Category: Baseball

CHICAGO — The big winner in Game 4 of the ALDS was the Tampa Bay Rays.

Seriously. The Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox burned through their pitching staffs just to get to a Game 5 on Saturday, Oct. 10, when they'll both likely have to do it all over again. Then one of them will have to head straight to Florida for Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday, Oct. 12, the arms of their pitchers hanging by a thread.

The Rays, meanwhile, are chilling, having completed their sweep of the New York Yankees on Wednesday, Oct. 7. They could enjoy Cleveland's 9-5 win that forced Game 5, watching their would-be opponents beat each other up while the Rays pitchers are getting another breather and manager Kevin Cash is lining up his pitching staffs and batting order exactly how he wants them.

No word on whether the Rays are sipping margaritas and mai tais while they wait.

The Cleveland Guardians are still alive.

They forced a Game 5 in the American League Division Series with a 9-5 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Oct. 8 amid a blackout at Rate Field.

In the fifth inning, José Ramírez hit a go-ahead, two-run home run to put the Guardians up 3-2. With the count 0-1, the third baseman was tossed a fastball by White Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks just above the strike zone. He smacked it hard and watched it sail into the bullpen in right field. Steven Kwan also scored after hitting a single.

Earlier that inning, Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run to put the Guardians on the board. Cleveland had not hit a home run in the first three games of the series.

Whether you’re an optimist, a pessimist, or a realist, the 2026 San Diego Padres season will look different to you. The dramatic swings within the 162-game regular season gave many Padres fans whiplash.

The bullpen’s excellence remained the one constant throughout the season. That part of the roster showed consistency until the very end of the year. Ultimately, the overuse of the relief corps resulted in fatigue and inconsistency during the past month.

Just about every other aspect of the team’s performance was as unpredictable as any season could be. 

The offense and starting pitching weren’t reliable, but the effort was always there. 

The Padres had weaknesses 

There was never a real starting rotation. Michael King was excellent all year, a staff ace. The rest were a patchwork and could not provide reliability.

The offense took almost four months to find its feet. Going from almost the worst in baseball to a top-five offense is a credit to the players and the coaches who put in the work.

The bench was a rotating cast of characters. Injury was a major factor, and without the scouting and coaching within the organization, the Padres would have been floundering by midseason. 

Being led by a rookie manager with several coaches who were also rookies at their jobs has inherent risk. Mistakes were made; there can be no denying that fact. Craig Stammen would be the first to acknowledge it. Those mistakes were not the reason this team faltered in the postseason.

An overworked bullpen

All through the season, the bullpen was used to buoy the starting pitchers. When the starters failed to provide length, the relievers stepped in and propped them up. That strategy will eventually catch up with you. As the regular season wound down and the postseason began, the wear and tear on the trusted arms in the bullpen began to show.

Both Mason Miller and Adrián Morejón exceeded career numbers for innings. Both showed the results of that strain as the season was finishing.

Bradgley Rodriguez, a 22-year-old rookie, lost velocity as the regular season concluded and had to be given rest. He also lost some effectiveness, allowing more hits and runs.

In the postseason, the repeated use of the trusted core of relievers resulted in David Morgan, Randy Vasquez, and Wandy Peralta never seeing the field during any of the six games played.

The postseason offense

What is the answer to why the Padres offense goes missing during the postseason? 

Manny Machado was exceptional, defying logic that would dictate a decline in performance with age. He had a .350 batting average with a 1.080 OPS, hitting a homer with three RBI. Fernando Tatis Jr. had two home runs with three RBI but only hit .167 with six strikeouts in 24 at-bats. Jackson Merrill hit .292 but had no extra-base hits with eight strikeouts in 24 at-bats. 

The lack of execution with runners in scoring position was the death knell for this team. In the divisional series, the Padres were 4-for-23 with 30 left on base over the four games. 

This is the third straight postseason with the Padres’ offense underperforming when the lights are the brightest. Role players made minimal contributions, while Merrill and Tatis didn’t provide what was needed. 

There is an explanation for the failures of the Padres in the postseason. The challenge is for the organization to find the answers.

Looking forward

Both Xander Bogaerts and Machado are still performing, despite their advancing ages. The window of opportunity for this team should remain open as long as they are both contributors on the positive side.

The young core of Tatis, Merrill, Luis Campusano, and the newly arrived Ethan Salas provides talent to build around. 

