Category: MLB

The Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox for Game 1 of the American League wild card series on Tuesday, the opener of the best-of-three set at Daikin Park.

Houston won the AL West with the worst record (81-81) of any playoff team in history and are in the postseason for the 10th time in 12 seasons. Meanwhile, the White Sox reached the playoffs for the first time since 2021, just two years after setting the MLB record with 121 losses in 2024.

Both teams will open the game with their bullpens, as rookies AJ Blubaugh gets the start for the Astros and Hagen Smith for the White Sox. The right-hander Blubaugh made 64 appearances with a 3.66 ERA in 96 innings in the regular season. Smith, the fifth overall pick in the 2024 draft, made 18 appearances after being promoted to the majors, racking up 41 strikeouts in 28 innings with a 1.29 ERA.

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Where to watch Astros vs White Sox: Channel, live stream

First pitch between the Astros and White Sox is scheduled for 5 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

• TV channel:NBCSN
• Streaming: Peacock

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The Astros host the White Sox on Tuesday, Sept. 29. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET.

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Named the above to separate it from the SB Nation Gameday Thread, which I believe will also be making an appearance on the page at some point today. But there may be fans of other teams appearing in there and we all know how icky they are. 🙂 Anyway, the 2026 post-season gets under way today, with four games in the wild-card round. Here is the schedule for your viewing pleasure, with all times Arizona

• Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves (0-0): 11:00 am, NBC
• Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros (0-0): 2:00 pm, Peacock
• Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (0-0): 5:00 pm, NBC
• Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres (0-0): 8:00 pm, Peacock

Throughout the season, the offense was a major story for this Nationals team. It was the unit that carried this team and made them so exciting to watch. I wanted to break down what made this offense so special and dive into some of the numbers. 

Part of what made this offense so special was how surprising it was. Last season, the Nats ranked 24th in OPS, 20th in runs and 24th in home runs. Simply put, this was not a very good offense in 2025. However, this team made it very clear that 2026 would be different.

The offense was slugging early and often this season. They got off to a hot start and never looked back. This offense scored 10 runs on Opening Day, which was a sign of things to come. For the season, the Nats finished 3rd in OPS, 6th in homers and 3rd in runs scored. That is truly an elite offense.

The Washington Nationals offense finished third in runs scored, 6th in homers, 3rd in OPS, 3rd in slugging, 8th in OBP, 7th in hits 12th in average and 4th in doubles. What a unit this was in 2026. Crazy what good coaching can do

— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) September 29, 2026

Seeing those kinds of strides in one season is very rare. It is not like the Nats added a ton of outside help either. This was all existing players making strides forward. A lot of that credit has to go to the coaching staff and front office. 

In the offseason, the new regime made it clear that they wanted to modernize on the offensive side of the ball. They brought in new technology like the Trajekt Arc machine and hired coaches with analytical backgrounds. New hitting coach Matt Borgschulte was known as a bright, young mind in the industry. Meanwhile, assistant hitting coach Andrew Aydt came from Driveline and is on the cutting edge of modern hitting.

Between swing changes, approach tweaks and bat speed increases, Nats hitters had way more success in 2026. That was easy to see right away as well. Through one month, things can be shrugged off as a fluke, but when the Nats were leading baseball in runs by Memorial Day, this was hard to ignore.

We’re 2 months into the season and the Nationals are:

1st in Runs (294)
4th in HR (70)
5th in SB (53)
4th in OPS (.745)
4th in wRC+ (110)

Why is this offense actually nasty pic.twitter.com/8DyGalmPu0

— AT (@BaseballWRLD_) May 25, 2026

So many individual players improved. One of the most drastic overhauls came with Jacob Young. In 2025, Young had no power and was hitting the ball on the ground over 55% of the time. This offseason, he worked with Driveline to fix his swing. With that outside help and the work of Nats hitting coaches, Young hit 10 home runs, despite only having 5 in his career before this season. 

A big reason for that is his ground ball rate went down to 39.4%. Instead of trying to hit balls through the infield, Young was up there to do damage. That strategy worked and made him a very respectable hitter. In 2026, Young hit .252 with a .708 OPS. Those numbers are not mindblowing, but when you combine that with his great defense, Young posted 2.3 fWAR. 

