The Atlanta Braves took the field in the home Friday reds on a Tuesday, hoping to take a 2-1 lead in the NLDS in front of a sold-out crowd. Instead, in a rematch of an August marquee pitching matchup, they were stifled by Yoshinobu Yamamoto and couldn’t overcome three runs on a pair of home runs allowed by Chris Sale.

A lack of run support for the Braves ace was unfortunately common for the regular season, but it was especially frustrating in a pivotal Game 3. For all the hand-wringing and Narrative about Braves pitching, the lion’s share of the blame should be focused on an underperforming offense.

“Let It Fly” doesn’t hit as hard when it’s the other team doing it in your park to beat you. Yes, it’s something Walt Weiss said to the team in spring training. That, plus probably a sweet bonus of being a subtle-but-deniable clap back at our Wild Card opponents, makes an amount of sense. But my advice to the marketing team as someone else in the field? It makes for great highlight clips, but maybe give a cursory glance to make sure the season’s offensive numbers and trends can back up the rally cry.

The Braves had a golden opportunity to win and advance at home. But this weird team prefers to do things the hardest of ways, so here we are: on the brink of elimination again for the second time this postseason. What will they do this time with their backs against the wall?

Fighting for a flight to Los Angeles, Tyler Mahle gets the ball for Atlanta. Mahle spun a gem in his playoff debut for the Braves with seven innings of one-run ball against the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the Wild Card series. He surrendered half of his six hits in the first inning, where the one run scored. Otherwise, he walked one and struck out six on 95 pitches. The outing was overshadowed by the extra-innings loss and was all the more remarkable when Weiss revealed that Mahle had felt an abdominal pull prior to starting. But he and Mahle have reiterated it is not an issue for today’s do-or-die game.

Mahle also had a stellar start versus LA back in April as a member of the San Francisco Giants. He outdueled Shohei Ohtani and scattered three hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in seven shutout frames. The Dodgers with the most success against Mahle with an OPS over 1.000 are last night’s architects of defeat in Kiké Hernández and Freddie Freeman, as well as Will Smith. The latter two have a homer apiece off him. Max Muncy is 6-for-19 with a double to account for his .316 AVG and .778 OPS. Otherwise, everyone else drags down the team slash line to .208/.280/300.

The Dodgers will counter with a Tyler of their own. Glasnow has a career 2-6 record with a 4.43 ERA in the postseason. He spent some time on the IL for low back spasms, but owns a 5-2 record with a 3.53 ERA in 13 games in the regular season. He last faced Atlanta in August and gave up three runs on five hits in five innings while striking out seven.

The most ABs against Glasnow on the team belong to Rowdy Tellez, who is 5-for-19 with two doubles and two home runs. The only other Braves with a homer off him is Sean Murphy, which accounts for his one hit in four at-bats. Every Brave has at least one hit except for Ha-Seong Kim and Lane Thomas, but there hasn’t been much success in sub-15 PAs, leading to the .182/.243.303 team slash line.

The Braves have faced a true gauntlet of starting pitching, and you simply have to tip your cap to Yamamoto’s brilliance last night. But they’ve got to hit to win. Get to Glasnow early/often and live to play another day, or else someone else’s champagne will be on ice in your ballpark.

Game Info

Game Time: Wednesday, October 7, 6:00 pm EDT

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

Watch: FS1 / FOX ONE

Radio/Audio: 680 AM / 93.7 FM The Fan, La Mejor 1600/1460/1130 AM, ESPN Radio

The Yankees of the early 1960s were a behemoth. Led by Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris in the lineup and Whitey Ford in the rotation, the team was stacked and fearsome, still operating at the peak of its power and winning the AL pennant nearly every year. But championships are not won solely by the top of a roster. Even the most star-studded squad needs contributions from role players to get them over the hump. One of these unheralded contributors was a journeyman lefty who brought his experience to bear in their bullpen.