Re-signing Ty France should be an offseason priority. He wants to be here and has been their most consistent player all season. He should also be named the team MVP.

Starting pitching must be a focus this offseason. Retain Michael King; that comes first. Decide what role Randy Vasquez will be filling. Use the offseason to assess what Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta can do going into next season. Move on from Yu Darvish unless he decides he can pitch next year.

Walker Buehler, Casey Mize, and Robby Ray are all free agents. The team needs more stability and length than what those three have provided.

Jhony Brito should be recovered from his Tommy John rehab and needs to be assessed for what he can contribute. It seems clear neither Griffin Canning nor JP Sears can be contributors for this team.

The bench includes Gavin Sheets and Miguel Andujar. The team can retain Samad Taylor and/or Dustin Harris, but a permanent solution for left field is not among those players.

Unfortunately, Jase Bowen has no clue how to hit major league pitching.

Sung-Mun Song is a defensive marvel, but can someone teach him how to hit?

The rules could change

The offseason labor situation will impact everything the Padres need to do for the next season. When that season begins is not even clear at this point.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller and his team have a lot of work to do, but they won’t know the guidelines they have to work within until the labor dispute is settled.

New owners José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones got an exciting introduction to owning a Major League Baseball team. Hopefully, that will just whet their appetite for more.

There is potential and excitement for this Padres organization, once the labor situation is decided. 

They are so close to the final step that will take them all the way.

The Cleveland Guardians are storming.

The team hit two home runs in the fifth inning in Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, Oct. 8 at Rate Field.

José Ramírez hit a go-ahead two-run home run to put the Guardians up 3-2. With the count 0-1, the third baseman was tossed a fastball by White Sox pitcher Jordan Hicks just above the strike zone. He smacked it hard and watched it sail into the bullpen in right field. Steven Kwan also scored after hitting a single.

Ramírez was the first batter Hicks faced after coming in for Erick Fedde.

Earlier that inning, Patrick Bailey hit a solo home run to put the Guardians on the board.

Cleveland had not hit a home run in the first three games of the series.

With a victory, the White Sox win the series. Whoever wins the series will face the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Championship Series.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: José Ramírez hits go-ahead home run for Guardians in ALDS Game 4

The votes are in, and Yankees fans are out for change after an ugly sweep at the hands of the Rays ended the Bombers’ season in the ALDS. 

A poll conducted by The Post showed — unsurprisingly — that respondents want Aaron Boone gone after the ballclub fell well short of the lofty expectations bestowed upon it, with nearly 85 percent of more than 11,000 voters calling on the Yankees to give him the boot. 

“I’ve been calling for Aaron Boone’s firing for years, and not for any specific baseball reason. Just the simple fact that he hasn’t won with the talent on that team. George [Steinbrenner] would have fired him long ago,” one person commented on The Post’s website. 

Boone has not won a championship since taking over as manager in 2018, making just one World Series appearance — a 2024 loss to the Dodgers — in nine seasons at the helm. 

Whether poll participants will get their wish from general manager Brian Cashman is uncertain, with the longtime GM calling Boone a “really good manager.” 

Those same poll participants, though, aren’t generally fans of the general manager, with 73 percent (8,535) calling for Cashman’s job. 

Cashman has been general manager for 29 seasons — including four World Series titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2009) and seven American League pennants. 

However, Cashman has faced plenty of criticism over his allegiance to Boone and the personnel moves he’s made over the past few seasons as the championship drought has dragged on. 

“Cashman should go or change the organization’s approach to hitting,” another voter commented. “Need to stop relying on the home run. That doesn’t work in the playoffs against better pitching. Concentrate on putting the ball in play and minimize strikeouts. Get players that can hit .270-.280. Play baseball the way it’s supposed to be played. Also, we need a typical leadoff hitter, not have Rice or the likes of Grisham batting leadoff.

A stat shown on the TBS broadcast showed Tampa opponents made 188 errors this year against them. Most in the majors. That’s because they make contact and force you to make a play. If Cashman won’t dictate that change then he must go.” 

A majority of poll participants also want to see Jazz Chisholm Jr. (91 percent), Trent Grisham (88 percent) and slugger Giancarlo Stanton (86 percent) get the boot. 

Anthony Volpe saw his stock rise among those who took part in the polling, with 79 percent saying he should stay with the team. 

