SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 19: Freddy Fermin #54 of the San Diego Padres looks on from the dugout during the third inning against the Miami Marlins at Petco Park on September 19, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Wild Card round begins today, and while the Royals didn’t even sniff the postseason, some former Royals will get a chance at playoff glory.
Here are some old friends you can watch chase a ring this postseason.
Phillies vs. Braves
Jonathan Bowlan, Phillies
Bowlan was the big beefy pitcher the Royals took out of college in the draft class of 2018. He tossed a no-hitter in the minors, and showed some promise in in 34 games last year with the Royals, mostly as a reliever. But they wanted a more reliable veteran arm in the pen, and shipped Bowlan to Philadelphia for All-Star lefty Matt Strahm. Unfortunately, Strahm imploded, possibly due to a knee injury, while Bowlan thrived in Philly. He appeared in 59 games and struck out 73 in 56.1 innings with a solid 3.36 ERA.
Brewer Hicklen, Braves
Hicklen put up some great numbers in the minors as a guy that could hit home runs and steal bases. He kept grinding away, reaching the big leagues in 2022 with the Royals at age 26. They sold him to the Phillies in 2023, and he bounced around the league for a bit. He played in a career-high 20 games with the Braves this year, often as a pinch runner.
Mike Yastrzemski, Braves
Yaz was a big boost to the Royals offense when they acquired him at the trade deadline last year. There was some interest in bringing him back, but he instead signed a two-year, $23 million deal with the Braves. His numbers did decline in his age-35 season, but he still hit .224/.309/.380 with 12 home runs in 139 games. He will start at designated hitter for the Braves this afternoon
White Sox vs. Astros
Andrew Benintendi, White Sox
Benintendi played for the Royals in 2021-22, earning his only All-Star nod in his final year with the Royals, just before they traded him to the Yankees. He signed a five-year, $75 million deal with the White Sox in 2023, the largest contract in club history. But it has not gone well so far, and he is hitting .244/.307/.396, worth just 0.5 rWAR total in four seasons.
Randal Grichuk, White Sox
The Royals picked Grichuk up as a lefty-masher last year, and he appeared in 43 games. He started this year with the Yankees, but was let go in May. The White Sox picked him up and he thrived, hitting .299/.328/.598 with 15 home runs in 101 games.
Tommy Pham, White Sox
Pham played 23 games with the Royals down the stretch in 2024, and was even on their postseason roster that fall, hitting .455 against the Yankees in the ALDS. The White Sox picked up the 38-year-old veteran late in the year, perhaps for veteran presence, since he is just 3-for-30 (.100) in 17 MLB games this year.
David Sandlin, White Sox
Sandlin was a promising Royals pitching prospect sent to the Red Sox in the John Schreiber deal before the 2024 season. The Red Sox sent him to the White Sox before this year, and he made his MLB debut this year. The 25-year-old right-hander had a 5.58 ERA in 40.1 innings, and will pitch out of the White Sox bullpen.
Red Sox vs. Yankees
Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox
The Aroldis Chapman era in Kansas City was fairly forgettable in 2023, but he did net us Cole Ragans in a deal that worked out great for the Royals and the Rangers, who won the World Series that year. The ageless Chapman has been fantastic in Boston, with a 1.51 ERA and 67 saves over the past two seasons, earning All-Star honors each season.
Nate Eaton, Red Sox
Eaton was a late round pick by the Royals in 2018 out of the Virginia Military Institute. He was a jack-of-all-trades who could play everywhere, run, and hit for some power. He looked good in 44 games with the team in 2022, but went 4-for-53 (.075) in limited action the next year. Now 29, he appeared in 24 games for Boston this year, hitting .160 and filling in mostly as a bench player.
John Schreiber, Yankees
Schreieber did not give up a run in five postseason appearances for the Royals in 2024, and he led the team with 74 relief appearances in 2025. In 188 games over the past three seasons, he posted a 3.71 ERA. He was placed on waivers late this year to save money on his salary, and he was fantastic down the stretch for the Yankees with a 1.68 ERA in 11 games.
Ryan Yarbrough, Yankees
The Royals brought Yarbrough in for the 2023 season as a rubber-armed crafty lefty that could fill any role they needed for their pitching-starved roster. He was solid for them with a 4.24 ERA in 51 innings before they traded him to the Dodgers for Derlin Figueroa and Devin Mann. He is in his second year with the Yankees, and has a 3.69 ERA in 63.1 innings this year.
Cubs vs. Padres
The official Cubs and Padres postseason rosters won’t be announced until later today, but here are the former Royals we could see.
Jason Adam, Padres
The Kansas City native was drafted by the Royals, but traded to the Twins to get Royals postseason hero Josh Willingham. He returned to the Royals where he made his MLB debut in 2018, but his career didn’t take off until 2022 when he became an elite reliever with the Rays. He was an All-Star last year with the Padres and had a 2.62 ERA this year, although injuries limited him to 38 games.
Freddy Fermin, Padres
Fermin was a popular backup catcher with the Royals and Gold Glove finalist, but he was traded to the Padres last summer for pitchers Stephen Kolek and Ryan Bergert. His bat has declined in San Diego – he hit just .203/.274/.315 in 96 games. But he has been very good behind the plate, ranking well in pitch framing, pitch-blocking, and throwing metrics.
Samad Taylor, Padres
Taylor was acquired by the Royals in the Whit Merrifield trade, and he had a memorable MLB debut with a walk-off single in 2023. He joined the Padres this year at age 27, and had a nice year as a bench player, hitting .316/.390/.408 with 13 steals in 47 games, playing mostly in the outfield.
In the next round, we could also see former Royals pitcher Foster Griffin for the Guardians and Kris Bubic with the Dodgers.
Commission finds club guilty over nine-season period
Manchester City have been found guilty of all charges related to serious breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, the league has announced.
The league also said an independent commission had found City guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to cooperate with its investigation.
‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable … I don’t think we deserved it’
Manchester United finished second to City in 2011-12
Wayne Rooney does not believe it would be appropriate for Manchester City to be stripped of titles for breaching Premier League financial rules, even if it gave him another Premier League winner’s medal, as that would be unfair of the City players and staff whose endeavours secured success.
City are waiting to find out what sanctions they will face after being found guilty of more than a hundred charges, with an array of potential punishments on the table. Rooney was part of the United squad in 2011-12 that finished second to City on goal difference after Sergio Agüero’s last-minute winner secured the Premier League trophy for Roberto Mancini’s side on the final day.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 28: Manager Chad Tracy #17 of the Boston Red Sox speaks to the media during a workout ahead of the American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees on September 28, 2026 at Yankee Stadium in New York, New York. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The MLB postseason kicks off today! Four Wild Card Series will be played over the next three days, in which time the Brewers will learn whether they’ll face the Cubs or the Padres in their Division Series matchup. You can check out our Wild Card Series Preview here, but here’s a quick rundown of this week’s action, and where you can find it:
Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves (1:00 p.m. CT each day, NBC & Peacock)
The Phillies are back in the postseason for the fifth straight season and the third time as an NL Wild Card. Both of those Wild Card appearances have boded well for them, as they made the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS in 2023, taking out the Braves in the NLDS both times. This year, they backed into the final playoff spot on the last day of the regular season after spoiling multiple chances throughout the week to clinch, but nonetheless, they’re here. The Braves, who had a disappointing 2025 after making the playoffs each of the seven seasons prior, are back as the champs of the NL East for the first time since 2023. They’re led by the resurgence of a late-career Chris Sale, who once again put his name into contention for the NL Cy Young with a strong season. The offense has been good, albeit inconsistent, led by Matt Olson, Michael Harris Jr, and Drake Baldwin.
Chicago White Sox @ Houston Astros (4:00 p.m. CT each day, Peacock & NBC Sports Network)
What most would likely expect to be the most boring Wild Card Series, this set features the two worst teams in the postseason, at least by record. The Astros became the first division winner in MLB history to finish without a winning record, ending the year at 81-81, but I promise you they don’t care. They’re back in the playoffs for the ninth time in the last 10 years after missing the postseason last year. Even at .500, they led the league in homers this year, finishing in the top 10 in OPS, though their pitching staff ranked in the bottom-third of the league. The White Sox, who lost 100-plus games each of the last three seasons, are back in the postseason for the first time since 2021, when they lost in the ALDS to the Astros. They’re also an offense-first team, ranking in the top 10 in OPS, homers, and runs scored behind Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery, while their pitching staff sits right in the middle of the pack.
Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees (7:00 p.m. CT each day, NBC & Peacock)
One of two Wild Card rematches from a year ago, the Red Sox will once again travel to New York to face the rival Yankees in this best-of-three series. Last year, the Red Sox claimed Game 1 but dropped the last two games in three low-scoring games, as the two teams scored just 15 total runs in the series. I’d expect more scoring this time around, but who knows — these are two of the best pitching staffs in baseball, as the Yankees lead the league in ERA and the Red Sox rank third. Offensively, neither team is great, though the Red Sox had a solid second half and the Yankees can still mash homers, especially at Yankee Stadium. This should be a fun rivalry series in the Bronx.
Chicago Cubs @ San Diego Padres (9:00 p.m. CT each day, Peacock & NBC Sports Network)
Brewers fans will have to stay up late this week if they want to watch their two potential opponents in the NLDS face off, as the Padres will host the Cubs for their best-of-three series in San Diego. Chicago, who led the NL Central early in the season and looked like the top Wild Card team for most of the year, laid off the gas late in the year, allowing the surging Padres to take over that top seed in the final week. San Diego, which had one of the league’s worst offenses in the first half, has really turned things on since the All-Star break, led by Fernando Tatis Jr., who finished the season with 25 homers despite not hitting his first until May 30. The Padres also have one of the best bullpens in baseball, while the Cubs are an inconsistent offense-heavy team, as they have 35 wins of five-plus runs but they were also shut out 14 times this season. We’ll see how this one pans out as the Brewers await their opponent.
Another year, another October without Mets baseball. A long offseason of speculation, trade rumors, roster projections, and bittersweet retrospectives awaits, but first, there’s a championship to be won.
While it might be disheartening that the 2026 season didn’t work out in the Mets’ favor, that doesn’t mean it’s worth protesting the postseason entirely. In fact, this year’s field features teams with some of the more compelling storylines and players with some of the most impressive single-season achievements in recent memory. Starting tonight, a dozen clubs are competing to win the 2026 World Series (see bracket here), and it’s never too late to hop on a bandwagon or simply follow along.
If you want a look at the former Mets in the postseason, check out this article. But if you want a crash course on the 2026 contenders, including how they got here, players to watch, stats to know, and reasons why a Mets fan might root for each of them, then you’ve come to the right place.
So without further ado, here is your guide to the 2026 postseason.
TAMPA BAY RAYS(AL 1, 98-64)
Last World Series win / appearance: None / 2020
Last playoff appearance: 2023 (lost in ALWC to Rangers)
The catch-up: How does Tampa Bay do it? After two years of missing the playoffs — just when it seemed like their chaotic dynasty was coming to an end — the Rays rose from the ashes to win 98 games and handily take the American League’s No. 1 seed. This iteration of their roster shares some similarities with the pennant-winning 2020 squad, with a healthy amount of mixing and matching on the position-player side and a corps of high-end starting pitchers (featuring Drew Rasmussen, Shane McClanahan, and Nick Martinez), but the team’s strategy itself is something new. The ’20 Rays struck out more than any team in baseball; the ’26 Rays had the fewest strikeouts in the league. The ’20 Rays ranked 21st in batting average; the ’26 Rays were tied for first.
The 2026 AL East title is the latest achievement for a franchise that consistently proves it can make a 26-man roster greater than the sum of its parts. But if the Rays want to return to the World Series or simply win their first playoff series since 2020, they’ll need to flap their way past a tough division rival (Yankees or Red Sox) in the ALDS.
Player to watch: This space could have been used to praise Junior Caminero, a likely MVP finalist who at 23 years old finished with 40+ homers for a second straight season. But if there’s one player on the Rays who offers a skillset like no other in the league, it’s 25-year-old Chandler Simpson. The sophomore is yet to homer in 260 big league games (in fact, he is yet to homer in 526 games at any professional level), but he led the American League with 46 steals and ranked second with a .306 batting average. He’s one of the swiftest foots in the postseason, as former Met Luisangel Acuña is the only player with a faster sprint speed on an AL playoff team. In an ALDS against a team with high-end pitching like the Yankees or Red Sox, Simpson’s ability to transform from a baserunner into a run scored will be all the more game-changing.
Stat to know: Just how well-rounded are the Rays? They’re the first team to have players reach 40 homers (Caminero), 40 steals (Simpson), and 40 saves (Bryan Baker) in the same season since the 2011 Yankees (Curtis Granderson, Brett Gardner, and Mariano Rivera).
Why a Mets fan might root for them: If you like any combination of small ball, small-market success, or middle-reliever Steven Matz, the Rays might be the team for you. Plus, they’re one of three franchises in this year’s postseason field without a World Series title.
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS(AL 2, 85-77)
Last World Series win / appearance: 1948 / 2016
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in ALWC to Tigers)
The catch-up: The Guardians are the pranksters of the AL Central. They go unnoticed in preseason predictions. They get off to relatively unassuming starts, lingering a few games back in the standings for some months. And then, suddenly, there they are, pulling the rug out from under an unassuming opponent. They did it to the Tigers in 2025. They did it to the White Sox in 2026. This year, they’re hoping that story has a happier ending come October.
The Guardians’ 77-year World Series drought is now the longest in the majors after the Cubs snapped theirs by beating Cleveland in 2016. Over these past ten years, the Guardians have made the playoffs seven times, but have been eliminated at every level (once in the World Series, once in the ALCS, thrice in the ALDS, and twice in the ALWC). Why could this year be different? The Guardians have a unique combination of reliable starting pitching, a low-swing-and-miss offense (powered by another fine year from the scrappy Steven Kwan), and a dynamic rookie duo in Chase DeLauter and Travis Bazzana. Plus, they earned the benefit of a bye and an ALDS matchup with the easier side of the bracket despite winning just 85 games, affording them the opportunity to set their rotation and rest up before the dance begins. “Guards Ball” has helped win them the AL Central race year after year. Can it take them further than that?
Player to watch: On April 6, José Ramírez became the Guardians’ franchise leader in games played. This is a franchise that was around for 27 seasons before sliced bread. Yet in the bigger picture of JRam’s phenomenal and criminally overlooked career, that accomplishment will likely get lost in the mix. The switch-hitting third baseman has been a Top 5 finalist in MVP voting six times. He has put up three 30/30 seasons. With three more home runs, he will become just the ninth member of baseball’s 300 HR / 300 SB club. Why do I list off these accolades? Because Ramírez is the heart and soul of Cleveland, and even in effectively the worst season of his career (a 2.6 bWAR, which isn’t all that bad), it’s hard to imagine the Guardians going far without him at the center of it all.
Stat to know: Pitching is the backbone of this Guardians team. Cleveland had four different members of their rotation make 30 starts this season (Parker Messick, Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, and Joey Cantillo). No other playoff team had three such starters, and only three other playoff teams had two 30-game starters: the Padres (Walker Buehler and Michael King), the Phillies (Cristopher Sánchez and Aaron Nola), and the Rays (Drew Rasmussen and Nick Martinez).
Why a Mets fan might root for them: If you enjoyed watching the Mets’ rookie class this season, then the Guardians just might be the team for you. Only two teams in 2026 racked up 5+ fWAR from rookie hitters and 5+ fWAR from rookie pitchers: the Mets and Guardians. Cleveland’s rookie class is headlined by left-handed starter Messick, breakout bat DeLauter, and former No. 1 overall pick Bazzana.
HOUSTON ASTROS(AL 3, 81-81)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2022 / 2022
Last playoff appearance: 2024 (lost in ALWC to Tigers)
The catch-up: Let’s get it out of the way: The 2026 Astros have the worst record (81-81) of any playoff team in MLB history, excluding the shortened 2020 season. But Mets fans should know better than to count them out for that reason alone. After all, the 1973 Mets (82-79) came within one game of winning a World Series, and the 2006 Cardinals (83-78) crushed the Amazins’ hopes en route to a title. In fact, the 2026 Astros share something else in common with those 1973 Mets: they won the World Series just four years earlier.
