⚾ Headlines Around the League
Blue Jays 13, Rays 4 — AL East belongs up north! Toronto clinches first division title since 2015
Guardians 9, Rangers 8 (10) — Guardians win AL Central title, finishing off comeback of the century
Brewers 4, Reds 2 — Cincinnati falls but clinches Wild Card berth on final day
⚾ 2025 MLB Postseason Bracket Set
American League (AL):
Division winners: Blue Jays (East), Mariners (West), Guardians (Central)
Wild Cards: Yankees, Red Sox, Tigers
National League (NL):
Division winners: Brewers (Central), Phillies (East), Dodgers (West)
Wild Cards: Cubs, Padres, Reds
🔥 Wild Card Round (best-of-3)
AL
Red Sox (5) at Yankees (4) — Tue–Thu, 6:08 PM ET (ESPN)
Season: Red Sox 9–4 vs NYY, including 5–2 in the Bronx.
History: Sixth postseason meeting; Sox won 2021 Wild Card Game.
Keys: Yankees lean on Max Fried and Carlos Rodón to slow Boston’s bats. Red Sox trust ace Garrett Crochet, who has dominated vs NYY (39 K in 27⅓ IP).
Player to Watch: Garrett Crochet — pivotal in Game 1.
Tigers (6) at Guardians (3) — Tue–Thu, 1:08 PM ET (ESPN)
Season: Guardians won 8–5.
History: Met in 2024 ALDS; Guardians rallied to win in 5.
Keys: Tarik Skubal (DET) vs Gavin Williams (CLE) — ace-level showdown.
Player to Watch: Kerry Carpenter — power bat against righties, 6 HR vs CLE in ’25.
NL
Padres (5) at Cubs (4) — Tue–Thu, 3:08 PM ET (ABC/ESPN)
Season: Split 3–3, equal 25 runs scored.
History: Only prior meeting was 1984 NLCS, won by Padres.
Keys: Cubs’ lefties (Boyd, Imanaga) vs Padres’ RH-heavy lineup, weakened by Ramón Laureano’s injury.
Player to Watch: Shota Imanaga — big-game tested, first MLB postseason.
Reds (6) at Dodgers (3) — Tue–Thu, 9:08 PM ET (ESPN)
Season: Dodgers dominated, 5–1, outscoring Reds 30–15.
History: Met in 1995 NLDS, swept by Reds.
Keys: Dodgers’ superior offense (.768 OPS vs Reds’ .706) could be decisive. Reds must contain bats.
Player to Watch: Shohei Ohtani — first two-way postseason, game-changer on both sides.
🏆 Division Series (best-of-5, starts Sat.)
AL
Blue Jays (1) vs. winner of Red Sox–Yankees
Mariners (2) vs. winner of Tigers–Guardians
NL
Brewers (1) vs. winner of Padres–Cubs
Phillies (2) vs. winner of Reds–Dodgers
📊 Final Scores and Highlights
Blue Jays 13, Rays 4
The Blue Jays saved their best for last, pounding Tampa Bay on the final day to lock up their first AL East crown in a decade. With a 13–4 win, Toronto claimed the No. 1 seed in the American League and will open the postseason at home with October dreams alive.
🔑 Key Moments
The Rays drew first blood in the 1st on Jonathan Aranda’s RBI single, but the Jays quickly answered when Vladimir Guerrero Jr. tied it with a run-scoring hit. Moments later, Alejandro Kirk launched a grand slam to left-center, erupting Rogers Centre and giving Toronto a 5–1 lead.
Tampa Bay closed the gap in the 3rd as Aranda struck again with a two-run single, followed by Jake Mangum’s RBI hit to trim it to 5–4.
Rookie reliever Mason Fluharty stopped the Rays’ momentum in the 4th, escaping a bases-loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts.
Kirk delivered again in the 5th, crushing his second homer of the day — a two-run shot to center that stretched the lead to 8–4.
The Jays broke it wide open in the 7th when Addison Barger slugged a two-run homer, Myles Straw tripled home a run, and George Springer capped the outburst with a two-run blast, pushing the score to 13–4 and sealing the division in style.
📊 Notable Stats
Blue Jays
Alejandro Kirk: 3-for-5, GS (14), HR (15), 6 RBI
George Springer: 3-for-4, HR (32), 2 RBI, BB, SB (18)
Addison Barger: 2-for-4, HR (21), 2 RBI
Kevin Gausman: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 5 K
Rays
Jonathan Aranda: 2-for-5, 3 RBI
Richie Palacios: 3-for-5, 2 R, SB
Jake Mangum: 1-for-3, RBI, BB
Guardians 9, Rangers 8
The Guardians capped off one of the most improbable division comebacks in baseball history, rallying past Texas in extras and clinching the AL Central in walk-off fashion. Down 15 ½ games in July, Cleveland stormed all the way back and sealed it with Brayan Rocchio’s three-run blast in the 10th inning.
