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Observations From Blues' 4-0 Preseason Win Vs. Blackhawks

The St. Louis Blues closed out the preseason in impressive fashion with a 4-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center in Chicago on Saturday.

The Blues (2-3-1) used a half and half lineup, inserting a number of younger players they still wanted to get a look at along with a couple veterans fighting for spots.

One of those is Milan Lucic, in camp on a professional tryout who scored his first goal; Robert Thomas and Otto Stenberg each had a goal and an assist, Logan Mailloux had two assists, and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki also scored for the Blues, who scored three times in the second period, and Joel Hofer made eight saves through two periods before Colten Ellis cleaned up the third with nine stops.

The Blues will now work during the week starting on Sunday before opening the season Thursday at home against the Minnesota Wild.

Here are tonight’s observations:

* It’s going to come down to Lucic/Texier for the final roster spot – With Mathieu Joseph out of the lineup Saturday, one has to assume the Blues have seen enough from him to feel he’s earned his roster spot.

As for Lucic, this was the most noticeable he’s been since he’s arrived in St. Louis. His goal is a perfect example of how he has to play, work to keep a puck in the offensive zone, keep it it alive, find the open man, then move to the net and park his big, strong 6-foot-3, 235-pound body, getting a piece of Mailloux’s shot off the left circle at 13:13 of the second period to give the Blues a 2-0 lead:

Lucic finished the game with a game-high eight hits in 14:35. He has to be making an impact with his body in order to have success. He did so in this game.

"Establishing the front of the net winning battles," Lucic said. "I felt like I could have done a better job of winning battles coming into this game. Our whole team, it was probably our best effort as far as winning battles, keeping pucks alive, playing in the O-zone. So not only myself, a lot of guys got rewarded for that tonight."

Texier had one really skilled play with roughly two minutes left when behind the net, he was deceitful in coming back against the grain with a pass to Pius Suter that was stopped in front, but this was his chance to really make some high-end plays against a AHL-type lineup and just didn’t do so playing on a line with Suter and Jordan Kyrou.

This is going to be a tough call for the Blues, who do have the luxury of extending Lucic’s PTO every 10 days if they feel like he needs more time to showcase himself and keep from putting Texier on waivers.

I just don’t have a sense where they will go with this at the moment. It’s literally a 50/50 call.

"That's a better question for management, but as far as for me, it's a tough bump in the road getting a groin injury there," Lucis said. "I know a lot of people are judgmental about my skating, but in order for me to be effective, I definitely need my legs and my speed to play the way that I do. To be able to battle through the last three games with a groin injury, I felt like I got better from Tuesday to Thursday to Saturday. Happy with what I was able to do this week."

* Stenberg, Kaskimaki will be full-time players starting next season – Otto Stenberg and Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, playing with Dalibor Dvorsky on Saturday, will almost certainly be full-time NHL players next season.

We’ve talked about Dvorsky enough, and I still think he starts the season in Springfield of the American Hockey League, as will Stenberg and Kaskimaki, but I feel like the latter two have had such impressive camps. They’re good, solid, responsible players who read the game well. And it was on display on Kaskimaki’s goal to open the scoring at 4:04 of the second period to make it 1-0:

Tyler Tucker reads a chance to move the puck in transition to Stenberg, who moved it up the lefthand side before reading a play to slide the puck in stride to Kaskimaki, whose deft redirection didn’t appear to be much but perhaps caught Arvid Soderblom off guard just enough for the puck to squirt through the Blackhawks goalie:

They’re both hard workers, and I think the coaching staff has most certainly taken notice of their work and smart abilities, whether with or without pucks.

Blues coach Jim Montgomery spoke of Stenberg’s camp on Saturday morning.

Neither of them will make the roster out of training camp, but they have each put his stake in the ground, and firmly implanted it in the ground. It won’t be too long. Kaskimaki-Dvorsky-Stenberg will be a solid line in Springfield this year.

* Hunter Skinner will be a good insurance policy – Skinner, acquired in the Vladimir Tarasenko trade Feb. 9, 2023 with the New York Rangers, was quietly having himself a strong camp and nipping at the heels of Matthew Kessel for the seventh defenseman on this squad.

He didn’t do anything to squash his resume in this game either. He had an assist in the game when he funneled a puck towards the goal that Thomas tipped in for a 3-0 lead at 18:10 of the second period and was a plus-2 in 16:53:

But I liked Skinner’s physical nature in this game, and he made a solid defensive play with roughly eight minutes left in the second when he hustled back and broke up a play that started off as a 2-on-1 for Chicago.

Skinner had five shot attempts and three hits but it sure seemed like more than that. He will be one of the first call-ups should the Blues need a defenseman.

As for Kessel, this was his best preseason game, playing a team-high 21:08 with six hits. He was engaged and playing like a player that knew someone was looking for his job. But I thought Kessel did a nice job of breaking up a number of Chicago rushes and moving pucks quickly back out of the zone.

I think he cinched his place on this roster.

* Thomas, Snuggerud are going to make magic – If there was any doubt that two of the Blues' top forwards are already in sync, just watch not only tonight's game but the ones they've played previously. Forget about Snuggerud's ability to shoot, this kid can make plays; we already know Thomas can. But if they can make plays for each other and complement each other, watch out. That's all I'm going to say. And for Pavel Buchnevich, who will start on that line, you better take advantage of the elite playmaking provided by two skilled players.

"It helps when you're playing with such good players," Snuggerud said. "I feel like it's something I've been trying to improve a lot because it's needed in the game of hockey. Being able to work on things like that makes the game more fun."

