their pitching staff sits right in the middle of the pack.

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (7:00 p.m. CT each day, NBC & Peacock)

One of two Wild Card rematches from a year ago, the Red Sox will once again travel to New York to face the rival Yankees in this best-of-three series. Last year, the Red Sox claimed Game 1 but dropped the last two games in three low-scoring games, as the two teams scored just 15 total runs in the series. I’d expect more scoring this time around, but who knows — these are two of the best pitching staffs in baseball, as the Yankees lead the league in ERA and the Red Sox rank third. Offensively, neither team is great, though the Red Sox had a solid second half and the Yankees can still mash homers, especially at Yankee Stadium. This should be a fun rivalry series in the Bronx.

Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres (9:00 p.m. CT each day, Peacock & NBC Sports Network)

Brewers fans will have to stay up late this week if they want to watch their two potential opponents in the NLDS face off, as the Padres will host the Cubs for their best-of-three series in San Diego. Chicago, who led the NL Central early in the season and looked like the top Wild Card team for most of the year, laid off the gas late in the year, allowing the surging Padres to take over that top seed in the final week. San Diego, which had one of the league’s worst offenses in the first half, has really turned things on since the All-Star break, led by Fernando Tatis Jr., who finished the season with 25 homers despite not hitting his first until May 30. The Padres also have one of the best bullpens in baseball, while the Cubs are an inconsistent offense-heavy team, as they have 35 wins of five-plus runs but they were also shut out 14 times this season. We’ll see how this one pans out as the Brewers await their opponent.

Postseason baseball is back, and unfortunately the Detroit Tigers aren’t part of it. For some, that really kills the interest level, and I get it. On the other hand, sports are amplified by the bright lights of the playoffs and World Series, and there is little better than postseason baseball in my opinion. So, pick a team or just see whose bandwagon you feel like jumping on along the way. Even without the Tigers, it’s going to be a really fun month of baseball, and potentially instructive towards the challenges before the Tigers to get back.

All four Wild Card series will begin on Tuesday, September 29th. Each one is a best-of-three, with the two top teams in each league waiting for their divisional round opponents. The home team stays the home team for the whole series, and there are no off days to try and get to the full rounds without putting the top teams on the shelf for more than a few days.

Here are the times for both Game 1 and Game 2 of each series. If necessary, Game 3 schedules will be announced as required to take advantage of prime time.

2:00 p.m. ET Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves

5:00 p.m. ET Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros

8:00 p.m. ET Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

10:00 p.m. ET Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres

Another year, another October without Mets baseball. A long offseason of speculation, trade rumors, roster projections, and bittersweet retrospectives awaits, but first, there’s a championship to be won.

While it might be disheartening that the 2026 season didn’t work out in the Mets’ favor, that doesn’t mean it’s worth protesting the postseason entirely. In fact, this year’s field features teams with some of the more compelling storylines and players with some of the most impressive single-season achievements in recent memory. Starting tonight, a dozen clubs are competing to win the 2026 World Series (see bracket here), and it’s never too late to hop on a bandwagon or simply follow along.

If you want a look at the former Mets in the postseason, check out this article. But if you want a crash course on the 2026 contenders, including how they got here, players to watch, stats to know, and reasons why a Mets fan might root for each of them, then you’ve come to the right place. 

So without further ado, here is your guide to the 2026 postseason.

TAMPA BAY RAYS(AL 1, 98-64)

Last World Series win / appearance: None / 2020

Last playoff appearance: 2023 (lost in ALWC to Rangers)

The catch-up: How does Tampa Bay do it? After two years of missing the playoffs — just when it seemed like their chaotic dynasty was coming to an end — the Rays rose from the ashes to win 98 games and handily take the American League’s No. 1 seed. This iteration of their roster shares some similarities with the pennant-winning 2020 squad, with a healthy amount of mixing and matching on the position-player side and a corps of high-end starting pitchers (featuring Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, and Nick Martinez), but the team’s strategy itself is something new. The ’20 Rays struck out more than any team in baseball; the ’26 Rays had the fewest strikeouts in the league. The ’20 Rays ranked 21st in batting average; the ’26 Rays were tied for first. 

The 2026 AL East title is the latest achievement for a franchise that consistently proves it can make a 26-man roster greater than the sum of its parts. But if the Rays want to return to the World Series or simply win their first playoff series since 2020, they’ll need to flap their way past a tough division rival (Yankees or Red Sox) in the ALDS.

Player to watch: This space could have been used to praise Junior Caminero, a likely MVP finalist who at 23 years old finished with 40+ homers for a second straight season. But if there’s one player on the Rays who offers a skillset like no other in the league, it’s 25-year-old Chandler Simpson. The sophomore is yet to homer in 260 big league games (in fact, he is yet to homer in 526 games at any professional level), but he led the American League with 46 steals and ranked second with a .306 batting average. He’s one of the swiftest foots in the postseason, as former Met Luisangel Acuña is the only player with a faster sprint speed on an AL playoff team. In an ALDS against a team with high-end pitching like the Yankees or Red Sox, Simpson’s ability to transform from a baserunner into a run scored will be all the more game-changing.

Stat to know: Just how well-rounded are the Rays? They’re the first team to have players reach 40 homers (Caminero), 40 steals (Simpson), and 40 saves (Bryan Baker) in the same season since the 2011 Yankees (Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner, and Mariano Rivera).

Why a Mets fan might root for them: If you like any combination of small ball, small-market success, or middle-reliever Steven Matz, the Rays might be the team for you. Plus, they’re one of three franchises in this year’s postseason field without a World Series title.

CLEVELAND GUARDIANS(AL 2, 85-77)

Last World Series win / appearance: 1948 / 2016

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in ALWC to Tigers)

The catch-up: The Guardians are the pranksters of the AL Central. They go unnoticed in preseason predictions. They get off to relatively unassuming starts, lingering a few games back in the standings for some months. And then, suddenly, there they are, pulling the rug out from under an unassuming opponent. They did it to the Tigers in 2025. They did it to the White Sox in 2026. This year, they’re hoping that story has a happier ending come October.

The Guardians’ 77-year World Series drought is now the longest in the majors after the Cubs snapped theirs by beating Cleveland in 2016. Over these past ten years, the Guardians have made the playoffs seven times, but have been eliminated at every level (once in the World Series, once in the ALCS, thrice in the ALDS, and twice in the ALWC). Why could this year be different? The Guardians have a unique combination of reliable starting pitching, a low-swing-and-miss offense (powered by another fine year from the scrappy Steven Kwan), and a dynamic rookie duo in Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana. Plus, they earned the benefit of a bye and an ALDS matchup with the easier side of the bracket despite winning just 85 games, affording them the opportunity to set their rotation and rest up before the dance begins. “Guards Ball” has helped win them the AL Central race year after year. Can it take them further than that?

Player to watch: On April 6, José Ramírez became the Guardians’ franchise leader in games played. This is a franchise that was around for 27 seasons before sliced bread. Yet in the bigger picture of JRam’s phenomenal and criminally overlooked career, that accomplishment will likely get lost in the mix. The switch-hitting third baseman has been a Top 5 finalist in MVP voting six times. He has put up three 30/30 seasons. With three more home runs, he will become just the ninth member of baseball’s 300 HR / 300 SB club. Why do I list off these accolades? Because Ramírez is the heart and soul of Cleveland, and even in effectively the worst season of his career (a 2.6 bWAR, which isn’t all that bad), it’s hard to imagine the Guardians going far without him at the center of it all.

