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The Braves appeared to be on their way to a victory in the home regular season finale, but a shaky start from Tyler Mahle and a lineup that went quiet after the early innings led to a 7-6 lost at Truist Park on Thursday night.

Mahle, making his final start before the postseason, had his worst outing since joining the Braves nearly two months ago. Mahle surrendered a leadoff homer and allowed a total of five runs over five innings, although he did settle in nicely during the fourth and fifth and looked much more like himself. Most importantly, he got through the evening healthy and ready to rock in October.

It was encouraging to see the Braves bats finally show some life early after back-to-back lackluster (hungover?) showings. They scored four runs in the first inning after scoring three runs combined between the first two games of the series, and Drake Baldwin just missed a grand slam that would’ve made it eight.

Austin Riley launched a no-doubt 421 foot homer in the fourth, his second night in a row with a homer. Maybe a sign he is heating up before the playoffs? We’ll see. Mike Yastrzemski also continued his recent run of strong hitting with an RBI single in the fifth to give Atlanta a momentary 6-5 lead before Cincinnati promptly regained the lead at 7-6. But that was all the offense the Braves could muster.

AJ Smith-Shawver replaced Mahle in the sixth and promptly gave up a two-run homer that nearly landed atop the Chop House. He pitched well otherwise. Dylan Dodd was impressive during two perfect innings, registering three strikeouts in the eighth and ninth.

The Braves will now head to Miami to wrap up the regular season against the Marlins. Friday night’s first pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET.

Coming up through the Yankees system, George Lombard Jr. wowed as much with his athleticism and winning plays as he did with his bat and glove.

One of those athletic, winning plays showed up in The Bronx on Thursday. Soon thereafter, his bat aided the winning, too.

The rookie shortstop dazzled with an inventive and effective slide home in the seventh inning, then in the eighth he drilled a two-run, go-ahead home run in what became a 6-4 victory over the Rays in The Bronx.

In a game that did not matter because the Rays already had clinched the division, so the Yankees only pitched Cam Schlittler for three innings before testing a series of bullpen arms, Lombard found a way to entertain the announced crowd of 44,136 nonetheless.

In the seventh, Lombard was on third base when Tampa Bay’s Brody Hopkins unleashed a wild pitch that bounced off the backstop but right back to catcher Liam Hicks.

“My first thought was the ricochet,” manager Aaron Boone said, “Oh, no.”

Hicks took a few steps for the ball, spun around and dove to the plate, beating Lombard easily.

“Oh, I’m out,” went through Lombard’s mind. “So I’ve got to make something up.”

He quickly abandoned a feet-first slide because he saw Hicks, too, was on the ground. In one motion, Lombard scrambled to his feet, took a step and tumbled over the plate and Hicks, dragging his right hand on the plate before the tag to cut the deficit to 4-3.

“I think that’s my first time doing that one in a game,” Lombard said with a smile. “I was in trouble, had to figure something out. Kind of happened.”

He then jogged into a Yankees dugout that was filled with smiling faces who had just witnessed a slide and tumble that few had seen before.

The Yankees tied the game later in the inning when Paul Goldschmidt singled home Austin Wells.

Then Lombard untied it in the eighth, when he demolished a Steven Matz sinker to the second deck in left to complete the comeback in game the Yankees trailed, 4-0 entering the bottom of the sixth.

That was before Lombard’s mind, legs and bat — now with four home runs in his past seven games — took over.

“Just a really good athletic play by the old soccer player,” Boone said of the slide.

With the Guardians beating the Red Sox, Boston was unable to clinch the fifth seed and a first-round date with the Yankees. With three games remaining, the Red Sox are three games ahead of the sixth-seed White Sox.

Luis Gil was optioned, and thus will not be on the playoff roster for the wild-card round, after pitching two innings without allowing an earned run but letting up one unearned while walking four.

The just-called-up Bradley Hanner also was optioned.

Anthony Volpe got the start at second base (and went 0-for-3 with a walk), with Amed Rosario (1-for-4) at third and José Caballero (0-for-3) in center against Tampa Bay left-hander Ian Seymour.

Volpe, who has taken grounders at third, still hasn’t started a game there in the majors and the Yankees have to determine what they want to do at the spot, especially if they end up facing the Red Sox and their lefty-heavy pitching staff in the wild-card series.

