Browsing: MLB

Coming off a terrific season with the Boston Red Sox, Alex Bregman is going to test free agency for the second consecutive year.

Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Bregman is exercising the opt-out in his contract to hit the open market with the goal of securing a lucrative long-term deal.

Bregman signed a three-year, $120 million contract with Boston in February. The deal included an opt out after the first season and a player option for 2027.

There were some rumblings during the 2025 season about Bregman and the Red Sox coming together on a long-term contract. He left the door open when asked about it during All-Star week.

“Maybe,” Bregman said. “I think for me, I’m focused on playing good baseball and trying to help this team win games. We’re obviously open to hearing whatever the Red Sox have to say.”

The addition of Bregman was a huge boon to the Red Sox. He had a .273/.360.462 slash line with 18 homers in 114 games and made the AL All-Star team.

Even with some bumps along the way, including a quad injury that kept Bregman out for seven weeks early in the season, the Red Sox were a playoff contender for the first time since reaching the ALCS in 2021.

Bregman had his best offensive season by OPS+ (128) since 2019 when he finished second in AL MVP voting. He’s also an above-average defender at third base.

Entering an offseason that looks to be light on position players, Bregman could be the most impactful player available depending on what to make of Kyle Tucker’s second-half swoon with the Chicago Cubs.

Given his all-around ability as a hitter and defender, Bregman is a star who can help transform any team that he plays on. He is using that leverage to explore free agency once again.

Source link

Aaron Boone’s future as the manager of the New York Yankees remains unclear, but if he does return, there will be some changes to the coaching staff.

According to Andy Martino of SNY and Chris Kirschner of The Athletic, the Yankees won’t be retaining bullpen coach Mike Harkey or first-base coach Travis Chapman.

“Had a great 16 years and I’m very grateful for the opportunity I had with the Yankee organization!” Harkey told Martino. “I wish them nothing but the best!”

Other changes could follow. As Kirschner noted, “Pitching coach Matt Blake and catching coordinator Tanner Swanson have club options, and bench coach Brad Ausmus’ and third-base coach Luis Rojas’ contracts expired.”

Harkey had two stints as the Yankees’ bullpen coach, first between the 2008-13 seasons and later between 2016-25. The bullpen was a major weakness for the team, however, with a number of players taking a step back in their roles, most notably Devin Williams.

Chapman held a number of roles in the team’s farm system before joining the MLB staff in 2022 as both the infield coach and first-base coach. Kirschner noted that he was “lauded [internally] for his ability to pick up tells from opposing pitchers and relay that information to batters,” though New York’s infield defense regressed in 2025, highlighted by Anthony Volpe’s rough season at shortstop.

As for the team at large, the Yankees reached the playoffs for the seventh time in eight seasons under Boone but failed to win the World Series yet again. The 2025 season was marked by major bouts of inconsistency, while the pitching staff was undressed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.

Boone’s seat feels hot, and it’s a bit peculiar that the Yankees haven’t either fired him or publicly expressed confidence in him since being eliminated from the postseason last week. Either way, changes are happening to the team’s coaching staff.

Source link

Image credit:
Roman Anthony (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

There are a few ways MLB players can graduate from rookie status. The simplest way is for a hitter to exceed 130 major league at-bats or for a pitcher to log more than 50 major league innings.

But players also graduate when they exceed 45 days of “active service time.” And that’s where rookie status gets very complicated.

The issue is that “active service time” is not the same thing as service time. A player gets service time for any day on the injured list, but that does not count towards the active service time that affects rookie status.

There are a lot of complicated permutations that go into service time and active service time. Unfortunately, there is no official published list of active service time to help sort things out. Since Baseball America begins our offseason prospect rankings immediately upon the completion of the MLB season, we have always worried about incorrectly calculating a player’s service time and either leaving a player off the list by mistake or writing up a player who had actually exceeded the active service time limit. As such, BA has always stuck with the at-bats and innings pitched limits when determining prospect status.

But with the help of Ethan Hullihen, we have independently generated the full—and, as best as we can determine, accurate—listing of the active service time of every rookie and graduated rookie. So, beginning with our upcoming top 10 prospect lists for every team this offseason, we will begin accounting for service time to exclude players who have exceeded limits.

Below, Baseball America subscribers can see the service time totals for every player who graduated from rookie status in 2025, as well as the totals for those players who played in the majors in 2025 but have not exceeded qualifications and will retain rookie status to begin the 2026 season.

Please note that players are listed by the organization with which they played in the majors, so some players who were designated for assignment may be listed with a previous organization.

