Category: MLB

The Dodgers on Sunday begin playing in their 18th National League Championship Series, a round that first began in 1969. The first NLCS for the Dodgers was in 1974, when Walt Alston’s Dodgers made their first postseason appearance since 1966.

This was the first full season of The Infield for the Dodgers, with National League MVP Steve Garvey at first base, Davey Lopes at second base, Bill Russell at shortstop, and Ron Cey at third base. They won 102 games, which stood as the best record by a Los Angeles Dodgers team for 43 years, but even then it took until the penultimate day to finally clinch the NL West over the Cincinnati Reds.

Tuesday, October 1 was clinching day for the Dodgers, who were in Houston to play the Astros while the Reds were in Atlanta. Cincinnati’s game ended first, and when the Braves prevailed that clinched the division for the Dodgers. It took a few minutes before fans watching Dodgers-Astros on television could see the reaction from the visiting dugout, much to the chagrin of Paul Henninger of the Los Angeles Times:

It’s ironic that the tape-delay, which has plagued baseball fans all season long on Monday nights, had to figure one more time, and on a channel that proclaimed it would bring us LIVE coverage until the Dodgers clinched the division. Everybody could treasure the glorious moment when it happened — LIVE, that is.

Dodger fans were all geared for it last Tuesday night. Channel 11 was telecasting the Dodgers game from the Atrodome. They knew the Reds were trailing. Doggett as on TV when word came. The Reds lost! Quick, cut to the Dodgers’ dugout to see the players’ reactions LIVE when they heard. Hey! They got the news! Davey Lopes was seen leaping for joy and … Vin Scully turns up on the screen frying sausage. What’s happening? Hurry up, Vinnie, flip those (deleted) links over, get on with it.

Then to compound this awful boo-boo, after the taped commercial somehow got in the way, after the initial excitement subsided, KTTV put on a tape-delay of the dugout frolics we missed. It was like reading yesterday’s newspaper. For shame, KTTV.

A different time

In the first 16 years of the League Championship Series (1969-84), the series was best-of-5, and home-field advantage alternated by division each year. It worked out that 1974 was the NL West’s year for home-field advantage, which matched up with the records, as the Dodgers were 102-60 and the Pittsburgh Pirates were 88-74.

But home-field advantage back then meant the team with the supposed advantage would first play two games on the road before coming home to play up to three games. So the Dodgers had to go to Pittsburgh first to open their playoffs.

Night games weren’t as prevalent for the postseason back then, and every game of the NLCS and ALCS were played during the daytime. Also, the schedules weren’t staggered, with both the NL and AL playing games on the same days.

1974 LCS schedules

• Saturday, October 5: Dodgers at Pirates, 10 a.m. PT; Orioles at A’s, 1 p.m.
• Sunday, October 6: Dodgers at Pirates, 10 a.m.; Orioles at A’s, 1 p.m.
• Monday, October 8: A’s at Orioles, 11 a.m. PT; Pirates at Dodgers, 12:30 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 9: A’s at Orioles, 11 a.m. PT; Pirates at Dodgers, 12:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 10: A’s at Orioles, 11 a.m. PT; Pirates at Dodgers, 12:30 p.m.

Based on local newspapers at the time — Bob Cox in the San Pedro News-Pilot, Morton Moss in the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, and Henninger of The Times — the television coverage of the postseason was also much different from today. All NLCS games were televised locally in the Los Angeles area by KTTV, with Vin Scully and Jerry Doggett on the call, using the NBC video feed.

The national NBC call of the NLCS, which was also available locally, had Jim Simpson and Maury Wills on the call. NBC also called the ALCS, which made for a baseball doubleheader on the network on Saturday, with the main NBC team of Curt Gowdy and Tony Kubek calling the ALCS. But on Sunday, NBC had NFL football with the Oakland Raiders playing the Cleveland Browns in the 10 a.m. PT slot so they didn’t show Game 2 of Dodgers-Pirates.

Games 3-5 of the LCS had the two games closer together, and NBC’s coverage plans were to televise the first game (A’s at Orioles) in full before joining Pirates at Dodgers in progress. But KTTV locally had every NLCS game live.

As it turned out, both the Dodgers and A’s closed out their LCS in four games, not needing to play Wednesday.

1974 NLCS results

• Game 1: Dodgers 3, Pirates 0
• Game 2: Dodgers 5, Pirates 2
• Game 3: Pirates 7, Dodgers 0
• Game 4: Dodgers 12, Pirates 1

There would not be an NLCS MVP award until 1977, but two Dodgers stood out for a potential 1974 NLCS MVP. Don Sutton allowed one run in 17 innings in his two starts, both wins, with 13 strikeouts, and Garvey hit .389/.421/.778 with two home runs, a double, and five RBI in the four games.

We’re down to four.

The Guardians managed to escape a 2-0 series deficit and will move on to face the Rays starting Monday night. Meanwhile, the NLCS starts tonight with what might be a pitching matchup for the ages at 5:00 pm PST on Fox.