A championship pedigree could carry Houston, especially against a first-round opponent as inexperienced as the White Sox. The Astros’ organization certainly has familiarity with high-pressure October baseball, as Houston made the ALCS seven years in a row from 2017-23. The team also clubbed the most homers in baseball this season, though that was largely due to the efforts of one man in particular…
Player to watch: It takes some big offensive numbers for a designated hitter to win MVP, but Yordan Alvarez cleared that bar pretty handily in 2026. He led the majors in all three components of the slash line(.316/.432/.601), and would have earned the AL Triple Crown on account of his career-high 42 homers and 106 RBI if not for the problem of Pete Alonso. The 29-year-old had put up stellar seasons before, particularly from 2022-24, but after a lost season in 2025, he kicked things into another stratosphere to help carry the Astros to a low-hanging AL West title. Alvarez also has an abundance of playoff experience, with 12 homers in 60 career postseason games.
Stat to know: Alvarez is the first left-handed hitter to record 40+ homers, 100+ RBI, and a .315+ batting average in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: As I see it, there are really three options here: 1) You want the chaos of watching the baseball world collapse in on itself as an 81-81 team wins the World Series; 2) You want to watch Yordan Alvarez launch four balls a game into orbit; 3) You want Yankees fans to suffer the ultimate pain of knowing that, even when the Astros are .500, the Bombers still can’t beat them in a playoff series.
NEW YORK YANKEES (AL 4, 93-68)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2009 / 2024
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in ALDS to Blue Jays)
The catch-up: Where comes the Judge? That is the question looming over the Yankees’ playoff hopes in 2026, as they enter their 9th postseason since the Judgian era commenced. In many ways, this roster construction is something of a curveball for the Yankees’ usual formula. Their calling card isn’t the offense, but rather an electric starting rotation. If the three-time MVP was at full power, perhaps this would be the year the Yankees appear best suited to capture their elusive 28th championship. But their captain is a question mark for the Wild Card Series (and possibly beyond) after missing over three months of the season due to injury.
The lineup has other sluggers to carry the load — Ben Rice blasted 41 homers, Cody Bellinger finished the season strong, and Paul Goldschmidt crushed lefties — but there is only one Aaron Judge, as evidenced by the fact that he finished tied for the third-most homers on the team (18) despite only playing for about 40% of the season. With an elite rotation and a relatively weak AL field, anything is possible…but if the Yankees are 0-for-8 in the postseason with Judge, can they really win it all without him?
Player to watch: If there was any year for the Yankees to compete in the playoffs without Judge, it’s certainly 2026 — a year when their elite top end of the rotation has been led by the presumptive AL Cy Young Award winner Cam Schlittler. Since making his big-league debut last July, the 25-year-old right-hander has emerged as one of the game’s premier starting pitchers. This season, he posted a 1.95 ERA while striking out 239 batters over 193.2 innings. He also has experience dominating his childhood favorite team in the playoffs, as he tossed eight scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts to eliminate the Red Sox in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series last season. Schlittler will be the Yankees’ No. 1 starter this time around as the Bronx Bombers gear up to face Boston in the three-game series once again.
Stat to know: The Yankees’ 3.24 team ERA leads the majors, and it isn’t particularly close. The gap between them and the next-best team (the Brewers at 3.51) is greater than the gap between second place and eighth on that list.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: The only explanation I can envision is this: You’re a die-hard Mets and Knicks fan whose daily life in New York was illuminated this June by the festivities and optimism caused by a championship run, and you simply want your city to feel some semblance of that same joy once again before winter arrives. You wish it was another orange and blue team causing the euphoria…but with a heavy heart, you’ll still pop a bottle for a second New York title should it occur.
BOSTON RED SOX (AL 5, 87-75)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2018 / 2018
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in ALWC to Yankees)
The catch-up: The Red Sox could have just turned to 2027. They let go of longtime manager Alex Cora when they were 10-17 in late April. By June 24 under interim manager Chad Tracy, they were 32-46 with a 12.7% chance of making the playoffs. But somehow, when the trade deadline arrived just over a month later, they were the best story in baseball and in the midst of an unfathomable 32-5 run.
The franchise has had a few fine moments since winning the 2018 World Series, including an ALCS appearance in 2021 and an AL Wild Card berth in 2025, but the summer of ’26 seems to have rekindled a sort of passion not seen in Boston since the days of Mookie Betts. The Sox will first match up with the Yankees for a three-game set in the Bronx, which is exactly where their season ended last year; but this time around, they have a pitching staff that sparkled to the tune of a 3.54 ERA, a resilient clubhouse that knows what it takes to flip the script while battling adversity, and a new skipper who last week managed to shed the “interim” label from his title.
Player to watch: He won’t win AL Rookie of the Year, but it’s hard to imagine a rookie stealing the heart of Boston’s fiery fanbase more than 23-year-old Payton Tolle. The mustachioed southpaw hit the ground running with an 11-strikeout performance in his season debut against the Yankees, and he didn’t slow down from there. On August 7, he racked up 14 strikeouts at Fenway Park against the Athletics. On September 13, he fired an immaculate inning, shooting a grin at the dugout before notching the final strike. The numbers speak for themselves — a 3.03 ERA and 171 strikeouts in 148.2 innings — but you really have to hear him speak and watch him pitch to understand his status as a rising fan-favorite, whether he’s talking about eating five donuts during a flight delay or telling the moving story of the “you’re so pretty” slogan inscribed on his glove as a tribute to his late mother.
Stat to know: From July 3 to July 22, the Red Sox tied a 1946 franchise record by winning 15 straight games.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Red Sox winning it all means the Yankees lose to their rivals in the first round at home, and it doesn’t get any sweeter for a petty Mets fan than that. Additionally, this is a young, fun, spirited Boston bunch that most counted out in the middle of the season. Sure, the Sox have won four championships this decade (more than any other franchise), but consider that zero players overlap between their most recent World Series-winning team and this one. As far as rooting for the Red Sox goes, this is about as homegrown and underdog-ish as it gets.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX (AL 6, 84-78)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2005 / 2005
Last playoff appearance: 2021 (lost in ALDS to Astros)
The catch-up: If a baseball writer were asked in February what it would take for the 2026 White Sox — coming off three consecutive 100-loss seasons — to make the playoffs, they probably would have said divine intervention. That’s practically what happened.
With a combination of rehabbing reliever Mike Vasil’s wand-based magic and the Pope’s support, the White Sox seemed to recruit the heavens to their side en route to a postseason berth. So much went right, from 26-year-old Miguel Vargas breaking out with 33 homers to offseason signing Munetaka Murakami’s seemingly seamless transition to the majors. Not many teams get the luxury of drafting at No. 1 overall in the midst of a playoff run, but that’s what happens when you go from worst-to-first (or, more accurately, worst-to-sixth-seed). At this point, the South Siders are playing with house money. They’d love to go far, or at least win their first postseason series since 2005, but there’s no doubt that this season has already qualified as a resounding success for the once-rebuilding White Sox.
Player to watch: In a season packed with a plethora of outstanding performances from rookies, Munetaka Murakami stands apart — not just because he was an NPB and World Baseball Classic star already, but because he seemed to single-handedly imbue the 2026 White Sox with a sense of purpose from the jump. Over his first 55 games, Murakami hit 20 home runs. He later missed over a month due to injury and came back strong, eventually reaching 35 homers. Though he tapered off a bit down the stretch (like Chicago’s offense as a whole), the 26-year-old first baseman is still the team’s biggest bat, not to mention their biggest hygiene advocate. And in case you need an emphatic reminder: he is Japanese.
Stat to know: Prior to the 2026 White Sox, no team in MLB history had made the playoffs after multiple straight 100-loss seasons.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: If the Red Sox are a sort of dark-horse underdog given their mid-season turnaround and young roster, the White Sox are a true, classic, indisputable underdog. There has literally never been a playoff team coming off seasons as bad as theirs. It would be the ultimate cinderella, rags-to-riches story. Plus, the White Sox are the historically less successful of two teams in a major market, so from a certain point of view, they’re practically the Mets of Chicago.