Graduated Players For 2025

PlayerPosORGACTIVE
SERVICE
TIMECAREER
ABCAREER
IPBryce TeodosioOFAngels66150Caden DanaRHPAngels4642.2Christian Moore2BAngels65162Gustavo CamperoCAngels71104Matthew LugoSSAngels5069Niko Kavadas1BAngels74113Ryan ZeferjahnRHPAngels20874Brandon WalterLHPAstros8176.2Cam SmithSSAstros172441Colton GordonLHPAstros10686Nick HernandezRHPAstros7521.2Shay WhitcombSSAstros8173Zach DezenzoOFAstros100160Anthony MaldonadoRHPAthletics5125Brady BassoLHPAthletics5834Carlos CortesOFAthletics6994Colby ThomasOFAthletics78120Denzel ClarkeOFAthletics59148Elvis AlvaradoRHPAthletics10142.1Grant HolmanRHPAthletics9838.2J.T. GinnRHPAthletics160124.1Jack PerkinsRHPAthletics6138.2Jacob LopezLHPAthletics124115.1Jacob WilsonSSAthletics197578Justin SternerRHPAthletics16869Luis MoralesRHPAthletics5948.2Max MuncySSAthletics84206Nick KurtzOFAthletics144420Willie MacIverCAthletics93102Alan RodenOFBlue Jays86136Braydon FisherRHPBlue Jays13050Easton LucasLHPBlue Jays5942.2Mason FluhartyLHPBlue Jays13752.2AJ Smith-ShawverRHPBraves8474Drake BaldwinCBraves172405Dylan DoddLHPBraves13171.1Hurston WaldrepRHPBraves5863.1Nacho Alvarez Jr.3BBraves78218Anthony SeiglerCBrewers7062Brandon LockridgeOFBrewers117146Caleb DurbinSSBrewers164445Chad PatrickRHPBrewers124119.2Isaac Collins2BBrewers194389Jacob MisiorowskiRHPBrewers9466Andre GranilloRHPCardinals5121Anthony VenezianoLHPCardinals10840.2Gordon GraceffoRHPCardinals8750.2Jose FerminSSCardinals95182Matt SvansonRHPCardinals11560.1Michael McGreevyRHPCardinals88118.2Riley O’BrienRHPCardinals16458.1Thomas SaggeseSSCardinals143324Yohel PozoCCardinals203234Cade HortonRHPCubs138118Matt ShawSSCubs161393Adrian Del CastilloCD-backs114200Andrew SaalfrankLHPD-backs11840.1Connor KaiserSSD-backs4722Elvin RodriguezRHPD-backs6452.2Jordan LawlarSSD-backs7397Jorge BarrosaOFD-backs7088Juan MorilloRHPD-backs11134.1Kyle BackhusLHPD-backs10225.1Tim TawaOFD-backs112199Tyler Locklear3BD-backs62148Ben CaspariusRHPDodgers18286Dalton RushingCDodgers128142Edgardo HenriquezRHPDodgers6022.1Hyeseong KimIFDodgers115161Jack DreyerLHPDodgers17276.1Justin WrobleskiLHPDodgers128103Roki SasakiRHPDodgers6136.1Will KleinRHPDodgers7522.2Carson SeymourRHPGiants7436Christian KossSSGiants1491744Drew GilbertOFGiants52100Kai-Wei TengRHPGiants7140.2C.J. Kayfus1BGuardians58123Erik SabrowskiLHPGuardians12742Joey CantilloLHPGuardians162134Johnathan RodriguezOFGuardians97102Nic EnrightRHPGuardians7931Will WilsonSSGuardians7478Ben Williamson3BMariners109277Carlos VargasRHPMariners19381.2Cole YoungSSMariners121223Logan EvansRHPMariners7881.1Adam MazurRHPMarlins6063.2Agustin RamirezCMarlins161537Cade GibsonLHPMarlins13554.2Eric Wagaman1BMarlins192548Graham Pauley3BMarlins144193Griffin ConineOFMarlins66161Heriberto HernandezOFMarlins122256Jack WinklerSSMarlins5516Jakob MarseeOFMarlins59209Javier SanojaSSMarlins1953489.1Josh SimpsonLHPMarlins11130.2Lake BacharRHPMarlins19080.1Liam HicksCMarlins172332Ryan GustoRHPMarlins135101.2Troy Johnston1BMarlins62112Hayden SengerCMets8772Luisangel AcunaSSMets156214Max KranickRHPMets1081280.2Ronny MauricioSSMets150269Andres Chaparro3BNationals104187Brad LordRHPNationals172130.2Brady HouseSSNationals105261Cade CavalliRHPNationals5653Clayton BeeterRHPNationals7629Cole HenryRHPNationals15452.2Daylen LileOFNationals119321Dylan CrewsOFNationals136412Jackson RutledgeRHPNationals196101.2Orlando RibaltaRHPNationals7727.2PJ PoulinLHPNationals5524.2Robert HassellOFNationals85197Ryan LoutosRHPNationals4814.1Shinnosuke OgasawaraLHPNationals6638.2Zach BrzykcyRHPNationals8228.2Brandon YoungRHPOrioles5257.2Coby Mayo3BOrioles160304Dietrich EnnsLHPOrioles13172.2Grant WolframLHPOrioles7226.2Jeremiah JacksonSSOrioles61170Kade StrowdRHPOrioles7226.1Maverick HandleyCOrioles5041Tomoyuki SuganoRHPOrioles172157Yaramil HiraldoRHPOrioles5019.2David MorganRHPPadres11947.1Kyle HartLHPPadres8354Trenton BrooksOFPadres7466Will Wagner2BPadres132129Max LazarRHPPhillies15141.1Otto Kemp3BPhillies92197Braxton AshcraftRHPPirates12669.2Chase ShugartRHPPirates12253.2Evan SiskLHPPirates5317.2Isaac MattsonRHPPirates14957.1Mike BurrowsRHPPirates13599.1Ronny Simon2BPirates4877Alejandro OsunaOFRangers105151Cody FreemanCRangers50114Cole WinnRHPRangers13559Daniel RobertRHPRangers6018.2Jack LeiterRHPRangers190187.1Justin Foscue2BRangers6351Kumar RockerRHPRangers9176Luis CurveloRHPRangers5119Michael Helman2BRangers76109Caleb BoushleyRHPRays11549.2Chandler SimpsonSSRays139414Coco Montes2BRays4648Eric OrzeRHPRays9743.1Everson PereiraOFRays87158Hunter FeducciaCRays90100Ian SeymourLHPRays8457Jake MangumOFRays148405Kameron MisnerOFRays116212Mason MontgomeryLHPRays17555.2Tristan Gray3BRays101111Carlos NarvaezCRed Sox208416Hunter DobbinsRHPRed Sox5361Kristian CampbellSSRed Sox85229Luis GuerreroRHPRed Sox6127.1Marcelo MayerSSRed Sox58127Richard FittsRHPRed Sox8465.2Roman AnthonyOFRed Sox86257Blake DunnOFReds8786Chase BurnsRHPReds6743.1Connor PhillipsRHPReds8145.2Jacob HurtubiseOFReds6166Luis MeyRHPReds5521Lyon RichardsonRHPReds13055Ryan ViladeOFReds6064Yosver ZuluetaRHPReds5123.2Adael AmadorSSRockies71148Bradley BlalockRHPRockies11789.1Braxton FulfordCRockies94108Chase DollanderRHPRockies10798Drew RomoCRockies6854Jaden HillRHPRockies9640Juan MejiaRHPRockies14461.1Kyle Karros3BRockies52137Luis PeraltaLHPRockies9031.1Ryan RitterSSRockies88187Ryan RolisonLHPRockies10742.1Seth HalvorsenRHPRockies16052Tanner GordonRHPRockies110109.2Warming BernabelSSRockies50139Yanquiel FernandezOFRockies90138Zach AgnosRHPRockies8231.1Jac CaglianoneLHPRoyals82210John RaveOFRoyals102153Jonathan BowlanRHPRoyals11450Noah CameronLHPRoyals136138.1Ryan BergertRHPRoyals8676.1Tyler Tolbert2BRoyals14050Chase LeeRHPTigers9337.1Jace Jung2BTigers73126Jackson JobeRHPTigers6953Sawyer Gipson-LongRHPTigers5851.1Trey SweeneySSTigers213406Troy MeltonRHPTigers6845.2DaShawn KeirseyOFTwins13897Luke KeaschallSSTwins58182Mick AbelRHPTwins4939Mickey GasperCTwins134113Pierson OhlRHPTwins4830Ryan FitzgeraldSSTwins65462Travis AdamsRHPTwins6733.2Brandon EisertLHPWhite Sox18276.1Bryan Ramos2BWhite Sox52111Chase Meidroth2BWhite Sox150450Colson MontgomerySSWhite Sox87255Edgar QueroCWhite Sox165365Grant TaylorRHPWhite Sox11136.2Kyle TeelCWhite Sox115253Mike VasilRHPWhite Sox172101Sean BurkeRHPWhite Sox183153.1Shane SmithRHPWhite Sox170146.1Wikelman GonzalezRHPWhite Sox4620.1Will RobertsonOFWhite Sox5270Yoendrys GomezRHPWhite Sox12176Cam SchlittlerRHPYankees8273J.C. Escarra1BYankees13784Jasson DominguezOFYankees172468Jorbit Vivas2BYankees5556Will WarrenRHPYankees187185