Happy Sunday everybody!

In Mariners news…

• I like to imagine being the viewer who never saw this story, sees this question, and is left on their couch thinking, “he did WHAT??”

ANOTHER ESPN JEOPARDY GEM pic.twitter.com/HNydPPc7Xw

— marie SUPER BOWL LX CHAMPS (@marieners) October 10, 2026

Around the league…

• Guardians superstar José Ramírez showed everyone that a baseball doesn’t even need to be nine full inches off the ground in order to be a homerun pitch, and Guardians pitchers struck out 21 White Sox on the way to securing the reverse sweep.
• Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski will go head-to-head tonight in Game 1 of the NLCS, and according to Mike Petriello it’s one of the best pitching matchups we’ve ever seen, and he has the numbers to prove it.
• Mark Polishuk at MLBTR laid out the case for the Yankees moving on from Giancarlo Stanton this offseason.
• Phillies President of Business Operations Sam Fuld was reportedly offered the position of President of Baseball Operations for the Athletics but elected to decline the offer and will remain in his current position in Philadelphia.

Major League Baseball on .. announced the umpiring crews for the League Championship Series round. For the NLCS between the Dodgers and Brewers, the umpire crew will be led by crew chief Marg Wegner

This is the 26th career postseason series for Wegner, who is in his 28th year as a major league umpire, and his 15th year as a crew chief. He worked the 2025 World Series plus the Dodgers-Phillies NLDS last season.

There are six umpires instead of four during the postseason, with left field and right field added to the standard four infield positions. In the League Championship Series and World Series, there is a seventh umpire added to the crew, providing a day of rest for one umpire each game.

Here are the umpiring assignments for Game 1 of the NLCS on Sunday night at American Family Field in Milwaukee:

Home plate: Edwin Moscoso
First base: Wegner
Second base: Ryan Additon
Third base: Alan Porter
Left field: David Rackley
Right field: John Tumpane
Reserve: Chris Segal

Umpires rotate positions throughout the series, such that seven different umpires will work behind home plate should Dodgers vs. Brewers last the full seven games.

League Championship Series replay officials in New York for the two LCS are Erich Bacchus, Lance Barksdale, and Adam Beck.

Position	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7
Home plate	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane
First base	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal
Second base	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner
Third base	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon
Left field	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter
Right field	Tumpane	Moscoso	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley
Reserve	Segal	Wegner	Additon	Porter	Rackley	Tumpane	Moscoso

Good morning, folks…

The Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox, 2-0, in the decisive Game 5 of their series, setting up a Cleveland/Tampa Bay ALCS.

The Athletic talks about how the final four teams consist of the Dodgers and three low budget teams.

The A’s, in search of a president of baseball operations after firing David Forst in August, offered the job to Sam Fuld, who passed on it.

David Laurila has his Sunday Notes column up at Fangraphs.

The Dodgers are a juggernaut. They’ve finally met their (re)match.

In a regular season marked by broad parity, two teams stood alone. The Brewers won the most games (103) and finished second in fWAR (48.6). The Dodgers won the second most games (100) and finished first in fWAR (53.1). By any statistic you prefer — or even if you prefer to eschew statistics all together — these were far and away the best teams in the majors in 2026. Their collision in the National League Championship Series seemed inevitable from the earliest days of summer.

On paper, this looks like one of the best playoff matchups ever. It’s only the sixth time both teams in an LCS won at least 100 games during the regular season. The most recent examples were in 2018 and 2019, when the Astros played the Red Sox and then the Yankees in the ALCS. Before that it hadn’t happened since the 1970s. That’s to say, this could be an all-time contest of greatness vs. greatness — a rarity in modern baseball.

Of course, this is also rematch. These teams met in last year’s NLCS, in which the Dodgers throttled the Brewers in a four-game sweep. Los Angeles would go on to win their second straight World Series, and spend the offseason once again “ruining baseball” — signing the best free agent, pushing their payroll to new heights, and positioning themselves as favorites for a three peat.

They look just as formidable in 2026. This is one of the best and most well-rounded rosters the Dodgers have taken into the postseason in what’s now their 14th consecutive appearance. They have a deep lineup, the best pitching staff in the league, and have gotten hot at just the right time.

The brief instances where the Dodgers faltered this year — the stretches that limited them to a mere 100 wins — were due to their star-studded lineup under performing. Kyle Tucker struggled mightily through much of the summer, despite handwringing about what his $240 million deal means for the future of the league. Teoscar Hernández’s power disappeared for several weeks, leading him to finish 2026 with fewer than 20 homers for the first time over a full season. And Mookie Betts generated concern that his Hall of Fame career could be over sooner than anticipated. Without production from the core of their lineup, the Dodgers as a team ran a 92 wRC+ in July and August, bottom 10 in the majors.