MILWAUKEE BREWERS (NL 1, 103-59)
Last World Series win / appearance: None / 1982
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLCS to Dodgers)
The catch-up: If it’s ever going to happen, it sure feels like this is the year. One of baseball’s four franchises without a World Series title, the Brewers have been putting up admirable bid after admirable bid over the past nine years. Consistently underestimated by preseason rankings, the Brewers once again cracked the code to the regular season and made a reverberant statement by earning the NL’s No. 1 seed for a second consecutive year. But to truly prove the foolish doubters wrong, they need to demonstrate that their brand of offense — one built on contact, walks, and speed — can play in October. No matter how strong they look for 162 games, they seem year after year to fall flat on the biggest stage, whether watching Shohei Ohtani put together the best game in major league history to eliminate them in 2025 or coming a Polar Bear’s blast away from advancing in 2024.
But this year, the Brewers reached new heights with a franchise-best 103 wins. Their lineup looked like a finely-tuned machine designed to break down opposing pitchers and expose defensive miscues, scoring the second-most runs in baseball. Their pitching staff, headlined by the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the history of the sport (see below), blew opponents away with the second-most strikeouts and second-lowest ERA in baseball. If you began following MLB in 2026 but had zero awareness of the years prior — no knowledge of the Brewers’ failed postseason runs or the Dodgers’ back-to-back championships — you would probably say the Brewers are far and away the team to beat this fall.
Player to watch: “The Miz,” more formally known as Jacob Misiorowksi, is a one-of-a-kind talent who has spent the past six months shattering virtually every velocity record for starting pitchers in the pitch-tracking era. After receiving a perhaps premature All-Star nod as a rookie in 2025, the flamethrowing right-hander made good on the hype by posting a 1.80 ERA and 252 strikeouts in 2026, positioning himself to take home a Cy Young Award at just 24 years old. His crowning achievement was a one-hit, 15-strikeout “Maddux” performance against the Phillies — one of Milwaukee’s possible opponents in an NLCS — on June 12. Misiorwoski also has playoff experience, having allowed just two earned runs in 12 innings over three appearances with the Brewers last postseason.
Stat to know: The Brewers had the majors’ best record despite hitting the fewest homers (154) of any NL team. Only four NL teams have won the pennant while hitting the fewest homers in their league. One of those teams was the 1982 Cardinals, who beat none other than…the Milwaukee Brewers.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: This is, in many ways, still David Stearns’ team. From that perspective, a win for the Brewers bodes well for the future of the Mets organization. On another note, the Brewers have zero championships, plenty of spirit, and just named Christian Yelich their first captain in franchise history (for those who want to support an old-school “captain” designation).
LOS ANGELES DODGERS (NL 2, 100-62)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2025 / 2025
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (won World Series)
The catch-up: How do you enhance a team that won back-to-back championships? You sign the best reliever in baseball, sign the biggest free agent position player on the market, and trade for a back-to-back Cy Young Award winner at the deadline. Simple enough! Well, sort of…two of those three (Edwin Díaz and Kyle Tucker) have dramatically underperformed, but even those stumbles haven’t put too big of a dent in the Dodgers’ plans.
The Dodgers’ regular-season record reflects their status as a true superteam, filled with star players and guided by competent management. If you need a reminder, here are just a few of the A-list names on their roster: Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani, MVP Mookie Betts, MVP Freddie Freeman, World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, and two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. One could argue that their core is beginning to show some cracks when it comes to durability — but the Dodgers have a history of timing players’ injury recoveries just right to have them ready for October. There’s no reason they shouldn’t be considered the heavy favorites entering the postseason, and if they do pull off a three-peat, they would be the first NL team in MLB history to accomplish the feat.
Player to watch: Here is Shohei Ohtani, through a translator, reflecting on his 2026 season: “Disappointing…I want to make sure that when I look back this season that I used this as an experience, a learning experience, and make sure that I use that as something to improve upon for next season.” What did this down year look like? 30 homers, 81 RBI, 11 stolen bases, an .889 OPS, and oh yeah, a 1.79 ERA in 85.2 innings pitched. On the surface, it’s still one of the most impressive seasons in baseball history. But the concerning part for Ohtani and for Dodgers fans was the dip in productivity (and versatility) as the season progressed, with injuries forcing the two-way player to shut down as a pitcher for the remainder of the season and focus on offense, where he batted just .202 with a .666 OPS over his last 30 games. If the Dodgers want to three-peat, they’ll have to do it with an ever-so-slightly-less-powerful unicorn leading the way.
Stat to know: The Dodgers put up the second-highest OPS in the majors (.762), marking the fifth straight season that they’ve finished with the highest or second-highest team OPS.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: There should be no shame in rooting for the Dodgers simply because they’re a lot of fun to watch. Plus, while some might view a three-peat as monotonous, the baseball history fans could counter that an NL three-peat would quite literally be unprecedented. There’s also the eternal Brooklyn rooting angle for the portion of Mets fans who used to (or whose relatives used to) support Dem Bums before the Dodgers and Giants fled to the West Coast in 1958.
ATLANTA BRAVES (NL 3, 94-68)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2021 / 2021
Last playoff appearance: 2024 (lost in NLWC to Padres)
The catch-up: After a string of seven straight seasons in which they made the playoffs, Atlanta finally missed out with a disappointing 76-win finish in 2025. But just when the baseball world began to count them out, the Braves came back with a vengeance, capturing the NL East with a 94-win season despite a myriad of pitching injuries.
In a more balanced year, that record might have earned the Braves a first-round bye. Instead, they’ll face the Phillies, and that’s a movie they’ve seen before. In 2022, the 101-win Braves lost in four games to the 87-win Phillies. In 2023, the 104-win Braves lost in four games to the 90-win Phillies. Why should the 94-win Braves now feel confident they can get past the 88-win Phillies in a three-game set? Perhaps the answer is as simple as ace Chris Sale, who put together an age-37 season for the ages (2.16 ERA, exactly 200 strikeouts). Or perhaps the better answer is: they couldn’t possibly let it happen again, right?
Player to know: The Braves’ regular cast of characters is back together, with Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley all fixtures in their lineup once again, but it’s 25-year-old Michael Harris II who was actually Atlanta’s most valuable position player this season. After winning the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year Award, the center-fielder Harris struggled to replicate his offensive success before breaking out in 2026 with a career-high 26 homers, 36 doubles, and 87 RBI. He also put up a phenomenal season defensively (even by his standards), with his 13 outs above average ranking third among outfielders (behind the Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong and Boston’s Ceddanne Rafaela). He’s a dynamic five-tool player, and even among an elite Braves core, he’s the player to watch this postseason.
Stat to know: The Braves’ .597 winning percentage against teams above .500 was the second-best in baseball this season behind the Brewers (.600).
Why a Mets fan might root for them: You are the world’s No. 1 Dom Smith believer. You will stand by Dom Smith until the day you die. You walk around telling everyone you know about how if 2020 were a full season, Dom Smith would have had the confidence to become a perennial All-Star. You post a tweet each and every day calling for David Stearns to bring back Dom Smith, and also Wilmer Flores, and maybe Luis Guillorme, too.
SAN DIEGO PADRES (NL 4, 91-71)
Last World Series win / appearance: None / 1998
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLWC to Cubs)
The catch-up: The Slam Diego dream is still alive. Ever since the Padres rebranded in 2020 — both in a literal sense with the reintroduction of brown and gold and in a spiritual sense with the emergence of Fernando Tatis Jr. — the fervor for the franchise to secure their first World Series championship has continued reaching new heights. They’ve made the playoffs four times this decade, but despite some electric moments (beating the 111-win Dodgers at home in 2022 headlines that list), they’re still yet to taste the Fall Classic.
2026 looked for a moment as if it might represent the closing of that championship window. After arguably their most crushing playoff loss to date in the 2025 Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field, the Padres got off to a sluggish start, sitting at exactly .500 (48-48) by the All-Star break. Most notably, their patented offense was struggling to score runs. The Friars fell as far as 50-53, but then the switch finally flipped. The bats got hot to back up an elite bullpen as San Diego soared all the way to the top Wild Card spot, giving them yet another Wild Card Series date with the Cubs — only this time, it’s at Petco Park. The hunger is at an all-time high. The Padres’ core can’t afford to miss any more chances. Is this the year they finally keep the show going until the end?