The Dodgers are already another step closer to a third straight World Series.

Thanks to the Braves’ loss to the Reds on Thursday night, the Dodgers were assured of finishing the season with a top-two record in the National League, clinching a first-round bye that ensures they will not be subjected to a best-of-three wild-card series next week.

Instead, the Dodgers will begin their postseason quest in the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 3, holding home-field advantage for that best-of-five series as they go for the first three-peat by an NL team in MLB history.

First-round byes have not always been kind to the Dodgers.

After MLB expanded its postseason field five years ago — creating a five-day layoff for the top-two seeds in each league between the end of the regular season and the start of their playoff schedules — the Dodgers were knocked out in the NLDS as a bye team in 2022 and 2023. Both years, questions about the negative side effects of the weeklong break loomed large in the wake of their elimination.

Thus, after receiving a bye again in 2024, the team altered its off-week schedule, incorporating more simulated game activities and making a concerted effort to spend more time at the ballpark together on workout days. 

It paid off in that year’s division series, when the Dodgers overcame a two-games-to-one deficit to the Padres en route to the first of their back-to-back titles.

Last year, the team failed to earn a top-two seed but swept the Reds in two games in the wild-card series to begin their World Series defense.

This season, securing a bye became a critical objective for the club down the stretch. The last thing their aging roster needed was two extra playoff games. Ongoing injuries to Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman also amplified the importance of getting extra time off ahead of another October gauntlet.

“It’s always helpful in the sense of giving your guys a break to reset,” manager Dave Roberts said earlier this month. “But given all the tax and where our guys are healthwise, to get that week would be huge.”

The Dodgers, who entered Thursday with a 97-61 record, still have an outside shot at the NL’s No. 1 seed, as well, but would need to run the table over the season’s final weekend and have the Brewers — who currently hold MLB’s best record at 100-59 — get swept in their final series against the already-eliminated Cardinals.

“I think it’s more about just playing good baseball,” Roberts said this week when asked how much of a priority the top seed would be. “The last couple weeks, we’ve just played good baseball, and the fallout is this or that. We want to get the bye, and then if it happens that we keep playing well and we gain a couple games on the Brewers, great.”

Indeed, the club’s primary postseason seeding objectives have already been met. They’ve won their 13th NL West division title in the last 14 years. They’ve given themselves the shortest possible route through the playoffs. And now, they’ll have ample time next week to prepare for an unprecedented three-peat bid.

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers will open the 2026 postseason at home at Dodger Stadium. The Atlanta Braves’ loss on Thursday coupled with the Dodgers’ home loss to San Diego clinched the No. 2 seed for the Dodgers in the National League playoffs, ensuring a bye past the wild card round. The Dodgers will begin their postseason on Saturday, October 3 in the National League Division Series in Los Angeles.

“I know [getting the bye] is a priority for us. With kind of smelling the finish line, the postseason, the focus is heightened,” manager Dave Roberts said on Tuesday.

The Dodgers (97-62) are ensured of finishing with a better record than the NL East champion Braves (93-66), ensuring the Dodgers will be the No. 2 seed in the NL playoffs. The NL Central-champion Milwaukee Brewers (100-59) have a three-game lead over the Dodgers for the No. 1 seed., and own the tiebreaker. Milwaukee is the No. 1 seed.

The No. 1 seed Brewers in the NLDS would play the winner of the wild card series between the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds, while the No. 2 seed Dodgers would play the winner of the matchup between the No.3 Braves and No. 6 seed.

This is the 14th consecutive year the Dodgers will play in the National League Division Series, joining the Atlanta Braves (1991-2005) for the longest streak of consecutive playoff berths in MLB history.

Winning 15 of their first 20 games in September helped finalize the postseason berth.

“I think it’s more about playing good baseball,” manager Dave Roberts said Wednesday. “We want to get the bye, and if it happens that we keep well and gain a couple games on the Brewers, great. For me, I really believe, and our players believe we just want to play good baseball. We’re pitching, we’re taking much better at-bats, the defense has tightened up, the baserunning, so all that stuff is lined up. I’d bet on us against anyone.”

The Dodgers welcome the five days off between the regular season and the start of the postseason. They just activated Andy Pages (broken left hand), Shohei Ohtani (left biceps inflammation), and Roki Sasaki (blister on right middle finger) off the injured list this week, and also are nursing injuries with Blake Snell (left groin discomfort), Freddie Freeman (right knee), and Edgardo Henriquez (on the injured list with low back discomfort), among others.

