TORONTO — Toronto rookie Trey Yesavage says his family has been subjected to abuse since his impressive postseason debut last weekend against the New York Yankees.
“Living in this world where there’s so many different opinions and feelings which results in a lot of hate, it’s sad to see that people close to me are being attacked for my performances on the field,” Yesavage said Sunday before the AL Championship Series opener against Seattle.
“These people have done nothing to warrant negativity for my actions, whether that’s my parents, my brothers, my girlfriend, family,” he added. “It’s just really sad. I know I have the platform to address it, so I am. I hope that people can realize that those individuals have nothing to do with what happens on the field. If you have a problem, I’m a man. I can take whatever opinions anybody has about me or my life. So I just wanted to get that out there.”
Yesavage, scheduled to start Game 2 on Monday, declined to answer a follow-up question about the matter.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider said Yesavage didn’t speak to him before making his comments.
“It’s unfortunate that that’s a reality,” Schneider said of the abuse. “I commend him for saying what he said and for backing up the people that love and support him.”
Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler, who grew up a Red Sox fan in Walpole, Massachusetts, said his family received online abuse before he beat Boston to win the Wild Card Series for New York.
Making his fourth big league appearance, Yesavage set a Blue Jays postseason record by striking out 11 Yankees in 5 1/3 hitless innings in AL Division Series Game 2 on Oct. 5. Eight strikeouts came on the split-finger fastball of the 22-year-old right-hander, who induced 18 swings and misses, including 11 on the splitter.
“He’s definitely something that we’re going to have to figure out,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson. “The big split, they’re tough pitches, obviously.”
Yesavage went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three September starts. Including his postseason start, he has 27 strikeouts in 19 1/3 big league innings.
“He’s pretty special,” Blue Jays teammate Addison Barger said. “To be able to do what he did in the regular season and in the Division Series, it’s kind of unrealistic, but he’s been able to do it. It’s been amazing to watch and we’re super excited to have him.”
The Mariners, who used three starting pitchers in Friday’s 15-inning win over Detroit, have not announced a starter for Game 2.
“We’re going to see how guys feel today and likely announce that after the game,” Wilson said.
MILWAUKEE — Andrew Vaughn and Jacob Misiorowski were both in the minor leagues with separate organizations at the start of June, one on the way up and the other on the way down.
Four months later, they played key roles in helping the Milwaukee Brewers reach the National League Championship Series.
Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning that put Milwaukee ahead for good Saturday night in its 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs in the decisive Game 5 of their NL Division Series. Misiorowski earned his second win of the series by allowing just one run over four innings in relief.
“It’s insane,” Misiorowski said during the Brewers’ clubhouse celebration. “It’s everything I’ve worked for, and it’s a lot of fun.”
Their arrivals in Milwaukee were indirectly connected.
When Misiorowski was promoted from the minor leagues in June, he took Aaron Civale’s spot in Milwaukee’s rotation. Civale reacted to the bullpen assignment by saying he wouldn’t mind getting traded to a team that would allow him to continue starting.
The Brewers then sent Civale to the Chicago White Sox in a deal that brought them Vaughn. Civale ended up finishing the season with the Cubs, and he pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings in this series.
At the time of the trade, there was little reason to believe Vaughn would become a major factor for Milwaukee this season. He had batted .189 with a .218 on-base percentage and .314 slugging percentage in 48 games with the White Sox, who eventually sent him to the minor leagues. The Brewers initially kept him in the minors after acquiring him.
But he got called back up to the majors July 7 after Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins went on the injured list with a sprained left thumb. Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy greeted Vaughn by letting him know he would probably get sent right back to the minors if he continued chasing pitches outside the strike zone.
Vaughn homered off Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto in his first at-bat with the Brewers and improved his chase rate in making a remarkable transformation. He batted .308 with a .375 on-base percentage and .493 slugging percentage in 64 games with Milwaukee.
“This guy’s a gamer,” Brewers president of baseball operations Matt Arnold said. “He’s been through a lot, and he’s failed, just like all of us. We’ve all failed in this sport. If you haven’t, you haven’t been doing it long enough. So we’ve all failed. For that guy to come in here and be himself and put the team on his back at times this year is really awesome.”
Vaughn offered simple reasons for his dramatic improvement.
“Change of scenery, being around some different coaches, different stuff and just playing free,” he said.
Vaughn put the Brewers ahead Saturday by connecting on a 3-2 pitch from Colin Rea and hitting a 383-foot drive over the left-field wall with two outs in the fourth. That cleared the way for Misiorowski to earn the Game 5 win.
Misiorowski had his own ups and downs this season.
The flamethrowing right-hander burst onto the scene and made such an impact that he earned an All-Star Game selection after making just five starts, a stretch that included winning head-to-head pitching matchups with Cy Young Award favorite Paul Skenes and three-time Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw.
Then the rookie went on the injured lift with a left tibia bruise. He returned in mid-August but allowed 22 runs over 32 2/3 innings the rest of the season, a slump that led to concern about how much the Brewers could trust the excitable right-hander in a postseason setting.
“We weren’t easy on him,” Murphy said. “I didn’t spend a lot of time trying to pump him up. I wanted to find out what he had, because I knew with that kind of stuff, he could really help us.”
He helped them tremendously.
Misiorowski threw three shutout innings in a Game 2 victory while reaching a peak velocity of 104.3 mph and hitting at least 100 mph on 31 of his 57 pitches. Misiorowski entered in the second inning of Game 5 and immediately gave up a tying homer to Seiya Suzuki, but the 23-year-old silenced the Cubs from there.
He struck out three while allowing three hits and just the one run. He averaged 100.3 mph on his 17 fastballs, with 10 of them reaching at least 100 mph.
And for the first time in his brief major league career, Misiorowski didn’t walk a single batter.
Misiorowski’s stellar NLDS performance virtually assures he will play a vital role when the Brewers face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven National League Championship Series beginning Monday.
“You see how much Miz cares,” Arnold said. “That’s what it’s about. In a game like tonight, you can see he’s bleeding blue and gold.”
TORONTO — Injured Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette is not on the roster for the AL Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners that begins Sunday night in Toronto, but three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and right-hander Chris Bassitt are both active after missing the Division Series win over the Yankees.
Seattle made two changes to the roster that beat Detroit in the Division Series round, with ace right-hander Bryan Woo returning.
A first-time All-Star this season, the 25-year-old Woo hasn’t pitched since Sept. 19 because of pectoral inflammation. He went 15-7 with a 2.94 ERA and 198 strikeouts across 186 2/3 regular-season innings.
Bichette ran the bases Saturday, the first time he’s done that since spraining his left knee last month. The two-time AL hits leader and two-time All-Star grimaced while rounding second base, pulled up and walked off the field while shaking his head.
Bichette finished second in the major leagues to New York’s Aaron Judge with a .311 batting average. Bichette was injured in a Sept. 6 collision with Yankees catcher Austin Wells and hasn’t played since.
Toronto’s 13 position players for the ALCS are the same group that scored 34 runs in 34 innings against the Yankees.
An eight-time All-Star, Scherzer was 5-5 with a 5.19 ERA in 17 starts after agreeing to a one-year, $15.5 million contract. He didn’t pitch between March 29 and June 25 because of right thumb inflammation.
Scherzer was 1-3 with a 9.00 ERA in his final six starts.
Bassitt went 11-9 with a 3.96 ERA in 32 appearances, all but one of them starts.
Scherzer and Bassitt take the spots of left-hander Justin Bruihl and right-hander Tommy Nance.