That feels like the distant past now. The Dodgers offense exploded in September behind the trio of Tucker, Hernández, and Betts, who combined for a .314/.405/.586 (170 wRC+). With fellow stars Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, Freddie Freeman, Andy Pages, and Will Smith, this once again looks like the deepest and most fearsome lineup in the majors. Los Angeles ultimately finished the season with the second best wRC+ (111) and fourth most runs scored (801).

Offense isn’t even the Dodgers strength. They allowed the fewest runs in the majors this year, even with injury keeping Ohtani off the mound in the second half. Yoshinobu Yamomoto, last year’s World Series MVP, leads the rotation following another season of steady excellence. His 2.53 ERA was fifth best in the majors. After him is two-time Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal, who joined the team at the trade deadline in another “league ruining” deal, adding a second true “ace” to the mix. Then there’s the other two-time Cy Young winner in Blake Snell, who delivered on his particular brand of missing most of the season with injury, walking nearly 10% of batters he faced after returning, and otherwise being completely unhittable.

If one absolutely had to pick a weakness with this Dodgers, it might be the bullpen. There’s not a ton of depth in the middle innings (which is generally not an issue because the rotation covers those innings). But even that appears to be trending in the right direction. Edwin Díaz, after a miserable August following a trip to the injured list, looked untouchable in September, giving the Dodgers four pitchers who could serve as closers on any other team.

Again, this Dodgers roster is powerhouse, and perhaps the best in what may be the final act of their trilogy. But it’s worth pointing out they did not win the most games in the majors in 2026. That distinction belongs to the Brewers, who are just as formidable — and perhaps even the favorites in this all-time series.

Milwaukee, following an abrupt ending to 2025, had murkier offseason. They shuffled pieces subtly at the margins, leaning on their people, processes, and prospects more than big splashes in free agency. The Brewers front office is known as one of the most forward thinking collection of analysts in the league, and they seemed to be betting on themselves. The projections, however, weren’t impressed. FanGraphs projected the them to finish third in the NL Central; PECOTA pegged them at 80 wins. Did the Brewers know something nobody else could see?

Well, the answer was a resounding yes. The Brewers won 103 games, reaching triple digits in the win column for the first time in franchise history. It’s hard to improve on a season where they won the most games in the majors, but they got better in just about every facet, finishing first in run differential and second in fWAR. Again, there’s a good argument they were the best team in the majors this year.

Offensively, the Brewers are a brutal opponent. They work counts, put the ball in ball in play to all fields, and run the bases extraordinarily well. They don’t hit for a ton of power, but they can whittle down an opponent through relentless pressure, as we saw them do against a very good Padres bullpen in the NLDS.

Unlike the Dodgers it’s hard to name a true “star” of the group, but they are no doubt just as deep. Brice Turang finished fifth in the majors in fWAR as the league’s premier second baseman, doing a bit of everything on the field. Jackson Chourio is one of the game’s great young players, having already collected three 20-20 seasons at just 22 years old. Then there’s Jake Bauers, the journeyman first baseman who suddenly broke out at age 31, posting a 143 wRC+ as one of the 10 best hitters in the league. From top to bottom, every batter on this roster provides something, whether that’s defense or base running or platoon production.

In the rotation, Jacob Misiorowski is not so much the Brewers’ ace as the league’s ace — he is definitively the best pitcher in baseball. When he steps on the mound in Game 1, he will set all sorts of “top velocity in the NLCS” records. He is essentially unhittable, with a ridiculous combination of velocity, stuff, extension, and command. Much of the discourse in this series will follow how and when the Brewers choose to use him. 

Of course, some of that discourse will be necessary because there isn’t a ton of rotation depth behind Misiorowski. Logan Henderson is a great number two, but Dustin May has struggled since joining the team at the trade deadline. This is where the Dodgers hold the advantage.

Where the Brewers could take that advantage back is in the bullpen. Their relief core is very deep. Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe have been untouchable in high leverage. Aaron Ashby and DL Hall give them excellence from the left side. Much like the lineup, everyone in this group offers something the Brewers can use in the series to keep the Dodgers off balance.

I would love to sit here and give you some “X factors,” or things that I think could sway the series. Maybe it’s Ohtani’s returning to form after coming off the injured list in September. Maybe it’s the sheer quantity of innings Misiorowski can throw. But I’m not sure that such a framing would do this matchups justice. These are two great teams with complete rosters from top to bottom. These are the best lineups and the best pitching staffs — and the best organizations overall — going head to head in a best of seven series. This is the NLCS we’ve been waiting all year for, and now it’s finally here.

Cheri Bell does a great job covering the minor league system of the San Diego Padres among many other topics for Gaslamp Ball. Even though the big league club closed out its season just a few days ago, she is already looking ahead to what minor league talent will be showcased in the 2026 Arizona Fall League.