* Quick hitters – Mailloux, who finished the preseason with four points, will be in the starting lineup on Thursday, undoubtedly. He played 20:52 and was on the penalty kill again, something the Blues want to work with him on and again used his long body and stick to disrupt plays. I think he makes a good option, if needed, as a quarterback power play with his alert play to Thomas that resulted in Stenberg’s goal at 4:24 of the third period that made it 4-0:

Theo Lindstein, who had an assist on the Thomas goal, had his best game of the preseason playing 17:55 with three shots on goal. He will benefit greatly from a full season in Springfield. This is a project that the Blues will be patient with, and I thought Leo Loof asserted himself much better in this game than his last one last Tuesday. He played 18:42 and also had six hits.

That’ll do it for the preseason. The opening night 23-man roster deadline is 4 p.m. (CT) on Monday. It all starts for real on Thursday.

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Blackhawks Drop Preseason Finale Vs Blues With Mostly AHL Lineup

The Chicago Blackhawks finished their preseason slate of games with a match against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. 

Chicago ran with a mostly-AHL lineup against the Blues, who played a large number of players who will be on their opening night roster. 

The Blackhawks kept it close in the first period, to the point where they reached the intermission 0-0. St. Louis outshot Chicago 9-6. 

It was in the second period that the Blackhawks looked like the lesser team with the lesser lineup. They were outshot 11-2 and outscored 3-0. Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Milan Lucic, and Robert Thomas scored for the Blues. 

In the third period, the Blackhawks kept pace with the Blues again (outshot 11-10), but the Blues added an Otto Stenberg power play goal for the 4-0 lead. That would hold as the final score. 

Arvid Soderblom took the net for the Blackhawks. The team was outmatched in front of him, which led to him giving up four goals on 31 shots. From his earlier games in the preseason with better lineups involved, he proved that he's ready to be Spencer Knight's primary backup. 

It is fair to assume that none of the players who played in this game forced the hand of the coaching staff when it comes to making the opening night roster. Anything they believed going into this game likely still stands. 

Outside of Soderblom, one defenseman and one forward, every player who appeared in this game is going to be sent back down to the Rockford IceHogs. 

That's it. Next time, they count. The Blackhawks will make decisions and have their roster ready for the NHL's first day of the season. Chicago will be in the first game on the first day (Tuesday), as they will take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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Dodgers show their resiliency again in NLDS Game 1 comeback win over Phillies

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Saturday, October 4, 2025 - Los Angeles Dodgers.
Dodgers players (from left) Tommy Edman and Alex Call celebrate with Freddie Freeman after scoring on a two-run double by Kiké Hernández in the sixth inning of a 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

It wasn’t an impassioned speech. But it proved to be a prescient point.

In the hours before Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night, the Dodgers' offense was gathered for their typical pregame hitters meeting when Aaron Bates, one of the hitting coaches, spoke up and offered a reminder to the room. 

In this series, Bates knew there would be moments of adversity. And in this ballpark, where 45,000 crazed Philadelphia Phillies fans have created one of the best home-field advantages in all of baseball, the Dodgers needed to be ready to react and respond.

“The intensity and the fans were going to be there early in the game,” he told them, as infielder Miguel Rojas later recalled.

“If something happens early, if Schwarber hits one 800 feet and the roof blows off this place, don’t worry about it,” he added, according to third baseman Max Muncy, “Because when they’re dead silent in the seventh or eighth innings and we’re winning, that’s all that’s gonna matter.”

In the nine innings that followed, that’s exactly how the script played out.

The Phillies landed an early punch, ambushing Shohei Ohtani with a three-run second inning that had Citizens Bank Park shaking on the scale of a small earthquake.

Then the Dodgers answered back, rallying to a resilient 5-3 win that gave them an all-important leg up in this best-of-five series.

“It’s a message that, when you hear it, it sounds silly,” Muncy said of Bates’ pregame reminder. “But, there’s a lot of truth to it. When you come into places like this, it’s very hostile, it’s very loud.”

It certainly was in the second inning, when J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run triple that opened the scoring and knocked the defending champions to the mat.

But as they’ve shown so often over the last two Octobers, even when they’re down they never seem to be out.

“Get through the loud crowd and that sort of thing,” Bates said, modestly downplaying his hitters’ meeting speech. “Just make sure you stick to your plan, stick to the course. And we did a good job doing that.”

The Dodgers shrugged off the early adversity, with Ohtani allowing no further damage over a six-inning start; finishing his postseason pitching debut with nine strikeouts and four monumental scoreless frames after the second.

Read more:It must be October, because Super Kiké Hernández is here. 'Track record speaks for itself'

Their lineup, meanwhile, chipped away at the deficit, chasing Phillies ace and Cy Young Award candidate Cristopher Sánchez from the game on Kiké Hernández’s two-out double in the sixth.

In the seventh, the actual knockout blow arrived on a game-deciding swing from Teoscar Hernández. With two outs in the inning, and the Phillies on the verge of an escape, he blasted a go-ahead three-run home run.

Just like that, South Philadelphia fell silent.

“When you can hear a pin drop in the stadium, that’s the ultimate feeling in baseball,” Muncy said. “I felt like the people in the upper deck could hear us cheering in the dugout.”

Early on in Saturday’s game, the Phillies’ daunting home stadium was providing the opposite environment.

Sánchez was carving Dodgers hitters up with wicked sinkers and fall-off-the-table changeups. On the other side, Ohtani ran into trouble in the bottom of the second.