Besides Woo, the Mariners added utilityman Miles Mastrobuoni for the ALCS. They took the spots of outfielder Luke Raley and infielder Ben Williamson.
There are three catchers among Seattle’s 13 position players, including Cal Raleigh, Mitch Garver and Harry Ford.
Just when the Scottish media had been drawn into a "Steven Gerrard returns to Rangers" frenzy, the former England midfielder withdrew from the process as the Scottish Premiership club seek a new head coach.
The timing of the move, with Gerrard having left Saudi Pro League club Al Ettifaq in January, is believed to be behind the decision.
Having initially held positive discussions with the former Aston Villa boss, Rangers are left looking elsewhere for a successor to the sacked Russell Martin.
But how have Rangers fans, many of whom had pressed for Martin's exit, reacted to the news and who do they want to now fill the hotseat?
Rangers fans seem united in their shock at Gerrard's decision but split about whether it is a good or bad thing for the club, with chairman Patrick Stewart, sporting director Kevin Thelwell and the new American owners also under scrutiny.
Brian: Hugely disappointed with Gerrard's decision. I felt energised at the prospect of him becoming manager after the debacle of Russell Martin's tenure, when I'd just lost all hope and belief in the club. We are now left in this vacuum of hopelessness where I feel lost.
Jeff: Everyone is really upset that it's not worked out with Gerrard, but most likely this is because they're focused on their corporate set-up. This director of football role is actually hurting the club. We're forced to look to inferior set-ups to make sure we can ensure that the director of football gets his position strengthened.
Alexander: Gerrard obviously knows that Rangers are in a bad place right now and, no matter what, he would be unable to lift the team. The next manager is going to have to build the team up from their confidence and fitness levels to get the team back to basics in how to defend and, more importantly, how to play as a team. Setting a new standard of performance will be crucial to getting Rangers back on track.
Kenny: There were doubts in my mind whether he could repeat the success he had initially with us. He had that impetus carry over from his playing days that brought passion and confidence to the players. That has a shelf life. His backroom staff were very important to his success.
Craig: So Gerrard only wants to manage a club able to compete as that's best for him. What he's really saying is "I am unable to improve a team or players as I'd be out of my depth and don't have the necessary skills to do this".
Callum: Anyone asked to come in and manage the club will now know that they weren't first choice. If, as has been reported, Thelwell and Stewart were the stumbling block then the obvious solution is to sack that pair and invite Gerrard back for more talks.
Andrew: "Timing" seems a convenient excuse. Surely he knew timing was bad at the start of the week. It sounds somewhat like he doesn't buy into the owners' plans, which is potentially slightly concerning. If the owners have pushed him away, that's pretty poor.
Robert: Gutted. There is obviously more to it than timing as why would Gerrard have flown half around the world to speak to the club? There needs to be clarity on the reason he turned us down.
David: Gerrard is not the manager Rangers need right now. He was also the one who walked away from Rangers. The board must be held responsible and fans have no faith in them.
Kenny: Probably for the best. Looks like he thinks he's better than his record actually is. Don't think he's in a position to dictate when he picks up the role. Rangers now have the name of a sack-happy club.
Stewart: Unfortunately, our club has now wasted seven days pursuing Steven Gerrard. If he had doubts, he should have pulled out earlier.
Joss: He never intended to take it. Just wanted the opportunity to knock it back, as if he might have other big offers on the horizon. I don't believe there are a queue of big clubs looking to secure his services.
Tim: Terrible optics yet again coming from the club. Supporters are losing faith in the owners and the people they appointed. Whoever becomes manager will have to start winning very quickly.
Stuart: I'm surprised at Gerrard. Does he think he'll go on to manage a big club in England fighting for honours? Highly unlikely. I wasn't fully behind him. I believe anyone we get will be hit and miss with the players available at Ibrox at the moment.
Philip: I think both Rangers and Gerrard have dodged a bullet here.
Tommy: Guess we have to realise that we have to move forward from Gerrard. Twice turned down now and it makes a mockery of Rangers as a club.
William: A shambles again. They had plenty of time to get decent candidates. The board are a disaster. Back to the drawing board.
Keith: It's a shame, but who can really blame Gerrard? Rangers are a shambles currently.
Thom: The Rangers job is a poisoned chalice. No straight minded person would entertain taking the reins. Even great coaches have been forced from post.
No consensus over next manager pick?
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl is reportedly the new favourite, but there appears to be no consensus about who Rangers should turn to next.
Heart of Midlothian's Derek McInnes, St Mirren's Stephen Robinson, Livingston's David Martindale, former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, Coventry City's Frank Lampard, former caretaker Barry Ferguson, St Johnstone's Simo Valakari, former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O'Neil, former Everton manager Sean Dyche, ex-Aberdeen boss Neil Warnock, Marco Rose, formerly of RB Leipzig, Bodo/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen, Shanghai Port's Kevin Muscat... take your pick.
Graeme: I'm worried what message Gerrard's decision will send to other potential interested potential candidates and fans. Is it about available funds not being there for strengthening the squad? I'd love to see Benitez come, but I suspect another second-rate manager is on the cards.
Mark: Why not look nearer to home - Stephen Robinson or David Martindale? Both solid performance. Gerrard left, so he should not have had the chance to come back. Or, if you want top notch, Rafael Benitez is free.
David: I am glad he turned it down. Never forgiven him for leaving like he did last time, nor will I ever. Danny Rohl is the man for me.
Donald: Not to keen on Steven Gerrard coming back, plus Russell Martin has ruined the team as he brought in too many duds. Derek McInnes was my favourite, but it won't happen this time round.
Kenny: I'm sure Gerrard will return as Rangers boss one day. It looks like financial restraints are too much for him at this time, which is fair enough. However, the Rangers directors need to get it right this time. We need someone with experience and a proven track record.
Jeff: If Lampard, McInnes or Ferguson are not announced, it's going to be Groundhog Day, but it'll be the board as well as Stewart and Thelwell who will come under pressure this time.
Douglas: Simo Valakari would me my top choice. He has and is proving his ability in Scotland at St Johnstone with an enjoyable brand of football. Rangers should give him the opportunity before another club from England or Europe steps in.
Edward: Barry and Neil [McCann] and Billy [Dodds] and Allan [McGregor] should be back as soon as possible. They did well in difficult circumstances last season.
Martin: Gary O'Neil is a good person.
Tam: Derek McInnes or Barry Ferguson are the only two that know Rangers and Scottish football.
Nigel: Deflated. I think he would given everyone an immediate lift. Any manager we appoint now from the current names suggested would involve a settling in period trying to win over sceptics, which is how Martin started. McInnes or Ferguson for me.
Susi: They need to appoint someone who is not just in it for the money. They need to have a bit of passion about the club.
Frank: Never wanted Gerrard back. Said he wants to return to management with a club expected to win trophies as he believes that suits him. That's why he left for Aston Villa, then the Arab League - really? Should never have been considered. Potter is available and, given a five-year deal and left to get on with it, would be successful.
Guy: Good decision by Gerrard. The players are poor, don't like criticism and the fans toxic and no sort of leadership from the owners. I like Rangers, but if you are a progressive manager, you don't touch. The people who sort the club out in respect of managers are Dyche or Neil Warnock - they need strong leaders who won't take crap from over-rated players.
Ruaridh: I'm astonished that nobody seems to be mentioning Stephen Robinson for the Rangers vacancy. He knows Scottish football inside out and has always produced good footballing teams (and encouraged young talent) without having huge amounts of money to spend. He's just 10 minutes down the road too! We don't need a high-profile manager. We just need a good manager and Stephen Robinson is exactly that.