Players Retaining Rookie Status For 2025

PlayerPOSORGACTIVE
SERVICE
TIMECAREER
ABCAREER
IPChad StevensSSAngels513Denzer GuzmanSSAngels1642Logan DavidsonSSAngels3242Mitch FarrisLHPAngels2824.1Ryan JohnsonRHPAngels4014.2Samuel AldegheriLHPAngels3113.2Victor MederosRHPAngels4320Brice MatthewsSSAstros2842Jacob MeltonOFAstros4570Jayden MurrayRHPAstros2611.2John RooneyLHPAstros31.1Kenedy CoronaOFAstros112Logan VanWeyRHPAstros3510.2Luis ContrerasRHPAstros4518Zach ColeOFAstros1747Carlos DuranRHPAthletics30.1CJ Alexander3BAthletics2325Gunnar HoglundRHPAthletics3032.1Mason BarnettRHPAthletics3422.1Noah MurdockRHPAthletics4317Lazaro EstradaRHPBlue Jays37.1Paxton SchultzRHPBlue Jays4224.2Trey YesavageRHPBlue Jays1414Didier FuentesRHPBraves1913Hayden HarrisLHPBraves82.2Nathan WilesRHPBraves121Carlos F. RodriguezRHPBrewers2722Connor ThomasLHPBrewers105.1Craig YohoSSBrewers218.2Drew AvansOFBrewers1317Easton McGeeRHPBrewers3624.1Logan HendersonRHPBrewers1925.1Robert GasserLHPBrewers3133.2Tyler Black2BBrewers3957Jimmy CrooksCCardinals3145Nathan ChurchOFCardinals4356Nick RaquetLHPCardinals42Owen CaissieOFCubs1926Andrew HoffmannRHPD-backs3212Austin PopeRHPD-backs52Brandyn GarciaLHPD-backs4014.1Christian Montes De OcaRHPD-backs72.2Cristian MenaRHPD-backs119.2Juan BurgosRHPD-backs2013.1Philip AbnerLHPD-backs113.2Taylor RashiRHPD-backs2916.1Tristin English1BD-backs2022Yilber DiazRHPD-backs3731.1Alex FreelandSSDodgers3784Garrett McDanielsLHPDodgers3610.2Justin DeanOFDodgers332Paul GervaseRHPDodgers218.1Blade TidwellRHPGiants815Bryce EldridgeRHPGiants1428Carson WhisenhuntLHPGiants2123.1Joel PegueroRHPGiants3922.1Logan PorterCGiants28381Mason BlackRHPGiants4540.1Trevor McDonaldRHPGiants1418Andrew WaltersRHPGuardians2110Doug NikhazyLHPGuardians44George ValeraOFGuardians2841Matt KrookLHPGuardians328.1Parker MessickLHPGuardians4039.2Petey HalpinOFGuardians96Zak KentRHPGuardians3717.2Blas CastanoRHPMariners63Harry FordCMariners286Rhylan ThomasOFMariners78Brian NavarretoCMarlins3419Christian RoaRHPMarlins53Freddy TarnokRHPMarlins3022.2Luarbert AriasRHPMarlins2110.1Max AcostaSSMarlins2254Patrick MonteverdeLHPMarlins13.2Alex CarrilloRHPMets164.2Brandon SproatRHPMets2220.2Jonah TongRHPMets3118.2Jonathan PintaroRHPMets10.2Justin HagenmanRHPMets2723.2Nolan McLean3BMets4448Andrew AlvarezLHPNationals2823.1Andry LaraRHPNationals2614.1C.J. StubbsCNationals43Jake EderLHPNationals4120.1Sauryn LaoSSNationals2311Carson RagsdaleRHPOrioles35Chayce McDermottRHPOrioles612.2Dylan BeaversOFOrioles44110Jose EspadaRHPOrioles144Samuel BasalloCOrioles43109Bradgley RodriguezRHPPadres207.2Omar CruzLHPPadres133.2Tirso OrnelasOFPadres1314Alan RangelRHPPhillies3811Brewer HicklenOFPhillies197Michael MercadoRHPPhillies4116Seth JohnsonRHPPhillies3915Billy CookOFPirates2555Bubba ChandlerRHPPirates3831.1Cam Devanney2BPirates3936Cam SandersRHPPirates166.2Hunter BarcoLHPPirates63Jack LittleRHPPirates23Matt GorskiOFPirates2341Michael Darrell-HicksRHPPirates189.2Nick Yorke2BPirates42106Rafael FloresCPirates1315Thomas HarringtonRHPPirates108.2Tsung-Che ChengSSPirates97Dustin HarrisOFRangers1946Jose CorniellRHPRangers31.2Marc ChurchRHPRangers235.2Nolan HoffmanRHPRangers11Bob Seymour1BRays4578Brian Van BelleRHPRays178.1Carson WilliamsSSRays3999Cole WilcoxRHPRays31Forrest WhitleyRHPRays4015.1Garrett ActonRHPRays176.2Joe RockLHPRays147.2Tristan PetersOFRays512Connelly EarlyLHPRed Sox2019.1Jhostynxon GarciaOFRed Sox87Payton TolleLHPRed Sox3116.1Chase PettyRHPReds146Randy WynneRHPReds55.1Sal Stewart3BReds2855Tyler Callihan2BReds66Will BanfieldCReds1610Zach MaxwellRHPReds3810Blaine Crim1BRockies2965Carson PalmquistLHPRockies3834.1Dugan DarnellRHPRockies2111.2McCade BrownRHPRockies3625.2Zac VeenOFRockies1534Carter JensenCRoyals2860Luinder AvilaRHPRoyals3214Drew SommersLHPTigers133Dylan SmithRHPTigers1913Gage WorkmanSSTigers4116Tyler OwensRHPTigers53Carson McCuskerOFTwins3529Cody LawerysonRHPTwins177.2Connor GillispieRHPTwins3934Caleb FreemanRHPWhite Sox93.1Greg JonesSSWhite Sox367Jake PalischLHPWhite Sox21Owen WhiteRHPWhite Sox3614Tim Elko3BWhite Sox3267Allan WinansRHPYankees3749.1Jayvien SandridgeLHPYankees40.2

Ethan Hullihen covers contracts, service time and MLB rules. For more from Ethan, check out his Patreon.

Source link

• 

  David SchoenfieldOct 14, 2025, 07:00 AM ET

  Close

  • Covers MLB for ESPN.com
  • Former deputy editor of Page 2
  • Been with ESPN.com since 1995

What an incredible first two weeks of the 2025 MLB playoffs we’ve had. There was the instant classic 15-inning Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners, sending Seattle to its first American League Championship Series since 2001. We saw the Philadelphia Phillies be eliminated by the Los Angeles Dodgers on a bases-loaded error in the 11th inning. We watched the Toronto Blue Jays stomp past the New York Yankees with a barrage of scoring.

Now, we’re in the early stages of the league championship series and down to the final four teams: one team that is trying to make history with back-to-back titles, two teams trying to win their first title and one team trying to bring back its glory days of the early 1990s.

The Mariners surprised everyone by going into Toronto and winning the first two games. The Dodgers held on to a slim lead to take Game 1 in Milwaukee. Let’s take stock of October so far with an edition of Real or Not, looking at storylines on the teams still alive and those that have been eliminated.

Teams that are still in it

The Dodgers are the team to beat … again

Verdict: Real

Look. They’re the defending champs. They have a rotation of All-Stars. They have Shohei Ohtani. They seem to have found a closer in Roki Sasaki. They are the favorite to win it all. Just listen to a few statements Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy made Sunday:

“The Dodgers are a powerhouse, what can you say?”

“I happen to think that Mookie Betts is one of the most underrated stars — I say ‘underrated,’ that’s kind of crazy, right? But I don’t think Mookie Betts gets the credit.”