Read more:Hernández: Dodgers save Shohei Ohtani, not the other way around, in monumental Game 1 NLDS win

The inning started with a walk to Alec Bohm, when Ohtani missed with a full-count fastball. That was followed by a single from Brandon Marsh, who got a down-the-middle fastball in a 2-and-2 count and shot a base hit to center.

As Ohtani tried to settle down, a chorus of taunting chants — Sho-Hei! Sho-Hei! — came raining down around him.

Then, pandemonium was unleashed on one Realmuto swing. 

After missing with a first-pitch slider to Realmuto, Ohtani left a 100.2 mph heater in the heart of the zone. The location rendered the velocity irrelevant. Realmuto barreled it up, sent a line drive screaming into right-center, then chugged all the way to third after the ball got past Teoscar Hernández in the gap.

A fly ball two batters later — which served as a sacrifice fly thanks to Hernández’s inability to cut the ball off on Realmuto’s triple earlier — made it 3-0.

In the moment (and with the way Sánchez was pitching), it felt like an almost insurmountable lead.

In the dugout, however, the Dodgers thought back to Bates’ pregame message.

They were staggered, but didn’t submit. They were rattled, but not wrecked.

“Gotta give credit to Aaron Bates on that one. He made sure all the hitters knew about it,” Muncy said. “You just got to find a way to weather that storm and understand what the end goal is."

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani delivers during the third inning against the Phillies on Saturday.
Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani delivers during the third inning against the Phillies on Saturday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The turnaround began with Ohtani, who despite striking out four times as a batter followed Realmuto’s triple by retiring the next 10 he faced. His only other trouble came in the fifth, when the bottom two hitters in the Phillies’ order reached base with one out. But even then, Ohtani buckled down, getting Trea Turner to line out and Kyle Schwarber to swing through a curveball that ended the inning.

On the night, Ohtani and the Dodgers’ relievers limited the Phillies’ big three of Turner, Schwarber and Bryce Harper to just one hit in 11 at-bats.

“I use the word compartmentalize a lot, but this epitomizes compartmentalizing,” manager Dave Roberts said of Ohtani. “To go out there and give us six innings, keep us in the ball game, I just don't know any human that can manage that, those emotions. How do you not take [the hitting struggles] to the mound?”

Eventually, the Dodgers’ offense found life too.

With two outs in the sixth, and Sánchez having given up only two hits all night, Freddie Freeman sparked a rally with a five-pitch walk. Tommy Edman took a sinker the other way to put two aboard.

That brought up Kiké Hernández, who continued his habit of October heroics by jumping on a slider from Sánchez that caught a little too much plate. Hernández roped a line drive down the left-field line. Freeman and Edman scored, with the latter running through a stop sign before sliding safely across the plate.

Just like that, Sánchez was knocked out of the game. What had been a raucous crowd earlier suddenly grew tense.

Then, in the seventh, Teoscar Hernández made the comeback complete.

Teoscar Hernández celebrates after hitting a three-run home run against the Phillies.
Teoscar Hernández celebrates after hitting a three-run home run in the seventh inning for the Dodgers against the Phillies on Saturday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

After Andy Pages led with a single and Will Smith (who entered the game in the fifth inning after missing the wild-card round with a fractured hand) was hit by a pitch from David Robertson, the Phillies summoned top left-handed reliever Matt Strahm and watched him get Ohtani to strike out for the fourth consecutive time (something he had done in a game only once before in his career).

By getting Strahm on the mound, however, the Dodgers had favorable right-on-left matchups. Mookie Betts couldn’t take advantage, popping out to third for the second out. Hernández, on the other hand, didn’t miss, sending an elevated fastball sailing high into the autumn night.

“I watched videos [of him]. He likes to go up in the strike zone. I think that's when he's stronger,” Hernández said. “[I was] not trying to overswing or anything like that. Try to bring in one run to tie the game. But he left it over the strike zone.”

And as the ball landed in the right-field stands, the once rollicking ballpark fell into a stunned silence.

Back in the dugout, Muncy said, “a lot of people were yelling at Bates, like, ‘Hey, you were right!’”

Bates, once again, deflected when asked about the moment.

“We were really just excited that Teo got him eventually,” he said. “It was a great swing, using the whole field. That’s what Teo does. He stuck to his plan throughout the day. And then they make a mistake and he gets him.”

Still, the attitude he’d preached before the game had helped the Dodgers jump back in front. And from there, a new-look bullpen plan managed to collect the final nine outs.

Projected Game 4 starter Tyler Glasnow came on in relief of Ohtani in the seventh and pitched a scoreless inning that ended on a double-play ball. He left behind a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, but was bailed out when Alex Vesia got a fly ball to end the inning.

The ninth belonged to newly ascendant closer Roki Sasaki, who continued his late-season resurgence as a reliever by working around a one-out double to Max Kepler to collect his first career save.

And when the final out was recorded, somber Phillies fans filed out into a quiet night.

“We knew we were going to be winning in the seventh inning. He said it,” Rojas said, referring to Bates’ speech one more time. “He said that we were going to have an opportunity to come back in the game, and it happened. The guys stuck together. ... That’s why we’re a team.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Hernández: Dodgers save Shohei Ohtani, not the other way around, in monumental Game 1 NLDS win

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Saturday, October 4, 2025 - Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts to striking out Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber to end the fifth inning in game one of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times)
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts to striking out the Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber to end the fifth inning in Game 1, a moment Ohtani said was "a scene that decided the direction of the game." (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

On the mound, he self-destructed in a second inning that nearly placed the game out of his team’s reach.