Leavitt Leo “Bud” Daley
Born: October 7, 1932 (Orange, CA)
Died: October 15, 2024 (Riverton, WY)
Yankees Tenure: 1961-64

Bud Daley grew up in southern California. He came to baseball late, playing his first organized game while enrolled at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach. By his senior year, he was hitting .450 and pitching to an 11-1 record, drawing the attention of the pros. Of the many teams that came calling, he picked Cleveland because their star hurler, future Hall of Famer (and, later, Yankees manager) Bob Lemon was also an alumnus of Woodrow Wilson.

Daley had a rough start to his pro career in 1951, pitching to a 5.54 ERA in 25 appearances with Class-C Bakersfield. He started to straighten things out the following year, winning 14 games with a 3.09 ERA for Class-B Cedar Rapids, but still struggled with control, walking 125 in 227 innings. His improvement was enough to earn him a promotion to Triple-A the following year. He got his free passes in check, and by 1955, at the age of 22, he got the call to the Show.

Daley would spend all three of his years in Cleveland shuttling between the big club and Triple-A, struggling to find a consistent role. In ’58, he was traded to the Orioles as part of a deal that brought back franchise icon Larry Doby for a second act with the club. Baltimore flipped Daly before he could appear for the O’s, this time to the Athletics.

It was in Kansas City that Daley would find his greatest success. After a solid first campaign as a swingman, he joined the rotation in earnest for the ’59 season. It would be the high-water mark of his career. Daley took the decision in 16 of the A’s 66 wins, posting a career-best 3.16 ERA while making both of the year’s All-Star squads and earning down-ballot MVP votes. He’d make the All-Star teams and receive MVP votes again the following year, though perhaps largely on the strength of his breakout the year prior; Daley allowed the most runs in baseball in ’60. His All-Star berths did lead to a career highlight for the 27-year-old, who got to finish off one of the games in front of his hometown fans.

“That was one of the biggest thrills I ever had,” Daley later said. “I came in in the ninth inning to pitch the last inning and the bullpen was in dead center field. I opened the gate and started walking in. From the time I opened the gate until I got to the mound I had a standing ovation the whole way.”

The A’s were sold that offseason to the notoriously stingy Charlie Finley. After Daley got off to a slow start, he found himself on the trading block once again, this time headed to New York.

Daley’s performance was uneven down the stretch, leading to the loss of his regular spot in the rotation. But, come October, he settled into a new role. In Game 3 of the World Series, with both the game and the series knotted at 1-1, Daley entered in a critical spot. Yankees starter Bill Stafford had exited with two outs and two on in the seventh. Yankees manager Ralph Houk called on his southpaw reliever to face the left-handed Vada Pinson. The 23-year-old was one of the game’s most dangerous hitters, having just led all of baseball with 208 hits. Daley got two strikes on Pinson before inducing a fly out to right. It would be the only batter he’d face in an eventual 3-2 victory.

In Game 5, Houk would lean on his swingman for more length. With the Yankees up 6-3 with one out in the third, the skipper brought in Daley. He’d end up going the rest of the way, allowing only two unearned runs in 6.2 innings of work, earning the win as the Yankees clinched the title. Not many players in big-league history can say that they were on the mound when a championship was secured, but for all his days, Daley could.

Daley continued to work primarily out of the bullpen the next season and got another inning of work in the ‘62 Fall Classic, retiring Willie Mays and Willie McCovey to strand two runners in the eighth inning of Game 2. He wrapped up his postseason career without allowing a single earned run in eight innings of work.

Daley made just one appearance in ‘63 before suffering an arm injury that ended his season. He returned the following year but wasn’t the same pitcher. The Yankees traded him back to Cleveland before the ‘65 campaign but he failed to make their roster, hanging up his cleats at the age of 32. Daley and his family retired to Wyoming, where he lived until his passing in 2024.

While he’s far from the first name that comes to mind when remembering the mighty Yankees of the early ‘60s, Daley put together a strong, 10-year career that included excellence in World Series play. Please join us in remembering the legacy of Bud Daley.

See more of the “Yankees Birthday of the Day” series here.

The only Dodger more excited for this game than Max Muncy, who finally gets a chance to start once again after sitting against a pair of left-handers, is Tyler Glasnow. Much like the case with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Glasnow will take the ball following a long layoff—having last pitched roughly two weeks ago—only without the same track record of postseason dominance to project total security in his upcoming performance, set to battle his namesake, Tyler Mahle.