Player to watch: The Padres’ roster is packed with star position players, from Tatis Jr. to Manny Machado to Jackson Merrill, but it’s the Friars’ fire-balling closer Mason Miller who stole the spotlight in 2026. It wasn’t just the fact that he saved 38 games with a 1.67 ERA — it’s how he did it. 129 strikeouts in 70 innings, good for a 16.59 K/9 rate (the highest mark by a pitcher with 50+ IP in a season since Edwin Díaz in 2022). 384 pitches at 101+ mph, good for the third-most in a season in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) behind Jacob Misiorowksi in ’26 (743) and Aroldis Chapman in ’16 (424). Zero extra-base hits allowed through the first half. It was a display of unparalleled dominance, and one that will surely frighten the Padres’ prospective opponents throughout the playoffs if San Diego brings a lead into the late innings.
Stat to know: In the second half, the Padres had baseball’s second-best record (43-23, trailing Brewers), second-best OBP (.343, trailing Brewers), second-best SLG (.438, trailing Cubs), and the player with the second-highest OPS (Fernando Tatis Jr. with .995, trailing only Alex Bregman). You might notice that the Cubs and Brewers are the only teams they trail in each of those categories. Those are also the two teams which San Diego will have to go through in order to make the NLCS.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: So long as you’re not still hung up on the 2022 Wild Card Series, the Padres actually check a lot of potential boxes: they’ve never won a World Series, they feature exciting star players, they play with attitude, and their fanbase is wildly passionate. If you want a West Coast team to root for but have sworn off the Dodgers, why not the Friars?
CHICAGO CUBS (NL 5, 89-73)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2016 / 2016
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLDS to Brewers)
The catch-up: The decade since the Cubs broke the Curse of the Billy Goat and snapped their 108-year championship drought hasn’t exactly gone as planned. The core of Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Báez made the playoffs three more times but never made another World Series, and eventually was broken up at the trade deadline in 2021. Five years later, led by the key prospect in one of those deals, the Cubs are back to being a powerhouse — albeit a historically odd one.
The Cubs have a lethal lineup and, as Gary Cohen would put it, a pulchritudinous defense all around the diamond. The problem rests with their struggling pitching staff, creating a wildly unbalanced roster which MLB.com’s Mike Petriello analyzed in detail earlier this month. That lack of balance didn’t just define the 2026 Cubs’ roster, but their record as well, as Chicago went on two separate 10-game winning streaks and a 10-game losing streak all within the season’s first two months. Talk about a roller coaster.
Player to watch: 24-year-old phenom Pete Crow-Armstrong is in line for a unanimous National League MVP Award, but his season wasn’t just the best in the NL this year — it was arguably the best in decades. His 10.6 fWAR marks the first 10-WAR season (either bWAR or fWAR) by an NL player since Barry Bonds in 2004. On all sides of the ball, PCA put on a clinic. His 45 home runs were tied for the most in the majors. His 41 stolen bases were tied for fourth. And his 25 Outs Above Average were tied for first, over 1.5x that of the next-best outfielder. Of the seven players in major league history to put up 40-40 seasons, Crow-Armstrong will be just the second to also win a Gold Glove Award that same year (along with Bonds in 1996).
Stat to know: The Cubs recorded a fielding run value of 73 from infielders and outfielders (excluding catchers). That total was the most in the majors by a mile, almost twice as many as the second-place Cardinals (39).
Why a Mets fan might root for them: It is a thing of beauty to watch these Cubs play defense. Whether it’s Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner turning double plays up the middle, Alex Bregman holding down the hot corner, or Ian Happ, PCA, and Seiya Suzuki patrolling the outfield, there is simply nowhere safe for an opposing batter to hit the ball. Of those six players I just mentioned, there are a combined 10 Gold Glove Awards to go around (with a few more likely on the way this offseason). Alternatively, you can root for the Cubs this October if you want to know what it would have felt like to have Pete Crow-Armstrong on your side.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES(NL 6, 88-74)
Last World Series win / appearance: 2008 / 2022
Last playoff appearance: 2025 (lost in NLDS to Dodgers)
The catch-up: In 2022, bearing a 22-29 record and coming off 10 straight seasons with no playoff baseball, the Phillies promoted Rob Thomson from bench coach to interim manager. That October, they made a magical run to the World Series as the No. 6 seed, eventually falling in Game 6 to the Astros. Three seasons and three crushing playoff losses later, the organization faced another dilemma: a 9-19 record and their hopes of winning it all with an aging core slipping away. Once again, a managerial change turned the ship around — only this time, Thomson was on the short end.
Under Don Mattingly, the Phillies surged throughout a summer of fanfare which also saw their city host MLB’s All-Star festivities. After sitting 10.5 games back of first place in the NL East on May 22, the Phillies crawled all the way to 2.0 games back of the Braves by July 7. They stayed within striking distance until mid-September, when the rails came off in a moving tribute to the ’07 Mets (and ’08 Mets and ’25 Mets). But despite four straight losses during the season’s final week, the Phillies barely hung on to a playoff spot with a win in Game 162. It wasn’t as smooth a ride as their division-winning campaigns in ’24 and ’25, but if recent history is any indicator, a mid-season managerial change and No. 6 seeding might just be the key to the Phillies’ pennant chances.
Player to watch: Last offseason, conversation stirred surrounding whether 33-year-old Bryce Harper could ever be a truly “elite” player again. While he didn’t make a compelling case for a third career MVP Award, “The Chosen One” continued to rake as he always does, posting 29 homers behind an .865 OPS and playing in all 162 games. There are bigger power threats on Philadelphia’s roster (see: Kyle Schwarber’s fourth 45-homer season in the past five years). There are better contact hitters (see: trade deadline acquisition Luis Arraez, one of seven qualified hitters to finish above .300) and speed demons (see: Trea Turner and Bryson Stott each with 20+ stolen bases), too. But there is only one Harper, the phenom and face of the franchise who sent the Phillies to the World Series with one clutch swing in 2022. He is a nine-time All-Star, a four-time Silver Slugger, a Home Run Derby champ, and a Rookie of the Year, but he is still yet to win a Fall Classic. That lacking accolade should be motivation enough for Harper to make this October count.
Stat to know: The Phillies struck out 1,577 batters this season, 33 more than any other team in the majors.
Why a Mets fan might root for them: A long postseason run surely means a 2027 hangover effect, right?
TORONTO, ON - JULY 18: The Toronto Blue Jays' World Series Commissioner's Trophy is seen before an MLB game between the Chicago White Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays on July 18, 2026, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON. (Photo by Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Postseason baseball is back, and unfortunately the Detroit Tigers aren’t part of it. For some, that really kills the interest level, and I get it. On the other hand, sports are amplified by the bright lights of the playoffs and World Series, and there is little better than postseason baseball in my opinion. So, pick a team or just see whose bandwagon you feel like jumping on along the way. Even without the Tigers, it’s going to be a really fun month of baseball, and potentially instructive towards the challenges before the Tigers to get back.
All four Wild Card series will begin on Tuesday, September 29th. Each one is a best-of-three, with the two top teams in each league waiting for their divisional round opponents. The home team stays the home team for the whole series, and there are no off days to try and get to the full rounds without putting the top teams on the shelf for more than a few days.
Here are the times for both Game 1 and Game 2 of each series. If necessary, Game 3 schedules will be announced as required to take advantage of prime time.
2:00 p.m. ET Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
The Toronto Maple Leafs are probably the heaviest team in terms of the headlines and storylines going into opening night. They just acquired Kirill Marchenko in a blockbuster deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, they have nearly an entire new roster compared to last year, and many more.
But what can't be lost is that Tuesday's game against the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena marks Gavin McKenna's NHL debut. It's clear that the 18-year-old oozes confidence, but he has continued to put that attribute on display on the morning of the biggest game of his hockey career so far.
The Maple Leafs held an optional morning skate on Tuesday, featuring 12 players, many of whom were veterans. However, in preparation for his NHL debut, McKenna did not take the ice for the team's optional skate, which is something pretty routine for a young player, let alone a rookie gearing up for his first game in the league.
"He's got some swag," defenseman Chris Tanev said of McKenna after the session. "You know, he's very confident, very good player. So, I mean, I'm super excited for him. I mean, he's got - I think his parents are coming in tonight, and I'm sure he's got some other people. So, first NHL game, it's something that you should enjoy, and I'm sure he will tonight."
Left winger Easton Cowan, who made his NHL debut last year, laughed about McKenna's decision when asked about it.