In the batter’s box, he struck out four times for only the seventh time in his career.

A two-way player for the first time in a postseason game, Shohei Ohtani didn’t save the Dodgers on Saturday night.

Instead, Ohtani was the one being saved in a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of their National League Division Series.

He was saved by Tyler Glasnow, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki, who combined to shut down the lethal Phillies lineup over the last three innings.

He was saved by a two-run double by Kike Hernández in the sixth inning that reduced their deficit to 3-2.

He was saved by a three-run blast by Teoscar Hernández in the seventh that moved them in front, 5-3.

Ohtani said in Japanese of Hernandez’s go-ahead homer: “It was a wonderful moment. I think it was the kind of moment that made you think, ‘This is the postseason.’”

The victory cleared a path for the Dodgers to defend a World Series title that once felt indefensible. By stealing the road win necessary to advance, the Dodgers have taken control of this best-of-five series against the Phillies, who could be the greatest obstacle in their World Series defense.

The Dodgers should have the edge in starting pitching over the next two games, as Blake Snell is scheduled to start Game 2 on Monday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium.

If a fifth game is required to decide this NLDS, Ohtani will be able to pitch on six-days’ rest.

Who could have imagined the Dodgers would be in this position after a game in which Ohtani staggered through a three-run second inning that left him looking as if he was eaten alive by the notoriously hostile Citizens Bank Park crowd?

Read more:Dodgers show their resiliency again in NLDS Game 1 comeback win over Phillies

“He’s not always going to be perfect,” Roberts said.

That being said, Roberts was quick to point out Ohtani’s contributions.

How after that brutal second inning, Ohtani pitched four scoreless innings to keep the Dodgers within striking distance. How Ohtani showed bunt and stepped out of the batter’s box in his ninth-inning at-bat as part of a plan to buy more time for Sasaki to warm up to close the game.

Ohtani sounded particularly proud of how he struck out NL home run king Kyle Schwarber for the third out of the fifth inning. The Phillies stranded two runners.

“I think it might have been a scene that decided the direction of the game,” Ohtani said.

The Dodgers scored two runs in the next innings and three in the inning after that.

“To kind of look at the at-bats that he took tonight and how he struggled offensively, but to separate that and just be a pitcher and weather that [second] inning and to go out there and give us six innings and keep us in the ballgame, I just don’t know any human that can manage those emotions,” Roberts said.

The comeback was necessary because of a second inning that started with a walk by Alec Bohm. Midway through the at-bat of the next hitter, Brandon Marsh, the Citizens Bank Park crowd started to taunt Ohtani.

Sho-hei!

Sho-hei!

Marsh singled. Ohtani responded by reaching back and throwing a 100.2-mph fastball over the heart of the plate to J.T. Realmuto, who launched a rocket into right-center field.

Heavy-footed right fielder Teoscar Hernandez failed to cut off the ball, which skipped to the outfield wall. Bohm and Marsh scored.

Realmuto reached third and scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly by Harrison Bader.

Just like that, the Dodgers were down, 3-0.

This was not the start envisioned by the Dodgers, who set up Ohtani to be the star of this series.

The Dodgers didn’t send Ohtani to the mound in either of their two games of the previous round against the Cincinnati Reds.

By starting Snell and Yamamoto in the wild-card series, the Dodgers were able to save Ohtani for Game 1 of their series against the more formidable Phillies.

The Dodgers entered the NLDS reveling in the history about to be made by Ohtani, the most valuable player as a designated hitter last season back in the October spotlight to pitch in the postseason for the first time.

“I think as he takes the mound for the bottom half [of the first inning], I’m going to take a moment just to appreciate him doing something unprecedented,” Roberts said before the game.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman went as far to make the case that Ohtani was underrated.

“I just don’t think the human brain can comprehend what he does and how difficult it is and how he is elite at both,” Friedman said. “The passion he has for hitting and the passion he has for pitching, it doesn’t seem like there’s enough passion to go around, but there is with him.”

Read more:Teoscar Hernández home run powers Dodgers to NLDS Game 1 win over Phillies

Ohtani didn’t pitch last season as he was recovering from an elbow operation he underwent in 2023. Friedman recalled the diligence with which he rehabilitated.

“It wasn’t just about pitching for him,” Friedman said. “It was about pitching really well.”

Ohtani didn’t pitch really well on Saturday night, but he will have a chance to pitch really well in the days and weeks ahead.

His team gifted him the opportunity.

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Wild give goalie Filip Gustavsson a 5-year, $34 million contract extension

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights

Apr 29, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson (32) warms up before the start of game five of the first round of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

SAINT PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Wild announced a five-year, $34 million contract extension for goalie Filip Gustavsson on Saturday.

Gustavsson’s extension begins in the 2026-27 season and goes through 2030-31. It’s the team’s latest move after signing star Kirill Kaprizov to the richest deal in NHL history earlier this week.

The 27-year-old from Sweden started all 58 games he appeared in for Minnesota last season, posting a 31-19-6 record with five shutouts and a 2.56 goals-against average.

Minnesota acquired Gustavsson in a trade with the Ottawa Senators for goalie Cam Talbot in July 2022. He was expected to sit behind Marc-André Fleury and learn from the veteran the following season, but quickly proved to the franchise and fans he was more than a backup.

