MLB POSTSEASON SET TO BEGIN SEPT. 30, WORLD SERIES ON OCT. 24
Major League Baseball’s 2025 postseason will begin on Sept. 30 and conclude on Nov. 1 at the latest, the league announced Tuesday.
The playoffs get underway with four best-of-three wild-card series from Sept. 30-Oct. 2, airing on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.
The four best-of-five American League and National League Division Series will begin on Oct. 4, with the AL contests on Fox, FS1 and Fox Deportes and the NL games on TBS, truTV and HBO MAX. Game 5 in the AL would be on Oct. 10 and Game 5 in the NL on Oct. 11, if necessary.
The American League Championship Series begins on Oct. 12, with games airing on Fox or FS1 and Fox Deportes, with Game 7 (if necessary) on Oct. 20.
The National League Championship Series begins on Oct. 13, airing on TBS, truTV and HBO MAX, with Game 7 (if necessary) on Oct. 21.
Game 1 of the 121st World Series is scheduled to be played Oct. 24 at the home of the league champion with the superior regular season record, broadcast by Fox and Fox Deportes. It continues with Game 2 on Oct. 25, Game 3 on Oct. 27 and Game 4 on Oct. 28. Game 5 (if necessary) is on Oct. 29, followed by Games 6 and 7 (if necessary) on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Games 3, 4 and 5 will be at the home of the other league champion.
DODGERS’ SHOHEI OHTANI, AGENT SUED IN $240M HAWAII DEVELOPMENT DEAL
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his agent are being sued for allegedly causing a real estate investor and a broker to be removed from their jobs with a $240 million luxury housing development in Hawaii.
In a civil lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court on Friday, developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto claim they were removed from the project amid interference from agent Nez Balelo and Ohtani.
Hayes and Matsumoto contend their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, dropped them and are suing on the ground of tortious interference and unjust enrichment. They also contend that Balelo and Ohtani attempted to impact their involvement in a second development.
Per the suit, Balelo sought concessions from Hayes and Matsumoto before demanding Kingsbarn fire them, which it did amid threats that Ohtani would back off his endorsement of The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort project. Hayes is a longtime developer, and Matsumoto was to be the listing agent.
“Kingsbarn openly admitted … that Balelo had demanded the terminations and that they were being done solely to placate him,” the suit said. “Plaintiffs stand to lose millions of dollars in compensation tied to projected homebuilding profit, construction management fees, and broker commissions.”
Ohtani was brought into the venture to lend his name for promotional value, but instead he and Balelo, according to the filing, “exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle Plaintiffs’ role in the project — for no reason other than their own financial self-interest.”
A spokesman for Balelo’s agency, CAA Baseball, declined to comment when contacted by the New York Post.
The website of Kingsbarn Realty Capital details plans for The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort. It consists of 14 custom single-family homes built on 17 acres, with each home site offering a residence of more than 7,000 square feet and “unparalleled views of the Hawaiian coastline.” It also is surrounded by two golf courses.
The website says the homes will be marketed primarily to potential buyers in the U.S. and Japan and that Ohtani would be the first resident, having already selected his lot in the development, where the average home price is $17.3 million.
Ohtani, 31, is the biggest star in Japan and wields considerable endorsement power. According to Forbes, Ohtani earned $60 million in endorsements in 2024.
He signed a 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers before the 2024 season and is a three-time Most Valuable Player.
Ohtani was tied to another legal case last year when his former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, was accused of stealing nearly $17 million from Ohtani. Mizuhara pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
MLB ROUNDUP: PETE ALONSO SETS METS’ CAREER HOMER MARK IN WIN
Pete Alonso clubbed two of the Mets’ six homers Tuesday night, breaking the franchise record for career long balls in the process, as New York routed the visiting Atlanta Braves 13-5.
Alonso’s first homer, a two-run shot to right-center in the bottom of the third, was the 253rd of his seven-year career. That knocked Darryl Strawberry’s 37-year old record out of the books and Alonso got a long ovation from the Citi Field crowd, taking a curtain call to boot.
Alonso added his 28th homer of the year in the sixth, marking his fourth two-homer game of the year and allowing New York to snap a seven-game losing streak. Teammate Francisco Alvarez also cracked a pair of homers while Brandon Nimmo and Brett Baty tacked on homers in the team’s 16-hit attack.
