CUBS AVOID ELIMINATION, HOLD OFF BREWERS IN GAME 3 OF NLDS
Pete Crow-Armstrong ripped a two-run single to highlight a four-run first inning, helping the host Chicago Cubs stave off elimination with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday in Game 3 of their National League Division Series.
The Cubs trail 2-1 in the best-of-five series. Game 4 is Thursday in Chicago.
“This has been a really resilient team all year,” Crow-Armstrong said in a postgame TNT Sports interview. “We know we just have more ball to play at Wrigley Field. And hopefully we can finish the job in Milwaukee.”
Michael Busch homered to lead off the first inning for the second time in this series, becoming the first player in major league history to accomplish the feat, per MLB.com. He also went deep in the Cubs’ 9-3 loss to the Brewers in Game 1 on Saturday.
“He’s incredible. We’ve been watching it all year long,” Cubs reliever Brad Keller said of Busch via Marquee Sports Network. “He keeps setting the tone every single game, including the playoffs too. It’s just so fun to watch.”
Ian Happ scored on a wild pitch, and Nico Hoerner and Kyle Tucker each had two of Chicago’s eight hits.
Drew Pomeranz (1-0) struck out two batters while retiring the side in order in the fifth inning.
Jake Bauers had an RBI single in the fourth inning and an opposite-field homer to lead off the seventh to trim Chicago’s lead to 4-3.
Brad Keller struck out Bauers with the bases loaded to end the eighth inning. He then retired the side in the ninth inning to secure his second save of the playoffs.
Sal Frelick’s sacrifice fly plated Christian Yelich in the top of the first before the Cubs responded with a flourish in their half of the inning.
Busch deposited a 3-2 fastball from Quinn Priester (0-1) over the wall in right-center field to forge a 1-1 tie. The homer was Busch’s team-leading third of the postseason.
The Cubs quickly loaded the bases before Crow-Armstrong’s single to right field plated both Hoerner and Tucker and chased Priester from the game.
“Huge. Huge hit and a huge time. Very clutch,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said of Crow-Armstrong’s hit. “That’s what had to happen for us. We had to get that big two-out hit, and didn’t get it.”
Nick Mears relieved Priester and promptly uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Happ to score and extend Chicago’s lead to 4-1.
Bauers trimmed his team’s deficit with an RBI single in the fourth before Caleb Durbin was tagged out in a rundown at home plate on a Brandon Lockridge bunt. Joey Ortiz grounded out to end the inning, stranding two in scoring position.
Priester permitted four runs on three hits with two walks in two-thirds of an inning.
FIRST-INNING OFFENSE IN FOCUS AS CUBS TRY TO EVEN NLDS VS. BREWERS
The Chicago Cubs have started fast in each of the first three games of the National League Division Series, but they have only one win to show for it.
They will look to bolt out of the blocks once again in Game 4 on Thursday when they attempt to even their best-of-five series against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers.
Michael Busch belted a homer to lead off the series opener and the Cubs scored three runs in the first inning of Game 2, only to lose both contests. Busch went deep to open Game 3 as part of a four-run first inning, and Chicago held on for a 4-3 victory on Wednesday.
“I’m going to tell our guys it’s the first inning every inning (on Thursday),” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “I think that’s our best formula right now offensively.
“But Michael’s … look, you can just tell how they manage the game. He’s become the guy in the lineup that everyone’s thinking about, and they’re pitching around him, and that’s a credit to the player. … He’s put us off to a great start in a whole bunch of these games.”
Busch, who led the team with 34 homers during the regular season, has gone deep three times in the playoffs.
“I thought we were just locked in from the beginning,” Busch said. “They happened to give us four runs to win it, but I thought right off the bat, all nine of us kind of gave really good at-bats.”
Unfortunately for the Cubs, the Brewers also have started quickly in the series. Milwaukee erupted for six runs in the first inning of Game 1, matched Chicago’s three-run output in the opening frame of Game 2 and scratched for a run in the first inning of Game 3.
So that begs the question: Who will start Game 4 for each team?
Well, neither team tipped its hand in the postgame press conferences and locker room interviews on Wednesday.
For Milwaukee, right-hander Freddy Peralta would be in line to take the mound on four days’ rest should he get the nod.