"I can't comment on that," the 21-year-old said. "Maybe ask the older guys."
Even Leafs bench boss Jim Hiller got a kick out of McKenna not taking the ice for the morning skate. He admitted that he loved the decision he made, saying it truly speaks to how confident he is in himself.
"Yeah, you know what - I actually thought it was great," Hiller said. "I really did, because that's an optional skate. It's optional if you think you need it to get ready to play tonight. And when I heard he didn't go out, it didn't surprise me. He just has that way. He knows who he is. He knows what he has to do. And I think how he's adapted in a short amount of time just speaks to who he is and the confidence that he has in himself."
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Dylan Harper is heading into his sophomore season with one thing on his mind — earning a spot in the San Antonio starting lineup.
During a recent GQ interview with his teammate and friend Stephon Castle, Harper spoke candidly, making his stance with the Spurs clear.
When asked whether he expected to return to his sixth-man role next season, Harper said “I ain’t coming off no bench.”
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (2) goes up for a shot during the second half of Game 5 of the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas, Saturday, June 13, 2026. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
During his rookie campaign, the former No. 2 overall pick averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 22 minutes per game.
The 19-year-old stepped up in the playoffs, averaging 14.1 points while shooting 51 percent from the field—all while starting just two games for the Spurs.
Yet, Harper’s limited number of starts frustrated him, and his teammates took notice.
“He was upset with playing time and different roles that he was in,” Devin Vassell said after Game 5 of the NBA Finals, a loss to the Knicks that clinched the series.
Harper’s goal of winning Sixth Man of the Year also offers a glimpse into how he views his current role with the Spurs.
San Antonio is loaded with guards, with Devin Vassell, De’Aaron Fox and last season’s Sixth Man winner, Keldon Johnson, rounding out the backcourt.
San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper participates in a media interview during the team’s NBA basketball media day event Monday, Sept. 28, 2026, in San Antonio. AP Photo/Darren Abate
Throughout the playoffs, Fox started at point guard for the Spurs despite struggling during the Finals.
He averaged 15.6 points, 6.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 41 percent from the field and 29 percent from 3-point range in 33.1 minutes per game.
As Harper continued to show he could score, conversations began to emerge about moving him into the starting lineup.
Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs pose for photos during San Antonio Spurs Media Day at the Victory Capital Performance Center in San Antonio, Texas, Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. Getty Images
Fox is set to make $53 million next season, the second year of his four-year, $229 million contract extension with the Spurs.
Castle sought to reassure the young star, telling him he knew where he would be come October.
“Bro, all you got to know is you going to be in the starting lineup,” Castle said. “Be ready to hoop.”
Harper’s presence will make lineup decisions an interesting challenge for head coach Mitch Johnson this season as the Spurs look to get over the championship hump with Victor Wembanyama.
The Spurs open the 2026-27 NBA season at home against the Thunder in a rematch of the Western Conference finals.
But there’s a difference between looking ready for the NHL and being ready to stay there.
For Suniev, starting the season with the Calgary Wranglers doesn’t have to be viewed as a setback. In fact, it could be an important part of making sure he’s ready when his next opportunity comes.
“I just try to do my best every game, obviously work hard on the ice, do what my coaches need from me and also, not forgetting to play my game and using my shot,” Suniev explained about his approach during preseason.
Now, entering his second professional season, he has already shown he can produce at the AHL level and that his offensive skill can translate against NHL competition.
The next step is consistency.
Credit: Sergei Belski-Imagn Images
The Flames aren’t sending Suniev to the AHL because he lacks talent. If anything, his preseason made it pretty clear that the talent is there.
Rather than sitting in the NHL lineup and potentially playing limited minutes, Suniev can go to Calgary’s top affiliate, play a major role, work on the details Huska and the coaching staff want to see and continue developing his offensive game.
That doesn’t mean the door to the NHL is closed.
Quite the opposite.
If Suniev continues to produce while becoming more reliable without the puck, the Flames will have another decision to make. And considering the offensive holes on this roster, it’s hard to imagine the organization ignoring a player who is producing and showing he’s ready.
Suniev is close. Very close.
But being close and being ready to stay in the NHL are two different things.
The Flames are likely betting that a little more development now will give Suniev a better chance of making a permanent impact when his next opportunity arrives.
After the preseason he just had, there’s plenty of reason to believe that opportunity won’t be far away.
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We’ve already got goosebumps.
For the seventh time in MLB history, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are meeting in the playoffs.
This time around, the Bronx Bombers and BoSox will go toe-to-toe in the Wild Card round in a best-of-three series that determines who gets to take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS.
The trio of games will all take place at the Bronx’s Yankee Stadium. They’re slated go down:
Game 1Tuesday, Sept. 29 8 p.m. Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.03 ERA) vs. Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA)
If you’d like to be there, the lowest price we could find on tickets for any one games was $129 including fees on Vivid Seats.
Prices start at $131 and $135 including fees for the other two contests.
Over the course of the regular season, New York and Boston met 13 times; the Yankees took seven of those showdowns. In their final battle, the Yankees walloped the Sox 16-1 on Aug. 30. Heliot Ramos, Paul Goldschmidt, José Caballero and Austin Wells all homered for the Bombers that afternoon.
Both teams went 5-5 in their last ten games of the regular season.
As for this series, manager Aaron Boone left Aaron Judge off the Wild Card round roster but activated Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham after both have been inactive for months and weeks at a time, respectively.
“[I’m] real confident if we play our game and pitch like we’re capable of, we got a chance to move on,” Boone said. “We got to play our best starting Tuesday.”
See you there, Bleacher Creatures.
For more information, our team has everything you need to know and more about the Yankees vs. Red Sox 2026 AL Wild Card series below.
How much are tickets for the Yankees vs. Red Sox Wild Card series at Yankee Stadium?
A complete breakdown of all the best prices on tickets for the three AL Wild Card series games at Yankee Stadium can be found here:
Yankees vs, Wild Card game dates
Ticket prices start at
Game 1 Tuesday, Sept. 29 8 p.m.
$135(including fees)
Game 2 Wednesday, Sept. 30 8 p.m.
$129(including fees)
Game 3 Thursday, Oct. 1 8 p.m.
$131(including fees)
Are Yankees tickets available for later rounds?
Starry-eyed fans looking to get ahead of themselves can procure potential ALDS, ALCS and World Series tickets before the postseason even begins.
To grab seats for the game of your choosing, all potential hypothetical Yankees playoff tickets can be found here.
How to watch the Yankees in the 2026 playoffs
Fans that prefer to watch on the tube, you can catch Yankees playoff contests on ESPN.
All of these providers can be found on DIRECTV.
Huge 2026-27 NYC shows
The Yankees aren’t the only huge attraction in The Big Apple these next few months.
Here are just five of the biggest acts headed to New York City in the near future.
• Stevie Wonder
• Buddy Guy with Eric Clapton
• Death Cab For Cutie
• Gnarls Barkley
• Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band
Plus, Bernie Williams is making his Broadway debut in the Tony Award-winning show “Buena Vista Social Club” from Oct. 22 through Nov. 29. Don’t miss the star centerfielder from yesteryear under the spotlight today.
This article was written by Matt Levy, New York Post live events reporter. Levy stays up-to-date on all the latest tour announcements from your favorite musical artists and comedians, as well as Broadway openings, sporting events and more live shows – and finds great ticket prices online. Since he started his tenure at the Post in 2022, Levy has reviewed a Bruce Springsteen concert and interviewed Melissa Villaseñor of SNL fame, to name a few. Please note that deals can expire, and all prices are subject to change.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 27: Cole Carrigg #16 of the Colorado Rockies celebrates with teammates in the dugout hitting a home run during the eighth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field on September 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Major League Baseball announced today that Colorado Rockies IF/OF Cole Carrigg has been selected as the National League’s Rookie of the Month for September. He joins TJ Rumfield, who won back-to-back awards in May and June.
Carrigg burst onto the scene in June — quite literally, with a triple in his very first at-bat. He’s had some ups and downs, but overall finished on a high note with a home run in the final game against the Chicago White Sox.