Another insane turnaround came from Keibert Ruiz. At this time last season, Ruiz’s career looked to be in jeopardy due to concussion issues and poor play. This season, he had a career year, hitting .280 with a .759 OPS. He accomplished this by pulling the ball in the air a ton. His 33.9% pull air rate was second in all of baseball behind Pete Crow-Armstrong. This allowed him to make the most of his middling exit velocities and become a productive hitter.

Andres Chaparro is another hitter who broke out due to pulling the ball in the air. Despite Chaparro struggling in the first half in limited playing time, the organization stuck with him and that paid off in a big way. In the second half, Chappy hit 12 homers and posted an OPS of .998. 

Andres Chaparro crushes his 2nd HR of the day 💥

He’s got a 1.005 OPS in the 2nd half! pic.twitter.com/nTztdS3dKg

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 27, 2026

Seeing one of these guys have this type of breakout would be one thing, but there are so many players improving. It is absolutely not a fluke. These are just three of many examples. Paul Toboni decided to cash in on the breakouts of Curtis Mead and Luis Garcia Jr. at the deadline to get much needed pitching help.

Despite this great season, this offense cannot rest on their laurels and neither can the front office. Paul Toboni talked about how he can’t necessarily rely on the offense repeating this and that he still needs to act in order to improve the team. I think that is a very good point.

This offense should continue to be good, but it is worth pointing out that this was probably one of the higher end outcomes. There is no guarantee that they will be this good next year. Even with James Wood missing time, this offense was fairly healthy and a lot of players had breakout years.

Even so, I do not think this offense was a fluke or anything. One of my favorite stats is xwOBA because of how it takes quality of contact into account. The Nats actually finished third in that stat, meaning that they were not getting insane batted ball luck.

They might not be top 3 in runs next year, but the foundation is there to be a good offensive team for years to come. More pieces would obviously be helpful, but between the stars at the top of the lineup and all the depth, the offense is in a good place.

One of those stars is James Wood, who had a good season. He played at an MVP level in the first half before falling off down the stretch. Wood will need to find a way to finish seasons strong, but the talent is so obvious with him. The ball just comes off his bat differently, and the exit velocity data shows that.

JAMES !!! 𝔀OOD !!! pic.twitter.com/s4wG9tCdRF

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) July 26, 2026

Wood and CJ Abrams are a formidable big 2 at the top of the lineup. This coaching staff and front office has shown they can find bats to be productive around them. With a lot of young offensive talent in the system, this offense should be the core of the next iteration of Nats baseball. The offense gets an A+ for this season. Now it is time to find the right guys on the mound to surround them.

The 2026 MLB regular season ended this past weekend, meaning it is now time for playoff baseball. The defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers are in pursuit of a historic three-peat, while the rest of the postseason field hopes this is the year they win the World Series.

The best-of-three Wild Card round gets underway today, with eight of the 12 teams in the bracket in action. The other four teams—the Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians—earned first-round byes as the top two seeds in their respective leagues.

In the American League (AL), the New York Yankees will host their bitter rival, the Boston Red Sox, for a second consecutive October. The other matchup pits the 81-81 AL West champion Houston Astros against the visiting Chicago White Sox, who surprisingly but deservedly made the playoffs after two consecutive 100-loss seasons.

In the National League (NL), the San Diego Padres will face the Chicago Cubs once again, but this time in San Diego instead of Chicago. On the East Coast, the Atlanta Braves will host their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies.

Braves vs Phillies (2:00 PM EDT)

These two senior circuit juggernauts will each send standout left-handers to the mound to open the series. Former Athletic Jesús Luzardo (14-5, 2.86 ERA), who was just reinstated from the injured list, will make the start for the Phillies. He will be opposed by Atlanta ace Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA), who put together another strong season for the NL East champions.

Game 1. #LetItFlypic.twitter.com/pX5jhaa6ln

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 29, 2026

Let's ring it pic.twitter.com/e8gt0NN7HU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 29, 2026

White Sox at Astros (5:00 PM EDT)

Houston is using a bullpen game, with right-hander AJ Blubaugh making the start. That allows the Astros to preserve Hunter Brown for Game 2. The White Sox are also using a bullpen game as both teams look to take advantage of favorable matchups. Left-hander Hagen Smith will get the start for the South Siders.

Here we go pic.twitter.com/RSvpunBLcL

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 29, 2026

Ready to roll.