Peralta (1-0, 3.18 ERA postseason) followed up a 17-win regular season by allowing two runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings in a 9-3 victory over the Cubs in the series opener on Saturday.
Peralta, 29, finished 3-1 with a 3.43 ERA in four regular-season starts vs. Chicago this season. He is 9-3 with a 3.21 ERA in 22 career regular-season appearances (17 starts) against the Cubs.
Chicago left-hander Matthew Boyd likely will get the nod Thursday in a rematch of the series opener.
Boyd (0-1, 5.40 ERA postseason) would love a better result after permitting six runs, two earned, on four hits in two-thirds of an inning on Saturday. In that contest, he was pitching on three days’ rest for the first time this year.
Boyd, 34, went 1-1 with a 7.84 ERA in two regular-season starts vs. Milwaukee in 2025. He is 2-2 with a 9.00 ERA in five career regular-season appearances (all starts) against the Brewers.
Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers is 1-for-11 in his career against Boyd. Bauers homered and drove in two runs on Wednesday, but he failed to come through with the bases loaded in the eighth, striking out to end the inning.
“Obviously going down three in the first (inning) is not good, but no one in there lost confidence,” Bauers said.
TIGERS SMACK 3 HRS IN ROUT OF MARINERS TO EVEN ALDS
DETROIT – Just when it mattered most, the Detroit Tigers’ bats sprang to life Wednesday, setting up a winner-take-all showdown with the Seattle Mariners in Game 5 of the American League Division series.
Riley Greene, Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres each hammered home runs to help the Tigers to a 9-3 victory over the Mariners in Game 4 of the ALDS.
“We knew our season was on the line,” said Tigers manager A.J. Hinch. “This is not the first elimination game that we’ve played this postseason, and our guys stayed loose and stayed in the game and came up with some really big pitches and some big swings.”
Baez, who homered in a postseason game for the first time since 2017, also drove in four runs as Detroit tied the series at two games apiece.
“He did everything perfectly today,” Hinch said of Baez. “I mean, it was amazing. He just rises to the moment.”
The two teams square off Friday in Game 5 in Seattle with the winner of the best-of-five playoff set advancing to the AL Championship Series. Seattle had won Games 2 and 3 before the Tigers evened the series.
It was the Tigers’ first home victory since Sept. 6, and their nine runs were the most they’ve scored in a postseason game since Game 6 of the 1968 World Series.
“I think when everything clicks together, the pitching and the hitting and everything we do as a team, we can be really dangerous,” Baez said.
The Mariners started the scoring in the second inning when Dominic Canzone singled off of Detroit starter Casey Mize, allowing Josh Naylor to score with two outs.
Mize, who allowed one run on two hits and struck out six, was pulled after only three innings and replaced by Tyler Holton, who teamed up with three other relievers to allow only two runs and six hits over the final six innings.
Holton failed to record an out, loading the bases in the fourth inning. He was replaced by Kyle Finnegan, who got Victor Robles to hit into a double play, allowing Naylor to score from third and give the Mariners a 2-0 advantage.
Seattle raised the lead to 3-0 in the fifth as Cal Raleigh’s line-drive single to right field scored Randy Arozarena.
The Tigers tied the game at 3 in the bottom of the inning as back-to-back RBI doubles by Dillon Dingler and pitch hitter Jahmai Jones scored Zach McKinstry and Dingler, respectively. Jones came home on Baez’s single.
Greene gave the Tigers their first lead since the 11th inning of Game 1 with his 454-feet homer off reliever Gabe Speier (0-1) in the sixth inning. McKinstry then singled to score Spencer Torkelson and push Detroit ahead 5-3.
Three batters later, Baez hit his home run, scoring Wenceel Perez and raising the lead to 7-3.
Torres added to the Tigers’ lead with a 344-foot solo homer in the seventh inning. Baez closed the scoring in the eighth when he drove in McKinstry on a grounder.
Troy Melton (1-1) gave up two hits over three scoreless innings.
Seattle starter Bryce Miller gave up two runs on four hits and struck out two over 4 1/3 innings. Four Mariners relievers gave up seven runs on nine hits.
“Everything’s in front of us, and these guys have done this all season long,” said Seattle manager Dan Wilson. “Where they get in tough situations and they know exactly what to do and they do fight back and they do bounce back.