Bell will provide updates on the minor league players throughout the offseason and that will be great for readers looking for content as the sport continues to trend toward a lockout, which will bring a halt to any and all baseball activity at the major league level. The minor league players will not be impacted by the lockout, so get your pens and pencils ready because you may need to take noted as the Padres prospects take center stage in the weeks ahead.

Padres News:

• It probably does not need to be said, but Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune wants people to back the Milwaukee Brewers against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Dennis Lin of The Athletic discusses three topics for the Padres’ offseason.

Baseball News:

• The Cleveland Guardians completed the comeback and advanced to the ALCS with a win over the Chicago White Sox.

• The Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers will send two of the game’s best pitchers to face each other in Game 1.

Chaim Bloom has gotten ahead of the offseason speculation season and all but told the fans that the upcoming offseason will be more of the same for the St. Louis Cardinals. Whether or not you agree with staying the course for an undetermined amount of time, the 2027 season has enough clouds around it that another offseason of inactivity could be excused by fans.

It appears the Cardinals have parts of their offensive core of the future, but that also relies on those players repeating and/or building off of career years with the bat. With a top four in the order mostly settled, assuming no offseason trades, the Cardinals are also expected to extend their lineup with Joshua Baez and Leo Bernal. Rounding out the final three will be, in some order, Masyn Winn, Nathan Church, and a third baseman to be named later.

Winn is pretty much locked in at shortstop and Church was announced as the incumbent starting center fielder if nothing else changes. I do think the last part of that sentence is important as Bloom and Oliver Marmol may want to check out the market for upgrades at that position. In the same conversation, Marmol said that third base is “wide open” with Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan looking like the early favorites, especially if Nolan Gorman is non-tendered this winter. Church and the 3BTBNL, to me, are holdovers for the futures of those positions and those players may or may not already be in the system.

Should the Cardinals prioritize center field or third base for the future?

2023 has become my new benchmark when looking at the current state of the Cardinals and so far, I feel as if that has been able to provide some insight on the recent struggles of the franchise. In center field, Cardinals players have put up a total 3.9 fWAR with a 75 wRC+, 39 homers, and a .619 OPS. Of course, the combination of Victor Scott II, Nathan Church, and Michael Siani, the three who have played the most in center since 2023, were known more for their speed and gloves than their bats.

However, those three combined for 73 stolen bases in over 450 games and the position’s .225 batting average was second to last in all of baseball, which never gave those players an opportunity to run. Their defense, while solid, ranked 11th in MLB over the past four seasons, which is nowhere near good enough to make up for the offensive shortcomings. Next year, Church looks to build off his double-digit homer and steals year as he enters his first season in a full-time role. Behind him, Chase Davis, Tai Peete, and Josiah Ragsdale all have different skillsets and timelines to the bigs.

Third base may be the more disappointing of the two positions, especially when Nolan Arenado and Nolan Gorman were supposed to power their way to hot corner leaderboards. Those two led the Cardinals’ third basemen to a 91 wRC+ as a group, good for 19th in MLB, while their 78 combined homers sat smackdab in the middle at 15th. The position’s .388 slugging percentage put them in 18th and just like in center, the defense did not make up for the offense.

Gold Glover Nolan Arenado took a step back before getting sent out of St. Louis and whoever took over for him was never going to replicate the human highlight reel. Gorman, Brendan Donovan, Saggese, and Blaze Jordan put the Cardinals in 10th place by defensive value and the future behind the later two is lacking depth.

Ramon Mendoza had a solid second chance in Triple-A this season, putting up a .291 average with nine homers. He has never profiled high on prospect boards, but he is Rule-5 eligible this offseason so if the Cardinals want him to enter the competition, they could add him to the 40-man roster. Behind him, Jesus Baez looks like a real threat with the bat, but has not yet settled on a final infield position. Third base makes the most sense due to Winn and Wetherholt holding down the middle of the diamond.

Since 2027 looks to be another season hovering around .500, the desire for the DeWitts and Bloom to spend on the roster is likely and unfortunately still low. My most recent Twitter soapbox is that spending money at a position of need without anyone knocking on the door, like third base and center field, does next to nothing towards changing the team’s long-term timeline. Like they did with Dustin May, a quality player can do a lot for a team while he is there, and then the franchise will hopefully reap the benefits of his cameo for years to come. While this happens less often with position players, it is a strategy I would like to see the Cardinals do this offseason.

That does not mean, like Jeff Jones said, skipping to the third page of the free agent list and signing Ramon Urias to platoon around the infield. Since the Cardinals are unlikely to take this path, looking deep into the free agent pool is not worth it this early, so I do not yet have names I am interested in at either spot just yet. For those of you who are 2-3 offseasons ahead of me, go ahead and let me know what you would like the Cardinals to do this winter at those spots. As of October 11, I think that the Cardinals trust Jordan to take the spot with Saggese filling a Jose Fermin role next season with Nathan Church in center.