Stat to know: Pitching is the backbone of this Guardians team. Cleveland had four different members of their rotation make 30 starts this season (Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Joey Cantillo). No other playoff team had three such starters, and only three other playoff teams had two 30-game starters: the Padres (Walker Buehler and Michael King), the Phillies (Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola), and the Rays (Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez).

Why a Mets fan might root for them: If you enjoyed watching the Mets’ rookie class this season, then the Guardians just might be the team for you. Only two teams in 2026 racked up 5+ fWAR from rookie hitters and 5+ fWAR from rookie pitchers: the Mets and Guardians. Cleveland’s rookie class is headlined by left-handed starter Messick, breakout bat DeLauter, and former No. 1 overall pick Bazzana.

HOUSTON ASTROS(AL 3, 81-81)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2022 / 2022

Last playoff appearance: 2024 (lost in ALWC to Tigers)

The catch-up: Let’s get it out of the way: The 2026 Astros have the worst record (81-81) of any playoff team in MLB history, excluding the shortened 2020 season. But Mets fans should know better than to count them out for that reason alone. After all, the 1973 Mets (82-79) came within one game of winning a World Series, and the 2006 Cardinals (83-78) crushed the Amazins’ hopes en route to a title. In fact, the 2026 Astros share something else in common with those 1973 Mets: they won the World Series just four years earlier.

A championship pedigree could carry Houston, especially against a first-round opponent as inexperienced as the White Sox. The Astros’ organization certainly has familiarity with high-pressure October baseball, as Houston made the ALCS seven years in a row from 2017-23. The team also clubbed the most homers in baseball this season, though that was largely due to the efforts of one man in particular…

Player to watch: It takes some big offensive numbers for a designated hitter to win MVP, but Yordan Alvarez cleared that bar pretty handily in 2026. He led the majors in all three components of the slash line(.316/.432/.601), and would have earned the AL Triple Crown on account of his career-high 42 homers and 106 RBI if not for the problem of Pete Alonso. The 29-year-old had put up stellar seasons before, particularly from 2022-24, but after a lost season in 2025, he kicked things into another stratosphere to help carry the Astros to a low-hanging AL West title. Alvarez also has an abundance of playoff experience, with 12 homers in 60 career postseason games.

Stat to know: Alvarez is the first left-handed hitter to record 40+ homers, 100+ RBI, and a .315+ batting average in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: As I see it, there are really three options here: 1) You want the chaos of watching the baseball world collapse in on itself as an 81-81 team wins the World Series; 2) You want to watch Yordan Alvarez launch four balls a game into orbit; 3) You want Yankees fans to suffer the ultimate pain of knowing that, even when the Astros are .500, the Bombers still can’t beat them in a playoff series.

NEW YORK YANKEES (AL 4, 93-68)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2009 / 2024

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in ALDS to Blue Jays)

The catch-up: Where comes the Judge? That is the question looming over the Yankees’ playoff hopes in 2026, as they enter their 9th postseason since the Judgian era commenced. In many ways, this roster construction is something of a curveball for the Yankees’ usual formula. Their calling card isn’t the offense, but rather an electric starting rotation. If the three-time MVP was at full power, perhaps this would be the year the Yankees appear best suited to capture their elusive 28th championship. But their captain is a question mark for the Wild Card Series (and possibly beyond) after missing over three months of the season due to injury.

The lineup has other sluggers to carry the load — Ben Rice blasted 41 homers, Cody Bellinger finished the season strong, and Paul Goldschmidt crushed lefties — but there is only one Aaron Judge, as evidenced by the fact that he finished tied for the third-most homers on the team (18) despite only playing for about 40% of the season. With an elite rotation and a relatively weak AL field, anything is possible…but if the Yankees are 0-for-8 in the postseason with Judge, can they really win it all without him?

Player to watch: If there was any year for the Yankees to compete in the playoffs without Judge, it’s certainly 2026 — a year when their elite top end of the rotation has been led by the presumptive AL Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler. Since making his big-league debut last July, the 25-year-old right-hander has emerged as one of the game’s premier starting pitchers. This season, he posted a 1.95 ERA while striking out 239 batters over 193.2 innings. He also has experience dominating his childhood favorite team in the playoffs, as he tossed eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts to eliminate the Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last season. Schlittler will be the Yankees’ No. 1 starter this time around as the Bronx Bombers gear up to face Boston in the three-game series once again.

Stat to know: The Yankees’ 3.24 team ERA leads the majors, and it isn’t particularly close. The gap between them and the next-best team (the Brewers at 3.51) is greater than the gap between second place and eighth on that list.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: The only explanation I can envision is this: You’re a die-hard Mets and Knicks fan whose daily life in New York was illuminated this June by the festivities and optimism caused by a championship run, and you simply want your city to feel some semblance of that same joy once again before winter arrives. You wish it was another orange and blue team causing the euphoria…but with a heavy heart, you’ll still pop a bottle for a second New York title should it occur.

BOSTON RED SOX (AL 5, 87-75)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2018 / 2018

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in ALWC to Yankees)

The catch-up: The Red Sox could have just turned to 2027. They let go of longtime manager Alex Cora when they were 10-17 in late April. By June 24 under interim manager Chad Tracy, they were 32-46 with a 12.7% chance of making the playoffs. But somehow, when the trade deadline arrived just over a month later, they were the best story in baseball and in the midst of an unfathomable 32-5 run.

The franchise has had a few fine moments since winning the 2018 World Series, including an ALCS appearance in 2021 and an AL Wild Card berth in 2025, but the summer of ’26 seems to have rekindled a sort of passion not seen in Boston since the days of Mookie Betts. The Sox will first match up with the Yankees for a three-game set in the Bronx, which is exactly where their season ended last year; but this time around, they have a pitching staff that sparkled to the tune of a 3.54 ERA, a resilient clubhouse that knows what it takes to flip the script while battling adversity, and a new skipper who last week managed to shed the “interim” label from his title.

Player to watch: He won’t win AL Rookie of the Year, but it’s hard to imagine a rookie stealing the heart of Boston’s fiery fanbase more than 23-year-old Payton Tolle. The mustachioed southpaw hit the ground running with an 11-strikeout performance in his season debut against the Yankees, and he didn’t slow down from there. On August 7, he racked up 14 strikeouts at Fenway Park against the Athletics. On September 13, he fired an immaculate inning, shooting a grin at the dugout before notching the final strike. The numbers speak for themselves — a 3.03 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 148.2 innings — but you really have to hear him speak and watch him pitch to understand his status as a rising fan-favorite, whether he’s talking about eating five donuts during a flight delay or telling the moving story of the “you’re so pretty” slogan inscribed on his glove as a tribute to his late mother.

Stat to know: From July 3 to July 22, the Red Sox tied a 1946 franchise record by winning 15 straight games.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Red Sox winning it all means the Yankees lose to their rivals in the first round at home, and it doesn’t get any sweeter for a petty Mets fan than that. Additionally, this is a young, fun, spirited Boston bunch that most counted out in the middle of the season. Sure, the Sox have won four championships this decade (more than any other franchise), but consider that zero players overlap between their most recent World Series-winning team and this one. As far as rooting for the Red Sox goes, this is about as homegrown and underdog-ish as it gets.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX (AL 6, 84-78)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2005 / 2005

Last playoff appearance: 2021 (lost in ALDS to Astros)

The catch-up: If a baseball writer were asked in February what it would take for the 2026 White Sox — coming off three consecutive 100-loss seasons — to make the playoffs, they probably would have said divine intervention. That’s practically what happened. 