“I’m not worried about that at all, and no better place to do that than at home. So I think we just continue to do the things we’ve been doing and just get back on the right track on Friday.”
KYLE SCHWARBER’S BIG BLASTS HELP PHILLIES TOP DODGERS, AVOID SWEEP
LOS ANGELES — Kyle Schwarber’s bat is alive and well in the postseason, and so are the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schwarber hit two home runs, including a mammoth shot to spark a three-run fourth inning, and the Philadelphia Phillies avoided elimination in the National League Division Series with an 8-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.
Aaron Nola and Ranger Suarez (1-0) combined to allow one run over seven innings and J.T. Realmuto added a home run as the Phillies rolled in Game 3 after the Dodgers won the first two games at Philadelphia.
“I think we all knew we were kind of pressing as a group in the first two games and wanted to win so bad,” said the Phillies’ Trea Turner, who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. “We know we’re really good. We just need to play like we always do.”
Tommy Edman hit a home run for the defending champion Dodgers, while Shohei Ohtani went 0-for-5 and has one hit in 14 at-bats with seven strikeouts during the series. Los Angeles lost for the first time in five playoff games this year.
“The consensus of this interview, it feels like we’re eliminated,” said the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who had a triple among his two hits. “I think we have to understand that we’re still up 2-1. Obviously there’s a lot of pressure on us to play the game, but pressure is a privilege.”
Game 4 in the best-of-five series is set for Thursday at Los Angeles.
Nola opened with a pair of scoreless innings before giving way to Suarez, who allowed Edman’s home run on his first pitch.
Schwarber tied the game 1-1 with a 455-foot home run to lead off the fourth against Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The ball landed on the roof of the right field bleachers and bounced over, just the seventh homer ever to exit Dodger Stadium entirely. The only other two that went out to right were both hit by Willie Stargell, in 1969 and 1973.
Philadelphia scored twice more in the fourth. Bryce Harper came home on an Alec Bohm single and throwing error from center fielder Andy Pages, and Bohm scored on a sacrifice fly from Brandon Marsh.
“I was just more focused on our guys there,” Schwarber said of his home run. “It could go in the first row, it could hit the freakin’ (scoreboard) right there. I don’t care. Hits are great, homers are great, walks are great, anything positive for our offense is going to be great. But, yeah, it was a cool moment.”
Schwarber opened the series 0-for-8 with five strikeouts before the home run.
Yamamoto (1-1) gave up three runs on six hits over four-plus innings. He struck out two and walked one.
The Dodgers turned to veteran left-hander Clayton Kershaw while trailing 3-1, and he wriggled out of trouble in the seventh inning before the Phillies unloaded for five runs in the eighth. Realmuto hit a leadoff homer and Schwarber added a two-run shot after a two-run single from Trea Turner.
Kershaw, who is set to retire following the playoffs after 18 seasons, allowed five runs (four earned) over two innings. He permitted six hits and three walks without fanning a batter.
“It was a tough couple of innings there,” Kershaw said. “… I just didn’t make enough good pitches. I was battling command. It’s hard when you’re trying to throw strikes as opposed to getting people out. It just wasn’t a fun (eighth) inning.”
Suarez settled down to allow the one run on five hits over five innings with four strikeouts and one walk.
Edman added an RBI single for the Dodgers in the ninth before Ohtani flied out to right field to end the game.
BLUE JAYS’ BULLPEN SHUTS DOWN YANKEES, SEALS ALDS IN GAME 4
NEW YORK — Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider made seven pitching changes on Wednesday.
A few hours later, Schneider gave a short speech in the clubhouse and launched the celebration by yelling “Start spreading the news!” while the Blue Jays doused each other with champagne and beer after wrapping up the American League Division Series against the New York Yankees.
Loud music blared, including “Theme from New York, New York,” the song that plays every time the Yankees win a home game, as the Blue Jays partied.
Jeff Hoffman finished off a four-out save as the Blue Jays used eight pitchers in a bullpen game that resulted in a 5-2 win, clinching the best-of-five series in Game 4.