Peter: Surprised. Disappointed but certainly not gutted. For me, Derek McInnes was and remains the clear number one choice, so hopefully Rangers now push the boat out to get him. Possibly a blessing in disguise.
John: I never understood the desperation to get Gerrard in. His profile was the only aspect, because I do think they need a big character/name. Rohl is a gamble. They need a Lampard or Southgate to come in.
William: I'm in the minority. I'm glad as it took him three years to win a title. We need a Graeme Souness -type manager who won't let players just turn up to get their huge salaries. A hard, experienced pro.
David: I have said all along that Barry Ferguson and his staff is a natural selection to be manager. He has the commitment, the passion the respect of players and fans and the ability to mould a successful team to challenge Celtic.
Ally: What they should have done in the first place and try get Derek McInnes. If he doesn't want to leave Hearts, it's got to be Barry with his same team again. They will set us up properly and go back to what Rangers used to be and have a strong Scottish base who know the league and the pressure playing for Rangers will bring.
Bill: If Ange Postecoglou is sacked at Nottingham Forest, Rangers would be mad not to take him on board. He has a fantastic proven record in Scotland and is a brilliant tactician and man-manager. Would the owners be brave enough?
Boaby: Personally I would go for Marco Rose, although there is no guarantee he would be interested. The obvious alternative is Mr McInnes, who had Walter Smith's endorsement, which is more than good enough for me.
John: I'm actually glad Gerrard turned down Rangers. He's not what Rangers need. It's understandable to want to go back to the guy that last won something for the club. But he didn't take the club forward. Steve Cooper can and would take Rangers forward. Yet he's never been considered or even linked to the position.
Chris: So glad Gerrard is not coming back. Let him go somewhere else to try to get his mojo back. Only one trophy winner in the names being banded about. Appoint Kevin Muscat now please and don't consider the other mediocre "did well from limited resources or staved off relegation" candidates please.
Euan: Don't believe the statement for a minute. If timing wasn't right, why commit to the talks in the first place. Senior exec team at Rangers are displaying a concerning lack of football knowledge, fishing in a small pool of the footballs' unemployed/recently sacked. Why not be bold and try and tempt Kjetil Knutsen from Bodo/Glimt or someone else who is actually currently doing a good job?
Callum: Whilst it would have been good to see Stevie back, we need a manager with experience to turn the squad around. So long as it is not another Martin-esque appointment like Rohl.
Ian: I think Rangers should seek out Billy Davies for their next manager. He has a good record as a manager and was a good player for Rangers and knows what it means to play for them.
The top two seeds in the American League playoffs meet for the pennant beginning Sunday night in Toronto as the Blue Jays host the Seattle Mariners. Bryce Miller gets the ball for Seattle and Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the Blue Jays.
Toronto earned the right to host the ALCS after taking out the Yankees in four games in the Division series. The Jays’ offense was ridiculous in the series scoring 34 runs in just those four games. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was the catalyst against the Bronx Bombers hitting .529 (9-17) with three home runs and nine runs batted in the series.
The Mariners’ series against Detroit featured three one-run games. Whereas Toronto’s series win was a testament to their bats, Seattle’s win featured good pitching and good hitting, but rarely both on the same night. As he did during the regular season, Cal Raleigh led the way for the Mariners with eight hits in 21 trips to the plate including one home run.
Lets dive deeper into Game 1 of the American League Championship Series between the Blue Jays and the Mariners and see where the numbers lead us.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Follow Rotoworld Player News for the latest fantasy and betting player news and analysis all season long.
Game details & how to watch Mariners at Blue Jays - ALCS Game 1
Date: Sunday, October 12, 2025
Time: 8:03PM EST
Site: Rogers Centre
City: Toronto, ON
Network/Streaming: FOX
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Mariners at the Blue Jays - ALCS Game 1
The latest odds as of Sunday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Seattle Mariners (+143), Toronto Blue Jays (-175)
Spread: Blue Jays -1.5 (+104)
Total: 8.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Mariners at Blue Jays - ALCS Game 1
Pitching matchup for October 12, 2025: Bryce Miller vs. Kevin Gausman
Mariners: Bryce Miller (Reg. Season: 4-6, 5.68 ERA) Last outing: 10/8 at Detroit - 4.1IP, 2ER, 4H, 0 BB, 2Ks
Blue Jays: Kevin Gausman (Reg. Season: 10-11, 3.59 ERA) Last outing: 10/4 vs. Yankees - 5.2IP, 1ER, 4H, 2BB, 3Ks
Rotoworld has you covered with all the latest MLB player news for all 30 teams. Check out the feed page right here on NBC Sports for headlines, injuries and transactions where you can filter by league, team, positions and news type!
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Mariners at Blue Jays - ALCS Game 1
Randy Arozarena is 5-17 (.294) with 1 HR in his career against Kevin Gausman
Cal Raleigh is 6-14 (.429) with 3 HRs in his career against Gausman
Eugenio Suarez is 7-22 (.318) in his career against Gausman
Bryce Miller has struck out no more than 4 in any of his last 4 starts
Bryce Miller appeared in 1 game this season against the Jays on May 11 giving up 8 hits and 7 runs over 5 innings
Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s ALCS Game 1 between the Mariners and the Blue Jays
Rotoworld Best Bet
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Sunday's game between the Mariners and the Blue Jays:
Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Seattle Mariners at +1.5.
Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the over on the Game Total of 8.0.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
The annual hand-wringing around whether New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone should be fired is already under way, but that won’t be decided for weeks as the club’s management takes a breath and grieves the club’s latest playoff exit.
Boone, who is under contract through the 2027 season, said after the Yanks dropped their American League Division Series to the Toronto Blue Jays that he feels his job is safe.
“I’m under contract. I don’t expect anything [to change],” Boone said at the end of his season-closing media conference after the Yanks lost 5-2 in Game 4 Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
Boone’s fate will be part of the organization’s autopsy. And even though there are some who think he should not be brought back after eight seasons of failing to win a World Series, he continues to have the strong backing of principal owner Hal Steinbrenner and general manager Brian Cashman. Boone has a .584 regular-season winning percentage to his name.
The Yankees have other major problems aside from Boone’s managing. Primarily, they don’t have a good enough support system behind MVP candidate Aaron Judge, who, unlike great Yankees players of other eras, has not been able to put the team on his shoulders and carry it to the championship on his own.
Unlike Reggie Jackson in 1977, Derek Jeter in 2000 and Alex Rodriguez in 2009, who all contributed monster performances when the Yanks won, Judge doesn’t have a great cast of players around him. It’s no coincidence that in 2024, the only time in Judge’s career he’s been to the World Series, he was paired up with Juan Soto; the Yanks lost in five games to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“This is a team game,” Judge said in the din of Wednesday’s loss. “We didn’t win as a team. You win as a team, you lose as a team. There’s definitely more I can do. I’m going to figure it out and get back to work.”
The Yankees lost a bidding war with the New Yorke Mets in the offseason for Soto and his departure proved to be detrimental to both parties. Soto, who put up his usual stellar offensive numbers, is not a leader as he proved during his brief stay in San Diego and echoed by the Mets’ failure to make the playoffs this season.
With the Yankees, Judge is the uncontested captain and leader, and all Soto had to do was take a backseat and play well—which he did.
When Soto left, Cashman spent part of the $750 million they offered him to sign Max Fried and Paul Goldschmidt, plus trade for Cody Bellinger and Devin Williams. The latter three are all free agents and are not expected back in 2026.