The Wild locked Gustavsson into a three-year, $11.25 million contract after his 2023 standout season in which he went 22-9-7 with a 2.10 goals-against average.

Gustavsson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round in 2016. He was shipped to Ottawa in 2018 as part of a three-team trade.

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Yankees ALDS reporting on Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, Will Warren, Aaron Judge, Aaron Boone

TORONTO -- Luke Weaver said after the Yankees’ 10-1 ALDS Game 1 loss on Saturday that he has been trying to clean up tells in his delivery, and that the effort to do so has caused him to overthink.

Now, after two consecutive postseason outings in which he has faced three batters without recording an out, Weaver wants to stop worrying about tipping and return to his old form.

That old form, of course, has proven elusive for Weaver all season. Aaron Boone managed him nimbly through the season, quietly moving Weaver to softer lanes against the bottom of opposing orders in order to restore his results and confidence.

When a pitcher openly muses about tipping, his confidence is clearly not at its peak. The Yankees brought this to Weaver’s attention about a month ago.

The question now is how many opportunities the team will give Weaver to get his mind right. A running internal debate/discussion in the organization has been whether Boone should prioritize Weaver over Fernando Cruz in his pecking order, or vice versa.

On Saturday, Weaver and Cruz both struggled, while Camilo Doval pitched two perfect innings. Doval is a former All-Star closer for the San Francisco Giants.

After the Yankees’ pen struggled in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against Boston, I asked a high-up person in the organization what they could do to improve and adjust their pen on the fly. This is the aspect of their roster that stands most clearly between the Yanks and a championship. That person suggested using Doval in higher-leverage situations.

Boone said that he hoped Doval would be available in Game 2 despite pitching the two frames.

“That's kind of how he finished the season,” the manager added. “His last few were really good. I feel like he cleaned up some things within his setup and his delivery. Yeah, that was really efficient, really good, attacking the strike zone with, obviously, that stuff. Another encouraging one for Camilo."

What is Warren’s role?

The Yankees like Will Warren despite choosing Luis Gil over him to start Game 1. But what is Warren’s role in this postseason?

When Gil struggled in the second inning, Boone got the lefty Tim Hill up in the bullpen along with righty long man Paul Blackburn. Why not Warren behind Gil?

“If I was going to go early to the pen, I wanted to get a situation where I had Hill where he was going to get most of the lefties without pinch-hitting early in the game,” Boone explained. “And then at some point, depending on leverage of the game, Will comes into play.”

My understanding is that the Yankees would use Warren for high-leverage outs but more likely length -- just not in a spot like the one in which Boone called for Hill, where several lefties were due up.

Because of off days, Max Fried will be able to start Game 2 and a potential Game 5 on full rest.

On that Judge at-bat

Any time Aaron Judge bats in a big spot in the postseason, the referendum begins on what the result will mean for his October reputation and legacy. Given his numbers, those talking points are mostly fair.

But a closer look at Judge’s bases-loaded, no outs strikeout against Kevin Gausman in the sixth inning shows how that at-bat would have challenged just about anyone.

Asked if he was “overanxious,” Judge said, “I wouldn’t say overanxious, if you saw the whole at-bat. But in the end, I didn't get the job done.”

Here’s what he meant by seeing the whole at-bat: Gausman’s first pitch was a 97 mph fastball low and away for a strike. A pitcher’s pitch. Judge went on to take a few close ones and foul off a few tough ones.

The eighth pitch of the at-bat was a 3-2 splitter that appeared headed to the same area as the first-pitch fastball. That Pitching Ninja guy on Twitter shows this kind of tunneling. I’m trying to do it verbally here, which is not as illustrative. But stay with me.

After the ball left Gausman’s hand, Judge had the usual millisecond to decide if it was going to be in the zone, like the fastball. He considered the spin and path of the ball, then fired. But it was a nasty splitter, diving away for what would have been ball four.

Basically, when Gausman executes that pitch, as he did here, the batter has very little chance. If it looks like a strike to Aaron “Best Hitter on Earth” Judge, imagine how the rest of the league would have flailed at it.

Why Boone didn’t pinch-hit for Rice

Ben Rice struggled in Game 3 of the Wild Card series against lefty Connelly Early’s breaking ball, and did the same in his first two at-bats Saturday against Gausman’s splitter. Gausman is a righty, but that pitch kills lefties.

During the Yankees’ sixth-inning rally, Bellinger followed Judge’s strikeout with a bases-loaded walk, making it a 2-1 game. Then Rice stepped to the plate. Some in the industry wondered why Boone didn’t pinch-hit Paul Goldschmidt, who hits soft stuff well and is 10-for-22 lifetime versus Gausman.

The answer is simple and reasonable: righty reliever Louis Varland was ready in the bullpen. Swapping in Goldschmidt would have simply given Toronto manager John Schneider a matchup he wanted. Varland came in to strike out Giancarlo Stanton.

It’s fair to wonder why the Yankees did not start Goldschmidt, given that history.

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Kirk homers twice as Blue Jays end playoff skid by thumping Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 of ALDS

MLB: Playoffs-New York Yankees at Toronto Blue Jays

Oct 4, 2025; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk (30) is doused by catcher Tyler Heineman (55) after winning game one of the ALDS against the New York Yankees for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images

TORONTO — Alejandro Kirk and Vladmir Guerrero Jr. powered the Toronto Blue Jays to yet another home win over the New York Yankees, snapping a postseason losing streak that stretched back almost a decade.