Toronto advances to the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2016, when it lost in five games to Cleveland. The Blue Jays will host the Seattle Mariners or the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
The Blue Jays outscored the Yankees 34-19 in the first postseason meeting between the AL East rivals. Toronto won 11 of the teams’ 17 meetings this year, including an 8-5 mark in the regular season to get home-field advantage in the playoffs after the teams were tied atop the AL East with 94 wins.
Hoffman allowed a two-out RBI single to Aaron Judge when he was one strike away from ending the game, but he quickly secured the celebration that began on the mound and spilled into a raucous clubhouse when he fanned Cody Bellinger on a splitter — the same pitch that gave the Yankees extensive trouble in Games 1 and 2 in Toronto.
“You’re kind of mapping out best possible scenarios, and the guys have to go do their part,” Schneider said of running through his bullpen in a close-out contest. “Again, it’s not fun, per se, but I think we view it as a good challenge. And our guys have really kind of accepted that this year and done really well with it.”
Hoffman entered in the eighth after Braydon Fisher allowed a two-out hit by Giancarlo Stanton and then walked Jazz Chisholm Jr. The Toronto closer walked pinch hitter Ben Rice to load the bases but needed only one pitch to retire Austin Wells on a flyout to left to quell the threat.
“I think it can be stressful, but at the same time we’re extremely confident in all the guys,” Hoffman said of the bullpen game. “So there’s not really a pocket where you’re a little worried or anything. ”
Toronto’s Louis Varland opened the game and allowed a single to Judge in 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Less than 24 hours earlier, Judge slugged a 100 mph Varland fastball for a three-run homer off the left field foul pole.
After Mason Fluharty allowed a tying homer to Ryan McMahon in the third inning on Wednesday, Seranthony Dominguez (1-0) got the final two outs of the third and also blanked the Yankees in the fourth.
In the fifth, Ernie Clement and Andres Gimenez started the inning with singles off New York rookie Cam Schlittler. George Springer then lifted a sacrifice fly, putting Toronto up 2-1.
Eight of Toronto’s 12 hits were singles, including an RBI single by Vladimir Guerrrero Jr. in the first inning.
Guerrero hit .529 (9-for-17) with three homers and nine RBIs in the series as the Blue Jays batted .338 and scored first in each game.
“It means a lot to me,” Guerrero said through team interpreter Hector Lebron. “We’re going to the next round, to the Championship Series, and that’s my focus, and it means a lot.”
Nathan Lukes added a two-run single off Yankees reliever Devin Williams in the seventh following a fielding error by Chisholm at second base.
Myles Straw tacked on an RBI single in the eighth for Toronto, which out-hit New York 12-6.
“We didn’t execute enough to win these games,” Stanton said.
Schlittler allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits and no walks in 6 1/3 innings. After striking out 12 in Game 3 of the wild-card series against the Boston Red Sox last week, the right-hander got only two strikeouts.
The Yankees lost in the Division Series for the third time since manager Aaron Boone took over in 2018. New York matched its win total from last season but pitched to a 8.47 ERA in the series while hitting .250. The Yankees have not won a World Series title since 2009.
“The ending’s the worst,” Boone said. “Especially when you know you have a really good group and a group of guys that really came together so well at the right time, the final couple months. This was a team. It’s a team that played for one another, did a lot of really good things, and we got beat here.”
REPORT: NATS CLEANING HOUSE UNDER NEW LEADERSHIP
New Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is reportedly cleaning house following the team’s sixth straight losing season.
The Athletic reported Wednesday on the departures of more than a half-dozen employees, including assistant general managers Eddie Longosz and Mark Scialabba, “several” scouts and members of the organization’s staff in Florida.
Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo will remain with the organization, per The Athletic.
Longosz became vice president and assistant GM of player development and administration in November 2023 after eight years as the club’s director of scouting operations.
Scialabba had been with Washington since 2006 and spent the past four years as assistant GM and director of player personnel.
The Nationals finished 66-96 and last in the National League East this season. They haven’t reached the postseason since winning the World Series in 2019.
Toboni, 35, was hired last month after 11 years with the Boston Red Sox, most recently as an assistant GM. He was previously their vice president of amateur scouting and player development and is known for having a keen eye for talent.
Washington fired manager Dave Martinez as well as president of baseball ops and general manager Mike Rizzo on July 6. Rizzo had been with the organization since its move to D.C. and served as the general manager since 2009.