“Freddie Freeman is like my favorite person, player in the game. He’s ruined Brewers history many times, but I still love him.”

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

“My impressions as a pitcher is that [Ohtani is] unbelievable. The game I saw him pitch the other day was, like, uh, a split-finger from the top of the zone all the way to the bottom. Amazing.”

“The other kid is pretty good, the lefty. What’s his name? Shell? [Blake] Snell. I’m joking, of course. I’ve been very disappointed when he’s pitched and I’m in the stadium. He’s really good.”

“And [Tyler] Glasnow is really good. And [Yoshinobu] Yamamoto is really good. The guy at the end — who is the guy at the end throwing 100 with a split? That shouldn’t be fair. We’re going to try to petition the league and see if we can get him suspended for something.”

So, yes, the Dodgers are the favorite. But no team has repeated since the Yankees in 2000. It won’t be easy.

The Blue Jays’ ability to put the ball in play makes them the biggest threat to L.A.’s throne

Verdict: Not Real

The Blue Jays did have the lowest strikeout rate in the majors this season at 17.3% and are coming off a dominant offensive division series against the Yankees. The Brewers, however, had the fifth-lowest strikeout rate and actually scored a few more runs than the Blue Jays this season. Keep in mind that Bo Bichette, one of Toronto’s best offensive players in the regular season, will sit out the ALCS because of a knee injury, and even if the Blue Jays advance without him and he can hit in the World Series, he last played a game on Sept. 6.

As the first game against the Mariners showed, it seems everyone was overreacting just a bit to the Yankees’ series, when the Blue Jays hit .338. I mean, utility infielder Ernie Clement hit .643! That’s not going to continue all October.

That said, team contact rate is a strong October indicator. Look at the leaguewide regular-season strikeout rates (and rankings) of recent World Series winners:

2024 Dodgers: 11th (21.4%)
2023 Texas Rangers: 15th (22.5%)
2022 Houston Astros: second (19.5%)
2021 Atlanta Braves: 16th (22.7%, position players only)
2020 Dodgers: second (20.3%)
2019 Washington Nationals: third (19.8%, position players only)
2018 Boston Red Sox: fifth (19.8%)

Of course, pitching matters, and we’ll see how Toronto’s depth plays out, especially in the bullpen. Milwaukee’s pitching — with the creative and nontraditional ways Murphy deploys it, including in the bullpen — is better than Toronto’s. Let’s call the Blue Jays and Brewers co-upset favorites. Strikeout rate does project as a problem for the Mariners, who ranked 24th in the majors at 23.3%. The Dodgers? They were 12th at 21.9%, so about the same as last season.

Verdict: Real?

Through the division series, it certainly looked as if it was Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit .529/.550/1.059 with three home runs and nine RBIs in four games against the Yankees. Guerrero is exactly what you want for an October lineup anchor: a hitter who hits for a high average with power, an excellent contact rate (he finished 19th in highest contact rate among qualified hitters) and a low chase rate (90th percentile).

But after the Mariners won the first two games in Toronto, a new potential star is brewing thanks to the clutch hitting of Polanco. Check out his big moments so far:

• Hit two home runs off Tarik Skubal in Game 2 of the ALDS, the only runs off Skubal, in a game the Mariners eventually won 3-2.

• Walked and scored the tying run in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the ALDS — and delivered the series-winning walk-off hit in the 15th.

• Delivered the go-ahead, two-out single in the sixth inning of Game 1 of the ALCS and then another RBI single in the eighth in Seattle’s 3-1 victory.

• Went 2-for-5 with two runs and the go-ahead three-run home run in Seattle’s Game 2 win.

Polanco is the first player in MLB history to have a go-ahead hit in the fifth inning or later of three consecutive playoff games. His overall line doesn’t scream domination — .258/.303/.548, three home runs, eight RBIs — but he has been in the middle of the key moments for the Mariners so far as they sit two wins away from their first World Series appearance.

Others off to hot starts:

Guerrero: .375/.429/.750, 3 HR, 9 RBIs

Cal Raleigh: .357/.471/.607, 2 HR, 5 RBIs
Clement: .476/.478/.667, 1 HR, 5 RBIs
Jackson Chourio:.333/.348/.571, 1 HR, 7 RBIs
Teoscar Hernandez:.276/.323/.621, 3 HR, 9 RBIs

How the Dodgers fixed Roki Sasaki

After a disastrous MLB debut, L.A.’s new ninth-inning man has unleashed jaw-dropping stuff in October.
Jeff Passan »

And if you want an October MVP sleeper: Roki Sasaki, who’s doing his best Mariano Rivera impersonation (at least until his shaky performance in Game 1 against the Brewers, in which Blake Treinen had to rescue him to get the final out after Sasaki gave up two walks and one run). The Dodgers entered the postseason with no idea who their closer would be — and Sasaki has stepped up. Check out his first four appearances:

Oct. 1 vs. Cincinnati Reds: Closed out an 8-4 win with a two-strikeout ninth.

Oct. 4 at Phillies: Closed out a 5-3 win.

Oct. 6 at Phillies: After the rest of the pen nearly blew it, he got the final out in a 4-3 win.

Oct. 9 vs. Phillies:Pitched three perfect innings in the Dodgers’ 11-inning, 2-1 win to eliminate Philly.

We’re about to witness Shohei Ohtani’s October breakout

Verdict: Not Real

I could be wrong — you should never bet against Ohtani. Of course, he already has made his pitching breakout, beating the Phillies with six solid innings (three runs, nine strikeouts). He did homer twice in the wild-card opener against the Reds but then went 1-for-18 against the Phillies with nine strikeouts. Granted, he faced three of the toughest lefties in the game in that series — but remember, he was only so-so last postseason (by his own impossible standards), hitting .230/.373/.393. As hard as he pushes himself all season, and now that he’s also pitching again, it’s a lot to ask of him to keep crushing baseball at this regular-season rate.

Consider this nugget of information as well: Ohtani ranked second overall in the majors in OPS in the regular season (1.014); but against pitches of 97 mph or faster, he drops to 21st in OPS (.889). That’s still awesome. Just not quite as awesome. The Brewers have four pitchers who average 97-plus with their fastballs in Jacob Misiorowski, Trevor Megill, Abner Uribe and Aaron Ashby, plus Jared Koenig (averages 96, touches 99), Nick Mears (averages 95.4, touches 98) and Freddy Peralta (averages 94.8, touches 97-98). Two of those are lefty relievers — Ashby and Koenig — and they’re going to face Ohtani a lot in this series. Ohtani knows what he’s going to get. Let ‘er rip (on both sides).

The Mariners’ vibes are enough to power them through October

Verdict: Real

Well, vibes don’t necessarily win games, but home runs, good starting pitching and strong bullpens do. Sunday’s game was unbelievably huge for Seattle, as the Mariners were coming off that exhausting 15-inning game to beat Detroit, flying from Seattle to Toronto, having to use their No. 5 starter Bryce Miller, who had a 5.68 ERA in the regular season, against Blue Jays ace Kevin Gausman — and winning.