With a combination of rehabbing reliever Mike Vasil’s wand-based magic and the Pope’s support, the White Sox seemed to recruit the heavens to their side en route to a postseason berth. So much went right, from 26-year-old Miguel Vargas breaking out with 33 homers to offseason signing Munetaka Murakami’s seemingly seamless transition to the majors. Not many teams get the luxury of drafting at No. 1 overall in the midst of a playoff run, but that’s what happens when you go from worst-to-first (or, more accurately, worst-to-sixth-seed). At this point, the South Siders are playing with house money. They’d love to go far, or at least win their first postseason series since 2005, but there’s no doubt that this season has already qualified as a resounding success for the once-rebuilding White Sox.

Player to watch: In a season packed with a plethora of outstanding performances from rookies, Munetaka Murakami stands apart — not just because he was an NPB and World Baseball Classic star already, but because he seemed to single-handedly imbue the 2026 White Sox with a sense of purpose from the jump. Over his first 55 games, Murakami hit 20 home runs. He later missed over a month due to injury and came back strong, eventually reaching 35 homers. Though he tapered off a bit down the stretch (like Chicago’s offense as a whole), the 26-year-old first baseman is still the team’s biggest bat, not to mention their biggest hygiene advocate. And in case you need an emphatic reminder: he is Japanese.

Stat to know: Prior to the 2026 White Sox, no team in MLB history had made the playoffs after multiple straight 100-loss seasons.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: If the Red Sox are a sort of dark-horse underdog given their mid-season turnaround and young roster, the White Sox are a true, classic, indisputable underdog. There has literally never been a playoff team coming off seasons as bad as theirs. It would be the ultimate cinderella, rags-to-riches story. Plus, the White Sox are the historically less successful of two teams in a major market, so from a certain point of view, they’re practically the Mets of Chicago.

MILWAUKEE BREWERS (NL 1, 103-59)

Last World Series win / appearance: None / 1982

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLCS to Dodgers)

The catch-up: If it’s ever going to happen, it sure feels like this is the year. One of baseball’s four franchises without a World Series title, the Brewers have been putting up admirable bid after admirable bid over the past nine years. Consistently underestimated by preseason rankings, the Brewers once again cracked the code to the regular season and made a reverberant statement by earning the NL’s No. 1 seed for a second consecutive year. But to truly prove the foolish doubters wrong, they need to demonstrate that their brand of offense — one built on contact, walks, and speed — can play in October. No matter how strong they look for 162 games, they seem year after year to fall flat on the biggest stage, whether watching Shohei Ohtani put together the best game in major league history to eliminate them in 2025 or coming a Polar Bear’s blast away from advancing in 2024.

But this year, the Brewers reached new heights with a franchise-best 103 wins. Their lineup looked like a finely-tuned machine designed to break down opposing pitchers and expose defensive miscues, scoring the second-most runs in baseball. Their pitching staff, headlined by the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the history of the sport (see below), blew opponents away with the second-most strikeouts and second-lowest ERA in baseball. If you began following MLB in 2026 but had zero awareness of the years prior — no knowledge of the Brewers’ failed postseason runs or the Dodgers’ back-to-back championships — you would probably say the Brewers are far and away the team to beat this fall.

Player to watch: “The Miz,” more formally known as Jacob Misiorowksi, is a one-of-a-kind talent who has spent the past six months shattering virtually every velocity record for starting pitchers in the pitch-tracking era. After receiving a perhaps premature All-Star nod as a rookie in 2025, the flamethrowing right-hander made good on the hype by posting a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 2026, positioning himself to take home a Cy Young Award at just 24 years old. His crowning achievement was a one-hit, 15-strikeout “Maddux” performance against the Phillies — one of Milwaukee’s possible opponents in an NLCS —  on June 12. Misiorwoski also has playoff experience, having allowed just two earned runs in 12 innings over three appearances with the Brewers last postseason.

Stat to know: The Brewers had the majors’ best record despite hitting the fewest homers (154) of any NL team. Only four NL teams have won the pennant while hitting the fewest homers in their league. One of those teams was the 1982 Cardinals, who beat none other than…the Milwaukee Brewers.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: This is, in many ways, still David Stearns’ team. From that perspective, a win for the Brewers bodes well for the future of the Mets organization. On another note, the Brewers have zero championships, plenty of spirit, and just named Christian Yelich their first captain in franchise history (for those who want to support an old-school “captain” designation).

LOS ANGELES DODGERS (NL 2, 100-62)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2025 / 2025

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (won World Series)

The catch-up: How do you enhance a team that won back-to-back championships? You sign the best reliever in baseball, sign the biggest free agent position player on the market, and trade for a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner at the deadline. Simple enough! Well, sort of…two of those three (Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker) have dramatically underperformed, but even those stumbles haven’t put too big of a dent in the Dodgers’ plans.

The Dodgers’ regular-season record reflects their status as a true superteam, filled with star players and guided by competent management. If you need a reminder, here are just a few of the A-list names on their roster: Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, MVP Mookie Betts, MVP Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. One could argue that their core is beginning to show some cracks when it comes to durability — but the Dodgers have a history of timing players’ injury recoveries just right to have them ready for October. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be considered the heavy favorites entering the postseason, and if they do pull off a three-peat, they would be the first NL team in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

Player to watch: Here is Shohei Ohtani, through a translator, reflecting on his 2026 season: “Disappointing…I want to make sure that when I look back this season that I used this as an experience, a learning experience, and make sure that I use that as something to improve upon for next season.” What did this down year look like? 30 homers, 81 RBI, 11 stolen bases, an .889 OPS, and oh yeah, a 1.79 ERA in 85.2 innings pitched. On the surface, it’s still one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history. But the concerning part for Ohtani and for Dodgers fans was the dip in productivity (and versatility) as the season progressed, with injuries forcing the two-way player to shut down as a pitcher for the remainder of the season and focus on offense, where he batted just .202 with a .666 OPS over his last 30 games. If the Dodgers want to three-peat, they’ll have to do it with an ever-so-slightly-less-powerful unicorn leading the way.

Stat to know: The Dodgers put up the second-highest OPS in the majors (.762), marking the fifth straight season that they’ve finished with the highest or second-highest team OPS.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: There should be no shame in rooting for the Dodgers simply because they’re a lot of fun to watch. Plus, while some might view a three-peat as monotonous, the baseball history fans could counter that an NL three-peat would quite literally be unprecedented. There’s also the eternal Brooklyn rooting angle for the portion of Mets fans who used to (or whose relatives used to) support Dem Bums before the Dodgers and Giants fled to the West Coast in 1958.

ATLANTA BRAVES (NL 3, 94-68)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2021 / 2021

Last playoff appearance: 2024 (lost in NLWC to Padres)

The catch-up: After a string of seven straight seasons in which they made the playoffs, Atlanta finally missed out with a disappointing 76-win finish in 2025. But just when the baseball world began to count them out, the Braves came back with a vengeance, capturing the NL East with a 94-win season despite a myriad of pitching injuries. 