“Stanton, Chisholm gotta go. Yanks need [a] catcher big time,” another voter explained in a comment. “Stop playing with Volpe’s head [and] make him [the] everyday second baseman. Rice, Jones, Bellinger, Judge, Lombard, Volpe should be everyday. Add a 3rd baseman and catcher and lineup is set. Pitching, if healthy, is set. Boone time for a change.” 

Pat Murphy is taking the Brewers in seven.

The Milwaukee manager didn’t hold back when discussing the upcoming National League Championship Series against the Dodgers.

“We’re going to do our best to stay with them and beat them in 7 games.”

“We’re gonna be more ready than we were last time, I believe. That doesn’t guarantee anything but we got to be ready for what they say is the best team in baseball, but we think we are,” Murphy said after the Brewers defeated the Padres in the NLDS Wednesday night.

The Dodgers also faced Milwaukee in the NLCS last season, but the Brewers have played arguably better baseball in 2026. LA swept the Brewers on their way to the World Series in 2025.

This year, the Brewers have largely been unstoppable with a roaring offense and NL Cy Young candidate Jacob Misiorowski. In the same way, the Dodgers have also looking sharp with a 100-win season and a lights-out rotation full of aces.

While Milwaukee boasts the best record in baseball, the Dodgers own back-to-back World Series titles to support their efforts in October.

The series won’t be easy for either team.

It’s a matchup poised for great baseball as the small-market Brewers take on the sport’s juggernaut. And the Dodgers have shown that spending money doesn’t guarantee a championship unless a team has all the right pieces.

Several minutes after both the predictable and unthinkable — another team celebrating on the Yankee Stadium turf, this time the Rays after sweeping through the ALDS — three Yankees lingered on the top step of the dugout. They stared. They absorbed. They stored what will be used as fuel. 

Paul Blackburn peeled off the railing and began making his way to the clubhouse. Soon after, Aaron Judge followed. 

And finally, the last Yankee to force himself from watching the revolting sight was the youngest: George Lombard Jr. 

“I’m going to have to learn from it and keep this feeling with it and use that in the work next year,” Lombard said after the Yankees were eliminated Wednesday night in The Bronx. “… It sucks. It hurts. There’s a lot of things that go into it, but yeah, it’s definitely a feeling that you don’t want to feel after your last game. 

“It’s definitely going to be on my mind a lot.” 

The Yankees will not fondly remember 2026, when Judge and Giancarlo Stanton missed much of the season, their replacements did not adequately replace them, and yet another campaign ended in disappointment, but it is at least possible it will be recalled as the year Lombard earned his shot. 

A year that started in Double-A Somerset, where Lombard did not even last a month, ended as the everyday playoff shortstop for the Yankees. 

He showed flashes of brilliance defensively, and his fourth-inning highlight — in which he charged a chopper that had leaped over Max Fried, barehanded it and slung a throw to cut down Junior Caminero — might have been remembered if the game had finished differently. He also showed that he is 21 years old, both with his six-game error streak and in being part of the Game 2 defensive meltdown. 

Offensively, he performed better than expected. The Yankees would welcome further steps, but a prospect known more for his glove and headiness hit .237 with a .699 OPS in his first 42 games before holding his own in October. 

Lombard’s first playoff run, albeit brief, finished at 6-for-18 (.333) with six singles and four strikeouts. On Wednesday, he was a bright spot in stroking a hard-hit single, adding another on a slow roller to third and later walking, using an automated ball-strike system challenge — which has been a strength of his — to earn the trip to first. 

“It was definitely a good experience for the first year,” said Lombard, who replaced Anthony Volpe and José Caballero at shortstop in early August. “I’m going to take everything with me because it’s not the way we want to end going forward.” 

There is little known about the 2027 Yankees infield. Can they really bring back Ryan McMahon, who is owed $16 million for next season, made a costly error in Game 2, was benched in Game 3 and simply did not hit enough this season? Is Jazz Chisholm Jr., who also was benched for the elimination game, a goner as a free agent? Are the Yankees serious about Luis García Jr. possibly getting work at second base, which would open first for Ben Rice? Is Paul Goldschmidt, who wants to keep playing, still an option as a lefty-killer at first? Where do Volpe and Caballero fit? 

The best bet among the group is that Lombard, a 2023 first-round pick whose first taste of major league life included more promise than problems, will be back at shortstop. 

And motivated. 