For now, all of those players seem like placeholders for the future, but I would like some more quality in the lineup that could result in some more offense and a return to the Wild Card without sacrificing the future. The Wild Card is not the ultimate goal, but the 2026 Cardinals have now set a theoretical 77-win baseline for the next few seasons and a couple game jump could keep them relevant deep into September.

Sticking with the offense, let me know what position you would prioritize and if a short-term trade candidate makes sense to you.

Thanks as always!

For three years, they were two of the best college baseball players in the country and among the best to ever play for Arizona. But now they’re just two of many hoping to someday reach the big leagues.

Former Wildcat stars Brendan Summerhill and Mason White were back in town on Saturday, playing in an Arizona Fall League doubleheader at Kino Stadium. All four teams featured at least one player with ties to Southern Arizona, including a former high school teammate of White’s at Salpointe Catholic and a one-time UA signee from Nogales who bypassed college for pro ball.

“Just being back here is so fun,” said Summerhill, who plays for the Scottsdale Scorpions. “Tucson’s got something in the air.”

Summerhill played center field and batted leadoff in the second game of the doubleheader, reaching base all four times in the 10-2 win over the Salt River Rafters. He had a single and double, walked and was hit by a pitch, scoring four runs and swiping a couple bases.

White, who played shortstop and hit fourth for the Mesa Solar Sox, was 0 for 4 in their 7-3 win over the Peoria Javelinas.

“It was really cool to play here,” said White, who learned he would play in the Arizona Fall League in August. “I never really thought about it until they announced the games here.”

The AFL, an annual monthlong league meant to showcase some of Major League Baseball’s top minor league prospects, has served as a springboard for players to get to the bigs. Former UA catcher Daniel Susac played for Mesa in 2024 and made his MLB debut this past season for the San Francisco Giants.

Summerhill and White just completed their first full season of pro ball, each getting drafted in 2025 after helping Arizona return to the College World Series. Summerhill was a supplemental 1^st round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays while White was a 4th-round selection of the Boston Red Sox.

Both played well enough to earn in-season promotions, with White finishing the year at Double-A Portland and Summerhill rising to High-A Bowling Green.

“I hit a lot of the goals that I set for myself, and hopefully to continue that into Spring Training and then next year,” said White, who overall hit .251 with 18 home runs and 55 RBI in 101 games.

Summerhill, who combined to hit .251 with five homers and 45 RBI in 85 games, did not meet the expectations he set for 2026. At the same time, he felt he grew as a player thanks to the way the Rays organization has coached him.

“I hit a lot of the goals that I set for myself, and hopefully to continue that into Spring Training and then next year,” he said. “I think the big thing about the Rays is they …want you to be good at what you’re good at.”

Both Summerhill and White have stayed in touch with former UA teammates and coaches, with Summerhill catching Chip Hale’s ceremonial first pitch between games. White trained and worked out with the Wildcats between the end of his regular season and starting AFL play.

The final four teams are set now, the Dodgers and Brewers in the NLCS, the Guardians and Rays in the ALCS. Both series have their quirks about them, the NLCS being a matchup of heavyweights, the ALCS being somewhat one sided on paper.

Who do you think ends up playing each other in the World Series?

Personally, I’m not sure anyone is beating the Brewers this year. They seem to be the most complete team left, which only means the Dodgers are going to steamroll them and whoever they face in the Fall Classic.

If you found it a little strange that Sonny Gray was considering retiring after one of the best seasons of his career, Sonny apparently agrees with you. Though he hinted all season that he could hang up the crooked hat for good this winter, Gray confirmed that he will return to Major League Baseball in 2027. Now the question is: with what team? “My family and I have talked about it and it’s an easy decision,” Gray said. “I still want to win a World Series, whether that is [with] Boston or with whoever wants me.” (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)

Another member of the 2026 Red Sox who isn’t done with baseball? That would be Alex Cora. But given that he’s getting married in November and, like the rest of us, seeing a looming lockout on the horizon, he’s taking his time. Cora recently turned down the manager’s job with the Phillies — for the second time in the last six months. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

The loss of Gray in free agency would certainly hurt the Red Sox. But, thankfully, starting pitching is the strongest area of the team. We all know the weakest: power hitting, particularly from the right side. For two years in a row now Craig Breslow has pledged to add power to the Sox lineup. But, this year, he’s already throwing up a note of caution. “I think as teams become more competitive, there are fewer and fewer teams that are willing to move current major league talent because everyone wants to be competitive,” he said. “So we’ll have to be creative in figuring out how we improve our roster.” (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Adley Rutschman didn’t provide all that much of a power boost when he joined the Sox late this season, but he is nonetheless one of the best offensive catchers out there. So will the Sox look to extend him before he enters free agency next offseason? Craig Breslow isn’t tipping his hand. “What I would say is that Adley stepped in as our primary catcher in the middle of a season, which is not easy to do,” Breslow said. “Especially when pitching is a strength for our team. He immediately endeared himself to the pitching staff, to the coaching staff, to the clubhouse. Just a really, really high-quality teammate and leader. As to the other question, I think that’s something that will develop internally. Any conversations about what Adley’s future looks like will take place between Adley, his representatives and me.” (Patrick McAvoy, SI.com)