Kirk hit two solo home runs, Guerrero also connected and the Blue Jays won a playoff game for the first time since 2016 by thumping the New York Yankees 10-1 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.

Nathan Lukes had two hits, three RBIs and a diving catch, and Andrés Giménez added two hits and drove in a pair as the AL East champion Blue Jays used 14 hits to snap a seven-game postseason skid.

Toronto’s previous playoff win came in Game 4 of the 2016 American League Championship Series against Cleveland. The Blue Jays lost that series in five games.

Toronto was swept out of the wild-card round at Tampa Bay in 2020, at home against Seattle in 2022 and at Minnesota in 2023.

“To win one was nice,” Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman said. “To win one at home in front of our fans that have been awesome all season was really special.”

Gausman allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the win.

Guerrero went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. He opened the scoring with a two-out drive in the first inning, the first postseason homer of his career, and added a sacrifice fly in Toronto’s four-run seventh.

“He always kind of raises his game when he plays the Yankees,” Gausman said. “What a night for him.”

Guerrero entered with three hits and one RBI in six previous playoff games.

“There was a little bit of a different feel about Vlad today,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.

Kirk hit a first-pitch homer in the second, his first in the postseason, then added a second shot off Paul Blackburn to begin a four-run eighth. He’s the first Mexican-born player to homer twice in a postseason game.

“It feels amazing to me, but it’s work paying off,” Kirk said through a translator.

Kirk has homered five times in his past three games dating to the final weekend of the regular season.

Toronto won for the seventh time in eight home games against New York this year. The Blue Jays went an AL-best 54-27 at home in the regular season.

The Blue Jays won eight of 13 regular-season meetings with the Yankees overall, giving them the tiebreaker for the AL East title after both teams finished 94-68. That gave Toronto a first-round playoff bye while it awaited the winner of the Wild Card Series between New York and Boston.

Making his third career postseason start, Yankees right-hander Luis Gil allowed two runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. The 2024 AL Rookie of the Year took the loss.

“They were hunting the top of the zone a little bit and, I thought, put a lot of good swings on them,” New York manager Aaron Boone said.

The Yankees didn’t put a runner in scoring position until Anthony Volpe doubled to begin the sixth. Austin Wells singled Volpe to third and Trent Grisham walked to load the bases. Gausman struck out Aaron Judge but walked Cody Bellinger to bring home a run.

After Ben Rice popped out, Louis Varland came on and struck out Giancarlo Stanton, ending the at-bat with a 101 mph fastball.

Luke Weaver didn’t retire any of the three batters he faced in the seventh and has not retired any of the six batters he’s faced this postseason.

Guerrero turned an unassisted double play at first base to end the second, diving to snare Ryan McMahon’s liner and beating Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to the bag.

“I’m trying to play the best defense I can for our pitcher to throw the least pitches,” Guerrero said through a translator.

Chisholm was retired by another great play in the fifth when Lukes made a diving catch on a line drive to right field.

Judge went 2 for 4 with a single and a double, making him the only Yankees player to reach base more than once.

Up next

Blue Jays rookie RHP Trey Yesavage is expected to start against Yankees LHP Max Fried in Game 2 of the best-of-five series Sunday. Yesavage, who rose through four minor league levels this season, went 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA in three September starts. Fried, a three-time All-Star, went 19-5 with a 2.86 ERA in the regular season. He pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against Boston.

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Yes, Aaron Judge didn't come through but captain shouldn't shoulder blame for Yankees' Game 1 loss

It’s not just Aaron Judge’s fault, of course. There were Yankee failures Saturday across multiple departments in the opener of the AL Division Series, from starting pitching to the bullpen to a lineup that didn’t deliver in yet another loss in Toronto.

But the lingering moment, at least for Yankees fans smarting over an enormous chance missed in a game that would devolve into a laugher, might come from the stressful sixth inning with Judge at the plate. The bases were loaded, nobody out, in a still-taut game. The Yanks were down by two runs.

Kevin Gausman, the Blue Jays starter, was rolling, but Judge is a longtime nemesis – the Yankee star owned a 1.283 OPS against Gausman entering Saturday. His lifetime six homers off Gausman are the most he’s slugged off a single pitcher. It was, as Gausman would put it later, "Mano y mano.”

Mano Gausman won. He got Judge to swing at a low splitter – obviously a ball – on a 3-2 pitch, capping an eight-pitch battle with a crucial K. Gausman walked in a run, but the Jays ultimately escaped the inning, allowing just that one run. Reliever Louis Varland struck out Giancarlo Stanton to end the threat and Toronto went on to a 10-1 victory.

“In the end, you know, I didn’t get the job done,” Judge told reporters in Toronto. “That’s what it comes down to.”

And so the October scrutiny will continue for Judge. He’s clearly one of the greatest hitters of this, or any, era. In the postseason, it’s too much to ask for anyone to reproduce the outsized numbers he’s stacked up during the regular season. But he’s a career .217 hitter this time of year after going 2-for-4 Saturday. (He’s actually having a strong postseason so far, batting .400).

But, fair or unfair, he probably needs to wreck a series himself to get full credit from pinstriped fans. A World Series wouldn’t hurt, either, obviously.

But all that’s not just on him, just like the blame for the loss in the Division Series isn’t solely his to own. After Judge, the Yankees had Cody Bellinger, Ben Rice and Giancarlo Stanton coming to the plate. Plenty of thump there, too, but Gausman and Varland wriggled (mostly) free.

