With most of the four-game playoff slate in the books, all eyes turn to Southern California.
The Tigers beat the Guardians 3-0 early Wednesday to take a 2-1 ALDS lead. In New York, a Francisco Lindor grand slam launched the Mets past the Phillies to eliminate Philadelphia and extend the Mets’ magical run to the NLCS. Then the Yankees snuck past the Royals thanks to a late home run from Giancarlo Stanton.
In the nightcap, the Padres are looking to eliminate the Dodgers in Game 4 of their heated NLDS in San Diego.
Yankees 3, Royals 2
It took a huge night from Giancarlo Stanton, but the New York Yankees are one win away from reaching the ALCS.
The Yankees snuck past the Kansas City Royals 3-2 in Game 3 of the ALDS at Kauffman Stadium. That gave the Yankees a 2-1 series lead and has them on the cusp of reaching their fourth ALCS in the past eight seasons.
The Yankees jumped out early on an RBI double from Stanton in the fourth and a sacrifice fly from Juan Soto in the fifth. The Royals responded in the bottom of the fifth on back-to-back RBI from Kyle Isbel and Michael Massey, who hit a deep triple that just barely got past Soto in right field.
Finally, Stanton lifted the Yankees back into the lead in the eighth with a deep home run that went well over the left-field wall. That gave the Yankees a one-run lead and eventually pushed them to the 2-1 series lead.
The two teams will run it back on Thursday in Kansas City, where the Yankees can close it out. If not, they’ll return to the Bronx on Saturday for Game 5.
Mets 4, Phillies 1
The dream season for the New York Mets continues. As do the postseason nightmares for the Philadelphia Phillies.
After coming up scoreless with the bases loaded in both the first and second innings, the Mets made the most of things in the sixth. Francisco Lindor launched a no-doubt grand slam over the right-field wall off Phillies reliever Carlos Estevez to get the Mets on the scoreboard with a 4-1 lead. They held to win by the same score and advance to the NLCS with a 3-1 NLDS victory.
The win continues an unlikely run that saw the Mets seemingly out of the postseason race at the All-Star break and needing a win on the last day of the regular season just to make the playoffs. Now, they’re eight wins away from a World Series championship. They’ll face the winner between the Padres and Dodgers for the NL pennant.
Another game between the Tigers and Guardians, another shutout.
Riley Greene, Matt Vierling and Spencer Torkelson provided the runs as the Tigers took a 2-1 series lead in the ALDS with a 3-0 win in Game 3. The Tigers were powered early by strong pitching from reliever Brant Hurter, who threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings after starter Keider Montero kept the Guardians quiet in the first inning. Greene’s first-inning single and Vierling’s third-inning sacrifice fly helped put Detroit up 2-0.
Torkelson, who entered the day hitless in his previous 14 at-bats, roped a run-scoring double in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend the Detroit lead to 3-0, which was more than enough considering how well the Tigers’ bullpen was performing. After Hurter exited the game, Beau Brieske came in and continued his dominant postseason run with two more scoreless innings of relief.
The Guardians had their chances but left eight runners on base and managed just six hits off Tigers pitching on Wednesday — three of which came off the bat of Steven Kwan. The Guardians have now gone 20 consecutive innings without scoring a run. Detroit can close out Cleveland in Game 4 on Thursday.
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Fernando Tatis Jr. comes short of a three-run homer
Phillips got ahead 0-2 on Tatis, who then took two balls and sent the next pitch just short of the warning track in right-center. That was a big at-bat, and the Dodgers bullpen is now more than halfway to landing this plane.
The remaining available arms in the Dodgers pen with four innings to go: Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, Jack Flaherty, Ben Casparius and Landon Knack.
LAD-SD: Here comes Evan Phillips
The Dodgers have a five-run lead, but it’s an elimination game. After Alex Vesia strikes out Kyle Higashioka and gets a Luis Arraez flyout, the Dodgers are bringing in another top arm in Evan Phillips to face Fernando Tatis Jr. with two runners and two outs.
LAD-SD: David Peralta gets another hit
Peralta was 4-for-20 with eight strikeouts against left-handers in the regular season, but he’s now get two hits off the Dodgers’ two bullpen lefties in this game. Evan Phillips is warming now while Vesia walks Jake Cronenworth.
The Padres have two men on with no outs and could make this game interest very quickly.
LAD-SD: Alex Vesia stays in for fifth, with Jack Flaherty starting to throw
Even with the Dodgers up five runs, it might be about to get weird with their bullpen. Flaherty could have been a bullpen option in Game 5, assuming the Dodgers got there, but pitching him here would line him up to pitch Game 1 of the NLCS on three days rest.