“Definitely a lot to take from it,” said Lombard, who was particularly upset about Judge, Stanton and Goldschmidt coming up short of a title. “It just sucks to go out like this.”

Hey folks, if you are doing a full detox from baseball in wake of the Yankees’ ugly elimination last night at the hands of the Rays, I totally get it. However, in case anyone here wants to chat about the one playoff game on tonight, I figured that I would throw a thread up, just in case!

The surprising White Sox lead their ALDS, two games to one, but unlike the Yankees, Cleveland won yesterday to force a Game 4. The aggressive White Sox bullpenning finally hit a wall of sorts, spoiling the fun of the first playoff game on the South Side of Chicago in five years. If the Guardians turn the trick again, we’ll be guaranteed of at least some baseball between now and the start of the Brewers/Dodgers NLCS on Sunday night. Game 5 would be Saturday in Cleveland.

With the Yankees out of it, I’m fully rooting for maximum-length series to squeeze however much competitive baseball I can out of the 2026 season, so go Guards. Either way, I’ll be hoping for a miracle in the ALCS and that one of these underwhelming AL Central teams can pull off an upset over Tampa Bay. A lad can dream!

Today’s Matchup:

American League Division Series Game 4

Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians (CWS leads 2-1)

Time: 8:00 p.m. EST

TV: TBS/HBO Max, TruTV, Univision

Venue: Rate Field, Chicago, IL

Three of the four Championship Series teams are set, and so far the postseason has gone straight chalk. In the National League, the #1-seeded Brewers and #2 Dodgers will square off for the second straight year. In the American League, the top-ranked Rays are ALCS-bound after sweeping the Yankees, to everyone’s delight. The Rays will wait to find out what opponent they’ll face, which could be decided tonight as the #6-seeded White Sox have the chance to crash the party of top-ranked teams.

Guardians at White Sox, 8:00 PM (TBS/HBO Max) — White Sox lead 2-1

LHP Parker Messick (CLE) vs. LHP Hagen Smith (CWS)

The White Sox failed to sweep the series yesterday, as the Guardians’ offense erupted for nine runs — four more than any other team has scored in the Division Series round — to keep Cleveland’s hopes alive for another day. As you might have heard, it’s been a minute since the White Sox clinched a playoff series at home. To be precise, it’s been 120 years, since the 1906 White Sox won the World Series over the crosstown Cubs at South Side Park. That was before there was televised baseball. Or televised anything. You could only keep up with sports or current events by reading something called a newspaper. Truly wild times.

Anyway, the White Sox have another chance to end that drought tonight. As has been their custom in this postseason, they’re just going to cobble together a bullpen game instead of using a real starting pitcher. The White Sox have used an opener in five of their six playoff games so far, including this one, where rookie lefty Hagen Smith will do the opening honors for the third time. He has pitched 5.2 scoreless innings in his two previous outings as an opener this postseason, so it seems to be working.

The Guardians, by contrast, have a strong starting rotation, and none are stronger than tonight’s hurler, Parker Messick. The 25-year-old lefty was an All-Star this season, going 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA in 32 starts. In his Game 1 outing against the White Sox, though, he labored for 87 pitches in 4.1 innings and gave up two runs in a Guardians shutout loss.

I don’t have a strong preference for who wins this series. I suppose it would be nice for the White Sox to finally celebrate a postseason series win at home after all this time, but if they do, that means we won’t have any more baseball until Sunday. If the Guardians win today, it’ll force a winner-take-all Game 5 in Cleveland on Saturday.

And then there was one… Three of the Division Series finished yesterday. The Brewers and Dodgers both finished off their opponents in four games, and will face off again – as they did last year – starting on Sunday. Milwaukee are 0-3 in NLCS’s: as well as losing to LA in 2026, they did so in 2018, and the Cardinals in 2011. It has been 44 years since the Brewer last World Series appearance: the Pirates (47 years) and the Mariners (never) are the only franchises with a longer pennant drought. Meanwhile, in the American League, the Rays get to chill out until Monday, waiting for whoever prevails betwen the Guardians and White Sox.

If the White Sox win today, there’ll be no baseball until the NLCS kicks off Sunday. So I guess let’s hope for a Guardians victory, so we’ll have something to do over the weekend!

• Cleveland Guardians @ Chicago White Sox (1-2): 5:00 pm, TBS/truTV

Game four of the Guardians/White Sox series. White Sox are up two games to one. They win, they take on the Rays.