David Ortiz also thinks there’s something missing from this Red Sox roster, but the slugger isn’t focusing on home runs. “We seemed shy. We seemed a little [concerned]. We seem a little scared when we go into those series. … We need attitude, bro. … I haven’t seen that this past couple of years going into the Bronx,” Papi said. “You know what I’m saying? And I tell you what, man, when you go to play in the Bronx, you better be ready. You better be ready.” (Conor Ryan, Boston.com)

And, following the Yankees subsequent playoff exit against the Rays, Ortiz had similar criticism of the pinstripes. “I never played for the Yankees, but I competed a lot against the Yankees,” said Ortiz. “There’s one thing that I can see missing from the Yankees. It is culture. There are a lot of little things that in the long run, they start catching up.” (Hayden Bird, Boston.com)

Meet the Mets

Danny Abriano asked whether the Mets should bring back Ronny Mauricio in 2027.

Mets prospect Peyton Prescott has something to prove in the Arizona Fall League this season.

Around the National League East

Despite making virtually all their players available for a potential Tarik Skubal trade, the Braves were unwilling to part with pitcher Didier Fuentes in any negotiations this past trade deadline.

Heading into the offseason, there are some questions about the Phillies’ outfield that could be completely reshaped in the coming months.

Jessica Camerato listed five questions the Nationals have to answer looking ahead to the offseason.

Around Major League Baseball

In completely unsurprising news, the Brewers officially named Jacob Misiorowski their starter for the first game of the NLCS against the Dodgers.

Zach Sweet listed four factors that will decide the winner of this year’s NLCS.

The pitching matchup of Tarik Skubal and Jacob Misiorowski is nearly unprecedented and a must-see battle in the making.

Gavin Williams tied Cleveland’s postseason single-game strikeout record in last night’s win against the White Sox, logging 12 strikeouts and flirting with a no-hitter.

The Guardians overcame the odds and beat the White Sox in last night’s decisive Game 5, punching their ticket to face the Rays in the ALCS.

This Date in Mets History

In 1969, the Mets played the first World Series game in the franchise’s history—and lost.

As someone with very fond memories of the Yankees winning fierce, neck-and-neck Division Series battles with Oakland, Cleveland, and Baltimore over the years, I’ve always enjoyed a tense Game 5. One team advances to fight for the pennant while the other goes home with those hopes dashed. I don’t think many neutral observers would pick either of these teams to upset the Rays after the way they posted the American League’s best record in 2026 and then mopped the floor with the Yankees.

But look, all you have to do is get the next round, and you’ll never know what happens. Who would’ve picked the 84-win Diamondbacks to upset the defending NL champion Phillies in 2023? Or going back further to a better memory for the City of Brotherly Love, how about when the 1993 Phillies dispatched a dynastic Braves team that outlasted the Giants to win 104 games? Dare to dream. The Guardians and White Sox both dared to do so; here’s how the winner booked a date at Tropicana Field for ALCS Game 1 tomorrow night.

ALDS Game 5

Cleveland Guardians 2, Chicago White Sox 0

(CLE wins, 3-2)

Star power often wins in the playoffs, and though Cleveland isn’t exactly awash with the stars the way it was in the 1990s when the team made it to multiple Fall Classics, they relied on a couple very good ones to lead the way in the winner-take-all Game 5 against the White Sox.

With a 2-0 victory, the Guardians won their third in a row, completing just the fourth comeback in MLB history for a team in a best-of-five that lost the first two games at home. To make this Yankees-centric and more familiar, this is the kind of the comeback that the 2001 Yanks pulled off against the A’s, sparked by the “Flip Play” game. It’s since been matched by the 2012 Giants, the 2015 Blue Jays, and now the 2026 Guardians. It’s also the first 0-2 comeback of any kind in a DS since the 2017 Yanks did it to Cleveland. (Shout-out Greg Bird, Masahiro Tanaka, and Didi Gregorius.)

The two stars who took center stage for the Guardians were José Ramírez and Gavin Williams. Whenever Ramírez ends his career, he’ll go down as one of the greatest players to ever wear a Cleveland uniform. October has sometimes been a struggle for him though, and he’s the last remaining player from their team that lost to the Cubs in a Game 7 heartbreaker in the 2016 Fall Classic. He hasn’t been back to the Greatest Stage since then, but he helped punch Cleveland’s ticket to give them a shot this year by going 5-for-12 across the three ALDS wins with two homers and seven RBI.

One of those dingers came yesterday off an otherwise-solid Sean Burke, and who could blame Burke for giving up a gopher ball on a pitch this low?