🔑 Key Moments
Cleveland jumped ahead in the 1st when Johnathan Rodríguez ripped a two-run single to right, giving the Guardians an early 2–0 lead.
Texas answered back quickly in the 2nd, as Alejandro Osuna doubled in two runs to even the score at 2–2.
The Rangers surged in front in the 3rd when Jake Burger drove home a pair with a single, pushing the lead to 4–2.
The Guardians clawed closer in the 7th on Jhonkensy Noel’s solo homer, trimming the deficit to 5–4.
In the 8th, Bo Naylor doubled and later scored on Brayan Rocchio’s sacrifice fly, tying the game at 5–5.
The 10th inning brought fireworks on both sides: Rowdy Tellez stunned the crowd with a three-run homer to right to put Texas up 8–5.
Refusing to quit, Cleveland roared back in the bottom half as Rocchio smashed a three-run walk-off homer down the right-field line, sealing the 9–8 win and the division title.
📊 Notable Stats
Guardians
Brayan Rocchio: HR (5), 4 RBI, walk-off blast
Bo Naylor: 2-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Jhonkensy Noel: HR (6)
Rangers
Jonathan Aranda: 2-for-5, 3 RBI
Rowdy Tellez: HR (17), 3 RBI in 10th
Alejandro Osuna: 2B, 2 RBI
Brewers 4, Reds 2
The Reds dropped their finale in Milwaukee but still punched their postseason ticket thanks to the Mets’ loss, securing the final NL Wild Card spot and setting up a showdown with the Dodgers.
🔑 Key Moments
Elly De La Cruz opened the scoring in the 2nd with a towering solo homer to center, giving the Reds a 1–0 lead.
An inning later, TJ Friedl added to the surge with a solo blast of his own, extending Cincinnati’s edge to 2–0.
The Brewers cut the deficit quickly in the bottom half as Brice Turang ripped an RBI double to make it 2–1.
In the 4th, Milwaukee swung in front when Danny Jansen launched a two-run homer and Andrew Vaughn followed with an RBI double for a 4–2 lead.
From there, the Brewers’ bullpen silenced Cincinnati’s bats, while Reds players anxiously watched the Mets’ scoreboard, eventually celebrating when Miami’s victory sealed their October berth.
📊 Notable Stats
Reds
Elly De La Cruz: HR (22)
TJ Friedl: HR (14)
Brady Singer: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 5 K
Chase Burns: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K
Brewers
Danny Jansen: HR (14), 2 RBI
Andrew Vaughn: RBI double (22)
Brice Turang: RBI double (28)
Freddy Peralta: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 3 K
Other scores around the league:
Yankees 3, Orioles 2
D. Williams: 1.0 IP (W)
D. Bednar: 1.0 IP, 2 SO, 1 BB (SV)
B. Rice: 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI
White Sox 8, Nationals 0
S. Smith: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 8 SO (W)
B. Baldwin: 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Giants 4, Rockies 0
L. Webb: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 8 SO (W)
S. Bivens: 2.0 IP, 3 SO, 1 BB (SV)
Red Sox 4, Tigers 3
J. De León: 6.2 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 8 SO, 3 BB (W)
G. Weissert: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 SO, 1 BB (SV)
Phillies 2, Twins 1
O. Kerkering: (W)
C. Sánchez: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 8 SO
S. Woods Richardson: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 9 SO
Astros 6, Angels 2
C. Gordon: 5.0 IP, 3 SO, 1 BB (W)
R. Urías: 1-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Padres 12, Diamondbacks 4
J. Sears: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB (W)
J. Merrill: 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI
Dodgers 6, Mariners 1
C. Kershaw: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 7 SO, 1 BB (W)
L. Knack: 3.2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 7 SO, 1 BB (SV)
Marlins 4, Mets 0
E. Cabrera: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 7 SO, 5 BB (W)
C. Norby: 2-3, 1 R
Braves 4, Pirates 1
C. Sale: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 9 SO, 2 BB (W)
R. Iglesias: 1.0 IP, 1 SO (SV)
Cubs 2, Cardinals 0
J. Assad: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 6 SO, 1 BB (W)
J. Wicks: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 4 SO (SV)
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