In a more balanced year, that record might have earned the Braves a first-round bye. Instead, they’ll face the Phillies, and that’s a movie they’ve seen before. In 2022, the 101-win Braves lost in four games to the 87-win Phillies. In 2023, the 104-win Braves lost in four games to the 90-win Phillies. Why should the 94-win Braves now feel confident they can get past the 88-win Phillies in a three-game set? Perhaps the answer is as simple as ace Chris Sale, who put together an age-37 season for the ages (2.16 ERA, exactly 200 strikeouts). Or perhaps the better answer is: they couldn’t possibly let it happen again, right?

Player to know: The Braves’ regular cast of characters is back together, with Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley all fixtures in their lineup once again, but it’s 25-year-old Michael Harris II who was actually Atlanta’s most valuable position player this season. After winning the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Award, the center-fielder Harris struggled to replicate his offensive success before breaking out in 2026 with a career-high 26 homers, 36 doubles, and 87 RBI. He also put up a phenomenal season defensively (even by his standards), with his 13 outs above average ranking third among outfielders (behind the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong and Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela). He’s a dynamic five-tool player, and even among an elite Braves core, he’s the player to watch this postseason.

Stat to know: The Braves’ .597 winning percentage against teams above .500 was the second-best in baseball this season behind the Brewers (.600).

Why a Mets fan might root for them: You are the world’s No. 1 Dom Smith believer. You will stand by Dom Smith until the day you die. You walk around telling everyone you know about how if 2020 were a full season, Dom Smith would have had the confidence to become a perennial All-Star. You post a tweet each and every day calling for David Stearns to bring back Dom Smith, and also Wilmer Flores, and maybe Luis Guillorme, too.

SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL 4, 91-71)

Last World Series win / appearance: None / 1998

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLWC to Cubs)

The catch-up: The Slam Diego dream is still alive. Ever since the Padres rebranded in 2020 — both in a literal sense with the reintroduction of brown and gold and in a spiritual sense with the emergence of Fernando Tatis Jr. — the fervor for the franchise to secure their first World Series championship has continued reaching new heights. They’ve made the playoffs four times this decade, but despite some electric moments (beating the 111-win Dodgers at home in 2022 headlines that list), they’re still yet to taste the Fall Classic.

2026 looked for a moment as if it might represent the closing of that championship window. After arguably their most crushing playoff loss to date in the 2025 Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field, the Padres got off to a sluggish start, sitting at exactly .500 (48-48) by the All-Star break. Most notably, their patented offense was struggling to score runs. The Friars fell as far as 50-53, but then the switch finally flipped. The bats got hot to back up an elite bullpen as San Diego soared all the way to the top Wild Card spot, giving them yet another Wild Card Series date with the Cubs — only this time, it’s at Petco Park. The hunger is at an all-time high. The Padres’ core can’t afford to miss any more chances. Is this the year they finally keep the show going until the end?

Player to watch: The Padres’ roster is packed with star position players, from Tatis Jr. to Manny Machado to Jackson Merrill, but it’s the Friars’ fire-balling closer Mason Miller who stole the spotlight in 2026. It wasn’t just the fact that he saved 38 games with a 1.67 ERA — it’s how he did it. 129 strikeouts in 70 innings, good for a 16.59 K/9 rate (the highest mark by a pitcher with 50+ IP in a season since Edwin Díaz in 2022). 384 pitches at 101+ mph, good for the third-most in a season in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) behind Jacob Misiorowksi in ’26 (743) and Aroldis Chapman in ’16 (424). Zero extra-base hits allowed through the first half. It was a display of unparalleled dominance, and one that will surely frighten the Padres’ prospective opponents throughout the playoffs if San Diego brings a lead into the late innings.

Stat to know: In the second half, the Padres had baseball’s second-best record (43-23, trailing Brewers), second-best OBP (.343, trailing Brewers), second-best SLG (.438, trailing Cubs), and the player with the second-highest OPS (Fernando Tatis Jr. with .995, trailing only Alex Bregman). You might notice that the Cubs and Brewers are the only teams they trail in each of those categories. Those are also the two teams which San Diego will have to go through in order to make the NLCS.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: So long as you’re not still hung up on the 2022 Wild Card Series, the Padres actually check a lot of potential boxes: they’ve never won a World Series, they feature exciting star players, they play with attitude, and their fanbase is wildly passionate. If you want a West Coast team to root for but have sworn off the Dodgers, why not the Friars?

CHICAGO CUBS (NL 5, 89-73)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2016 / 2016

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLDS to Brewers)

The catch-up: The decade since the Cubs broke the Curse of the Billy Goat and snapped their 108-year championship drought hasn’t exactly gone as planned. The core of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Báez made the playoffs three more times but never made another World Series, and eventually was broken up at the trade deadline in 2021. Five years later, led by the key prospect in one of those deals, the Cubs are back to being a powerhouse — albeit a historically odd one.

The Cubs have a lethal lineup and, as Gary Cohen would put it, a pulchritudinous defense all around the diamond. The problem rests with their struggling pitching staff, creating a wildly unbalanced roster which MLB.com’s Mike Petriello analyzed in detail earlier this month. That lack of balance didn’t just define the 2026 Cubs’ roster, but their record as well, as Chicago went on two separate 10-game winning streaks and a 10-game losing streak all within the season’s first two months. Talk about a roller coaster. 

Player to watch: 24-year-old phenom Pete Crow-Armstrong is in line for a unanimous National League MVP Award, but his season wasn’t just the best in the NL this year — it was arguably the best in decades. His 10.6 fWAR marks the first 10-WAR season (either bWAR or fWAR) by an NL player since Barry Bonds in 2004. On all sides of the ball, PCA put on a clinic. His 45 home runs were tied for the most in the majors. His 41 stolen bases were tied for fourth. And his 25 Outs Above Average were tied for first, over 1.5x that of the next-best outfielder. Of the seven players in major league history to put up 40-40 seasons, Crow-Armstrong will be just the second to also win a Gold Glove Award that same year (along with Bonds in 1996).

Stat to know: The Cubs recorded a fielding run value of 73 from infielders and outfielders (excluding catchers). That total was the most in the majors by a mile, almost twice as many as the second-place Cardinals (39).

Why a Mets fan might root for them: It is a thing of beauty to watch these Cubs play defense. Whether it’s Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner turning double plays up the middle, Alex Bregman holding down the hot corner, or Ian Happ, PCA, and Seiya Suzuki patrolling the outfield, there is simply nowhere safe for an opposing batter to hit the ball. Of those six players I just mentioned, there are a combined 10 Gold Glove Awards to go around (with a few more likely on the way this offseason). Alternatively, you can root for the Cubs this October if you want to know what it would have felt like to have Pete Crow-Armstrong on your side.

PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES(NL 6, 88-74)

Last World Series win / appearance: 2008 / 2022

Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLDS to Dodgers)

The catch-up: In 2022, bearing a 22-29 record and coming off 10 straight seasons with no playoff baseball, the Phillies promoted Rob Thomson from bench coach to interim manager. That October, they made a magical run to the World Series as the No. 6 seed, eventually falling in Game 6 to the Astros. Three seasons and three crushing playoff losses later, the organization faced another dilemma: a 9-19 record and their hopes of winning it all with an aging core slipping away. Once again, a managerial change turned the ship around — only this time, Thomson was on the short end.