In 24 games in September, Carrigg slashed .327/.340/.571 with four doubles, a triple, six home runs and 17 RBI. He led qualified rookies in at-bats (98), home runs (6), RBI (17) and slugging percentage (.571) while being among NL rookie leaders in runs scored (12, T-3rd), doubles (4, T-3rd), stolen bases (3, T-2nd), average (.327, 2nd) and OPS (.911, 3rd).
Carrigg joins Josh Rutledge (July 2012), David Dahl (August 2016) and Nolan Jones (September 2023) as the only Rockies rookies to bat at least .300 and record at least 11 extra-base hits and three stolen bases in a calendar month.
Carrigg also becomes the 10th Rockies player to receive the Rookie of the Month Award, joining TJ Rumfield (May/June 2026), Nolan Jones (September/October 2023), Antonio Senzatela (April 2017), Trevor Story (April 2016), Ian Stewart (July 2008), Troy Tulowitzki (August 2007), Garrett Atkins (June 2005), Clint Barmes (April 2005), and Jason Jennings (August 2002).
Finally, Carrigg and Rumfield are just the second pair of Rockies teammates to win the award in the same season alongside Barmes and Atkins in 2005. Colorado is now the only National League franchise to have a pair of teammates win the award in the same season on multiple occasions.
The lefty ace, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, was included on the Red Sox roster Tuesday morning ahead of Game 1 of the AL wild-card series against the Yankees.
On Saturday, Crochet threw his second live batting practice of the week.
Boston Red Sox’s Garrett Crochet throws a pitch during the first inning of a game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The Red Sox seemingly did and now will have Crochet up their sleeve in the best-of-three series.
The 27-year-old last pitched on April 25 against the Orioles, allowing three hits and zero runs across six innings of a 17-1 win.
He has spent the past five months rehabbing and working his way back from the left lat strain, which was longer than initially anticipated.
Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet continues his comeback from left shoulder inflammation during a side session at Polar Park on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
“It was obviously a lot longer than I expected. Been busting my tail just to kind of give myself a fighting chance, and I feel like I did that,” Crochet said prior to the playoffs. “Now it’s just waiting for the roster to come out. I hope that I’m able to contribute, but regardless, I’m here, and I think that we have put ourselves in a great position to walk away from the Series with a win.”
In the 2025 wild-card series against the Yankees, Crochet started and grinded out a 3-1 win for the Red Sox in Game 1.
He allowed four hits and tallied 11 strikeouts across 7 ⅔ innings.
This year, Crochet could be used as a reliever as he works his way back to his prime form.
The Tennessee product has reliever experience from college and he served out of the bullpen early in his career with the White Sox. In his first 72 appearances, he held a 2.71 ERA as a reliever.
Crochet was converted to a starting hurler in 2024.
The Red Sox travel to The Bronx for Game 1 at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
J.R. Smith was arrested on a charge of family violence on Tuesday in Texas, according to Hunt County jail records.
J.R. Smith was arrested on a charge of family violence on Monday in Texas, according to Hunt County jail records.
Smith, two-time NBA champion guard with the Cavaliers and Lakers, was arrested on one charge of assault causing bodily injury family violence.
He remains in the Hunt County Detention Center, per TMZ, and jail records show no bond has been set.
J.R. Smith was arrested on a charge of family violence on Tuesday in Texas, according to Hunt County jail records. Hunt County Sheriff
Smith was arrested while pulled over for a traffic stop in Texas — during which police checked his license plate and discovered Earl Joseph Smith III (his real name) had an active warrant out of the Southlake Police Department for a charge of family violence assault causing bodily injury, Royse City Police Department said in a statement to The Post.
Police confirmed the warrant and Smith was taken into custody and as transported to the Hunt County Detention Center.
Smith’s brother was with him at the time of the arrest and the vehicle was released to him.
Knicks alum JR Smith is seen on celebrity row during Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks on Thursday, May 29, 2025, at Madison Square Garden. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post
The polie statement did not include his brother’s name.
Smith, who played 16 seasons in the NBA, was named the Sixth Man of the Year with the Knicks in 2013, and won his first championship with the Cavaliers alongside LeBron James in the 2015-16 season.
Game 3 of that Finals between the Lakers and Heat on Oct. 4, 2020 was the last time Smith played in an NBA game.
Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) drives to the basket as Wizards guard Glen Rice Jr. (14) defends during the second quarter of a game in Brooklyn, N.Y., Nov. 4, 2014. Anthony J. Causi for NY Post
He has yet to formally announce his NBA retirement.
Smith — who went straight from high school the pros — graduated in May with a Liberal Arts degree from North Carolina A&T, where he was a walk-on for the men’s golf team.
Alas, the NHL lost a great rivalry. | Getty Images
Hi, I got tired of seeing every hockey site posting “BOLD predictions for each NHL team” that weren’t very bold. Truly, they were mostly just lists of “this completely realistic thing could happen but my editor required that I make it sound bold,” and then they slapped “bold” on the headline for some rote, click-baity reason.
So I made my own list, for catharsis. Kindly disregard.
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks: Pat Verbeek is such a tough salary negotiator that he spends the entire season trying to fit his 23-man roster under the cap.
Calgary Flames: The Flames miss the playoffs. Bold!
Edmonton Oilers: After being suspended for projecting individual players’ TikToks on the hot tub big screen, Mike Babcock is replaced as head coach by Mark Messier, who promptly awards himself with the Mark Messier Leadership Award.
Los Angeles Kings: Pete Laviolette is fired by his seventh franchise, replaced by Darryl Sutter who guides them to a Stanley Cup.
San Jose Sharks: Ryan Warsofsky is replaced by Pete Laviolette.
Seattle Kraken: Jordan Eberle remains captain, but laments that his best-performing years were when he was required to be clean shaven before showing up to work.
Vegas Golden Knights: Praised for always going above and beyond, Vegas puts a bunch of guys on LTIR and acquires Connor Hellebuyck. But this achievement pales in comparison to ensuring Bruce Cassidy remains unemployed.
Vancouver Canucks: With performance and attendance dwindling, the Canucks announce a rebrand based around a new logo featuring an orange and black orca whale skating downhill in the shape of a hockey rink.
Atlantic Division
Detroit Red Wings: Dylan Larkin is traded. Bold! But the Wings still extend their franchise-record playoff drought to 11 seasons.
Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres miss the playoffs, because Buffalo is a cruel, cursed sportstown.
Boston Bruins: Warning that he won’t re-sign when his ELC expires in three years, James Hagens requests a trade. Also: Mired in a five-game losing streak, Hampus Lindholm and Elias Lindholm get in a bloody fight in practice, tearing the locker room apart.
Montreal Canadiens: Noah Dobson wins the Norris Trophy.
Florida Panthers: Brady and Matthew Tkachuk combine for 50 goals and 200 PIM. Bold!
Ottawa Senators: The LeBreton Flats arena plan falls through yet again, and the Senators announce a plan to share a state-of-the-art arena in Hamilton with the Hammers.
Tampa Bay Lightning: The Lightning make the playoffs.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews and his teammates return from their Phoenix preseason junket without harassing any security guards.
Metropolitan Division
New Jersey Devils: Sunny Mehta — not to be confused with the late, longtime Alfred A. Knopf publisher Sonny Mehta — is fired as GM and replaced by Lou Lamoriello. Chris Lamoriello is named assistant GM, Martin Brodeur is named interim head of player nutrition.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Every single American on the team demands a trade to a U.S. market where there is less pressure.
Washington Capitals: Alex Tuch outscores Jordan Kyrou by four goals, but they are separated by 26 in plus/minus.
New York Rangers: After years of disappointing everyone by simply existing, the sadsack Rangers franchise finally folds. All their historical statistics are transferred to the Winnipeg Jets, except for the 1994 Stanley Cup, which is returned to the Edmonton Oilers franchise.
Philadelphia Flyers: Kevin Kurz files multiple articles about the team in the opening week, including another “Why I Joined The Athletic” thought piece.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Egged on by local media, Penguins fans spend the entire 84-game season complaining that Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang do not get enough respect, while Mario Lemieux laments that he needs to rethink whether he wants to be a part of it all.
New York Islanders: The Drive for Five…regular season wins continues into November.
Carolina Hurricanes: NHL fans are reminded that this team won the Stanley Cup, and it turns out it’s their second in this century.
Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Kane returns to one of his old franchises and manages to avoid a drunken tussle with a cab driver.