At the trade deadline, Cashman plugged big holes at third base, the bench and in the bullpen by obtaining Ryan McMahon, Jose Caballero, Amed Rosario, David Bednar and Camilo Doval.
Cashman had a very good season, but it fooled some people into thinking the team was better than it was.
“We have a lot of winning players in here. A lot of guys who play the game the right way and help make this team what it is,” Judge said. “I thought we had a complete team up and down the lineup.”
But peel it back, and this is what they really had in the playoffs: a catcher who hit .227, a platoon at first base, a second baseman who committed major fielding misplays in the deciding games of the last two postseasons, a shortstop who hit .192 with 16 strikeouts, a third baseman who had one homer and an RBI, a centerfielder who hit .138 with no homers and no RBIs, a DH who hit .192 with no homers and four RBIs, plus Bellinger and Judge in the outfield corners.
Despite Judge hitting .500 with a 1.273 OPS, it wasn’t nearly enough. Considering the Yankees went 5-11 against the Blue Jays this season, it’s a wonder anyone expected them to win.
“We didn’t do our job. If you give teams extra outs they’re going to capitalize on it,” Judge said. “For us, we’ve got to clean a couple of things up and we’ll be back.”
So where do the Yankees go from here? They have an all or nothing offensive approach—third in Major League Baseball with 1,463 strikeouts and a league-leading 274 home runs during the regular season. They should take a clue from the Jays, who have a bevy of contact hitters that put the ball in play and struck out 364 fewer times. They led the league with a .265 batting average, 20 points higher than the 30 MLB teams combined.
Whether Boone returns or not, there needs to be a complete revamping of offensive approach from the coaching staff on up to the analytics department. They must learn a lesson from the fact that the Jays are still playing in the AL Championship Series, and the Yankees are home again sans the title, like every year since 2009.
“The ending’s the worst,” said Boone, who didn’t win a title in his 17 seasons as a player either. “Especially when you have a really good group. I’m confident, though, we will break through, and I am every year. But it’s hard to win the World Series. I’ve been chasing it my whole life.”
Billy Dodds on BBC Sportsound: Gerrard was probably the frontrunner. Most of the fans wanted Steven Gerrard but that's gone now. Danny Rohl, if you go down that route again, I'm not saying he's not a good manager but it's kind of rinse and repeat. I don't think the Rangers fans want that. I think it's huge that the hierarchy at Rangers take the fans into account for this one. You don't select your manager through fans but I think they have to take the fans' view into account.
Tom English on BBC Sportsound: This is the third time he's custard pied Rangers if you include 2021 when he left for Aston Villa. I don't believe this has got anything to do with timing. When you look at what Gerrard had before at Rangers, he had a very supportive chairman in Dave King, a very supportive managing director in Stewart Robertson, Michael Beale as his trusted coach and Ross Wilson as his trusted head of recruitment. He had the run of the club, he was the man at the club. All of those things are no longer there.
What he has now is a new chairman, new vice chairman, new head of recruitment, new sporting director. They've spent fortunes on the team so how big a budget is he going to get? Rangers' operating losses multiplied on Steven Gerrard's watch, I don't think these things would have been open to him this time. It's way, way more complicated than just the timing.
Michael Stewart on BBC Sportsound: Can anyone tell me anything positive that's happened at Rangers since the new owners came in? Russell Martin's appointment was questionable, Kevin Thelwell's appointment was questionable, player recruitment was questionable, the hanging on to Russell Martin for longer than anybody expected was also questionable. Now, that Steven Gerrard debacle was also questionable. They are under serious pressure to make sure this appointment is on point.
Rangers are in a bit of a hole as to where they're going to turn now. Danny Rohl can be as good a coach as you want but is he going to have the experience of handling all the fires that are needing put out at Rangers? I would suggest not. They need a manager who is a genuine leader. They need a figurehead and I'm not sure Danny Rohl, if he was to get the job, would have the experience and wherewithal to handle the mess Rangers are in at the moment.
Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki reacts after striking out a batter in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium. Sasaki has thrown 5 ⅓ scoreless innings in four appearances this postseason. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Thirty-one days ago, Roki Sasaki arrived at Dodger Stadium, met with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Brandon Gomes, and was presented a plan that required faith and trust.
It had been eight months since Sasaki signed with the Dodgers amid massive expectations, coming over from Japan as a 23-year-old phenom billed as possessing some of the best raw arm talent in the world.
It had been four months since his debut season took a dismal turn, landing on the injured list with a shoulder impingement following an opening month marred by poor performance and diminished stuff.
Less than two weeks earlier, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts had all but written Sasaki off as a potential factor in the team’s postseason plans, after the pitcher had continued to struggle in a minor-league rehab stint.
But then, two days before his meeting with club brass, Sasaki had finally shown some signs of life, striking out eight batters during an auspicious start with triple-A Oklahoma City in which his fastball once again touched 100 mph and his trademark splitter was almost unhittable.
So, as the team began looking ahead to October, Friedman and Gomes sat Sasaki down alongside his interpreter, and presented what has proven to be a season-altering idea — for him, and his new team.
The Dodgers knew Sasaki was unlikely to feature as a starting pitcher in October, given their healthy and dominant rotation. But they saw an opportunity to use him as a reliever in the playoffs.
Only, however, if he were also open to it.
“We were just honest with him, that as things stood, the only real pathway — short of multiple injuries — was in the bullpen,” Friedman said. “But we wanted his full buy-in.”
Long-term, they promised him, he would still be a starter. In their view, he was assured, the team still saw him as a potential future ace.
But for now, they asked if he’d be open to making a temporary move to the bullpen; to taking on a relief role that they knew to him was completely foreign.
“We don’t want an answer right now,” Friedman told Sasaki. “We want you to take time and think through it.”
“We would not want to push this,” he added, “unless you’re totally on board.”
All year, the Dodgers had tried to build trust with their newest Japanese star. Now, they waited for an answer, as Sasaki went home and mulled things over alongside his agent.
As he later told the Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun, he was initially “very hesitant” to such a switch. There was a time in middle school he’d been a closer, but during his ascent from high school to the pros, starting was all he’d ever known.
Several things, however, tipped the scales in his mind. He craved a chance to pitch in a postseason environment. He sensed an opportunity to boost a team in desperate need of relief depth. And, having finally found a comfort level with his club after a trying rookie season, he’d regained the confidence he was missing at the start of the campaign.
Thus, before the end of that day on Sept. 11, Sasaki gave the Dodgers his answer. He was in.
“Because they will let me try to start again next season,” he said, “it was a relatively easy decision to make.”
Thirty-one days — and 5 ⅓ scoreless, invaluable innings of postseason relief work from Sasaki — later, it was a moment that might have helped save the Dodgers season, and launch the rest of his MLB career.
From the day Sasaki signed with the Dodgers in January, his agent, Joel Wolfe of Wasserman Media Group, was quick to remind reporters that his young client was “not a finished product by any stretch.”
Turned out, he didn’t come to the majors completely healthy either.
During his final couple seasons in Japan, Sasaki’s fastball velocity had dipped while battling shoulder and oblique injuries. He couldn’t explode down the mound with his high leg kick the way he once did. He wasn’t consistently hitting 100 mph on the radar gun or dotting the strike zone with his typically pristine command.
His delivery, evaluators noticed, had begun to suffer. A throw built on generating torque from his legs to his hips and on through his shoulder and lengthy right arm, instead started to look inefficient and uncomfortable.