Under Don Mattingly, the Phillies surged throughout a summer of fanfare which also saw their city host MLB’s All-Star festivities. After sitting 10.5 games back of first place in the NL East on May 22, the Phillies crawled all the way to 2.0 games back of the Braves by July 7. They stayed within striking distance until mid-September, when the rails came off in a moving tribute to the ’07 Mets (and ’08 Mets and ’25 Mets). But despite four straight losses during the season’s final week, the Phillies barely hung on to a playoff spot with a win in Game 162. It wasn’t as smooth a ride as their division-winning campaigns in ’24 and ’25, but if recent history is any indicator, a mid-season managerial change and No. 6 seeding might just be the key to the Phillies’ pennant chances.

Player to watch: Last offseason, conversation stirred surrounding whether 33-year-old Bryce Harper could ever be a truly “elite” player again. While he didn’t make a compelling case for a third career MVP Award, “The Chosen One” continued to rake as he always does, posting 29 homers behind an .865 OPS and playing in all 162 games. There are bigger power threats on Philadelphia’s roster (see: Kyle Schwarber’s fourth 45-homer season in the past five years). There are better contact hitters (see: trade deadline acquisition Luis Arraez, one of seven qualified hitters to finish above .300) and speed demons (see: Trea Turner and Bryson Stott each with 20+ stolen bases), too. But there is only one Harper, the phenom and face of the franchise who sent the Phillies to the World Series with one clutch swing in 2022. He is a nine-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger, a Home Run Derby champ, and a Rookie of the Year, but he is still yet to win a Fall Classic. That lacking accolade should be motivation enough for Harper to make this October count.

Stat to know: The Phillies struck out 1,577 batters this season, 33 more than any other team in the majors.

Why a Mets fan might root for them: A long postseason run surely means a 2027 hangover effect, right?

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We’ve already got goosebumps.

For the seventh time in MLB history, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are meeting in the playoffs.

This time around, the Bronx Bombers and BoSox will go toe-to-toe in the Wild Card round in a best-of-three series that determines who gets to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.

The trio of games will all take place at the Bronx’s Yankee Stadium. They’re slated go down:

Game 1Tuesday, Sept. 29
8 p.m.
Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.03 ERA) vs. Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA)

Game 2Wednesday, Sept. 30
8 p.m.
Sonny Gray (18-5, 2.72 ERA) vs. Max Fried (5-5, 2.80 ERA)

Game 3Thursday, Oct. 1
8 p.m.
Ranger Suarez (8-5, 3.22 ERA) vs. Gerrit Cole (10-9, 3.61 ERA)

If you’d like to be there, the lowest price we could find on tickets for any one games was $129 including fees on Vivid Seats.

Prices start at $131 and $135 including fees for the other two contests.

Over the course of the regular season, New York and Boston met 13 times; the Yankees took seven of those showdowns. In their final battle, the Yankees walloped the Sox 16-1 on Aug. 30. Heliot Ramos, Paul Goldschmidt, José Caballero and Austin Wells all homered for the Bombers that afternoon.

Both teams went 5-5 in their last ten games of the regular season.

As for this series, manager Aaron Boone left Aaron Judge off the Wild Card round roster but activated Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham after both have been inactive for months and weeks at a time, respectively.

“[I’m] real confident if we play our game and pitch like we’re capable of, we got a chance to move on,” Boone said. “We got to play our best starting Tuesday.”

See you there, Bleacher Creatures.

For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about the Yankees vs. Red Sox 2026 AL Wild Card series below.

How much are tickets for the Yankees vs. Red Sox Wild Card series at Yankee Stadium?

A complete breakdown of all the best prices on tickets for the three AL Wild Card series games at Yankee Stadium can be found here:

Are Yankees tickets available for later rounds?

Starry-eyed fans looking to get ahead of themselves can procure potential ALDS, ALCS and World Series tickets before the postseason even begins.

To grab seats for the game of your choosing, all potential hypothetical Yankees playoff tickets can be found here.

How to watch the Yankees in the 2026 playoffs

Fans that prefer to watch on the tube, you can catch Yankees playoff contests on ESPN.

All of these providers can be found on DIRECTV.

Huge 2026-27 NYC shows

The Yankees aren’t the only huge attraction in The Big Apple these next few months.

Here are just five of the biggest acts headed to New York City in the near future.

• Stevie Wonder

• Buddy Guy with Eric Clapton

• Death Cab For Cutie

• Gnarls Barkley

• Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band

Plus, Bernie Williams is making his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning show “Buena Vista Social Club” from Oct. 22 through Nov. 29. Don’t miss the star centerfielder from yesteryear under the spotlight today.

Why you should trust ‘Post Wanted’ by the New York Post

This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.

Major League Baseball announced today that Colorado Rockies IF/OF Cole Carrigg has been selected as the National League’s Rookie of the Month for September. He joins TJ Rumfield, who won back-to-back awards in May and June.

Carrigg burst onto the scene in June — quite literally, with a triple in his very first at-bat. He’s had some ups and downs, but overall finished on a high note with a home run in the final game against the Chicago White Sox.

In 24 games in September, Carrigg slashed .327/.340/.571 with four doubles, a triple, six home runs and 17 RBI. He led qualified rookies in at-bats (98), home runs (6), RBI (17) and slugging percentage (.571) while being among NL rookie leaders in runs scored (12, T-3rd), doubles (4, T-3rd), stolen bases (3, T-2nd), average (.327, 2nd) and OPS (.911, 3rd).

Carrigg joins Josh Rutledge (July 2012), David Dahl (August 2016) and Nolan Jones (September 2023) as the only Rockies rookies to bat at least .300 and record at least 11 extra-base hits and three stolen bases in a calendar month.

Carrigg also becomes the 10th Rockies player to receive the Rookie of the Month Award, joining TJ Rumfield (May/June 2026), Nolan Jones (September/October 2023), Antonio Senzatela (April 2017), Trevor Story (April 2016), Ian Stewart (July 2008), Troy Tulowitzki (August 2007), Garrett Atkins (June 2005), Clint Barmes (April 2005), and Jason Jennings (August 2002).

Finally, Carrigg and Rumfield are just the second pair of Rockies teammates to win the award in the same season alongside Barmes and Atkins in 2005. Colorado is now the only National League franchise to have a pair of teammates win the award in the same season on multiple occasions.

Please keep in mind our Purple Row Community Guidelines when you’re commenting. Thanks!

Garrett Crochet is ready to go.

The lefty ace, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, was included on the Red Sox roster Tuesday morning ahead of Game 1 of the AL wild-card series against the Yankees.

On Saturday, Crochet threw his second live batting practice of the week.

“It was good. Been feeling good. I guess now it’s just a matter if anybody agrees with me,” he said afterwards, according to MLB.com.

The Red Sox seemingly did and now will have Crochet up their sleeve in the best-of-three series.

The 27-year-old last pitched on April 25 against the Orioles, allowing three hits and zero runs across six innings of a 17-1 win.

He has spent the past five months rehabbing and working his way back from the left lat strain, which was longer than initially anticipated.

“It was obviously a lot longer than I expected. Been busting my tail just to kind of give myself a fighting chance, and I feel like I did that,” Crochet said prior to the playoffs. “Now it’s just waiting for the roster to come out. I hope that I’m able to contribute, but regardless, I’m here, and I think that we have put ourselves in a great position to walk away from the Series with a win.”

In the 2025 wild-card series against the Yankees, Crochet started and grinded out a 3-1 win for the Red Sox in Game 1.