Overall, the Yankees were outhit, 14-6, and were just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Let’s go back to the Yanks’ big chance. Gausman’s splitter was particularly dangerous against the aggressive Yankees and, as the at-bat against Judge went on, it was easy to think he’d use it as his out pitch. But he set it up beautifully by first throwing a 97 mile-per-hour four-seamer inside to Judge, which Judge fouled off. Then Gausman threw an 86-mph splitter outside that dipped below the strike zone. Judge swung and missed.

“I kind of threw some pitches that I got away with, to be honest, early in the at-bat,” Gausman said in the interview room. “But I thought the pitch before really set up the split down and away. In that moment, to be honest, I'm fine walking him. He can blow that game right open with one swing. So kind of knowing that, the whole at-bat I was trying to go down and away with the split, left a couple kind of too good.

“But that was a good pitch. I thought the pitch before definitely set it up.”

“That’s a huge, huge strikeout of a guy who’s going to be the MVP of the league, probably,” Toronto manager John Schneider added. “You’re kind of going to feed on the emotion a little bit, too, to be honest with you. But that’s the last thing you want to see (Judge at the plate in that situation).”

Judge lamented that he had swung at ball four. “You guys all saw it,” he told reporters.

There’s no question the game changes if the Yankees come away with more than one run there. Maybe their bullpen usage changes and Luke Weaver, who has let all six batters he’s faced reach base this postseason, does not get the ball. Yankees relievers allowed eight runs in 5.1 innings in total, though, so it wasn’t just Weaver. And starter Luis Gil was unimpressive, too.

Clearly, Judge and his teammates must forget Saturday’s dud. One way to do that is to start dreaming about how the pitching lines up for them going forward. Max Fried starts Game 2 on Sunday – he was 11-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 16 starts after a Yankee loss this year – and he’ll be followed by Carlos Rodón in Game 3 and then Cam Schlittler, the rookie sensation who overwhelmed the Red Sox in the clincher of the Wild Card series, in Game 4.

Judge will continue to get chances. It’s probably worth believing in him, regardless of Octobers past. Maybe it’s worth continuing to believe in the Yankees, too, despite the way Saturday sagged.

Judge does. “I like our chances,” he said. “We’ve got to keep getting those opportunities and we’re going to come through when we need to.”

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Fast start propels Brewers to 9-3 victory over Cubs in NLDS opener

Syndication: Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) doubles (1) on a ground ball to Chicago Cubs left fielder Ian Happ (8) during the first inning of their National League Division Series game on Saturday October 4, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

MILWAUKEE — Jackson Chourio sparked Milwaukee’s fast start at the plate, and Freddy Peralta delivered a steady performance on the mound.

The Brewers looked more than ready for October.

Chourio capped Milwaukee’s six-run first inning with a two-run single, and the Brewers trounced the Chicago Cubs 9-3 on Saturday in Game 1 of their NL Division Series.

Hoping for a breakthrough after years of playoff frustration, Milwaukee showed off the same approach that helped the team roll to baseball’s best record during the regular season. The Brewers ranked third in the majors in scoring this year despite finishing just 22nd in homers.

It was more of the same in the team’s postseason opener. The NL Central champions had 13 hits and no home runs, while three solo drives accounted for Chicago’s offense.

“The home runs are so important these days, (but) this is scrapping hits together, keeping the line moving, all the cliches that you can think of,” said Blake Perkins, who had two hits for the Brewers.

“It’s fun to be a part of, and I think we all build off of each other. I’m kind of sitting there, too, (thinking), like, ‘Dang, how are we doing this?′ sometimes. It’s a cool feeling, and it’s really fun to be a part of.”

The only issue for the Brewers on Saturday was Chourio’s right hamstring tightness. He departed in the second after becoming the first player with three hits in the first two innings of a playoff game.

Game 2 of the best-of-five series is on Monday night.

Chourio, who missed a month of the regular season with a strained right hamstring, underwent an MRI after the victory. Manager Pat Murphy said the injury “could be devastating,” while Chourio sounded much more optimistic.

“Physically I feel good, and I feel in a position where I’m ready to keep going and keep competing,” he said through an interpreter.

Staked to an early lead, Peralta permitted two runs in 5 2/3 innings. His nine strikeouts tied Don Sutton, Yovani Gallardo and Brandon Woodruff for the Brewers’ single-game playoff record.

Michael Busch, Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner homered for Chicago.

Brewers-Cubs games in Milwaukee generally have divided crowds because of all the people who make the 90-mile trip from Chicago, but that wasn’t the case Saturday. The vast majority of spectators were Brewers fans waving yellow towels and booing Cubs manager Craig Counsell.

“It didn’t seem 50/50, for sure,” Murphy said. “It felt like a home game. It definitely felt like a home game. They were difference makers.”

Counsell, who grew up in the Milwaukee area, is the winningest manager in Brewers history, but he left for Chicago after the 2023 season. He has been jeered whenever his name has been mentioned over the American Family Field loudspeaker since he departed.

Counsell’s decision to start Matthew Boyd on short rest didn’t work out. The All-Star left-hander was lifted with two out in the first.

The Brewers scored four runs or fewer in their last nine regular-season games. They had gone 2-11 in their last 13 playoff games, scoring over four runs in just one of those contests and failing to exceed five runs in any of them.

This time, they had six runs by the end of the first, matching their highest scoring playoff inning in franchise history.

After Busch opened the game with a 389-foot drive over the wall in right-center, Chourio, Brice Turang and William Contreras started the bottom half of the first with consecutive doubles.