It was interesting that Toronto manager John Schneider pulled Gausman after a two-out walk to Julio Rodriguez (which came after the Cal Raleigh home run that tied the score), despite Gausman having thrown only 76 pitches. Rodriguez then scored on a wild pitch and Jorge Polanco ‘s go-ahead single. Miller, meanwhile, also issued a two-out walk in the bottom of the sixth, but Seattle manager Dan Wilson left him in and he got the final out of the inning. The bullpen then finished it off with three hitless innings over only 24 pitches.

Game 2 hinged on another critical Schneider decision when he elected to intentionally walk Raleigh with no outs after Randy Arozarena led off the fifth by reaching second base on an infield single and throwing error. A no-out intentional walk increases the potential for a big inning and that’s exactly what happened. Schneider pulled Trey Yesavage and brought in Louis Varland, who struck out Rodriguez but then got taken deep by Polanco, who blasted that three-run home run to make it 6-3.

The Big Dumper … and some magic?

Seattle has never won a World Series. Or even an American League pennant. Could a little bit of alchemy change that? Alden Gonzalez »

That’s certainly one way to create good vibes.

Look, the Mariners strike out a lot. Even in the Game 1 victory against the Blue Jays, they fanned 11 times compared to only four for Toronto. They struck out 20 times in the 15-inning win against the Tigers. Eugenio Suarez is 4-for-29 in the postseason with 12 strikeouts. Rodriguez is 6-for-29 with 13 strikeouts. Maybe the strikeouts will eventually end up as the Mariners’ fatal flaw. So far, their pitching and power has carried them. But keep in mind that they scored only 32 fewer runs than the Blue Jays in the regular season, despite playing at pitcher-friendly T-Mobile Park. If they stay hot at the plate the way they were in Game 2, they can power their way into the World Series.

Blake Snell looks like The Man on the mound this postseason

Verdict: Real

Some years, the postseason is all about the bullpens. And some years, we get a red-hot starter who delivers all October, like these pitchers from past World Series-winning teams:

2023: Nathan Eovaldi, Rangers (5-0, 2.95 ERA)
2022: Framber Valdez, Astros (3-0, 1.44 ERA)
2019: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals (5-0, 1.98 ERA)
2017: Justin Verlander, Astros (4-1, 2.21 ERA)
2014: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants (4-1, 1.03 ERA, one big save)

This might be Snell’s October to remember. Against the Reds in the wild-card round, he gave up two runs in seven innings, taking a shutout into the seventh. Against the Phillies he picked up another win with six scoreless innings in a duel against Cristopher Sanchez. Then, Snell delivered maybe the best starting pitcher performance this decade with his brilliant one-hit, 10-strikeout game over eight innings to beat the Brewers and run his record to 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA in the postseason.

Snell made only 11 starts in the regular season, sitting out four months, and L.A. manager Dave Roberts said before Game 1 that the Dodgers probably did slow-play Snell’s return to have him ready for October.

“Could he have probably pitched earlier? Possibly,” Roberts said. “But when you’re talking about that kind of arm, the term of the contract, the shorter term, the season, making sure that he is raring to go for the postseason, through the postseason. So that was certainly part of the math.”

For Snell, he’s determined to keep pitching deeper into games. Before this year, he had made 10 career postseason starts and never completed six innings.

“I think it’s just mindset,” said Snell, who was notoriously unhappy with Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash pulling him in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series after 73 pitches with a 1-0 lead, only to see the Rays lose the game. “As you get older, you learn a lot more, you understand pitching, you understand how important belief is. And you just get better just with age and understanding the game and situations and what pressure really is and how awesome these moments are.”

Teams that have been eliminated

The Phillies will look vastly different when we see them next

Verdict: Not Real

Offseason questions for eliminated teams

Here’s how the winter looks in Philly — and in all the towns whose teams made an early exit from the 2025 MLB playoffs. Story »

After the tough four-game loss to the Dodgers, the discussion was how this might be the end of an era for the Phillies. Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suarez — all key members of the core group that has made four consecutive playoff appearances and remained remarkably intact — are all free agents after this season, as is Max Kepler and perhaps Harrison Bader (he has a $10 million mutual option). Six of the regular position players are older than 30. And, quite simply, this group hasn’t gotten it done in the postseason the past three years, especially at the plate.

Thus: Blow it all up! Or at least some of it. But I just don’t see it. This was a 96-win team, and it’s certainly not in the DNA of owner John Middleton and top executive Dave Dombrowski to do anything except keep pushing for a World Series title. Most people in baseball can’t see the Phillies letting Schwarber leave, although there will obviously be interest in him coming off a 56-home run season (the New York Mets, no doubt, are a potentially interested party). Realmuto is a risky signing as he turns 35, but the Phillies don’t have a good alternative at catcher. Suarez is probably the one most likely to leave, just because of the demand for pitchers in free agency.

If there are changes, it might be with Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm. Stott has hit .179 with four RBIs in his past 17 postseason games. In his 38-game postseason career, Bohm has hit .225 with only two home runs and 14 RBIs — often hitting third or fourth in the lineup. The Phillies would probably like to move on from Nick Castellanos, who will make $20 million in the final year of his contract, but there won’t be any trade interest in a player coming off a minus-1.0 WAR season. So, different? Maybe a bit. Vastly different? Probably not.

Having a true ace no longer guarantees October success

Verdict: Real

Tarik Skubal? Gone. Garrett Crochet? Gone. Cristopher Sanchez? Gone. Those three ranked first (Sanchez), third (Skubal) and fourth (Crochet) in Baseball-Reference WAR among pitchers (Paul Skenes, whose Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t make the playoffs, was second).

Look, all three pitched great in October. Skubal gave up four runs in three starts and struck out 36 batters in 20â…” innings; the Tigers lost two of those games anyway. Crochet won his start in the wild-card series, but the Boston Red Sox lost the other two games to the Yankees. Sanchez gave up three runs over two starts against the Dodgers, but the Phillies lost both after he departed.

Though the aces weren’t to blame — you still need your offense to score runs — their inability to pitch deeper into games played a role here as managers are increasingly likely to pull their starter before 100 pitches, even if he’s one of the best starters in baseball. In his Game 5 start against Seattle, Skubal was pulled after six innings and 99 pitches. The Mariners tied the score in the seventh. In his first start against the Dodgers, Sanchez couldn’t quite make it through the sixth inning, giving up two runs and leaving after 94 pitches with a lead, but the Dodgers beat the Phillies’ bullpen. Perhaps it’s instructive that the Red Sox won Crochet’s start 3-1, in part because he threw 117 pitches and left only four outs to the bullpen.

Aces are still enormously valuable. But they’re less valuable than they used to be if they’re only throwing six innings and 90-something pitches.

Aaron Judge finally silenced his October critics — for good

Verdict: Not Real

Judge had a terrific postseason, hitting .500/.581/.692 with seven RBIs in seven games. His .500 average was the third highest in a single postseason (minimum 30 plate appearances) and his 253 wRC+ is in the top 15.

Another wasted year of Aaron Judge

Will the captain end up the greatest Yankee never to win a World Series — or can the Bombers build a championship team around him? Jorge Castillo »

But silence his critics? Nope. This is New York and — fair or not — until Judge helps lift the Yankees to a World Series championship, he’ll face the pressure of expectations every October in which he plays. Consider Ted Williams. He played in one World Series, hit .200 with one RBI and spent the rest of his career with the reputation that he wasn’t clutch. Consider Barry Bonds. He was terrible in three NLCS with the Pirates early in his career and even after one of the greatest postseasons of all time in 2002 (.356, eight home runs, 1.556 OPS), critics will point out that he wasn’t clutch in the playoffs and never won a ring.