⚾️: 4:00 PM
🏟️: Closed
📺: @NBCSports & @peacock
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 | @ESPNRadio#ChaseTheFight  x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/0uLlJfB3of

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 29, 2026

Yankees vs Red Sox (8:00 PM EDT)

Both of these historic franchises feature two of the best rotations in the league. AL Cy Young Award frontrunner Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA) will start for the Yankees, while the Red Sox will turn to left-hander Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.03 ERA) to open the series.

New York knocked out Boston in three games last year. Will history repeat itself, or will the Red Sox oust their division rival? Aaron Judge not suiting up for the Yankees will have a drastic impact on this series, as his presence makes the Yankees’ lineup much more intimidating to opposing pitchers.

Tonight in the Bronx. #RepBX | #Postseasonpic.twitter.com/35mK7xMqA8

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 29, 2026

Cubs at Padres (10:00 PM EDT)

Right-hander Michael King (12-10, 3.21 ERA) will start for the Padres, looking to shut down NL MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong and the rest of the Cubs’ strong lineup. He will be opposed by Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd (10-5, 3.91 ERA), who will be tasked with keeping Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill off the basepaths.

If the Padres are in front after five innings, the Cubs could have difficulty coming back against the Padres’ elite bullpen. Left-hander Adrian Morejon and arguably the best closer in baseball, Mason Miller, form a dynamic late-inning duo. This season, A’s fans often wished Miller was still in the team’s bullpen instead of the parade of relievers the Green and Gold employed in his absence.

Chicago knocked out San Diego in three games last year. Will history repeat itself, or will the Padres advance this time around?

What are your playoff predictions? Which team will win the World Series, and which players will make a name for themselves on the national stage?

Welcome to the 2026 edition of Ranking the Rockies, where we take a look back at every player to log playing time for the Rockies in 2026. The purpose of this list is to provide a snapshot of the player in context. The “Ranking” is an organizing principle that’s drawn from Baseball Reference’s WAR (rWAR). It’s not something the staff debated. We’ll begin with the player with the lowest rWAR and end up with the player with the highest.

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No. 54, Tyler Freeman (-2.0 rWAR)

Tyler Freeman’s second season with the Colorado Rockies had its moments.

He could put the bat on the ball. His throwing arm created outs from right field. There were games when Freeman reached base repeatedly, drove in runs, and helped the Rockies manufacture offense.

There just were not enough of them.

Injuries interrupted his season; his production fell off sharply during the summer; and his range in right field gave back much of the value created by his arm. By late August, Freeman was back in Triple-A. In September, the Rockies outrighted him off the 40-man roster.

The numbers

Level	G	PA	AB	H	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
MLB	79	288	255	63	29	6	1	3	23	11	34	6	.247	.317	.314	.631
AAA	23	101	85	26	17	9	0	1	12	10	8	4	.306	.400	.447	.847

Freeman’s major-league production fell well short of what Colorado needed from a regular, and the -2.0 rWAR reflects how quickly his overall value disappeared once the offense cooled. His Triple-A finish was considerably better, although the production still came mostly through contact, walks, and doubles.

What actually happened

Freeman technically began the season on the injured list, but he did not miss much time.

Colorado placed him on the 10-day IL on March 25 and activated him April 1, just a few games into the regular season. Freeman missed the opening portion of Colorado’s first road trip before joining the club in Toronto.

His first few months contained enough productive stretches to keep him involved regularly.

One of Freeman’s best games came April 30 in Cincinnati. Brenton Doyle was aboard with two outs in the first inning when Andrew Abbott left a 92.3 mph fastball over the middle of the plate.

Freeman drove the pitch 357 feet to right field for a two-run homer, giving Colorado an early 2-0 lead. He finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. The homer was his first of three in 2026.

There were other good games along the way. Freeman went 3-for-5 with an RBI on April 16, and he collected three hits, including a double, on May 31.

Even some of Freeman’s stranger offensive contributions fit the way he produced runs. He was hit by 15 pitches, more than he walked all season. One of those HBPs came with the bases loaded in the ninth inning against the Mets on May 6.

Sean Manaea caught Freeman with an 89.2 mph sinker, forcing Mickey Moniak home. The Rockies were too far behind for the run to change the result, but the plate appearance fit Freeman’s season: another way to reach base without doing damage with the bat.

The first half also brought more time away from the lineup. Freeman went on the paternity list May 15 and returned May 19. On June 9, Colorado placed him on the seven-day concussion IL. He returned five days later.

Freeman then put together one of his best games of the season on June 24 against Boston.