“I think a lot of it just came from his body changing the way he was throwing,” said Dodgers director of pitching Rob Hill, who had closely admired Sasaki during his Japanese career. “Due to kind of throwing hurt for probably a couple years.”
Once he joined the Dodgers this year, Sasaki hit rock bottom. His oblique no longer bothered him. But his shoulder remained sore and stiff. His fastball eclipsed triple-digits a couple times in his adrenaline-fueled MLB debut in Tokyo in March, but quickly plummeted upon returning stateside, averaging just 95.7 mph (and dipping all the way to 93 mph and below) over his seven subsequent starts.
When coupled with erratic control (he walked 22 batters in 34 ⅓ innings), and a flat pitch shape that made his four-seamer relatively easy to hit (lacking the vertical “ride” required to fool MLB batters long accustomed to combating big velo), opponents began teeing off. By the time Sasaki finally went on the injured list with a shoulder impingement in early May, he had a 4.72 ERA and some of the worst underlying metrics in the majors.
“We go back to the drawing board every week with him,” pitching coach Mark Prior said at the time. “We’re just trying to support him with everything we can.”
Roki Sasaki, above pitching during Game 1 of the NLDS in Philadelphia, is the first pitcher in MLB history to have his first two career saves come in the playoffs. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
At first, Sasaki seemed slow to embrace it. Not only was there a language barrier between him and his new club, but the rookie also built walls around his personality. Quiet by nature and “very particular” in temperament, as Wolfe described him this winter, Sasaki tried to keep a steadfast routine. He didn’t want to alter his pitch mix. He searched for his own ways to iron out his mechanics.
But all he found instead was frustration, leaving him looking lost in his new surroundings — and sinking even lower when lingering shoulder pain in early June further delayed his recovery timeline and required a cortisone injection.
"I think like any new player that you acquire, it takes a little while to build up trust,” Friedman said. “We knew that he was a guy that was accustomed to doing things a certain way, and we were going to embrace that, [while] at the same time forging a relationship and building trust and getting to a place where we could partner together.”
It would take time for the two sides to get there.
As Sasaki tells it, the turning point in his season happened three days before that meeting with Friedman and Gomes; on the eve of the rehab start that triggered their suggestion to move to the bullpen.
Sitting in his Oklahoma City hotel room that night, Sasaki pulled up old video of his high school days and studied a delivery that, even then, enthralled evaluators around the sport.
He was looking to the past to find answers in the present.
“I felt,” he later recounted to Shukan Bunshun, “like I was about to notice something.”
So, he kept watching.
In the three months before then, Sasaki and the Dodgers had finally started making progress.
After his initial injury setback, he formed a connection with head team physician Dr. Neal ElAttrache — the renowned orthopedic surgeon who not only laid out a plan for Sasaki’s recovery, but more important allayed fears of continued problems through what Sasaki described as a “very educational” process.
As Sasaki’s shoulder calmed down, he took strides in the weight room as well, working with Dodgers strength coach Travis Smith to add explosiveness and strength (especially in his lower body) to his once-scrawny 6-foot-2 frame.
“I feel better about being able to throw harder,” Sasaki said in August, as he headed out on a long-awaited rehab assignment, “especially because I'm completely pain free.”
Sasaki’s first four starts in triple-A were still a mixed bag. His velocity gradually improved, but remained mostly struck in the mid-90s. He tinkered with new pitches, including a cutter and sinker, but still couldn’t execute his trademark splitter the way he wanted.
By early September, it was enough for Roberts to cast doubt on Sasaki’s return, saying bluntly that “the performance, the stuff hasn’t been there.”
“Roki has gone through a lot this year, and he still has a ton of talent,” Roberts added. “We just want to see more.”
One week later, they finally would.
During a trip to the team’s Arizona training complex in the following days, Sasaki met with Hill and his pitching development staff, spending several hours reviewing video of his throw.
As Hill described it last month, they weren’t so much “solving this master plan” with Sasaki as they were “helping him actualize the things” he was trying to do in his delivery. They suggested tweaks to Sasaki's lower-half mechanics. They emphasized the way he fired his hips as he launched down the mound.
Sasaki listened, and agreed on what they identified as the root causes of his struggles. One day that week, he even tested some of the changes in what was one of his hardest bullpen sessions all year.
"The day of that bullpen, it was like, 'Holy s—,'" Friedman recalled thinking. “Things are in a really good spot.”
Sasaki, however, hadn’t convinced himself of that yet. While Hill’s evaluation “matched up with what I thought wasn’t going well,” he said in Japanese last week, “the approach [to fixing it] was a different story.”
That’s why, when Sasaki returned to Oklahoma for his next start days later, he went back over more video, and waited for a revelation.
It was then, he said, “I noticed something about the use of my lower body.”
Like a high jumper with a disjointed sequence while lifting off the ground, Sasaki felt he was still losing too much power between his leg kick and release — drawing a contrast to what he saw in his old high school motion.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman gives the ball to pitcher Roki Sasaki after he closed out the ninth inning to preserve the win against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the NLDS. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
So, for the rest of that night, he did dry throws in his room in search of a specific feel. All those months of work with the Dodgers' medical team, training staff and pitching coaches suddenly tied together. For the first time all year, he felt like his old self again.
The next evening, he took the mound and hit 100 mph six times. He coupled it with extra life and movement on his knuckle-balling splitter. And he showed enough for Dodgers brass to call him back to Dodger Stadium and inquire about the bullpen.
“We think you can be really good in this role,” Friedman told him. "This is the potential pathway to help us in October."
Of course, no one saw the level of dominance that was on the horizon. After completing his minor-league stint with two scoreless relief appearances, Sasaki rejoined the Dodgers for the final week of the regular season, showcased his improved stuff with two more scoreless innings of relief, then made a rapid ascent to de facto postseason closer — producing zero after zero when other relievers faltered around him.
He recorded the final outs of the team’s wild-card round sweep of the Cincinnati Reds. He picked up back-to-back saves in Games 1 and 2 of the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming the first pitcher to record his first two career saves in the playoffs. He spun three perfect innings in the club’s Game 4 clincher on Thursday.
“One of the great all-time appearances out of the ‘pen that I can remember,” Roberts called it.
“Since coming back, coming in from the bullpen,” added teammate Tyler Glasnow, “he’s honestly one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen.”
It has all come with a renewed level of confidence too. After that Game 4 masterclass (in which he was so locked in he didn’t even remove his glove in the dugout between innings), Sasaki said he has felt no nerves in the playoffs, nor any hesitancy about attacking the strike zone.
All those frustrations from early in the season have evaporated. His process of building trust within the organization while rediscovering the best version of himself on the mound has come suddenly, electrifyingly complete.
“The stuff being there lines up with what our expectations were,” Friedman said. “But the poise and composure, you don’t know until someone’s out there. And I would say he has more than answered the bell.”
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is the new favourite to be Rangers head coach after impressing senior figures at Ibrox in preliminary discussions, while former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O'Neil and ex-Chelsea and West Ham United manager Graham Potter have also been sounded out. (Sunday Mail)
Rangers had been speaking to other candidates throughout the week before former manager Steven Gerrard decided against an Ibrox return and have been impressed by former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl. (Scotland On Sunday)
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl has held talks with Rangers and is now appearing to be a leading contender. (TalkSport)
Danny Rohl, who recently left Sheffield Wednesday, is one of a number of other candidates who have held what are said to have been positive talks with Rangers in recent days. (Rangers Review)
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl will look to bring a former Rangers player with him to help him as part of his backroom team win over the fans should he be named head coach. (Scottish Sun On Sunday)
Sean Dyche, who had been linked with the Rangers job, is now the front runner to replace Ange Postecoglu should the former Celtic manager be sacked by Nottingham Forest. (Telegraph)
Former Rangers and Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam is in the frame to be the new Blackpool team boss having played for the League One club. (Alan Nixon on Patreon)
Current Blackpool caretaker Stephen Dobbie is in the frame for the job permanently along with fellow Scotsman Charlie Adam. (Scottish Sun On Sunday)
Rangers right-back Max Aarons will never let his dream of playing for England go - and his desire for Three Lions honours was a big factor in joining Rangers. (FourFourTwo)
Danny Rohl reportedly impressed Rangers during his interview [Getty Images]
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl appears to be the front runner to be Rangers head coach, while Angus Gunn is touted as a possible Celtic signing.