“I made a few mistakes early,” Boyd said. “A little too much plate to Turang and Contreras. It ends up being the difference in the game right there.”

Contreras scored from second when Hoerner mishandled a slow grounder from Sal Frelick. Perkins capped an 11-pitch at bat with a two-out RBI single to center.

Michael Soroka walked Joey Ortiz to load the bases and allowed a two-run single to Chourio.

“Bottom line, they had really good at-bats,” Counsell said. “They hit balls hard. They spoiled pitches. The Perkins at-bat was just a great at-bat. You’ve got to give him credit for that.”

Boyd had only three days of rest after throwing 58 pitches in the Cubs’ 3-1 Wild Card Series Game 1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Milwaukee added three more runs in the second. Caleb Durbin delivered a two-run single before Chourio’s infield hit made it 9-1.

Chicago’s Aaron Civale, who started the season with Milwaukee, and Ben Brown combined for 6 1/3 innings of shutout relief.

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Yankees' Luke Weaver says adjustments to combat pitch-tipping to blame for recent struggles

Yankees reliever Luke Weaver is having a postseason to forget.

After allowing two runs without recording an out in Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Red Sox, the right-hander had a repeat performance against Toronto on Saturday in the first game of the American League Division Series.

With the Blue Jays up just 2-1 in the seventh, Weaver was called upon to keep Toronto scoreless as he started the inning. Daulton Varsho worked a five-pitch walk before Anthony Santander lined a single to right field, putting runners on the corners with no outs. Andres Gimenez then singled through the right side of a drawn-in infield to score one. 

After three batters, that was it for Weaver. Fernando Cruz would allow two of Weaver's runners to score, closing the book on the 32-year-old's night. Weaver allowed three runs on two hits and one walk, without recording an out, again.

"Not a stuff issue," manager Aaron Boone said of Weaver after the loss. "Obviously, command is usually a strength for Weave. Losing the first guy in four pitches there and then looked like a couple of change-ups that just kind of were flat and up and over the plate that Santander got and Giménez with the drawn-in infield. It can click like that, because the stuff is there. We've just got to get him locked in with his delivery."

Weaver's delivery and mechanics became a point of discussion after Saturday's 10-1 loss, and all of it came from Weaver himself.

"The results haven’t been good. There’s been a lot of internal factors. I don’t want to get too crazy into it, but there’s been adjustments that I’ve had to make based on things people are seeing. It just hasn’t lined up," Weaver explained after the game. "It’s pretty late in the adjustment period. It’s just not lining up out there. I don’t feel like myself. I don’t feel like my mind is completely clear to go out there and attack. I do feel physically strong, I do feel mentally strong overall. There are just some factors that are building up and I’m just not executing at the clip I want to."

Weaver became the Yankees'  most reliable reliever last season, allowing him to overtake Clay Holmes as the team's closer through their playoff run a year ago. 

However, with the addition of Devin Williams in the offseason and then David Bednar at the trade deadline, Weaver's role has been more of a bridge to the ninth inning. This season, he's pitched to a 3.62 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP, up from last year, but a lot of that has come of late. He pitched to a 9.64 ERA in 12 appearances in September, buoyed by a couple of blowup outings earlier in the month, but was still solid heading into the postseason. 

In his final six appearances (5.2 IP), Weaver allowed just one hit and one walk. However, that hasn't translated to the playoffs as of yet.

Despite trying to combat pitch tipping, Weaver says he feels close and is competitive. He points to the soft contact teams have gotten off of him in his two postseason outings so far, but the adjustments he's making aren't taking, and his patented changeup is staying up in the zone. For Weaver, who is a free agent after this season, the adjustments have "become a lot," and he is going to go back to what he was doing before.

"Ultimately, I’m at a point where I’m just full send and none of that’s going to matter anymore," he said. "I’m going to be what I think is best for me and attack and what I need to do."

He later added, "Baseball seems overwhelming at the moment when the results aren’t on your side. I don’t walk away from these outings being too hard on myself. Ultimately, I’m really close. I’m not giving up balls out of the yard or hard contact. It comes down to pitch selection, execution and relying on our guys on the field to make plays."

Weaver was pressed with follow-ups about the perceived tipping but he didn't want to go too deep on it, but wanted to make his feelings known.

"I just got to be tidy, clean, go out there and give myself the best chance," he said. "Ultimately, too, at the same time, you have to keep your brain clean; the moments already big, you don’t need more things stacking on your plate."

Despite the tough outings, Weaver's teammates remain confident that the reliever can still get it done.

"Things haven't gone his way, but everybody in this room has confidence in him to go out there and do his job," Aaron Judge said of Weaver. "He's been a special piece of this team since he came over here."

And Weaver has a history the Yankees can lean on. In 12 appearances last October, Weaver was great, pitching to a 1.76 ERA and converting four saves along the way. 

But while it's unknown when his next postseason appearance will be this year, Weaver remains confident in his stuff. And that given an opportunity, he will continue to compete for his teammates.

"I’m not going to allow two outings to dictate my time here. You can certainly say what you like, but ultimately, I feel confident in our team, I feel confident in myself," he said. "It’s not like I’m throwing 93 [mph], I’m throwing 97, it’s coming out really good. I’ll make the adjustments, I’ll do it. I’ll leave everything out on the field. It won’t be a matter of trying, a matter of letting myself roll over. I’ll compete with anyone in this entire world or I’ll die trying."

The Yankees hope to avoid a 0-2 deficit when they play the Blue Jays in Game 2 of the ALDS on Sunday.