The Rockies trailed 5-2 in the fourth when Freeman came up with a runner in scoring position and two outs against Ranger Suárez.

Freeman lined a 91.2 mph fastball into the outfield for an RBI single, trimming Boston’s lead to two. He later scored as Colorado continued to work its way back into the game.

By the eighth, the Rockies had tied the game at six. Mickey Moniak opened the inning with a single, and Freeman came to the plate with the go-ahead run aboard.

Freeman dropped a bunt in front of the plate and Moniak raced home, giving Colorado a 7-6 lead. Freeman finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI in an 8-6 Rockies win.

June 24 also became a pretty clear dividing line in Freeman’s season.

From the end of the June 24 game through the remainder of his major-league season, Freeman drove in only one more run and scored only twice. He hit .175/.203/.175 in 57 July at-bats and .182/.182/.182 in 11 August at-bats. Freeman had three extra-base hits in June and none during the rest of his time in the majors.

Freeman’s bat had almost no thump, and the lack of power left almost no cushion when the singles stopped falling. His contact ability remained, but contact without damage could only carry the offensive profile so far.

The season took another turn in August.

Colorado placed Freeman on the 10-day IL on August 10, retroactive to August 9, with lumbar pain. He began a rehab assignment with Albuquerque on August 20. Three days later, the Rockies activated him from the injured list and immediately optioned him to Triple-A rather than returning him to the major-league roster.

On September 5, Colorado outrighted Freeman to Albuquerque and removed him from the 40-man roster.

A strange collection of tools

Freeman’s bat-to-ball ability remained excellent. He struck out in only 11.8% of his plate appearances and whiffed on 12.8% of his swings, but the contact rarely carried much impact.

Freeman finished with an 87.7 mph average exit velocity, a 36.1% hard-hit rate, a 1.4% barrel rate and a .353 expected slugging percentage, producing only three barrels all season. He can hit the baseball; he just does not hit it very hard very often.

His defensive season followed a similar pattern, with useful tools that did not translate into enough overall value. Freeman logged 429.3 innings in right field in 2026, more than any other Rockies player. He made 49 starts in right field, did not commit an error, and recorded six assists.

His arm was a legitimate weapon, and one of the best examples came April 11 in San Diego, when Fernando Tatis Jr. stood at third with one out and Manny Machado lifted a fly ball into shallow right.

Freeman made the sliding catch, came up throwing and cut down Tatis at the plate to complete the inning-ending double play. The sequence showed both the athleticism and arm strength capable of making Freeman an asset in right field.

The arm showed up in other ways, too. On July 17 against Cincinnati, JJ Bleday ripped a 104.8 mph liner into right field with Sal Stewart trying to advance.

Freeman came up firing and threw Stewart out at third to end the inning, another example of how much value his arm could create when the play developed in front of him.

The throws were real. But so were the range problems.

He finished at -8 OAA overall, including -6 in right field. Statcast’s directional data showed negative value both coming in and going back, while the jump numbers pointed most strongly toward his reaction and initial burst rather than his routes.

The contrast was easiest to see on balls in front of him. Against Tampa Bay, Freeman got a good enough read on a sinking ball to close the gap and make the catch.

Tampa Bay challenged the play, but replay confirmed the catch. Freeman got a good enough jump to close the gap and make the catch before the ball hit the grass.

A similar play against the Cubs ended differently. Michael Busch lifted a soft fly into shallow right, with Edouard Julien also ranging out from second base.

Julien ranging out from second complicated the play, but Freeman never got himself into position to make a real attempt before the ball dropped between them.

The issues going back were even more noticeable. Freeman looked more comfortable when he had time to get underneath a deep fly, as he did on this ball from Brandon Marsh.

Freeman tracked the ball cleanly, reached the warning track and made the catch.

As the ball got closer to the wall, though, Freeman could become noticeably more hesitant. Tyler Tolbert gave him another deep drive in Kansas City.

He was close enough to make a play, but he never quite got himself into position. His approach became more tentative as he neared the wall, and a catchable ball fell for a double.

Freeman’s defensive season was not defined by errors. The larger problem was the number of catchable balls he nearly reached but did not convert into outs.

Where does Freeman stand heading into 2027?

Freeman’s September outright changed his place in the organization. The Rockies still have a player who puts the ball in play, owns a strong arm, can run, and can move between the outfield and second base. He also spent 2026 as Colorado’s most-used right fielder, giving the club a long look at him in a regular defensive role. His strong finish in Albuquerque gives the Isotopes an experienced player who can raise the level of the Triple-A roster.