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl is the new favourite to be Rangers head coach after impressing senior figures at Ibrox in preliminary discussions, while former Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Gary O'Neil and ex-Chelsea and West Ham United manager Graham Potter have also been sounded out. (Sunday Mail)
Rangers had been speaking to other candidates throughout the week before former manager Steven Gerrard decided against an Ibrox return and have been impressed by former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl. (Scotland On Sunday)
Former Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl has held talks with Rangers and is now appearing to be a leading contender. (TalkSport)
Danny Rohl, who recently left Sheffield Wednesday, is one of a number of other candidates who have held what are said to have been positive talks with Rangers in recent days. (Rangers Review)
Former Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl will look to bring a former Rangers player with him to help him as part of his backroom team win over the fans should he be named head coach. (Scottish Sun On Sunday)
Sean Dyche, who had been linked with the Rangers job, is now the front runner to replace Ange Postecoglu should the former Celtic manager be sacked by Nottingham Forest. (Telegraph)
Former Rangers and Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam is in the frame to be the new Blackpool team boss having played for the League One club. (Alan Nixon on Patreon)
Current Blackpool caretaker Stephen Dobbie is in the frame for the job permanently along with fellow Scotsman Charlie Adam. (Scottish Sun On Sunday)
With 38-year-old Kasper Schmeichel's contract remaining uncertain, Celtic are exploring the possibility of signing a new goalkeeper and Scotland's Angus Gunn is eager to join the Scottish champions after being pushed down the pecking order at Nottingham Forest. (Football Insider)
Rangers right-back Max Aarons will never let his dream of playing for England go - and his desire for Three Lions honours was a big factor in joining Rangers. (FourFourTwo)
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Ending their recent run of playoff frustration earned the Milwaukee Brewers a new nickname from their manager.
Pat Murphy has referred to his team as the “Average Joes,” a nod to their small-market status and lack of big names. But after the Brewers beat the rival Chicago Cubs 3-1 in the decisive fifth game of their NL Division Series on Saturday night, Murphy decided it was time for an upgrade.
“You can call them the average Joes,” Murphy said, “but I say they’re the above-average Joes.”
The Brewers relied on contributions from just about all of them to get past the Cubs.
Andrew Vaughn hit a tiebreaking homer in the fourth inning and William Contreras and Brice Turang also went deep. Trevor Megill, Jacob Misiorowski, Aaron Ashby, Chad Patrick and Abner Uribe combined on a four-hitter, with Uribe getting six outs for the first multi-inning save of his career.
“It takes every single one of these guys in the locker room, and they’ve done it,” Turang said. “We’ve got to keep going.”
The Brewers, making their seventh playoff appearance in eight years, earned their first postseason series win since sweeping Colorado in a 2018 NLDS. Milwaukee was on the verge of its second World Series berth that year before losing Game 7 of the National League Championship Series at home to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Now, the Brewers get another NLCS matchup with the defending World Series champion Dodgers, who beat the Philadelphia Phillies in four games in the other NL Division Series. Game 1 is Monday at Milwaukee as the Brewers chase their first pennant since 1982 — back when they played in the American League.
After losing slugging shortstop Willy Adames in free agency and trading away All-Star closer Devin Williams last winter, the scrappy Brewers finished the regular season with the best record in the majors at 97-65.
They’ve reached the NLCS nine months after the death of Bob Uecker, who broadcast Brewers games for 54 seasons and is probably more synonymous with the franchise than any player.
As the Brewers posed for a postgame picture on the field, they had a banner in front of them with Uecker’s signature. The sellout crowd roared before the game when the scoreboard video showed a fan holding a sign with the message: “Do It For Bob Uecker.”
“It was important to these guys — because it’s the rival — to finish the job,” Murphy said. “And they know Ueck is smiling.”
The victory was particularly sweet for Milwaukee fans because it came against the club’s biggest rival and knocked Cubs manager Craig Counsell out of the postseason.
Counsell grew up in the Milwaukee area, played for the Brewers and became the winningest manager in team history until he left for Chicago.
In the two seasons since Counsell’s departure, Brewers fans have booed every mention of his name whenever the Cubs have visited American Family Field. They did it again Saturday, though the sellout crowd appeared to include more Cubs backers than in Milwaukee’s Game 1 and Game 2 home victories.
The Cubs were attempting to become the 11th team to erase a 2-0 deficit and win a best-of-five playoff series, a feat last accomplished by the New York Yankees against Cleveland in their 2017 ALDS.
“I’m disappointed. I’m sad,” Counsell said. “I think this team did a lot to honor the Chicago Cub uniform. In the big picture, that’s how I feel.”
Homers produced all the runs in this winner-take-all game, and each of Milwaukee’s came with two outs.
Contreras hit a 389-foot shot to left-center off Drew Pomeranz in the first inning. Vaughn sent a 3-2 pitch from Colin Rea over the left-field wall to break a 1-all tie, and Turang provided some insurance with a 416-foot drive to center off Andrew Kittredge in the seventh.
“We fight back. That’s our mentality,” Vaughn said. “We’re going to punch someone else. We’re going to throw it right back.”
Chicago’s Seiya Suzuki greeted Misiorowski by sending a 101.4 mph fastball into the Cubs bullpen leading off the second, but that was the only run the rookie right-hander allowed in four innings as he earned his second win of the series.
“It’s been crazy,” the 23-year-old Misiorowski said. “It’s been a whirlwind and it’s been fun.”
The Brewers brought in Misiorowski after Megill retired the side in order in the first. The Cubs had totaled 11 first-inning runs in the first four games of the series without ever going scoreless in the opening frame.
After Suzuki’s homer, they didn’t score again Saturday.
Chicago’s best threat came when it put two on with nobody out in the sixth against Ashby, who had thrown 32 pitches two nights earlier in Milwaukee’s Game 4 loss. Michael Busch hit a leadoff single before Ashby grazed Nico Hoerner with a pitch.
Ashby got Kyle Tucker to strike out swinging at a 3-2 pitch for the first out. Patrick then came out of the bullpen and retired Suzuki on a fly to left before Ian Happ struck out looking.
“You set a goal to win the World Series every year,” Busch said. “You come up short, so it stings no matter what.”
The Brewers exorcised some demons to finish off the series.
They entered the ninth inning with a two-run lead, just as they did in the decisive game of last year’s NL Wild Card Series against the New York Mets. Milwaukee lost that game when Williams allowed four runs in the final inning, including a three-run homer by Pete Alonso.
This time, the Brewers had no reason to worry as Uribe retired the side in order.
“We talked about it before the game,” Murphy said. “It absolutely entered my mind. We talked about it at the end of last season. We sat down in the room. We were all shell-shocked. And I said, ‘Guys, I don’t know what to tell you. Somehow this is going to help us.’ And sure enough, it was prophetic.”