St. Louis Blues: With both franchises in self-deluding late-season playoff pushes, the Blues swap a 7th defensemen to the Islanders for a fourth-line forward, each team raving about the new acquisition’s “veteran presence.”
Colorado Avalanche: ESPN names Ray Bourque the Most Inspiring Sports Story of the 21st Century.
Winnipeg Jets: What prediction can you possibly give a team who already has everything?
Utah Mammoth: Anders Lee reaches 20 goals for the 10th time in his career at age 36.
Dallas Stars: Despite doing almost everything right for about a decade, GM Jim Nill continues to have to push the rock uphill.
Minnesota Wild: Not getting quite enough media praise, Bill Guerin is awarded an Emmy for his performance as Jimmy McNulty on The Wire.
Nashville Predators: Former GM Barry Trotz looks at the current Predators and looks at the current Islanders and mutters, through tears, “Why…why did we ever do any of this?”
Dansby Swanson shrugs after his grand slam against the Padres July 1 | | Getty Images
Well, here we go again — for the second straight season, the Cubs and Padres meet in a Wild Card Series. Last year, the Cubs won it in Wrigley Field. This year, they’ll have to do that in San Diego.
If the regular season results are any indication, they can do it. The Cubs took the season series from the Padres five games to one, winning two of three in Petco Park in April and sweeping them in Wrigley Field at the end of June/beginning of July.
The Cubs fell behind 3-0 in the first inning, hut homers by Seiya Suzuki (in the second) and Moisés Ballesteros (a grand slam in the third) put the Cubs up 5-3 after three.
The Padres hit Matthew Boyd, Ben Brown, Phil Maton and Jacob Webb pretty hard, including a home run by Gavin Sheets off Webb, to take a 9-5 lead going to the ninth.
Mason Miller, the Padres’ supposedly unhittable closer, entered to finish up. The Cubs hit him. Matt Shaw, Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong singled to load the bases with nobody out. Nico Hoerner hit into a force play at second, scoring Shaw and sending Swanson to third. Dansby scored on a wild pitch, bringing Michael Busch to the plate as the tying run. But Miller got Busch to ground out and struck out Alex Bregman to end the game.
The game went 2-2 into the sixth. Dansby Swanson had doubled in the two runs in the second.
The Cubs took a 4-2 lead in the sixth on a two-run double by Nico Hoerner. One of the runners who scored was Nicky Lopez. Yes, he played for the Cubs this year. That was the only run he scored as a member of the 2026 Cubs. The Padres closed to within one in the bottom of the inning off Edward Cabrera, who then departed the game having allowed three runs, striking out seven.
Then the Cubs blew the game open in the seventh. Seiya Suzuki led off with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout. Michael Busch was hit by a pitch and Carson Kelly hit into a force play, with Suzuki taking third. Alex Bregman singled in Kelly to make it 5-3 and then Pete Crow-Armstrong hit this three-run homer [VIDEO].
Ryan Rolison finished up with two scoreless innings, just his third appearance as a Cub.
Miguel Amaya’s RBI single in the second gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead and that was extended to 3-0 on a Pete Crow-Armstrong two-run homer in the fourth.
But Miguel Andujar (solo) and Nick Castellanos (two-run) homered off Jameson Taillon in the fifth to tie the game 3-3.
Now that’s an interesting sentence. Not one of those players is on either team at this time. Andujar fractured his wrist and has been out since July (though has been on a rehab assignment and might return). Castellanos was released by the Padres in June. Taillon was released by the Cubs in July, caught on with the Blue Jays, then was injured and hasn’t pitched since early September.
The Cubs took the lead back in the sixth. Michael Busch led off with a walk and was forced by Michael Conforto. Conforto went to third on a double by Matt Shaw and scored on a PCA groundout.
Shaw then homered in the eighth to make it 5-3. In the bottom of the eighth the Padres got that run back on a sac fly by Fernando Tatis Jr. off Ben Brown.
Brown remained in the game in the ninth. He struck out Xander Bogaerts and got Ty France on a ground ball.
Then the two managers started playing the platoon game we rarely see in modern baseball. Craig Stammen sent Gavin Sheets up to bat for Andujar. Craig Counsell brought in left-hander Hoby Milner, so Stammen countered with Ramon Laureano.
The Padres took a 2-0 lead off Shōta Imanaga with single runs in the third and fourth, but the Cubs tied it up on single runs in the fourth (RBI single by Michael Conforto) and fifth (sac fly by Seiya Suzuki).
Imanaga threw well in this game, not allowing a home run and striking out four in 6.2 innings.
The game remained at 2-2 into the bottom of the ninth. Jason Adam, who had retired the Cubs 1-2-3 in the eighth on just 10 pitches, remained in the game to start the ninth. Dansby Swanson and Pete Crow-Armstrong singled off Adam, so Craig Stammen summoned Mason Miller.
The Cubs hit him again. Alex Bregman singled to load the bases with nobody out. Unfortunately, Michael Busch then hit into a double play. He flied to short left and Swanson tried to score, but was thrown out at the plate [VIDEO].
The Cubs got payback of sorts for the 9-7 Padres win in San Diego in April by defeating them by the same score at Wrigley Field two months later.
Fernando Tatis Jr. led off the game with a home run off Matthew Boyd, but the Cubs got that run right back on an RBI single by Carson Kelly in the bottom of the inning.
Then the Cubs exploded for four in the second. With one out, Dansby Swanson homered. Then Kevin Alcántara singled and Pete Crow-Armstrong walked, and Alex Bregman smashed a three-run homer to make it 5-1 Cubs.
It became 5-3 in the third when Manny Machado hit a two-run homer off Boyd. Michael Busch homered off JP Sears in the fifth to make it 5-3, and after Ian Happ singled, the Padres brought in Ron Marinaccio. Swanson homered again, his second of the game, to make it 8-3. PCA added a homer in the sixth to put the Cubs up by six.
Easy peasy, right? Well, nothing’s been that way for the Cubs this year. Javier Assad threw a scoreless seventh, but then gave up four in the eighth, including a three-run homer by Gavin Sheets and a solo shot by Tatis.
That was it for the Padres, though, and Tyler Ferguson and Ryan Rolison finished up.
This game began as a blowout and then turned into silly season.
Seiya Suzuki began the fun with a three-run homer in the first. Dansby Swanson homered in the second to make it 4-0, and after Miguel Amaya hit a two-run single in the third, Swanson homered again, a three-run job that made it 9-0.
The Padres scored a pair off Colin Rea in the fifth, but the Cubs increased their lead in the bottom of the inning. Michael Conforto homered with one out, and after Amaya walked and Swanson reached on an error, Pete Crow-Armstrong smacked a three-run homer to make it 13-2.
If you’re counting, that’s five home runs for the Cubs, and they were far from being done. Conforto homered again in the sixth with Ian Happ on base to make it 15-2.
The Padres brought in backup catcher Rodolfo Durán to throw the bottom of the inning. He retired the Cubs in order and San Diego scored one in the eighth.
Durán remained in the game to “pitch” in the eighth and I put that in quotes because, well, some of those “pitches” were thrown at ridiculously slow spees, in particular this one, hit for a grand slam by Swanson:
The Cubs scored eight in that inning and won 23-3. That was the most runs scored by any Cubs team since Aug. 18, 1995, when they scored 26 at Colorado, and the most at Wrigley Field since May 17, 1977, when they won 23-6 over… the Padres.
Nevertheless, all those homers and runs count, and the Cubs thus outscored the Padres 55-28 in the six games. That’s not likely to be repeated in this Wild Card Series, but three Cubs did have monster seasons against the Padres.
Dansby Swanson: .647/.667/1.647 (11-for-18) with two doubles, five home runs, 13 RBI and eight runs in five games Pete Crow-Armstrong: .364/.481/.909 (8-for-22) with four home runs, five walks, 10 RBI and eight runs in six games Seiya Suzuki: .500/.520/.864 (11-for-22) with two doubles, two home runs and eight runs in six games
Overall the Cubs hit 18 home runs against the Padres this year and allowed nine.
Lastly, the Cubs handled Padres closer Mason Miller pretty well. It’s a very small sample size — three games and 13 plate appearances — but the Cubs had five hits and a walk off Miller, and struck out just twice. That’s an encouraging sign, and I’d think this should be a close and competitive series.