That’s the burden Judge has to carry as one of the greatest hitters of all time.

This was the San Diego Padres’ last best shot at a deep postseason run

Verdict: Real

Never say never, but the future path to continued success for the Padres is littered with mega-contract-sized potholes. First, in the immediate future, they’ll have to address their starting rotation with Michael King, Dylan Cease and Nestor Cortes heading to free agency. The problem: The farm system is weak and the payroll more bloated than two servings of the “Cardiff crack” nachos at Petco Park.

Next up, the contracts: Manny Machado made $17.1 million this season but his salary jumps up to $39 million in 2027 — and his contract runs through 2033; Xander Bogaerts, at $25 million a year and coming off an 11-homer season, is signed through 2033; Fernando Tatis Jr.’s salary eventually jumps from $20.7 million in 2025 to $35.7 million in 2029. Joe Musgrove (two more seasons) and Yu Darvish (three more) are still under contract. The Padres are getting older and more expensive. Maybe they’ll try to stretch it one more year behind their bullpen, but the bottom here — when it arrives — might not be pretty.

The state of Ohio had two playoff teams — two more than it’ll have in 2026

Verdict: Not Real

The Cleveland Guardians are coming off their shocking 88-win division title and the Reds won 83 and made the playoffs in a full season for the first time since 2013. It’s easy to dismiss both team’s chances in 2026: Cleveland had trouble scoring runs all season and Cincinnati didn’t exactly roll out the Big Red Machine on offense. The Guardians have the advantage of playing in the AL Central, where no team except Cleveland in the past four seasons has won more than 87 games (the Guardians have done it three times). Both teams will enter 2026 relying again on run prevention while lacking the committed owners needed to invest in some upgrades on offense.

I would still put the odds of at least one of them making the playoffs next season at better than 50% and I especially like where the Reds sit with their rotation. With Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, Andrew Abbott and Brady Singer, they finished third in FanGraphs WAR among starting rotations. But then they have two big arms to add in 2026: Chase Burns, the No. 2 pick in the 2024 draft who debuted with the Reds this season and struck out 67 batters in 43 innings; and Rhett Lowder, the seventh pick in 2023 who debuted with the Reds in 2024 but sat out much of 2025 because of a forearm strain and then an oblique strain.

Best possible World Series matchups

Never-before-seen history? A battle of villains?! Here are the best remaining showdowns for every type of fan. David Schoenfield »

With Nick Martinez headed to free agency after making $21 million in 2025, the Reds can invest that money in some offense. Sal Stewart, who looked good in 18 late-season games with the Reds, has a chance to be an impact rookie, either at third base or first. Noelvi Marte’s midseason transition to right field was pretty seamless, although his bat went away in September (.191, 32 strikeouts, three walks) after he hit well in July and August. They’ll certainly need more power production from Elly De La Cruz, who finished with 22 home runs after somehow hitting only one in a 74-game stretch over the summer.

Playing in the same division as the Brewers and Chicago Cubs isn’t an easy assignment, but if the young hitters can improve — of course, we’ve been saying that about Cincinnati for the past decade — to back up this rotation, the Reds can return to the postseason.

Source link

TORONTO — Every so often in the Seattle Mariners clubhouse, the “Top Gun Anthem,” full of soaring guitar notes and pick-me-up vibes, will randomly blast from inside a locker. Everyone knows the culprit. Jorge Polanco, the Mariners’ veteran second baseman, is not a fan of silencing his phone.

“But he loves Maverick and Iceman,” Mariners star Cal Raleigh said.

Nobody really minds. When a player is doing what Polanco has done this postseason — rescuing the Mariners from the danger zone seemingly daily, with his latest trick a go-ahead three-run home run that paved the way for Monday’s 10-3 victory — his ringtone could be Limp Bizkit and nobody would utter a peep.

Editor’s Picks

2 Related

Instead, it’s the perfect soundtrack for this Mariners run, which currently sees them up two games to none against the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Championship Series. The “Top Gun Anthem” is an epic ballad filled with the sorts of ups and downs that personify an organization that has spent 49 years alternating among the desolation of mediocrity and the heartbreak of underachievement. The only team in Major League Baseball to never to play in a World Series, Seattle is two wins away from capturing its first American League pennant and is heading home to T-Mobile Park for Game 3.

The Mariners’ dominant position is in large part thanks to a 32-year-old infielder whose feats have earned him the right to be called Iceman himself — and yet that’s not the nickname Polanco wears these days.

“He’s George Bonds,” M’s catcher Mitch Garver said.

Yes, Polanco’s alter ego is the anglicized version of his first name and the surname of Major League Baseball’s all-time home run leader. He earned it earlier this season, Garver said, when “everything he hit was 110 [mph] in a gap or over the fence. It was unbelievable.”

The Big Dumper … and some magic?

Seattle has never won a World Series. Or even an American League pennant. Could a little bit of alchemy change that? Alden Gonzalez »

Particularly when considering that last winter, Polanco didn’t know whether he would be healthy enough to keep hitting major league pitching. Polanco, who had struggled for years with left knee issues, underwent surgery in October 2024 to repair his patellar tendon. A free agent, Polanco drew limited interest on the market and wound up re-signing with the Mariners for one year and $7.75 million.

“It’s been a journey, man,” Polanco said. “That’s the way I can put it. I wouldn’t say it’s been bad. I wouldn’t say it’s been easy. I think God just prepared me for this year. I’ve been hurt a little bit, so yeah; but now we here, and I’m glad to be back.

“You just have to have faith. You overcome. Come back stronger.”

Polanco’s strength has been on display all October. It first appeared in the second game of Seattle’s division series against the Detroit Tigers when he hit two home runs off ace Tarik Skubal, who is about to win his second consecutive Cy Young Award. It continued three games later in a winner-takes-all Game 5 when he lashed a single into right field in the 15th inning that advanced the Mariners to their first ALCS since 2001. It didn’t stop there, with Polanco’s go-ahead single in the sixth inning of Game 1 against the Blue Jays on Sunday.

MLB playoff tracker: Who can clinch next?

From current playoff matchups to league races to the postseason schedule, we’ve got you covered. Everything to know »

Then came Monday’s fifth-inning blast off Toronto reliever Louis Varland, who fed a 98 mph fastball over the plate and watched it leave the bat at 105.2 mph, flying 400 feet to turn a 3-3 tie into a 6-3 Seattle lead.

“He’s always been a great hitter,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “His swing right now is very short. That ball tonight, I wasn’t sure it was going to go out of the ballpark, but I think he’s just getting that kind of spin on it right now where it stays up.”

That is no accident. Polanco arrived in the major leagues with the Minnesota Twins in 2014 at age 20, a bat-to-ball savant whose ability to hit from both sides of the plate carved him out a regular role with the team.

“He wasn’t George Bonds before,” Garver said. “He was Harry Potter. Because he was a wizard. He’d just make hits appear.”

Polanco found power five years into his career, and he maxed out with 33 home runs for the Twins in 2021. But the degradation of his knee sapped the juice in his bat and left him flailing too often at pitches he’d have previously spit on. Last year, in his first season with the Mariners, his numbers cratered, but the organization appreciated Polanco’s even-keeled demeanor and believed fixing his knee would fix his swing too.