As they worked out at Dodger Stadium, two days after winning their National League Division Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, they had Game 5 of the other NLDS on the scoreboard — getting a first look at their NL Championship Series opponent.
“It's certainly nice to be able to get a couple days to reset, prepare, and we're kind of doing our due diligence,” manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday afternoon. “We'll have that game on the big board."
What they saw as they worked out was a 3-1 Milwaukee Brewers win that sets up an NLCS opener on Monday at American Family Field.
As of Saturday, the Dodgers were awaiting their opponent before picking a Game 1 starter or finalizing their NLCS roster.
Now, they know who they’ll be facing with a trip to the World Series on the line.
Ahead of this week’s NLCS, here are nine things to know about the Brewers:
An identifiable brand
The Brewers’ $143-million payroll this year was less than 20 other teams in Major League Baseball — including the historically bad Colorado Rockies — and almost one-third the size of the Dodgers.
That meant, in lieu of star talent and potent offensive weapons, the Brewers had to build their team around playing a particular brand of baseball. And on offense, where they were third in the majors in scoring this year, that led them to go all-in on a small-ball approach.
They got on base, ranking third in batting average (.258) and fourth in walks. They swung at good pitches, recording the fifth-fewest strikeouts while chasing out of the zone at the lowest rate in MLB. They made contact (with the majors’ third-lowest whiff rate) and put pressure on defenses (ranking second in stolen bases). They had the second-best batting average with runners in scoring position, as well.
It didn’t matter that they were only 22nd in home runs, or 12th in slugging percentage. Only 33% of their runs scored came via big flies anyway (the third-lowest mark in MLB).
Instead, they built a lineup full of tough outs and hitters who didn’t deviate from the team-wide plan. They formulated an identity, and rode it to the winningest season in their franchise’s history at 97-65.
An old-school manager
Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy returns to the dugout after making a pitching change during a July 2024 game. (Erin Hooley / Associated Press)
If that style sounds almost collegiate in nature, it’s because it emanated from the Brewers’ old-school, former college coach of a manager.
After helming big-name college programs at Notre Dame and Arizona State for three decades, the 66-year-old Pat Murphy has become one of the most beloved characters in professional baseball in recent years.
He joined the Brewers in 2016 as bench coach for Craig Counsell. When Counsell left two years ago for the Cubs (the team Milwaukee beat in the NLDS), Murphy was promoted to the big chair.
Now, he’s become known for his big personality, his hands-on approach in molding Milwaukee’s brand of baseball … and more lighthearted habits, like the “pocket pancakes” he’ll gobble up in the middle of games.
An impeccable pitching staff
For all the attention the Brewers’ unique offense and one-of-a-kind manager have received this year, the club’s pitching staff remains the backbone of the team.
The Brewers, long known for their ability to develop pitching talent and replenish staff depth despite their shoestring budget, ranked second in the majors in team ERA this season, third in batting average allowed and fifth in strikeouts.
Like with the offense, it required full-team production. The Brewers’ rotation had the third-best ERA, but logged the fifth-fewest innings. Their bullpen, however, was sixth in ERA and fifth in save percentage.
The Dodgers learned this first-hand this year, when they were twice swept by Milwaukee in July. In those six games, the Dodgers scored just 16 runs, nine fewer than they managed against any other NL team. They also batted .179, lower than any other opponent they faced besides the Texas Rangers.
The NL wins leader
The Brewers’ one true ace this season was veteran right-hander Freddy Peralta, a two-time All-Star who turned in a career-best performance with a 2.70 ERA, an NL-best 17 wins in 33 starts, and a whopping 204 strikeouts in just 176 ⅔ innings (the sixth-best K/9 mark in MLB).
Peralta was Milwaukee’s starter in Game 1 of the NLDS, when he struck out nine over a 5 ⅔ innings, two-run start. He’d likely get the Game 1 nod again in the NLCS, where the Dodgers will have to prepare for his deceptive mid-90s-mph fastball (which limited hard contact and held opponents to just a .209 average in the regular season) and a changeup/curveball/slider secondary mix (which induced whiffs on more than one-third of swings).
Peralta made two starts against the Dodgers this year, tossing six shutout innings on July 7 in Milwaukee before giving up four runs in five innings two weeks later at Dodger Stadium.
The late-blooming talent
At the start of this season, former first-round draft pick Quinn Priester was looking more like a bust than a future postseason rotation member.
After posting a 6.23 ERA in his first two big-league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Red Sox, the Brewers acquired the 25-year-old right-hander in April for two minor-leaguers in hopes he could provide rotation depth.
Instead, he became their second-best starter.
Priester’s postseason debut did not go well, giving up four runs in the first inning of Game 3 before being removed after just two outs.
But in 29 regular-season outings, Priester had a 3.32 ERA with a 13-3 record that marked the highest winning percentage in the majors. He doesn’t strike out many batters (just 132 in 157 ⅓ innings) or throw the ball exceptionally hard (his fastball sits 94 mph). But he had one of the best ground-ball rates in the sport thanks to a sinker he used more than ever before in his career.
The rookie All-Star
The Milwaukee Brewers' Jacob Misiorowski reacts after striking out the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman during a game on July 8. (Aaron Gash / Associated Press)
Well, it turned out he wasn’t the second-coming of Paul Skenes, stumbling to a 5.36 ERA over the rest of the season (while battling a shin injury) that landed him in Milwaukee’s postseason bullpen.
However, the 6-foot-7 flamethrower made a huge impact in the NLDS, throwing three scoreless innings of relief in Game 2 and four more in the winner-take-all Game 5.
He once again figures to play a key role in the NLCS. And whether or not he can replicate his dominance against the Dodgers could be an X-factor in the series.
Depth on depth on depth
Beyond the above names, the Brewers pitching staff just keeps coming in waves.
There is crafty veteran left-handed starter Jose Quintana (11-7, 3.96 ERA), who has long been a thorn in the Dodgers’ side (2.32 ERA in 15 outings against them).
There is a hard-throwing bullpen hierarchy of Trevor Megill (30 saves, 2.49 ERA), Abner Uribe (seven saves, 37 holds, 1.67 ERA) and left-hander Jared Koenig (two saves, 27 holds, 2.86 ERA).
There are productive middle relievers in Grant Anderson and Nick Mears (right-handers with 60-plus appearances and sub-3.50 ERAs) and Aaron Ashby (another lefty with a 2.16 ERA, but who struggled as an opener in the NLDS).
It means, even in a seven-game series, there could be few weak spots in the Milwaukee pitching staff for the Dodgers to exploit.
Depth on depth at the plate too
Back to the offense, where the Brewers make up for their lack of big names with equally impressive offensive depth.
Christian Yelich is the club’s one household name. The former MVP hit .264 with team-highs in home runs (29) and RBIs (103) while serving primarily as designated hitter. Jackson Chourio is a former top prospect with an $82-million contract, coming off a .270 season with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs.
Beyond them, however, the Brewers have plenty of other contributors.
Second baseman Brice Turang hit .288 with 18 home runs. Outfielder Isaac Collins, a 28-year-old rookie, batted .263 with 22 doubles. Former Chicago White Sox slugger Andrew Vaughn was acquired in a midseason trade after being demoted to the minors, then blossomed with a .308 average and 46 RBIs, starting with a breakout series against the Dodgers in July. And then there’s catcher William Contreras, who hit .260 with 17 home runs.
Home-field advantage
The Brewers locked up the best record in baseball, and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, thanks largely to how well they played at their home field.