Finding a path back to regular playing time in Denver is harder. Colorado’s outfield is crowded, and the infield is fairly set. Freeman’s positional flexibility still gives the organization useful depth, but any return to the majors would first require a 40-man roster move.

His collection of tools makes “what if?” tempting, yet his career has provided little evidence of another offensive level waiting to emerge. The contact ability is established, and so is the lack of power. His defensive range and baserunning have not supplied enough secondary value when the batting average falls.

Freeman’s clearest role heading into 2027 may be in Albuquerque, if he doesn’t become a free agent, helping stabilize the Triple-A roster while remaining available as experienced depth. Freeman had useful moments in 2026, but there were too few of them.

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So it begins. The National League Wild Card round starts with the Atlanta Braves hosting the Philadelphia Phillies. LHP Jesús Luzardo is the scheduled starter for the Phillies while the Braves will give the ball to LHP Chris Sale. First pitch is scheduled for 1pm central time and the game broadcast will be handled by NBC/Peacock.

Is there anybody out there who made some October plans back when the season looked bleak for the Orioles and then had to sweat it out a bit because, what if they actually rallied and made the postseason? I am in this group. Back in June when it looked like the O’s would never really be in the race, my wife and I planned a trip for the end of the wild card round and beginning of the division round. Ultimately, we didn’t have to spend too much of September wondering if we’d miss any Orioles in the playoffs.

The tournament to determine the champion starts today. The Orioles aren’t in it. They finished 4.5 games out. Teams who are in it include the 81-81 Astros and the 84-78 White Sox. Not playing today is the 85-win Cleveland Guardians, because they managed to get a bye even with only 85 wins. Sheesh.

These are the four matchups that will be playing today, tomorrow, and if necessary, Thursday. (Most wild card series have ended in sweeps since the inception of this round of the postseason.)

Phillies at Braves, 2pm Eastern (NBC)

• PHI starter: Jesús Luzardo
• ATL starter: Chris Sale

The Phillies very nearly had one of the greatest September collapses that’s ever been accomplished. They ended up holding on and now here they are. All they have to do is pretend that none of their problems exist for about four weeks and they could win the World Series. It has happened to champion teams before. Anything can happen over short series, particularly a little best-of-three.

White Sox at Astros, 5pm Eastern (Peacock)

• CHW starter: Hagen Smith
• HOU starter: AJ Blubaugh

For most people in Birdland, the White Sox are probably one of the more sympathetic teams in this year’s postseason field. There is not much in the way of White Sox-related beef that lingers. They’re a nice story of a revival that worked, and honestly, much better to see this team advance than a .500 division winner. What a joke that would be, to have Houston go forward from here.

However, owing to a grudge dating to 1989, when age 5 Mark was told by then-White Sox slugger Ron Kittle, during his first-ever Orioles game, “Hey, kid, why don’t you shut the hell up and buy me a beer?” I will not root for the White Sox except probably if they are playing the Yankees or Red Sox. That’s it. What a jerk.

It is fun that the current pope is a White Sox fan. Will they win for the new pope? Probably not.

Red Sox at Yankees, 8pm (NBC)

• BOS starter: Payton Tolle
• NYY starter: Cam Schlittler

Of course the Yankees-Red Sox series gets the prime time 8pm billing every day for as long as it’s going. The media noise around it any time these teams play is exhausting. Can’t they just both lose? Alas, no. At least, if they’re going to play one another, the wild card round is the best time.

There will be at most three games, and even better, the loser’s fans will have to endure going home in the first round to that other team that they really don’t like. The great thing about being a hater is that someone is always going to lose and you can always enjoy their angst. Even the winner may yet go on to lose in the next round. It’s not like a World Series bid is on the line here.

The Yankees have the luxury of starting the probable AL Cy Young winner in this game. I will enjoy it if they don’t capitalize on this.

Cubs at Padres, 10pm (Peacock)

• CHC starter: Matthew Boyd
• SDP starter: Michael King

The Padres finished with a better regular season record than four of the six American League postseason teams. All that this gets them is hosting this best-of-three first round against the Cubs, a team that is inherently interesting this year thanks to Pete Crow-Armstrong’s superstar breakout 45 homer/41 stolen base season. Pretty good!