The Mariners were right. George Bonds was born during a ridiculous first month of the 2025 season when he whacked nine homers in 80 plate appearances. Polanco had embraced the M’s ethos of pulling the ball in the air. Raleigh led MLB with a 1.594 OPS on balls pulled. Third baseman Eugenio Suarez was second at 1.497. Polanco hit 23 of his 26 home runs this season to the pull side, and both of his homers off Skubal (hit from the right side) and the one against Varland (left) were met in front of the plate and yanked over the fence.

All of ESPN. All in one place.

Watch your favorite events in the newly enhanced ESPN App. Learn more about what plan is right for you. Sign Up Now

“Throughout the years, I hated going to Minnesota just solely because of him,” said shortstop J.P. Crawford, the longest-tenured Mariner. “The guy single-handedly beat us so many times. We all know the type of player he is when he is healthy, and it’s clearly showing right now.”

Never in the game’s 150-year history had a player logged three consecutive game-winning hits in the fifth inning or later during the postseason. It’s the sort of performance teams need to win pennants — and championships. As brilliant as Raleigh has been in a could-be-MVP campaign and as conflagrant as Julio Rodriguez was in the second half and as dominant as Seattle’s pitching has been en route to this point, winning playoff baseball takes more.

Like, say, a guy who over the winter was an afterthought now hitting cleanup and never wavering, even in the highest-leverage situations.

“What’s most impressive is bouncing back after a rough year last year,” said Seattle pitcher Bryan Woo, who will start Game 3 on Wednesday against Toronto’s Shane Bieber. “Especially for a guy on his second team, back half of his career. To do what he’s doing — get healthy, come back, help the team like he has — is even more impressive than just playing good baseball.”

Playing good baseball helps too. Polanco has helped get Seattle in a place that barely a month ago looked impossible to conceive. From mid-August to early September, the Mariners lost 13 of 18, trailed the Houston Astros by 3½ games in the AL West and held a half-game lead on the Texas Rangers for the final wild-card spot. From there, the M’s went 17-4, won the West, earned a first-round bye and charted a course for history.

They’re not there. And yet even Polanco admitted that Seattle players can’t ignore the team’s history and recognize what it would mean to get to the World Series.

“Yeah, we think about it,” he said. “We’ve heard it a lot. We know.”

The knowledge hasn’t deterred them. Raleigh is raking. Rodriguez is slugging. Josh Naylor, who grew up in nearby Mississauga, Ontario, blasted a two-run home run in Game 2 of the ALCS. And George Bonds has shown up in style, cold as Iceman, cool as Maverick, perfectly happy to eschew silent mode in favor of loud contact.

Source link

MILWAUKEE — When the Dodgers signed Blake Snell last offseason, it was to be a bona fide ace. But not just an ace — one who could lead L.A.â€s pitching staff through the postseason in big moments.

“Everyone wants to pitch in October,†Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said before NLCS Game 1. “I think for some it is literally a part of their identity and what they yearn for more than anything. And I think Blake is one of those guys.â€

Advertisement

Snell is no stranger to big games, and his postseason résumé backs that up, with a 2.92 ERA across 12 postseason starts entering Monday. So when the Dodgers were deciding who would take the ball for Game 1 of the NLCS, there was little question whom theyâ€d turn to.

[Get more L.A. news: Dodgers team feed]

And sure enough, in L.A.â€s 2-1 victory over the Brewers, the two-time Cy Young Award winner did what he has done his entire career: Dominate.

“I feel like the whole postseason, I’ve been pretty locked in, pretty consistent,†Snell said after his masterful performance. “The last three, I felt really good, really locked in.â€

Coming off an NLDS performance in which he allowed just one hit over six innings against the Phillies, the Dodgers†left-hander was even better in Game 1 against the Brewers.

Advertisement

Snell set the tone from the first frame, getting both Christian Yelich and William Contreras to strike out swinging. From those two at-bats alone, it was easy to see that Snell had everything in his arsenal working.

“This is as good as I can remember [from Snell] in the postseason against a very gritty team [that] puts the ball in play,†Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “The changeup was the pitch of the night. His command was great. And you’re not going to see too many performances like that, certainly in the postseason. This was pretty special.â€

Said Brewers manager Pat Murphy: “I think it’s the most dominant performance against us. And I’ve been here 10 years.â€

After that first inning, the two-time Cy Young winner continued to cruise, getting into a rhythm and setting down Brewers hitters one by one. Snell had his full repertoire working against Milwaukee, but as his manager observed, the pitch that stood out was the changeup. Of Snellâ€s 22 swing-and-misses Monday, 14 came on the pitch.

Advertisement

“Coming into the game, I want all four pitches to feel good, to just have some kind of feel,†Snell said. “[But] when I come out to the game, it’ll be different. This is what I’m seeing — I’ll go more changeups to this hitter or more sliders. But the whole goal is to feel confident I can strike all four.â€

In his outing Monday, Snell was not only dominant but also efficient. The Dodgers†ace got through eight shutout innings while facing the minimum. The only baserunner he allowed was on a Caleb Durbin third-inning single. After that, Snell promptly picked off Durbin trying to steal.

“When you face a power pitcher that can locate three plus pitches, you know it’s going to be tough,†said first baseman Freddie Freeman, who broke the scoreless tie and gave the Dodgers a lead with a sixth-inning solo homer. “How he pitched tonight is probably not going to be how he pitches the next time. It’s hard to scout. It’s hard to feel good against someone like that. You might have success in one game, and it will be completely thrown out the door, and you’re going to strike out three times.â€

Advertisement

The Dodgers†bullpen made it dramatic in the end, surrendering three walks, a double and the Brewers†only score in the bottom of the ninth. But they just barely held on to secure the third win of the postseason for the Dodgers†southpaw, whose final line included striking out 10 and not walking a single batter.

The 10 strikeouts marked a postseason career high for Snell, who has a penchant for strikeouts, and made him the first pitcher in MLB postseason history with at least 10 strikeouts, one or fewer hits allowed and zero walks in a start of at least eight innings. And according to MLB.comâ€s Sarah Langs, it was the first postseason start in which a pitcher faced the minimum through eight innings since Don Larsenâ€s legendary World Series perfect game in 1956.

The Dodgers signed Snell to a five-year, $182 million deal in December because they believed he was a pitcher who could help them not only get back to the World Series but also become the first team in 25 years to repeat as champions. It doesnâ€t matter that he pitched only 61 â…“ innings in the regular season; when an ace is on a roll like Snell is right now, donâ€t expect that to slow down anytime soon.

Advertisement

Throughout his career, L.A.â€s ace has heard the chatter about what he is or isnâ€t as a starting pitcher, but he tends to let his performances do the talking. And if he keeps performing like this, the next stage will be the World Series, and Snell will be the Dodgers†leading man.

“Every situation’s a pressure situation [in the postseason],†he said. “The deeper you go into the postseason, the more that doubt will creep in … there’s always a way to find a flaw in something. And it will be said.

“[But in the] postseason, if you dominate and you do great, no one can say anything. And that’s probably the best feeling is you get to prove yourself right.â€

Source link

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Blake Snell this offseason so he could pitch well in the biggest moments.