“I think we all know why it’s important,” Freeman said with a laugh on Tuesday. “There’s a lot of guys limping toward the end, a lot of aches and pains this year. It’s good to get those guys back on the field, get some ABs in them, and then rest up and get some more ABs during the lives [simulated games], whatever we do to get us ready for Saturday [October 3].”

Both National League Division Series will be televised by Fox Sports. The exact breakdown of which games will be on Fox and which will be on FS1 have not yet been announced. Start times will be unveiled at a later date, once the entire MLB postseason picture becomes clearer. Given that the Dodgers will be the only west coast team among the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds — Tampa Bay Rays and likely either Cleveland Guardians or Chicago White Sox in the American League, plus Milwaukee in the NL — it’s fair to assume they’ll have the latest start times for their home games in the NLDS.

Tyler Glasnow faces Nick Pivetta as the Dodgers play their final regular season home game.

THURSDAY GAME INFO

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Padres
• Stadium: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 7:10 p.m. PT
• TV: SportsNet LA
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 (Spanish)

Major League Baseball’s playoffs are coming soon and Alex Bregman will be a part of it.

Of course he is.

Bregman made baseball history Thursday, Sept. 24 when the Chicago Cubs clinched a National League wild-card berth with a victory over the Miami Marlins. And for the 10th consecutive year, injured eye willing, Bregman will take part in the postseason, this time with a twist.

Bregman, the Cubs’ 32-year-old third baseman, will become the first position player to play postseason baseball 10 consecutive seasons with multiple teams. In fact, he’s done it with three ballclubs – eight straight years with the Houston Astros and then the past two with the Boston Red Sox and Cubs, as he settled for good in Chicago by signing a five-year, $175 million contract in January.

And it seems like wherever Bregman goes, October baseball follows.

Texas loves him anyway

Bregman was a two-time All-Star and two-time champion in Houston, the brash young slugger in his first full season when they won the 2017 World Series, the MVP runner-up when they lost the 2019 Series in seven games.

After bearing much of the scorn for the club’s 2017 sign-stealing scandal, he was the chastened veteran on the 2022 squad that won a second World Series, this time without a cloud of controversy to follow.

Yet Bregman’s chops as a club cornerstone gained greater veracity a year ago, when he left the Astros and, combining his production with his baseball smarts and clubhouse gravitas, lifted the Red Sox to the postseason for the first time in three years as the Astros missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

Those vibes were as attractive to the Cubs as Bregman’s career .846 OPS when they pursued him after he opted out of his contract with Boston. And it’s all come together in Wrigleyville: Thanks to a second-half surge, Bregman has hit 26 home runs, posted an .804 OPS and produced 5.4 WAR, second only to presumed MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong on the Cubs.

“Anytime Alex Bregman is playing an Alex Bregman brand of baseball, it’s just good for the program,” Crow-Armstrong told USA TODAY Sports last month.

And if he manages to play just days after suffering a gruesome eye injury, the legend will only grow.

Heroes of the fall

Bregman’s postseason constancy has put himself among some legendary and curious October stalwarts.

Unsurprisingly, the consecutive postseasons list is littered with alumni from the three dominant playoff groups of the wild-card era: The 1990s Atlanta Braves, the late-century New York Yankees and the current batch of Los Angeles Dodgers.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera tops the list, appearing in 13 consecutive postseasons from 1995-2007, followed by Derek Jeter, whose 12-year streak began a year after Rivera’s playoff debut.

Catcher Jorge Posada and Braves Hall of Famers Chipper Jones and Tom Glavine all played in 11 consecutive postseasons. As did lefty reliever Mike Stanton, who did it with four teams – the Braves, Red Sox, Yankees and Texas Rangers – between 1991-2002.

Who let him in?

Bregman, longtime Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and Hall of Famer Greg Maddux all reached 10 consecutive postseasons. Current Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman and longtime third baseman Justin Turner are at the nine-year mark, Freddie winning a World Series championship with Atlanta in 2021 and two more in L.A. the past two seasons.

Retired Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw leads the “but for” category: He pitched in eight consecutive postseasons from 2013-2020, and would have made it 13 in a row if not for injuries in 2021 and 2024. Same with Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz – he was present for all of Atlanta’s 14 consecutive division titles yet underwent Tommy John surgery in 2000.