He allowed four hits and tallied 11 strikeouts across 7 ⅔ innings.

This year, Crochet could be used as a reliever as he works his way back to his prime form.

The Tennessee product has reliever experience from college and he served out of the bullpen early in his career with the White Sox. In his first 72 appearances, he held a 2.71 ERA as a reliever.

Crochet was converted to a starting hurler in 2024.

The Red Sox travel to The Bronx for Game 1 at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

Well, here we go again — for the second straight season, the Cubs and Padres meet in a Wild Card Series. Last year, the Cubs won it in Wrigley Field. This year, they’ll have to do that in San Diego.

If the regular season results are any indication, they can do it. The Cubs took the season series from the Padres five games to one, winning two of three in Petco Park in April and sweeping them in Wrigley Field at the end of June/beginning of July.

Here’s what happened in all six of those games.

April 27: Padres 9, Cubs 7

The Cubs fell behind 3-0 in the first inning, hut homers by Seiya Suzuki (in the second) and Moisés Ballesteros (a grand slam in the third) put the Cubs up 5-3 after three.

The Padres hit Matthew Boyd, Ben Brown, Phil Maton and Jacob Webb pretty hard, including a home run by Gavin Sheets off Webb, to take a 9-5 lead going to the ninth.

Mason Miller, the Padres’ supposedly unhittable closer, entered to finish up. The Cubs hit him. Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong singled to load the bases with nobody out. Nico Hoerner hit into a force play at second, scoring Shaw and sending Swanson to third. Dansby scored on a wild pitch, bringing Michael Busch to the plate as the tying run. But Miller got Busch to ground out and struck out Alex Bregman to end the game.

Here’s the BCB recap of this game.

April 28: Cubs 8, Padres 3

The game went 2-2 into the sixth. Dansby Swanson had doubled in the two runs in the second.

The Cubs took a 4-2 lead in the sixth on a two-run double by Nico Hoerner. One of the runners who scored was Nicky Lopez. Yes, he played for the Cubs this year. That was the only run he scored as a member of the 2026 Cubs. The Padres closed to within one in the bottom of the inning off Edward Cabrera, who then departed the game having allowed three runs, striking out seven.

Then the Cubs blew the game open in the seventh. Seiya Suzuki led off with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout. Michael Busch was hit by a pitch and Carson Kelly hit into a force play, with Suzuki taking third. Alex Bregman singled in Kelly to make it 5-3 and then Pete Crow-Armstrong hit this three-run homer [VIDEO].

Ryan Rolison finished up with two scoreless innings, just his third appearance as a Cub.

Here’s the BCB recap of this game.

April 29: Cubs 5, Padres 4

Miguel Amaya’s RBI single in the second gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead and that was extended to 3-0 on a Pete Crow-Armstrong two-run homer in the fourth.

But Miguel Andujar (solo) and Nick Castellanos (two-run) homered off Jameson Taillon in the fifth to tie the game 3-3.

Now that’s an interesting sentence. Not one of those players is on either team at this time. Andujar fractured his wrist and has been out since July (though has been on a rehab assignment and might return). Castellanos was released by the Padres in June. Taillon was released by the Cubs in July, caught on with the Blue Jays, then was injured and hasn’t pitched since early September.

The Cubs took the lead back in the sixth. Michael Busch led off with a walk and was forced by Michael Conforto. Conforto went to third on a double by Matt Shaw and scored on a PCA groundout.

Shaw then homered in the eighth to make it 5-3. In the bottom of the eighth the Padres got that run back on a sac fly by Fernando Tatis Jr. off Ben Brown.

Brown remained in the game in the ninth. He struck out Xander Bogaerts and got Ty France on a ground ball.

Then the two managers started playing the platoon game we rarely see in modern baseball. Craig Stammen sent Gavin Sheets up to bat for Andujar. Craig Counsell brought in left-hander Hoby Milner, so Stammen countered with Ramon Laureano.

Milner then struck out Ramon Laureano to end the game [VIDEO].

Here’s the BCB recap of this game.

June 29: Cubs 3, Padres 2

The Padres took a 2-0 lead off Shōta Imanaga with single runs in the third and fourth, but the Cubs tied it up on single runs in the fourth (RBI single by Michael Conforto) and fifth (sac fly by Seiya Suzuki).

Imanaga threw well in this game, not allowing a home run and striking out four in 6.2 innings.

The game remained at 2-2 into the bottom of the ninth. Jason Adam, who had retired the Cubs 1-2-3 in the eighth on just 10 pitches, remained in the game to start the ninth. Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong singled off Adam, so Craig Stammen summoned Mason Miller.

The Cubs hit him again. Alex Bregman singled to load the bases with nobody out. Unfortunately, Michael Busch then hit into a double play. He flied to short left and Swanson tried to score, but was thrown out at the plate [VIDEO].

PCA and Bregman moved up a base each on that throw, and PCA scored the winning run on this walk-off blast by Seiya Suzuki [VIDEO].

That ball didn’t miss being a three-run homer by much, but all the Cubs needed was a single, and they got it.

Here’s the BCB recap of this game.

June 30: Cubs 9, Padres 7

The Cubs got payback of sorts for the 9-7 Padres win in San Diego in April by defeating them by the same score at Wrigley Field two months later.

Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with a home run off Matthew Boyd, but the Cubs got that run right back on an RBI single by Carson Kelly in the bottom of the inning.

Then the Cubs exploded for four in the second. With one out, Dansby Swanson homered. Then Kevin Alcántara singled and Pete Crow-Armstrong walked, and Alex Bregman smashed a three-run homer to make it 5-1 Cubs.

It became 5-3 in the third when Manny Machado hit a two-run homer off Boyd. Michael Busch homered off JP Sears in the fifth to make it 5-3, and after Ian Happ singled, the Padres brought in Ron Marinaccio. Swanson homered again, his second of the game, to make it 8-3. PCA added a homer in the sixth to put the Cubs up by six.

Easy peasy, right? Well, nothing’s been that way for the Cubs this year. Javier Assad threw a scoreless seventh, but then gave up four in the eighth, including a three-run homer by Gavin Sheets and a solo shot by Tatis.

That was it for the Padres, though, and Tyler Ferguson and Ryan Rolison finished up.

Here’s the BCB recap of this game.

July 1: Cubs 23, Padres 3

This game began as a blowout and then turned into silly season.

Seiya Suzuki began the fun with a three-run homer in the first. Dansby Swanson homered in the second to make it 4-0, and after Miguel Amaya hit a two-run single in the third, Swanson homered again, a three-run job that made it 9-0.

The Padres scored a pair off Colin Rea in the fifth, but the Cubs increased their lead in the bottom of the inning. Michael Conforto homered with one out, and after Amaya walked and Swanson reached on an error, Pete Crow-Armstrong smacked a three-run homer to make it 13-2.

If you’re counting, that’s five home runs for the Cubs, and they were far from being done. Conforto homered again in the sixth with Ian Happ on base to make it 15-2.

The Padres brought in backup catcher Rodolfo Durán to throw the bottom of the inning. He retired the Cubs in order and San Diego scored one in the eighth.

Durán remained in the game to “pitch” in the eighth and I put that in quotes because, well, some of those “pitches” were thrown at ridiculously slow spees, in particular this one, hit for a grand slam by Swanson:

Here’s Swanson’s slam [VIDEO].