And he did just that in Monday’s Game 1 of the National League Championship Series at American Family Field.

The two-time Cy Young winner allowed just one hit and struck out 10 in eight shoutout innings as he led the Dodgers to a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to seize a 1-0 advantage in the series. Los Angeles is now three wins away from reaching back-to-back World Series.

Snell didn’t need much run support, and the only offense he got came from a Freddie Freeman homer in the sixth and a Mookie Betts RBI walk in the ninth during what was also a strong bullpen game from Milwaukee.

That last run was key because the Brewers scored in the ninth and loaded the bases before Blake Treinen struck out Brice Turang to end the game and preserve the win for Snell, who drew plenty of reaction from social media:

While both offenses were quiet in the early going with Snell and Brewers reliever Quinn Priester—who entered the game after opener Aaron Ashby pitched the first inning—pitching well, one of the biggest moments of the game came in the fourth inning when it seemed as if Los Angeles might break it open.

It was also one of the strangest plays one could ever expect to see on the baseball field.

With the bases loaded, Max Muncy drilled a deep fly ball to center field that looked to be a grand slam when it was in the air. However, Sal Frelick kept the ball in the park and threw it into the infield, where the Brewers were able to get a double play thanks to confused base runners who weren’t sure if he caught it on a fly.

Teoscar Hernández initially tagged, started running home when he thought it wasn’t caught, returned to third when it looked like it might have been, and didn’t make it to home on time. Meanwhile, Will Smith went back to second base thinking it was caught and was forced out at third for a double play and no runs.

Some teams may have allowed such an unfortunate break to linger and undercut their efforts the rest of the game, but the Dodgers’ didn’t do that. Instead, Snell continued to dominate on the mound before Freeman launched a solo homer off Chad Patrick to break the scoreless tie in the sixth.

Even one run shifted all the pressure to Milwaukee’s offense given how dialed in Snell was on the mound. The southpaw maintained the lead with a 1-2-3 sixth inning and another 1-2-3 inning in the seventh, which extended his streak of consecutive batters retired to 14.

The only question at that point was whether he would pitch a complete game, and another 1-2-3 frame in the eighth made it seem like he might.

Perhaps he should have even with 103 total pitches because closer Roki Sasaki struggled in the in the ninth and allowed a run before he was pulled for Treinen.

Source link

Tyrese Haliburton may not have a specific MLB team he roots for, but he certainly isn’t a fan of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Indiana Pacers star has made it clear he’s not rooting for the Brewers in the MLB playoffs in recent days. He wore a Chicago Cubs jersey to a Pacers preseason game on Saturday and wore a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey to Indiana’s game on Monday during Game 1 of the NLCS.

Haliburton is from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, which is just about an hour away from Milwaukee, so if he were to have an MLB team, it would seemingly be the Brewers. However, he’s clearly grown to dislike Milwaukee—or at least its sports teams—in recent years.

The Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks are division rivals and see each other four times a year. Their rivalry has intensified over the last two years as well, since Indiana has eliminated Milwaukee in the playoffs in each of the last two years.

As if Haliburton didn’t have enough of a reason not to like the Bucks, his former teammate Myles Turner signed with Milwaukee this offseason after spending the first 10 years of his career in Indiana. Turner also called out Pacers fans following his exit.

Haliburton won’t have the chance to take on the Bucks during the season since he’s out for the year with a torn Achilles he suffered in Game 7 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 25-year-old is coming off a season in which he averaged 18.6 points and 9.2 assists before putting together one of the most memorable postseason runs in recent memory.

Maybe Haliburton isn’t trolling the Brewers and just happens to be a fan of both the Cubs and Dodgers, though that seems unlikely. If Milwaukee advances to the World Series and Haliburton wears either a Seattle Mariners or Toronto Blue Jays jersey, fans will know for sure his intention behind the jerseys.

Source link

The Seattle Mariners are halfway to an American League Championship Series victory, and they haven’t even played a home game yet.

Seattle seized a 2-0 series lead over the Toronto Blue Jays with a 10-3 victory in Monday’s Game 2 at Rogers Centre. It is now just two wins away from its first World Series appearance in franchise history.

Power was the name of the game for the visitors in their latest triumph, as Julio Rodríguez launched a three-run homer in the first inning, Jorge Polanco sent one over the wall for another three-run long ball in the fifth and Josh Naylor added insurance with a two-run homer in the seventh.

Polanco’s blast broke a tie and put the Mariners ahead for good and helped provide plenty of run support for a strong bullpen that went the final six innings.

The home runs and overall performance also caught the attention of social media:

Neither team wasted any time offensively with immediate fireworks. While Rodríguez’s home run was the first blow, Toronto answered right back with two runs of its own against Mariners starter Logan Gilbert in the first inning.Â

George Springer doubled and scored on an error after Nathan Lukes’ single, and Lukes then scored on Alejandro Kirk’s single. Lukes was far from done, as he tied it up in the second with an RBI single.

Toronto was dialed in against Gilbert across the starter’s brief three innings of work, but the same could not be said against the bullpen. Eduard Bazardo got the ball first out of the Seattle bullpen and was brilliant with two shutout innings.

The Blue Jays were unable to counter with their own bullpen, as Louis Varland came in for starter Trey Yesavage with runners on first and second and nobody out in the fifth only to give up Polanco’s monster homer two batters later. Yesavage was charged with five earned runs in the four innings, but the Mariners continued to add to the lead with an RBI single from J.P Crawford in the sixth.

By the time Naylor hit his homer, the result was hardly in doubt.

Carlos Vargas and Emerson Hancock shut the door the rest of the way for Seattle’s bullpen against a strong Toronto offense that just overwhelmed the New York Yankees in the last series.Â

The formula of timely long balls on offense and shutdown pitching in the late innings from the bullpen is a dominant one in the playoffs, and the Mariners will look to unleash it again when the series shifts to Seattle for Wednesday’s Game 3.

Source link

Oct 13, 2025, 04:48 PM ET

Sandy Alomar Sr., an All-Star infielder during his playing days in the 1960s and 70s who went on to coach in the majors and manage in his native Puerto Rico, has died. He was 81.

A spokesperson for the Cleveland Guardians said Monday that the team was informed by Alomar’s family about his death. Sandy Alomar Jr., who along with Hall of Fame brother Roberto played for their father in winter ball and in the minors, is on the Guardians’ staff.

“Our thoughts are with the Alomar family today as the baseball community mourns his passing,” the Guardians said on social media.

Sandy Alomar Sr. played for six major league teams across 15 seasons, including three for the Yankees. Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire

Alomar broke into the big leagues in 1964 with the Milwaukee Braves, one of six teams he played for. He also spent time with the New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers before calling it a career in 1978.

Known more for his speed and fielding than his hitting, Alomar batted .245 with 13 home runs and 282 RBI in 1,481 regular-season games.

He was named an All-Star in 1970. He stole 227 bases, including a career-high 39 in 1971, when he led the American League with 689 at-bats and 739 plate appearances, and took part in one playoff series with the Yankees in ’76.

Alomar went into coaching in San Diego’s system in the ’80s and was the Padres’ third-base coach from 1986 to 90. He coached for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies and the Mets in the 2000s.

Source link