Ramírez has a good shot at a plaque in Cooperstown one day and this is one of those “tip your cap” moments. Not many players can physically do that. This has actually been a tougher year for him, as he had a broken bone in his hand that forced him to miss time and ultimately ended up with a sub-100 OPS+ for the first time since 2015. If it ends in Cleveland somehow breaking its championship drought though, the man won’t care a lick about his regular season.

Maybe it’s overstating a bit to call Williams a star, but the 26-year-old is a dangerous up-and-coming ace for Cleveland, leading the AL with 248 strikeouts despite not making the All-Star team. The Guardians wasted his 11-K start in Game 1, but he came out of the bullpen to help nail down Game 4 when closer Cade Smith wobbled late. Under 48 hours later, Williams started the game he forced and seemed unperturbed by those 18 pitches in relief. He did one better than his playoff opener, fanning a dirty dozen White Sox in 5.2 shutout innings, allowing only a single to Kyle Teel.

Williams’ primary drawback is that he doesn’t go deep into games, which hurt him in Game 1. Erik Sabrowski let him down then, but he made up for it last night by relieving Williams and fanning Munetaka Murakami with the bases loaded to escape a sixth-inning jam. The 2-0 lead remained intact.

The Pale Hose never came so close to scoring again. Tristan Peters never moved after a one-out single in the seventh, as Hunter Gaddis struck out both Chase Meidroth and Colson Montgomery as the potential tying runs. Sam Antonacci singled off Gaddis with one down in the eighth, so Cleveland skipper Stephen Vogt called on Smith for a five-out save, his third appearance in four days. Despite pitching every game in this series, he was up to the task. He struck out Kyle Teel and got Miguel Vargas to foul out to end the frame, and then struck out the side in the ninth to slam the door on the Sox, who set a postseason record with 21 team strikeouts in a nine-inning game. Woof.

The White Sox deserve a ton of credit for overachieving so much in 2026 after three consecutive 100-loss seasons. No one thought they’d make the playoffs, let alone come a win shy of the ALCS. Few predicted even a .500 finish! It will hurt knowing that they had three games to close out Cleveland and instead squandered the series, but this team honestly looked about as gassed possible. Can the Guardians actually threaten the Rays? I will at least hope they put up a better fight than they did in 2024 against the Yankees.

After a three-day hiatus, the Dodgers are back in business on Sunday as they begin the 2026 National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tarik Skubal was handed the ball for Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves, and he managed to allow just one run while striking out seven across six innings of work. Fresh off a full week of rest, Skubal will once again be handed the ball to kick off the series, this time doing so against the soon-to-be NL Cy Young award winner Jacob Misiorowski.

Sunday’s Game 1 matchup will feature quite the unprecedented pitching matchup, and Mike Petriello of MLB.com breaks down just how rare a matchup between Skubal and Misiorowski is compared to other historic postseason pitching matchups.

If a rare matchup of 100-win teams in the NLCS isn’t good enough, if a rematch of last year’s NLCS – and the third time since 2018 – isn’t good enough, there’s this, too. You just don’t really see starting pitching matchups like this, really ever. We’re incredibly fortunate to get this one, potentially twice in the next week.

Facing Misiorowski will be another rigorous test for the Dodgers in their quest for a third consecutive championship, and for a struggling Shohei Ohtani, he’ll have to find a way to bounce back offensively against one of the National League’s premier young aces.

Dave Roberts still has confidence that Ohtani will turns things around at the plate, and the two-way star worked in some extra batting practice while the Dodgers have been preparing at American Family Field, per Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.

“There’s nothing right now I’m going to hang my hat on outside of, I just believe in the person and the talent,” Roberts said in a conference call Friday. “I do think that getting a couple days out of a game environment to kind of work on his swing, rest the body, rest the mind is a benefit. I’m just never going to count Shohei out.”

Max Muncy and I share basically one thing in common; we aren’t afraid of ghosts. That’s why he has elected to stay at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee this series, even with its notoriety as a “haunted” hotel, per Grant Young of the California Post.

“If there’s a ghost there, come on in. If the TV turns on, I know he’s friendly. Hopefully he’s just not there to disturb me. I welcome them. If there’s a ghost, let’s have a good time with it, come on in. It is what it is,” he added.

Eleven Years Ago Today

The Blue Jays trailed two games to none in the best-of-five 2015 ALDS against the Rangers. Facing elimination, they pulled off a crucial 5-1 victory.

The game remained tense until Troy Tulowitzki homered in the sixth inning. Despite several opportunities to break the game open, the team grounded into four double plays.

The Jays got on the board in the third. Dioner Navarro doubled, and Kevin Pillar singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Ryan Goins then hit into a double play, but at least a run scored.

They added another run in the fourth:

Josh Donaldson led off with a double and advanced to third on Jose Bautista’s flyout. The Rangers intentionally walked Edwin Encarnacion, and Chris Colabello drew an unintentional walk to load the bases. Tulowitzki then walked, bringing Donaldson home.

However, with the bases still loaded, Navarro grounded into a double play.