Did you know that former Oriole Jacob Webb led the Cubs in saves this season? That’s weird. He only had nine saves. The Cubs as a team actually only had 36 saves, ten fewer than the Orioles did. One reason for this is that 35 of their 89 wins were blowout wins of 5+ runs.

**

Do you have any particular rooting interests for these series? If you’re watching or following the games today, join us in the comments below.

We have four games today:

Phillies @ Braves 2:00 Eastern

We have lineups for this one:

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White Sox @ Astros 5:00 Eastern

Hagen Smith (3-3, 1.29 in 28 inning) is starting or opening for the White Sox.

AJ Blubaugh (5-3, 3.66) also an opener for the Astros

It seems a weird way to start a playoff series.

---

Red Sox @ Yankees 8:00 Eastern

Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.03 in 26 starts)

Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 in 33 starts). The old man in me wonders how a guy with 14 wins can get the Cy Young.

No Aaron Judge this series.

---

Cubs @ Braves 10:00 Eastern

Matthew Boyd (10-5, 3.91 in 22 starts). The former Blue Jays player. Starts for the Cubs.

Michael King (12-10, 3.21 in 32 starts) goes for the Padres.

Go Rays!

Phillies at Braves

First pitch: 2:00 PM EDT
TV: NBC/Peacock
Probable pitchers: Jesús Luzardo, LHP (PHI), Chris Sale, LHP (ATL)

White Sox at Astros

First pitch: 5:00 PM EDT
TV: Peacock/NBCSN
Probable pitchers: Hagen Smith, LHP (CWS), AJ Blubaugh (HOU)

Red Sox at Yankees

First pitch: 8:00 PM EDT
TV: NBC/Peacock
Probable pitchers: Payton Tolle, LHP (BOS), Cam Schlittler, RHP (NYY)

Cubs at Padres

First pitch: 10:00 PM EDT
TV: Peacock/NBCSN
Probable pitchers: Matthew Boyd, LHP (CHC), Michael King, RHP (SDP)

Regular season baseball may be over, but postseason baseball is here.

Today, we’ve got the first action of the playoffs, with four Wild Card games gracing our televisions and streaming services. The two evening games—Yankees v Red Sox and Cubs v Padres—should be very good contests, as the average win total among all four teams is 90. This is in stark contrast to the 4pm American League game, which features the 84-win White Sox and the 81-win Astros. Could have been the Royals if they were competent this year, but alas.

At the time this article will publish, we only have lineups for the 1pm game. As the day goes on, I’ll update this with official rosters and then lineups as they become available.

1pm: Phillies vs. Braves NLWC game 1

• How to watch: NBC/Peacock

Phillies lineup

Let's ring it pic.twitter.com/e8gt0NN7HU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 29, 2026

Braves lineup

Game 1. #LetItFlypic.twitter.com/pX5jhaa6ln

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 29, 2026

4pm: White Sox vs. Astros ALWC game 1

• How to watch: Peacock/NBC Sports Network

White Sox lineup

Here we go pic.twitter.com/RSvpunBLcL

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 29, 2026

Astros lineup

Ready to roll.

⚾️: 4:00 PM
🏟️: Closed
📺: @NBCSports & @peacock
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 | @ESPNRadio#ChaseTheFight  x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/0uLlJfB3of

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 29, 2026

7pm: Red Sox vs. Yankees ALWC game 1

• How to watch: NBC/Peacock

Red Sox roster

The guys for the job. pic.twitter.com/EMJH2404ib

— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 29, 2026

Yankees roster

Our 26 for the Wild Card Series.#RepBXpic.twitter.com/EXB2z7gSUr

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 29, 2026

9pm: Cubs vs. Padres NLWC game 1

• How to watch: Peacock/NBC Sports Network

Cubs roster

The guys for the job. pic.twitter.com/OjpwA3TQEJ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 29, 2026

Padres roster

Our 2026 Wild Card Roster: pic.twitter.com/v6cTJhd6N8

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 29, 2026

The Colorado Rockies did not make the playoffs (again), but it’s going to be a great day to talk about playoff baseball.

Here’s today’s bracket:

• Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves on NBC/Peacock at 12:00 pm MDT
• Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros on Peacock/NBC at 3:00 pm MDT
• Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees on NBC/Peacock at 6:00 pm MDT
• Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres on Peacock/NBC @ 8:00 pm MDT

We’ll add lineups as they become available.

Okay, let’s enjoy some October baseball.

Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves — 12:00 pm MDT

Record when teams met in 2026: Braves 9, Phillies 4

For the visiting Phillies:

Let's ring it pic.twitter.com/e8gt0NN7HU

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 29, 2026

And the home team:

Game 1. #LetItFlypic.twitter.com/pX5jhaa6ln

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 29, 2026

Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros — 3:00 pm MDT

Record when teams met in 2026: Astros 5, White Sox 2

For the visiting White Sox:

Here we go pic.twitter.com/RSvpunBLcL

— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 29, 2026

And the home Astros:

Ready to roll.

⚾️: 4:00 PM
🏟️: Closed
📺: @NBCSports & @peacock
🎙️: @SportsTalk790 | @ESPNRadio#ChaseTheFight  x @reliantenergypic.twitter.com/0uLlJfB3of

— Houston Astros (@astros) September 29, 2026

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The Cubs and Padres will be the last of the four Wild Card Series to get underway today. That game will begin at 9 p.m. CT and I will have the usual game preview up at 7 p.m. CT.

In the meantime, there are three other Wild Card games today, so this is an all-purpose game thread for you to discuss the baseball action this afternoon and early evening.

Here are all the details for those three games.

1 p.m. CT: Phillies at Braves

TV: NBC. Announcers: Matt Vasgersian, John Kruk, C.J. Nitkowski, Joey Votto

Jesús Luzardo, LHP vs. Chris Sale, LHP

Though Luzardo is a starter, he threw an inning on Sunday after returning from a shoulder issue, so for the Phillies this will be some sort of bullpen game.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

4 p.m. CT: White Sox at Astros

TV: Peacock. Announcers: Tom McCarthy, Steve Stone, Geoff Blum, Adam Ottavino

Hagen Smith, LHP vs. AJ Blubaugh, RHP

Both teams are going with a bullpen game.

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

7 p.m. CT: Red Sox at Yankees

TV: NBC. Announcers: Jason Benetti, Lou Merloni, Joe Girardi, Anthony Rizzo

Payton Tolle, LHP vs. Cam Schlittler, RHP

MLB.com Gameday

Baseball-reference.com preview

Enjoy the games!

The Royals will reassign Alec Zumwalt from his duties as hitting coach, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He will retain his position as senior director of hitting performance.

Zumwalt has been with the organization for nine years, and has been hitting coach and senior director of hitting performance since 2022. The Royals averaged 4.26 runs-per-game, finishing 21st in baseball. That was a slight improvement over their performance in 2025 when they scored 4.02 runs-per-game, 26th in baseball.

The season was highlighted by the emergence of Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone, who became two of the most productive players in the lineup, and Michael Massey enjoyed a career-best season. But the team once again got off to a cold start offensively, averaging just 4.06 runs-per-game in April as the team stumbled off to a slow start. Vinnie Pasquantino struggled much of the year, Salvador Perez significantly declined, Isaac Collins slumped badly to end the year, and Kyle Isbel had his worst offensive season.

No word yet on whether or not the Royals will retain assistant hitting coaches Connor Dawson and Marcus Thames, who joined the staff this year, or whether or not there will be further changes to the coaching staff. J.J. Piccollo is scheduled to meet with the media on Wednesday.

SAN DIEGO —The most surprising postseason roster decision Tuesday was not Aaron Judge being off the New York Yankees' roster and Giancarlo Stanton on it, but in San Diego.

Starter Joe Musgrove, who has been sidelined for nearly two years recovering from Tommy John surgery, not pitching in a Major League Baseball game since Oct. 2, 2024, was placed on the Padres’ postseason roster ahead of their best-of-three wild card series against the Chicago Cubs.

Musgrove, who faced hitters twice in the past five days while hitting 97-mph on the radar gun with control of his breaking pitches, will be another valuable piece in the Padres bullpen.

The Padres became cautiously optimistic he could return when he pitched in an instructional league game last Tuesday and then batting practice three days later.

He replaces Randy Vásquez, who threw 68 pitches over six innings on Sunday in the season finale, on the roster. Wandy Peralta and Griffin Canning were also left off the postseason roster.

The gamble with Musgrove is that he likely won’t be able to pitch in back-to-back games.

Musgrove, 33, the San Diego native who has pitched the Padres’ lone no-hitter in franchise history, was hoping to return this season but he had several setbacks while trying to return as a starter. He since has pitched in shorter stints as a reliever.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Padres playoff roster includes All-Star who hasn't pitched in two years