Box Score

Entering tonight’s ballgame, seven teams had never won 100 games in Major League Baseball history. Leaving tonight, six teams have never accomplished that feat.

Tonight, in typical late-inning Brewers fashion, they pulled away from the Phillies to take the series and notch their 100th victory of the season for the first time in franchise history.

Much like the previous couple of nights, the Brewers struggled coming out of the gate against the Phillies’ starting pitching; tonight was no different, as Andrew Painter struck out three batters in the first inning. However, his hot start only lasted an inning as Sal Frelick pounded a double to left field to drive in the Brewers’ first run of the game, 1-0.

Shane Drohan had struggled in his previous two starts, allowing a combined 11 runs on 10 hits, with four home runs allowed, forcing a move to the bullpen. After a couple of solid appearances, Drohan reappeared on the mound, though with a short leash. The first two innings were scoreless, but he allowed a pair of walks and a base hit. The damage appeared in the bottom of the third inning.

Kyle Schwarber led off the bottom of the third with a double to right-center. After Trea Turner grounded out, Bryce Harper singled to left field to tie the game at 1-1. Drohan only lasted one more batter before Pat Murphy pulled him, replacing him with Chad Patrick.

The game hit a bit of a scoreless stretch following the third, as neither team scored until the top of the eighth inning. In fact, Patrick and Aaron Ashby combined for 3 1/3 innings of hitless ball before JoJo Romero broke that stretch in the seventh inning.

Philadelphia would’ve gone 1-2-3 for three innings in a row, but a low throw from Cooper Pratt forced Jake Bauers to miss the catch at first base. Before the error, Luis Arraez grounded out to shortstop but fell to the ground, quickly grabbing at his ankle, and he was promptly taken out of the game. While walking back to the clubhouse, Arraez was ejected arguing the safe/out call at first base.

Painter was finally pulled from the game after six masterful innings in which he allowed just one run on five hits, striking out eight batters. He struggled with his command at times, walking three batters, but overall was able to be successful across his 93-pitch outing.

Pratt and Frelick set up the inning in the best possible way in the top of the seventh inning with back-to-back walks. Then, the ABS challenges bit them, as both Joey Ortiz and Garrett Mitchell struck out looking on pitches that were challenged and overturned. To follow up the unluckiness of the strike zone, Turang struck out swinging to strand two potential runners.

After a quiet bottom of the eighth inning, Brewers fans were put on high alert as Jackson Chourio replaced Contreras at the plate. After the game, Murphy said he wasn’t pleased with the way Contreras was running down the baseline on a ball that was muffed by Turner at short, who recovered to throw him out. Murphy has not been quiet with these moves this season, but we have seen a decent amount of success come out of these moves, so perhaps this will provide a spark as we approach the postseason.

Everything came together for the Brewers in the top of the eighth inning. After a Chourio walk, Jake Bauers picked up his first hit since Tuesday night by driving in Chourio to make it 2-1. After a base hit from Sánchez, Pratt made up for his error earlier in the game with a base hit to center field to make it 3-1. Finally, in typical Brewers fashion, they added another single to the tally, as Joey Ortiz drove in Sánchez to extend their lead to 4-1.

After a shutdown bottom of the eighth inning, Chourio hit his 25th home run of the season to cap the Brewers’ lead at 5-1, sealing the deal on the team’s 100th victory.

Adam McCalvy shared after the conclusion of the game that “[t]he Brewers are the first team in Major League history to win 100 games in a season without a winning streak longer than five games. They had three separate five-game winning streaks this season, but never won a sixth.” Pretty impressive feat.

With that, the Crew’s magic number for the No. 1 overall seed in baseball is down to one. They could clinch that as soon as tonight with a Dodgers loss. That would clinch home-field advantage through the entire postseason, including the World Series.

The Brewers’ final homestand of the season begins tomorrow night as they host three games against the St. Louis Cardinals. Robert Gasser will be on the mound, with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m.