The team’s 52 home wins trailed only the Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays for most in the majors, tying the Dodgers for second-most in the NL. And in the NLDS, they went 3-0 at American Family Field.
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reaches on a fielders' choice in the third inning of Game 4 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
When Shohei Ohtani was asked about his woeful performance at the plate in the Dodgers’ National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies last week, he first gave credit to the opposition.
Then, after a series that saw the Phillies counter him with one left-handed pitcher after the next, he was also quick to point out that he wasn’t alone.
“It was pretty difficult for left-handed hitters,” Ohtani said in Japanese amid the Dodgers’ clubhouse celebration following their Game 4 victory. “This was also the case for Freddie [Freeman].”
The Phillies did indeed make life tough on the Dodgers’ best lefty bats.
Freeman was only three for 15 in the series, albeit with a key Game 2 double and a .294 on-base-percentage.
Max Muncy was four for nine in the series, but spent most of it waiting on the bench, not getting a start in any of the three contests the Phillies had a southpaw on the mound.
And as a team, the Dodgers hit just .199 with 41 strikeouts in the four-game series.
However, no one’s struggles were as pronounced as Ohtani’s — the soon-to-be four-time MVP winner, who in the NLDS looked like anything but.
Ohtani struck out in each of his first four at-bats in Game 1. He didn’t get his first hit until grounding an RBI single through the infield in the seventh inning of Game 2.
After that, Ohtani’s only other time reaching base safely was when the Phillies intentionally walked him in the seventh inning of Game 4.
His final stat line from the series: One for 18, nine strikeouts and a whole lot of questions about what went wrong.
Ohtani, who was coming off a three-hit, two-homer wild-card round, did acknowledge Thursday night that “there were at-bats that didn’t go the way I thought they would.”
But, he quickly added: “The opposing pitchers didn’t make many mistakes. They pitched wonderfully, in a way that’s worthy for the postseason. There were a lot of games like that for both teams.”
The real question coming out of the series was about the root cause of Ohtani’s unexpected struggles.
Was it simply because of the tough pitching matchups, having faced a lefty in 12 of his 20 trips to the plate? Or had his faltering approach created more legitimate concerns, the kind that could threaten to continue into the NL Championship Series?
“I think a lot of it actually was driven by the left-handed pitching,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday, as the Dodgers awaited to face either the Chicago Cubs or Milwaukee Brewers in an NLCS that will begin on Monday.
“Hoping that he can do a little self-reflecting on that series, and how aggressive he was outside of the strike zone, passive in the zone,” Roberts said. “The at-bat quality needs to get better.”
For the Dodgers, the implications are stark.
“We’re not gonna win the World Series with that sort of performance,” Roberts continued. “So we’re counting on a recalibration, getting back into the strike zone.”
From the very first at-bat of Game 1 — when he was also the starting pitcher in his first career playoff game as a two-way player — Ohtani struggled to make the right swing decisions.
He chased three pitches off the inside of the plate from Phillies lefty Cristopher Sánchez, which Roberts felt “kinda set the tone” for his series-long struggles, then took a called third strike the next two times he faced him.
From there, the 31-year-old slugger could never seem to dial back into his approach.
He went down looking again in Game 1 against left-handed reliever Matt Strahm. He led off Game 2 with another strikeout against another lefty in Jesús Luzardo. On and on it went, with Ohtani continuing to chase inside junk, flailing at pitches that darted off the plate the other way, and finding his only reprieve in a rematch with Strahm in Game 2 when he got just enough on an inside sinker.
Roberts’ hope was that, moving forward, Ohtani would be able to learn and adjust.
“Understanding when he faces left-handed pitching, what they’re gonna try to do: Crowd him in, off, spin him away,” Roberts said. “He’s just gotta be better at managing the hitting zone. I’m counting on it. We’re all counting on it.”
Roberts also conceded that Ohtani’s at-bats on the day he pitched in Game 1 seemed to be especially rushed.
“[When] he’s pitching, he’s probably trying to conserve energy, not trying to get into at-bats,” Roberts said. “It hasn’t been good when he’s pitched. I do think that’s part of it. We’ve got to think through this and come up with a better game plan.”
After all, while Ohtani might not have been the only struggling hitter in the NLDS, his importance to the lineup is greater than anyone’s. The Dodgers can only endure without him for so long.
With Pete Alonso expected to opt out of his contract that he signed with the Mets last offseason, the first baseman will reportedly be seeking a new contract of at least seven years during free agency, per NY Post's Mike Puma.
After a great bounce-back season for the slugger in which he slashed .272/.347/.524 with 38 home runs and 126 RBI while playing in all 162 games, Alonso is hoping to turn that into a long-term deal, the same one that he was seeking last offseason.
A seven-year contract would be consistent with what Alonso's agent, Scott Boras, was able to complete for other clients of the same age, such as third baseman Matt Chapman and shortstop Marcus Semien in recent seasons. However, both Chapman and Semien play more valuable positions than Alonso.
In what was a long and difficult offseason last year for the slugger, Alonso, whose .788 OPS in 2024 was the lowest of his career, ultimately signed a two-year, $54 million contract with a player option after the first season to remain in New York.
The 30-year-old immediately returned to form in 2025 and posted his fifth straight season of 30 or more home runs to go along with 41 doubles, which led the National League. His 80 extra-base hits ranked tied for fifth in MLB.
While Alonso's offense was restored, his defense regressed.
Not known as a defensive-minded first baseman, Alonso's defense, particularly his throwing, hurt the team on many occasions last season. To his credit, he continued to be one of the best at scooping the baseball at first base. Nevertheless, a transition to designated hitter in some capacity is likely in Alonso's future.
Although he's been a stalwart in the Mets lineup since his debut in 2019 -- even breaking the franchise home run record this season -- are his defensive shortcomings enough for New York, which will likely emphasize defense next year after a poor season on the field, to look elsewhere for a solution at first base?
Considering the possible price tag, length of contract and likely move to DH in the future, it'll be interesting to see if the Mets or any other team are willing to sign Alonso to the deal that he is seeking this offseason.
Steven Gerrard remains a hero to many Rangers supporters - Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Steven Gerrard has ruled himself out of the running to return to Rangers, according to reports.
The 45-year-old had been the front-runner to replace the sacked Russell Martin as head coach, but it is understood that after holding talks with the club, he felt the timing was not right for a return to Ibrox.
Martin was sacked last weekend after just four months in charge, with the team having won just one of their opening seven Scottish Premiership matches.
Gerrard, who left his role in charge of Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq in January, is a hero to many Rangers supporters after leading them to the title in 2020-21, which remains the only time they have won the league since their financial implosion in 2012.
The former England and Liverpool midfielder left the club later that year after three years in charge to take over at Aston Villa.
Other names to have been touted as potential successors to Martin include Hearts manager Derek McInnes, former Rangers player Kevin Muscat and ex-Everton manager Sean Dyche.
Gerrard was on the club’s longlist of managerial candidates at the end of last season when Rangers looked for a replacement for Philippe Clement but the club instead went for Martin.
Speaking last week on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Gerrard said: “I’ve had five or six really interesting phone calls since I stopped in Saudi. And I haven’t been ready because I haven’t got that team set around me. And the timing hasn’t been right. My daughter’s just had a baby. I’ve just become a granddad. I wasn’t ready. I haven’t got my staff ready.
“So unfortunately, them opportunities or them phone calls have come at the wrong time, if you like. But if the right call comes my way, the right club, the right challenge, and I’ve got my people set, which I will have at some point, I’ll take that challenge on because it’s in me. It’s in me.”