The pivotal moment arrived in the sixth. Donaldson and Bautista opened with singles, and Edwin walked to load the bases. Colabello then grounded into yet another double play, making it seem like the Jays would squander their chances. From the recap:

Then, in the sixth inning, we get the bases loaded, and Colabello gets to a full count. I was sure he was going to get a hit or a walk. Instead, he hit the ball hard, but right at the first baseman, for a 3-2-3 double play. He couldn’t have hit the ball harder. The BABIP Gods stepped in, and he crushed it into a double play—lots of swearing from me.

Thankfully, Tulo took a full-count pitch over the left-field wall, making it 5-0, and we could relax a bit.

On the mound, Marco Estrada delivered another excellent playoff start: 6.1 innings, five hits allowed (four singles and a double), one earned run, no walks, and four strikeouts.

The bullpen combined for 2.2 scoreless innings, with Aaron Loup, Mark Lowe, Aaron Sanchez, and Roberto Osuna not allowing a single baserunner.

The Jays went on to win the next two games and advance to the ALCS.

From the recap:

Jays of the Day: Estrada (.269 WPA), Tulo (.235), and Pillar (.116, plus a couple of nice catches).

The top two teams in the National League will face off in the NLCS: The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers battle in a best-of-seven series to determine which team will advance to the World Series.

The Dodgers are searching for their third straight title, and fourth since 2020. Los Angeles made an in-season blockbuster trade to bring in pitcher Tarik Subal to help increase its chances. The Dodgers also have a potent offensive core of Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernández and Kiké Hernandez, but Milwaukee is on a mission.The Brewers won 103 games this season and their core has been dynamite in 2026, quite comparable to the Dodgers'. Jackson Chourio is a young star who has posted a .287 average with 21 home runs and 58 RBIs. Jake Bauers led the team with 23 home runs and 76 RBIs. The power hitter posted a .270 batting average. Not to mention, they still have 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich, a vet who can still torch a team. The NLCS begins with Game 1 on Sunday, Oct. 11 (8 p.m. ET). Here's what USA TODAY's experts and others predict will happen in the series:

USA TODAY Sports predictions

Here are the USA TODAY Sports staff's NLCS predictions:

Bob Nightengale: Brewers in 7

This is the year of the Brew Crew. They didn’t win 103 games by accident. They are armed and dangerous.

Andres Soto: Dodgers in 6

Despite getting rid of key contributors from last year's squad like Freddy Peralta and Caleb Durbin, the Brewers got even better. Jackson Chourio and Jacob Misiorowski took big leaps forward. Jake Bauers had the best season of his career at 31 years old. Logan Henderson is a solid No. 2 starter. Trevor McGill and Abner Uribe are dominant in the back end of the bullpen. 

This will not be a sweep again; Milwaukee has a strong case to upset the Dodgers, even. But LA has the experience, the poise, and the depth in both the rotation and lineup to win its third straight NL pennant.

James Williams: Dodgers in 6

The Dodgers have a strong pitching rotation working in their favor, with Tarik Skubal and Yoshinobu Yamamoto leading the way for the first two games of the series.

The Dodgers have won the last two World Series and have postseason experience as an advantage, but the Brewers are better than they were a year ago and will continue to be a threat to L.A.

Marcus D. Smith: Dodgers in 7

The Dodgers somehow manage to deliver magic when you think their backs are against the wall − and they will be against the Brewers. The Dodgers have too many game-changers on offense and defense to count them out. It'll go the distance, but LA is on a quest to three-peat.

What are other experts saying?

Here's what other experts are saying about the NLCS rematch between the Dodgers and Brewers:

Sports Illustrated: Dodgers

The majority of Sports Illustrated's staff are siding with the Dodgers. Here's their breakdown.

• Noah Camras: Dodgers in 6
• Jason Fray: Dodgers in 6
• Ricardo Sandoval: Dodgers in 6
• J.P. Hoornstra: Brewers in 7

CBS Sports: Dodgers

CBS Sports staffers also went with the Dodgers but it wasn't a clean sweep. Here's their breakdown.

• Mike Axisa: Dodgers
• Kate Feldman: Dodgers
• Julian McWilliams: Dodgers
• Dayn Perry: Brewers
• Matt Snyder: Brewers

ESPN: Brewers

The ESPN staff mostly picked the Brewers to go to the World Series.

• Buster Olney: Brewers
• Jeff Passan: Brewers
• David Schoenfield: Brewers
• Bradford Doolittle: Brewers
• Sean Coyle: Dodgers
• Jorge Castillo: Dodgers

Dodgers vs Brewers NLCS Schedule

• Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 2: Monday, Oct. 12 at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET on FOX
• Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
• Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 15 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1
• Game 5: Friday, Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (if necessary)
• Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1 (if necessary)
• Game 7: Monday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on FOX (if necessary)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who wins Dodgers vs. Brewers series? NLCS predictions from experts