Utilizing only two relievers in Game 3, involved in a series in which runs have come at a premium and with off days on either side of the two games in Atlanta, Dave Roberts is likely to manage this game aggressively—if not ready to turn to the bullpen at the first sign of trouble, at the very least unwilling to push the envelope with his starter.

For the superstitious crowd, you’ll be pleased to know that the Dodgers were 6-0 last postseason when Glasnow took the mound, four times as a starter, and a couple more out of the bullpen. Looking back, the perception of his postseason performance was affected by the 11 walks in 21.1 innings, but apart from a shaky Game 3 of the World Series against the Jays, run prevention wasn’t a problem for the former Ray.

Prior to the Game 3 win, the threat of Chris Sale loomed large, almost regardless of how much this team trusted Yamamoto. Mahle, today’s opponent, doesn’t have the track record, but the reality is that through the last months of the season and into the start of the playoffs, few have done it better than the right-hander. And the Dodgers offense isn’t exactly performing at its highest level.

NLDS Game 4 info

• Teams: No. 2 seed Dodgers vs. No. 3 seed Braves
• Series: Los Angeles leads, 2-1
• Ballpark: Truist Park, Atlanta
• Start time: 3:08 p.m.
• TV: FS1 (Joe Davis, John Smoltz, Ken Rosenthal)
• National radio: ESPN Radio (Dave O’Brien, Jessica Mendoza)
• Local English radio: AM 570 (Stephen Nelson, Rick Monday)
• Local Spanish radio: KTNQ 1020 AM (José Mota, Luis Cruz)

Go back a week, and you’ll see that the Yankees had been favored to win this series.

They had former Cy Young Gerrit Cole on the mound for game one and the should the unthinkable happen and New York drop game one, they’d have the for sure victory in game two behind probable 2026 Cy Young Cam Schlittler. Plus, they’d have the added benefit of a home away from home with a raucous pro-Yankee crowd at Tropicana Field.

Four days and two games later things look very different.

In case you need a recap: Over the first two games of the ALDS, it’d be hard to fathom a team playing much worse (decent pitching notwithstanding) than the New York Yankees. They are having a historically awful time against the Rays pitching. Drew Rasmussen came just four outs shy of a no-hitter during game one and Freddy Peralta held the Bronx Bombers in check for the first three innings of his outing until Ben Rice ruined things. Ben Rice and Austin Wells have been the extent of the Yankees offense thus far with the entirety of the rest of the Yankees lineup collectively going 1-46.

For game two, Schlittler pitched well but couldn’t overcome a relentless Rays offense and an absolute abysmal atrocious defense behind him. Typical Rays chaos resulted in botched plays, errors, stolen bases, and well timed hits that allowed the Rays to tally five runs. The Yankees offense mustered two runs, both courtesy of Ben Rice solo homeruns. Cam Booser had the most difficult part of the night for the Rays, facing Cody Bellinger with the bases loaded and two away. After getting ahead 0-2, Bellinger lined a ball to center field that wouldn’t have been a homerun in 18 of the 30 MLB ballparks (including Yankee Stadium). Johnny DeLuca tracked it down, with little difficulty, for the final out.

Ian Seymour worked three innings, allowing just one run (Ben Rice’s 2nd homerun). Then Bryan Baker worked another perfect inning, recording his second save. With a Rays victory on Wednesday, if Baker records the save he’ll become just the 4th pitcher in MLB history to record a save in a League Division Series sweep.

And about tonight? Well, the Yankees won’t make things easy on the Rays as the series heads to New York.

Tampa Bay will face one of the best left-handed starting pitchers in baseball as Max Fried is scheduled to take the mound. There was some talk of Fried missing the start so he could be with his pregnant girlfriend, who is expected to deliver their baby any day now. However, Fried confirmed with reporters on Tuesday that he would be starting Game Three of the ALDS against Tampa Bay.

Fried signed a record breaking contract with the Yankees prior to the 2025 season and proceeded to put up possibly the best year of his career. This past season, Fried endured two seperate stints on the Injured List but when healthy, he was equally if not better than his 2025 campaign.