The Cubs scored eight in that inning and won 23-3. That was the most runs scored by any Cubs team since Aug. 18, 1995, when they scored 26 at Colorado, and the most at Wrigley Field since May 17, 1977, when they won 23-6 over… the Padres.

Here’s the BCB recap of this game.

The Cubs also tied the franchise record with eight home runs in that game, a record they broke less than two months later when they hit nine against the Brewers Aug. 31. In both cases multiple home runs were hit off position players, and I’ve already written something about that sort of thing, but that’s a topic for a different day.

Nevertheless, all those homers and runs count, and the Cubs thus outscored the Padres 55-28 in the six games. That’s not likely to be repeated in this Wild Card Series, but three Cubs did have monster seasons against the Padres.

Dansby Swanson: .647/.667/1.647 (11-for-18) with two doubles, five home runs, 13 RBI and eight runs in five games
Pete Crow-Armstrong: .364/.481/.909 (8-for-22) with four home runs, five walks, 10 RBI and eight runs in six games
Seiya Suzuki: .500/.520/.864 (11-for-22) with two doubles, two home runs and eight runs in six games

Overall the Cubs hit 18 home runs against the Padres this year and allowed nine.

Lastly, the Cubs handled Padres closer Mason Miller pretty well. It’s a very small sample size — three games and 13 plate appearances — but the Cubs had five hits and a walk off Miller, and struck out just twice. That’s an encouraging sign, and I’d think this should be a close and competitive series.

The Phillies barely made the playoffs. They went 10-14 in September, losing four of their last five games and had to wait until the last day of the season to claim the National League’s third and final Wild Card spot. They had a run differential of only +15, the offense was just 19th in runs scored, the defense was shaky, and the middle relief situation was a mess all season.

To that, I say: So what?

Once you reach the playoffs, what you did in the regular season doesn’t matter aside from home field advantage. Everyone’s stats have reset to zero, and runs don’t get added or deducted based on how well you did during the season. All that matters is that the Phillies will be taking on the Atlanta Braves in a three-game series, and whichever team wins two games advances to the next round.

With that in mind, I will preview this series with a little help from Philadelphia native Pink and her hit song “So What.”

Na-na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-na!

I’m gonna drink my money

It seems like fan opinion was split on whether or not the Phillies should have celebrated after clinching the playoffs on Sunday.

Every other team that made the playoffs celebrated the accomplishment. You think the Phillies should have declined to do so just because they didn’t make it as convincingly as you would have liked? If they had actually backed in by still qualifying after losing their final five games, then I could see being a bit more subdued. But they actively clinched by winning the game.

As for the slow finish to the season, history has shown that like just about every factor, finishing the season strong is very predictive of a playoff run…except when it isn’t. For example, from 2022 to 2025, the Phillies’ worst month of September came in 2022, which happened to be their best postseason performance. And in September 2025, the Phillies went 17-8 – including winning four of their final five – and it didn’t help them win more than a single playoff game.

I got a brand new attitude, I’m gonna wear it tonight

The Phillies have not endeared themselves to the fans lately, and the nadir came on Saturday night when it looked like they might have actually quit. Fortunately, Zack Wheeler and the offense showed up on Sunday to propel the team to victory. If that version of the Phillies shows up, they can win this series. If the Phillies we saw for most of last week is what we get, it will likely be a short stay.

I don’t know where he went

Chris Sale is scheduled to start game one for the Braves. Theoretically this is a huge advantage for the Braves as Sale is one of the best pitchers in baseball. But that dominance hasn’t always showed up in the postseason. Sale has a career postseason ERA of 6.35 with a couple of really bad outings in there. He also hasn’t pitched in the playoffs since 2021.

Sale faced the Phillies four times this season. He undeniably did well against them, but familiarity often works against a pitcher come playoff time. If they don’t hit well against him, it won’t be because they don’t have a good scouting report or were taken by surprise.

The waiter just took my table

The Phillies’ trade deadline has turned out to be somewhat of a disaster with all the players they acquired having disappointed, gotten injured, or both. On the other hand, the Braves acquired starting pitcher Tyler Mahle from the Giants on August 2, and somehow, the guy who had an ERA of 5.13 with the Giants, has gone 4-1 with a 1.99 ERA in nine starting with the Braves.

Those numbers include him giving up five runs in five innings in his final start. But that was also a low-pressure tune up for the playoffs, so it’s hard to know if that actually means anything.

Mahle has spent most of his career as a cromulent mid-rotation starter, and certainly not a sub-2.00 ERA type of pitcher. It seems likely that there’s some regression due, and ideally, that regression would come on Wednesday afternoon when he’s scheduled to start game two of the series.

I’m still a rock star

One of the reasons the Phillies didn’t have a great September record is because their supposed star position players didn’t play well.

Kyle Schwarber had a drastic drop in production in the second half, and after a terrific August, Bryce Harper has been just okay over the last month. It feels like there have been a lot of pitches that he would have destroyed earlier in the season that have ended up being foul balls.

Then there’s Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto who both endured the worst seasons of their careers. Turner’s drop off from a guy who won the batting title and finished in the top five of MVP voting might be the biggest reason the Phillies’ win total dropped by seven. As for Realmuto, he finally ended his long hitless streak on Sunday. It seems clear that he can’t handle such a heavy workload anymore, but sadly, the backup catchers are somehow much worse.

For better or worse, these guys have all been here before. While the narrative seems to be that they’ve repeatedly failed in the playoffs, they’ve also had a lot of big moments in the playoffs as well. A strong run in the postseason can do wonders for flipping the narrative about how the season went.

And you’re a tool

I recently called Braves fans the softest in baseball, and sure enough, they’ve been at it again.

Let’s go over what the fans on Saturday night were enduring:

• Rainy weather
• A team that looked to be in full collapse mode
• A team that seemed incapable of scoring a run
• Falling behind early and eventually by double digits

Yes, they deserved to be booed! Any fan that didn’t boo was probably too numb to care. I’m fairly certain that just about every fanbase in America would have booed them. But probably not Braves fans. They would have left to watch college football or thrown garbage on the field.

There have already been complaints that it’s unfair for the Braves to have to play a “coin flip” series against the Phillies.

Remember that Braves fans whined endlessly about how unfair it was that they had to sit for a couple of days when they earned a bye through the Wild Card series in 2022 and 2023. Now it’s unfair that they actually have to play in the series?

It’s like they don’t understand or appreciate the very concept of playoffs. I guess if they had their way, we would just crown the regular season champion Brewers as the champions of baseball. (That might be the only way the Brewers ever get a title!)

You weren’t there, you never were

When these teams met in Philadelphia earlier in the month, the main character of the series was Ronald Acuña, Jr. He hit two key home runs and then did his celebratory home run trot, and for some reason, Braves fans acted like Zack Wheeler went on a hysterical tirade about it, even though he clearly did not.

The Phillies will need to do better against Acuña this time around, although shutting down Acuña in the playoffs hasn’t been all that much of an issue in the past. (He was a combined 7-29 in the 2022 and 2023 NLDS) The one year the Braves actually did make a run was 2021 when Acuña, coincidentally or not, missed the playoffs due to injury.

We’re all gonna get in a fight

Based on recent history (“Atta boy!”), there does seem to be some legitimate bad blood between these teams, which usually adds a degree of fun to a playoff series. I doubt there are going to be any “message pitches” or physical alterations, but it feels like the players would get a little extra pleasure from winning this series.