EARLIER TODAY, I ASKED IF ANGEL MARTINEZ IS GOOD

THE ANSWER IS “YES!“

THAT WAS ALL THEY NEEDED BY WINNING 1-0 BECAUSE ONE SCORELESS WITH TWO K’S FROM DANIEL ESPINO WHOM I LOVE

FIVE SCORELESS FROM THE GREATEST BULK GUY IN BASEBALL JOEY CANTILLO

ONE SCORELESS FROM HUNTER GADDIS WHO DOESN’T NEED STRIKEOUTS

ONE SCORELESS FROM ERIK THE BIG SABROWSKI WHO IS A DEMON AGAIN

AND THEN CADE SMITH STRUCK OUT THE SIDE OF COURSE! MAKE THE WHOLE BULLPEN OUT OF CANADIANS

WE GOTTA GET CHASE DELAUTER A REST DAY AND PROBABLY BAZZANA TOO BUT FOR TONIGHT LET’S JUST CELEBRATE!

THERE WERE PLENTY OF TIMES THIS SEASON WE ALL THOUGHT THIS TEAM WAS DONE AND YET AGAIN THEY ARE PLAYING INCREDIBLE SEPTEMBER BASEBALL. ALL HAIL, STEPHEN VOGT! EXTEND HIM FOR LIFE!!

Fighting for a playoff spot, the Phillies needed a win on Thursday night. Thanks to continued struggles from the offense and another poor night from the bullpen, they didn’t get it. Not only did they lose the game to the Brewers 5-1, but they likely lost Luis Arraez to injury as well.

If you want a positive from the game, it’s that starting pitcher Andrew Painter looked good. He worked around five hits and three walks to limit the Brewers to one run in six innings.

After stranding a battalion of runners on base on Wednesday night, the Phillies didn’t have many runners on board to strand on Thursday. The Brewers went with a bullpen game, which for some teams is a disadvantage, but the Phillies looked overmatched. They had just four hits on the night, with only one coming after the third inning.

The Brewers took an early lead thanks to a walk, infield single, and an RBI double by Sal Frelick in the second.

The Phillies’ lone burst of competent offense came in the third when Kyle Schwarber led off with a double, advanced to third on a dugout, and came home on a single by Bryce Harper.

Painter kept the Phillies in the game throughout his six innings, and Alex McFarlane was able to work around some wildness (with a big assist from some charitable strike calls) in the seventh to preserve the tie.

Jose Alvarado was not as effective in the eighth. With his fastball topping out in the mid-90s, he walked the leadoff hitter then gave up two straight singles to put the Brewers in front 2-1.

With one out, Chase Shugart was brought in for a rare higher leverage appearance. He gave up weak contact, but weak contact can be effective if well-placed. Thanks to a ground ball through a drawn-in infield and a bloop single to center, the Brewers extended the lead to 4-1.

The Phillies would not make a comeback.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Luis Arraez was injured trying to avoid a tag at first base. Early reports are that it is an ankle strain, and based on how he was limping, it seems unlikely that he’ll be appearing in any more games this season. I suppose someone else will have to put up a sub-.700 OPS in his stead.

The Phillies now have three games remaining in the season, with the AL-leading Rays coming to town this weekend. The Rays may or may not be trying their hardest, but the way the Phillies’ offense and bullpen have performed lately, it isn’t clear if that will even matter.

At long last, the math has said no.

With the Rangers’ 3-1 victory over the Mets this afternoon, the 2026 Mariners’ postseason hopes have been snuffed out. There will doubtlessly be thousands – if not hundred of thousands – words spilled this autumn and winter about where, how, and why it all went wrong, but for now, we have four more games of meaningless baseball to play. And hey, a 100-loss season for the Angels is still on the table!

Lineups:

Bryan Woo will make his final start of the year for Seattle, and while we’ll be treated to Lázaro Montes in right field, Michael Arroyo tragically remains on the bench, with newly-recalled Leo Rivas manning the hot corner and the standard duo of J.P. Crawford and Cole Young holding down the middle infield. As for the Halos, they’ll be rolling out a fairly standard lineup tonight, though Mike Trout is at DH while defensive wunderkind Bryce Teodosio will patrol center field. Former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez – acquired by the Angels this past winter for our very own Taylor Ward – will be on the hill, and while his 5.96/4.85 ERA/FIP over 19 starts this year suggests the change of scenery didn’t take, he will look to finish strong and put a tough season behind him. Aren’t we all, Grayson?

Game Info:

First Pitch: 6:40pm PDT

TV: Mariners TV

Radio: Old Reliable