LAD-SD: Jackson Merrill robs a big hit from Max Muncy
Max Muncy hits a ball to deep right-center, but Jackson Merrill leaps and grabs it at the top of the wall. Could have been a double, could have been a homer, a big play either way for the Rookie of the Year contender.
Now Jeremiah Estrada comes into the game for Morejon.
LAD-SD: Another scoreless inning for the Dodgers bullpen
So far, so good for the Dodgers’ bullpen game plan. They’ve allowed two hits in four scoreless innings with four strikeouts so far.
Important to note: They still have Landon Knack, who could have started this game and will be an option if the Dodgers want a guy to eat multiple innings if they’re feeling comfortable with the lead.
LAD-SD: More on the Ohtani-Machado-ump play
Upon further review, Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel put the stop sign up after seeing the ball hit the ump, but Ohtani’s head was down, likely after seeing the first bounce.
The Dodgers… are not happy.
LAD-SD: Padres get Ohtani at home on the luckiest of plays
Ohtani walked and took second on a fly ball to center (he is very fast).
A Teoscar Hernandez hit should have scored him after it bounced off Manny Machado’s glove near the third-base line, but the ball hit the third-base ump and bounced back to Machado, who threw Ohtani out at home by 10 feet.
And that’s how the Padres got their first scoreless inning of the game.
LAD-SD: Michael Kopech ends the third, might stay in
Jurickson Profar hits an easy fly ball to end the third inning. Like with Brasier, the Dodgers might keep Kopech in to face Manny Machado in the next inning before going to Vesia against Merrill.
LAD-SD: Fernando Tatis Jr. hits a double after high-and-inside pitch
Kopech throws a pitch way high and a bit inside, enough that Fernando Tatis Jr. drops to the ground and Padres manager Mike Shildt talks to the ump about the pitch (which was clearly not intentional). Tatis responds with a ground-rule double.
Left-hander Alex Vesia is now warming, likely to face Jackson Merrill in a couple of at-bats.
KC-NYY: Yankees win, take 2-1 lead
And that’ll do it. The Yankees win 3-2 and now hold a 2-1 series lead over the Royals.
They have a chance to close out this ALDS tomorrow in Kansas City.
LAD-SD: Dodgers throw Michael Kopech at top of the Padres’ order
Even up five runs, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is getting aggressive. Michael Kopech, one of the L.A. late-inning arms, comes in for the third inning to face 9-1-2 in the Padres’ lineup.
KC-NYY: Royals have one last chance
Soto reached first on a brutal error by the Royals, and then Aaron Judge was walked with just one out on the board. The Royals, though, survived when Wells flied out to center and Stanton fouled out to first.
The Yankees can close this out with three more outs.
LAD-SD: Adrian Morejon comes in for Brian Hoeing
Hoeing stays in to strike out Tommy Edman (who’s weak against right-handers), and now it’s Adrian Morejon to face the bottom of the Dodgers’ order.
LAD-SD: Will Smith puts the Dodgers up 5-0 with two-run HR
The Dodgers look like a completely different team right now. Max Muncy led off the third with a double off Brian Hoeing, and then Will Smith, who has had some drama with the Padres, followed with a two-run homer to put his team up five. It’s Smith’s first hit of the postseason.
LAD-SD: It’s been a while since the Dodgers had a lead like this
A three-run lead is by no means comfortable against a lineup such as the Padres’, but it’s still bigger than the Dodgers have had in two years.
#Dodgers lead 3-0 after 2 innings. That is their largest lead at the end of a postseason inning since they led NLDS Game 1 v SD in 2022 5-0 through 4 innings
Witt singled to left with just an out on the board in the eighth for the Royals, and Perez hit him to third with a single after Anthony Volpe made a wild diving catch to make the second out of the inning. But Gurriel flied out to center, and the Yankees survived.
That was a perfect opportunity for the Royals, and they couldn’t get it done. We’ll head to the ninth now with the Yankees still in control.
LAD-SD: Anthony Banda gets out of two-out jam
The Padres got a pair of two-out baserunners with a Xander Bogaerts walk and David Peralta single, but Jake Cronenworth pops out to keep the inning scoreless. The Dodgers started warming up Michael Kopech, one of their top arms, so we’ll see if he gets the third inning.
LAD-SD: Anthony Banda comes in for Brasier
Ryan Brasier does his job with 4 up, 4 down against the Padres’ potent top of the lineup. Southpaw Anthony Banda comes in to face left-handed rookie Jackson Merrill.
KC-NYY: Another look at Stanton’s home run
That home run from Giancarlo Stanton was the first Yankees go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later in the postseason in more than a decade.
Giancarlo Stanton’s HR is the first Yankees go-ahead HR in the 8th inning or later (postseason) since Raul Ibanez in Game 3 of the 2012 ALDS.