I gave you life, I gave my all

The Phillies have been carried by their starting rotation for most of the season. Can that strength carry them through this round of the playoffs?

Jesus Luzardo will start game one. He was dominant against the Braves this year, but after missing three weeks with shoulder inflammation, it’s unclear how long he’ll be able to pitch. Andrew Painter will follow him, and it’s tough to know what to expect from the rookie after his inconsistent season.

Presumably, Cristopher Sanchez will start game two. Sanchez was 0-2 against the Braves, but that’s more of an indictment of the defense (three unearned runs in 12 innings) and offense (three total runs scored in support in the two games).

Aaron Nola is scheduled for game three. (No, I don’t think they should start Zack Wheeler on short rest.) He faced the Braves three times, and based on how his overall season went, it shouldn’t surprise you that his start against them in April went poorly, while his two starts in September went well. (Three earned runs in 13.1 innings.)

Much like with Sale against the Phillies, nothing these guys do should surprise the Braves.

You let me fall

The Phillies have one of the best starting rotations in baseball. They also have a top closer. But it’s the guys who pitch in between them that has everyone understandably worried. Who among the setup relievers do you trust in this bullpen to hold a lead right now? Anyone?

The bullpen was probably the primary reason the Phillies exited the playoffs in 2023 and 2024, and those teams seemed to be in better shape entering the postseason than this year’s edition. The 2026 bullpen has a bunch of questionable arms, and a manager who hasn’t shown much of a knack for handling them.

The Phillies may need to pull from the 2019 Nationals’ playbook and use their starters in off-day relief appearances. But they will need to use some actual relievers at some point. Hopefully guys like Alex McFarlane, Jonathan Bowlan, and whatever lefthanders Don Mattingly trots out on a given day can come through.

I don’t want you tonight

The television schedule makers have made it clear that they don’t consider Phillies vs. Braves to be a marquee matchup since they’ll be relegated to the 2PM slot every game. It makes some sense. Yankees vs. Red Sox gets the 7 PM slot 10/10 times and the other two matchup feature western teams. (Although they certainly could have swapped them with the White Sox vs. Astros.)

Most of us are working at 2 PM, so hopefully, you’ll be able to either watch it somehow, avoid spoilers until you can watch, or just have to follow along remotely. Since I work from home, it isn’t a major problem for me, unless I’m unfortunately scheduled for a meeting during that time.

And guess what?

The final trivia answer of the season: In the first game the Phillies ever played at Tropicana Field, future Hall of Famers Scott Rolen, Fred McGriff, and Wade Boggs all played. Dirkniblick got it right.

Thanks for everyone who played this season!

I’m gonna show you tonight

Braves fans can talk a big game, but considering the history between the teams, you know they can’t be pleased about having to face the Phillies in the playoffs again.

Will history repeat itself? I honestly don’t know. I think the starting pitching will at least keep them in every game, but after that, it’s hard to predict much with this team. They’ve gone through stretches where they consistently get on base and then get hits with runners in scoring position. They also have stretches where every hitter seems to want to be the hero and pops up the first pitch as soon as a runner gets aboard.

It may come down to how well the bullpen performs, and that’s not a reassuring thought. But worse bullpens than this one have won playoff series, and the Phillies’ best hope might be that if the Braves find themselves trailing in the late innings, those past playoff failures start weighing on them, and they’re the ones who start pressing at the plate.

For what it’s worth, the Phillies seem to view themselves as a battle-tested team who has been there before. It’s time for them to back that up and show they have what it takes.

Go Phils!

Every generation has its random breakout journeyman, the guy who comes up, thrusts himself into the limelight with some big performances in key spots, and then, in time, fades into relative obscurity. In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, it was Shane Spencer. For the mid-2010s, Yangervis Solarte and Prestone Claiborne briefly locked down the hot corner and a middle relief spot, respectively. During the Baby Bomber years, Greg Bird, Mike Tauchman, and Oswaldo Cabrera each took a turn in this role, becoming — at least for a time — fan favorites.

Once upon a time, that flash-in-the-pan star was Shelley Duncan, now the manager for the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, the Scranton (no longer) RailRiders.

David Shelley Duncan
Born: September 29, 1979 (Tucson, Arizona)
Yankees Tenure: 2007-09

On this day in 1979, Duncan was born into a baseball family. The son of former A’s catcher Dave Duncan and brother of the late 2006 Cardinals champion Chris Duncan, he played ball at Canyon del Oro High School in the Tucson suburb of Oro Valley, alongside future All-Star second baseman Ian Kinsler. From there, he went on to the University of Arizona, where he was named an All-American first team outfielder by Baseball America as a freshman and a Pac-10 All-Star the following year. Based on his performance, he was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 2001 draft.

Upon joining the Yankees organization, Duncan began to slowly but steadily climb through the ranks: he spent 2003 and 2004 in High-A Tampa, broke out with Double-A Trenton in 2005, then reached Triple-A Columbus in 2006. He began the 2007 season with Triple-A Scranton (the Yankees swapped minor league affiliates that winter), before he got the call to the Show on July 20, 2007; with the team 7.5 games behind the first-place Red Sox in the standings and barely sitting up above .500, the Yankees were looking for a jolt — and fortunately, the hard-hitting outfielder provided.

Batting ninth and DHing during his first career start, Duncan went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, capping off a rally that made a 13-1 Yankees deficit into a not-quite-as-awful-but-still-bad 13-4 loss. The next day, he hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth for his first career home run, helping lead the Bombers past the Devil Rays. Two games later, he had his first multi-homer day, driving in four runs as the Yankees absolutely obliterated Tampa Bay 21-4.

Duncan excelled in a part-time role down the stretch for the 2007 Yankees, slashing .257/.329/.554 with 7 homers in 83 plate appearances. While he wasn’t the main reason for the 44-22 finish to the season to secure a Wild Card spot, his ability to produce off the bench certainly helped ensure the Yankees finished the season with the best offense in the American League.

Duncan spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons bouncing between Scranton and the Bronx, slashing just .181/.250/.264 in 80 plate appearances in the Majors, but earning the 2009 International League MVP while leading the league in home runs and runs batted in. On the back of these performances, when he chose free agency after the season when outrighted to Scranton, signing a deal with Cleveland that January.

Duncan was a part-time player for the next three years in Cleveland, where he was teammates with future Yankee Jayson Nix. Splitting time between first base, left field, and the DH spot, he posted a .231/.309/.430 slash with 33 homers across three seasons. Following a brief spell with Tampa Bay in 2013, Duncan bounced between minor league systems for the first couple of months of 2014 before hanging up the cleats for good after being released by the Reds in June.

After finishing his undergraduate degree in 2014, Duncan embarked on a minor league coaching career in 2015. He spent four years working for the Arizona Diamondbacks organization as a minor league manager, then joined the Blue Jays front office as a Major League Field Coordinator and scout. After a couple years north of the border—and unfortunately personal hardship when his brother Chris passed away from brain cancer in 2019—Duncan worked as an analyst for the Chicago White Sox for two seasons. Soon, he was back in both the dugout and the Yankees family, as he took the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders managerial job in January 2023.

Duncan has spent the last four seasons in the role, leading the RailRiders to the league finals last season while earning the 2025 International League Manager of the Year Award. Happy 47th birthday, Shelley!

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.