Over 20 starts, Fried compiled a 2.80 ERA | 2.65 FIP with a 24.0 K% & 7.6 BB% spread over 112.2 IP. Expect the Rays to load their starting lineup with right-handed bats as Fried is nearly unhittable against lefties. Those who share the same side of the plate as Fried hit just .174/.245/.228 this season over 103 PA while righties hit .209/.270/.288. Another testament to how great of a pitcher Fried is that he is able to keep the ball in the park despite playing in a stadium that is known for being a homerun haven. That being said, Fried’s numbers in New York are much worse than when on the road. All four homeruns that Fried has surrendered this season came at home and he has a 3.42 ERA in the Bronx compared to 2.34 away (and yes, that is FOUR HOME RUNS ALL SEASON).

Going to the mound for the Rays is one of the best free agent signings in franchise history, veteran hurler Nick Martinez.

Martinez has pitched all around the league and even in Japan for a spell. Most recently, Martinez was with the Cincinnati Reds and provided them with two excellent years. Despite his success, the Rays were able to snag Martinez as a free agent on a one year, $13M deal (there is a mutual option for 2027 but given Martinez’s 2026 campaign, he’ll get PAID).

During this past season with Tampa Bay, Martinez showcased himself as an excellent starting pitcher and possibly even better teammate helping to foster an amazing environment within the Rays clubhouse. He’s not a strikeout pitcher but manages to induce plenty of weak contact, which is a good approach when he has one of the game’s top defenses behind. Martinez helped his own cause by having some of the best command in baseball, evidenced by a 3.6 BB% which was easily the lowest in baseball among qualifying pitchers (2nd was Drew Rasmussen and Chris Sale with 4.8%). Among pitchers with at least 40 IP (there were 389 of them), Martinez’s 3.6 BB% was still the lowest while fellow Rays Kevin Kelly and Cam Booser slide just behind him at 3.9%.

The Yankees offense has been held in check by the Rays pitching staff but regression may be imminent. Not many baseball offenses will sustain a 1-46 performance and perhaps the squad will be riveted by return home to what is sure to be an incredible atmosphere. Then again, not many teams have a stable of arms like the Rays and thus far, they’ve been able to limit the Yankees to just 2 runs over two games while keeping most of their bullpen rested.

Game three begins tonight at 8pm on TBS

Padres superstar Fernando Tatis Jr.went hitless in his team’s 4-3 win over the Brewers on Tuesday night.

But one Padres fan was more worried about how his butt looked.

X user @linatheemo posted a video of a Padres fan zooming in on Tatis Jr.’s butt with her Phone camera while he was taking a knee in the outfield during Tuesday’s game.

The fan, who was wearing a Padres hat backward, snapped a photo of the 27-year-old’s backside when she was content with the photo.

Caught in 4K #ForTheFaithful #Padres #SanDiego,” the post was captioned.

It has since gone viral, amassing over 20,000 views since it was posted Tuesday night. Fans find it hilarious how shameless the fan is with this photo.

Then again, the fan surely had no idea they were being recorded while capturing a photo of Tatis Jr.’s backside.

This isn’t the first Padres fan to go viral for a romantic storyline this postseason.

Another San Diego fan got a ton of attention for using social media to find a date to a wild-card game. This fan was successful in finding their date, largely because their initial post got so much traction.

This Padres fan may have gone viral, but the Tatis Jr. close-up probably won’t help her dating prospects.

The Chicago White Sox are on the cusp of accomplishing a feat 120 years in the making, while the Cleveland Guardians are on the brink of elimination.

These are the stakes as the White Sox host the Guardians at Rate Field on Wednesday, Oct. 7, for Game 3 of their AL division series. Chicago holds a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series after back-to-back wins in Cleveland and has a chance to close out a playoff series on the South Side for the first since beating the Chicago Cubs in Game 6 of the 1906 World Series.

Follow along for live score updates, highlights, analysis and reaction throughout a pivotal ALDS Game 3.

MORE: White Sox, Dodgers, Rays, Brewers can all advance with MLB playoff wins today

White Sox vs Guardians live box score