Lineups:

The MLB wants to cut the season to a 154 games in the future.

This what they call a must-win game.

Here’s the Guardians lineup:

Here’s the White Sox lineup:

Let’s go, Guardians!

The number of playoff teams is dwindling.

Tonight, the Chicago White host the Cleveland Guardians in Game Four of the American League Divisional Series. It is the only remaining Divisional Series in the playoffs as the other three have concluded, including two last night.

The first team to advance to the League Championship Series was the Los Angeles Dodgers, who easily dispatched the Atlanta Braves in four games. Yesterday, the Rays completed their sweep of the Yankees as the Brewers knocked off the Padres.

The NLCS is set: Los Angeles Dodgers vs Milwaukee Brewers.

The Tampa Bay Rays await the winner of the Cleveland-Chicago series. Chicago jumped to a two-games-to-nothing lead before Cleveland won 9-3 yesterday to live another day.

That day is today.

The White Sox will send out lefty Hagen Smith to open against the Guardians. Smith, the former No. 5 pick, went 3-3 during the regular season over 18 appearances that included one start. Smith pitched 2/3 of an inning yesterday while allowing one hit, two walks, and one earned run while striking out one batter.

Cleveland’s going with Parker Messick, another southpaw. Messick pitched 186-and-1/3 innings this season while finishing 12-9 with a 2.56 ERA, 1.063 WHIP, and 3.07 FIP. He struck out 193 batters while walking 51. The first-time All Star finished with a 6.3 bWAR.

He didn’t fare so well in the first game of this series five days ago as he took the loss as he pitched only 4-and-1/3 innings while giving up four hits, two walks, and two earned runs while striking out six.

Let’s get to the lineups, Cleveland first:

Now, for the White Sox:

The League Championship Series matchups are almost set.

Wednesday saw the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers move on in the National League, while the Tampa Bay Rays completed a three-game sweep of the New York Yankees in the American League. Now, all eyes turn to Chicago, where the Cleveland Guardians — who won 9-3 yesterday — try to even the series against the White Sox to force Game 5 on Saturday.

Now, let’s get to the details.

Cleveland Guardians (0-2) at Chicago White Sox (2-0) — 6:00 PM MDT

Pitching Matchup: LHP Parker Messick (12-9, 2.56 ERA) vs. LHP Hagen Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA)

TV: TBS/HBO Max

SB Nation Sites:Southside Sox, Covering the Corner

Lineups:

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

Major League Baseball on Thursday announced start times and broadcast schedules for the National League Championship Series.

And, for a second straight series, Dodgers fans were greeted with an inconvenient weekday first pitch.

While Game 1 of the team’s NLCS rematch against the Brewers will kick off at 5 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday from American Family Field in Milwaukee, Game 2 on Monday will begin at 2 p.m. local time in Los Angeles –– similar to the late-afternoon weekday starts the Dodgers had in Games 3 and 4 of their NL Division Series defeat of the Braves this week.

Every other game of the NLCS will be at night on the West Coast.

The series shifts to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 (Wednesday at 5 p.m.), Game 4 (Thursday at 6 p.m.) and Game 5 (Friday at 6 p.m.).

Game 6 (Sunday, Oct. 18 at 5 p.m.) and Game 7 (Monday, Oct. 19 at 5 p.m.) will be back in Milwaukee, if necessary.

All games will be on Fox or FS1.

The Dodgers swept the Brewers at this stage in last year’s playoffs, propelling them to a second straight NL pennant en route to a second straight World Series title.

This year, the club is trying to complete the first NL pennant three-peat since the St. Louis Cardinals of 1942-44 and the first World Series three-peat by an NL team in baseball history.

Here is the full schedule for the NLCS:

Game 1, Sunday: 5 p.m. PT, Fox in Milwaukee

Game 2, Monday: 2 p.m. PT, Fox/FS1 in Milwaukee

Game 3, Wednesday: 5 p.m. PT, FS1 at Dodger Stadium

Game 4, Thursday: 6 p.m. PT, FS1 at Dodger Stadium

Game 5*, Friday, Oct. 16: 6 p.m. PT, FS1 at Dodger Stadium

Game 6*, Sunday, Oct. 18: 5 p.m. PT, FS1 in Milwaukee

Game 7*, Monday, Oct. 19: 5 p.m. PT, Fox/FS1 in Milwaukee

*if necessary