Reliever Gregory Soto (1-3) worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the win while rookie Justin Hagenman pitched four hitless innings to earn his first major league save. Starter Clay Holmes was bailed out despite permitting six hits and five runs in 3 2/3 innings, walking five and striking out four.
Brewers 14, Pirates 0
Freddy Peralta allowed three hits over six scoreless innings and red-hot Milwaukee slugged five homers to extend its winning streak to 11 games with a rout of visiting Pittsburgh.
Peralta (14-5) leads the National League in victories. Sal Frelick and Brice Turang had solo homers off Pirates ace Paul Skenes (7-9), who entered with an MLB-best 1.94 ERA, but was tagged for four runs on six hits in four innings.
Christian Yelich, Andrew Vaughn and Caleb Durbin also homered for the Brewers. Four Milwaukee pitchers held Pittsburgh to four hits.
Mariners 1, Orioles 0
Seattle’s George Kirby held host Baltimore to three hits in seven innings and the Mariners earned their eighth consecutive victory.
Kirby (8-5) faced just two batters over the minimum during his stint. Andres Munoz secured his 28th save despite issuing a two-out walk to Gunnar Henderson in the ninth and then a single by Adley Rutschman.
Dean Kremer (8-9) was the hard-luck loser for Baltimore after tossing eight innings of one-run ball. A first-inning run held up as Josh Naylor delivered a two-out single to drive in the game’s lone run.
Red Sox 14, Astros 1
The Red Sox scored 12 runs in the final four innings and Dustin May twirled six shutout frames as Boston posted a win at Houston.
Carlos Narvaez, Alex Bregman and Roman Anthony all went deep for the Red Sox, the latter two homering for the second day in a row. Narvaez and Wilyer Abreu each had three RBIs. May (7-8) allowed five hits and issued one walk while recording eight strikeouts.
Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti (1-3) allowed just one hit and two runs over five innings but walked five. Jeremy Pena went 3-for-5.
Yankees 9, Twins 1
Carlos Rodon allowed one hit in seven outstanding innings, Giancarlo Stanton homered and collected four hits, and New York trounced visiting Minnesota.
Rodon (12-7) cruised after the first three hitters reached in a 31-pitch opening inning, allowing one baserunner in the remainder of his outing. The left-hander gave up one run as New York won its second straight game. Stanton homered for the second straight game and drove in three runs. Aaron Judge homered for the first time since July 23 and Anthony Volpe hit a tiebreaking three-run homer.
Minnesota’s Austin Martin opened the game with a single and scored the Twins’ lone run. Rookie Travis Adams (1-2) allowed four runs on four hits in 2 1/3 innings during his second career start.
Blue Jays 5, Cubs 1
Ernie Clement hit a three-run home run, and Toronto defeated visiting Chicago.
Daulton Varsho added a solo homer and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had three singles for the Blue Jays in the opener of a three-game series that kicks off a six-game homestand. Jose Berrios (9-4) finished with no runs allowed on two hits.
Toronto scored once in the first against Javier Assad (0-1), who was making his first start of the season. Bo Bichette, Guerrero, and Alejandro Kirk singled in the first against Assad, who had been out all season with a strained left oblique. The Cubs fall to 1-3 during their current six-game road trip.
Guardians 4, Marlins 3
Jose Ramirez hit two solo homers, including the go-ahead blast in the eighth inning off Calvin Faucher, as Cleveland edged visiting Miami in their three-game series opener.
Ramirez finished 3-for-4, leading the Guardians to their 10th win in 12 games since July 29. Kyle Manzardo went deep for the third time in two games for Cleveland.
Guardians starter Logan Allen worked five innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits. Cade Smith (5-4) retired all four batters he faced to earn the victory, while Marlins co-closer Calvin Faucher (3-3) took the loss, giving up one run in one inning.
Reds 6, Phillies 1
Brady Singer allowed three hits over six shutout innings while Miguel Andujar homered for the second time in three games to lead host Cincinnati past Philadelphia.
Spencer Steer doubled and drove in three runs and Jose Trevino went 2-for-4 and drove in two as the Reds won for the third time in four games, extending their MLB-best streak of not being swept this season to 39 series.
With heavy rain falling, Bryce Harper launched a towering homer, his 18th, to the seats in right with two outs in the ninth to end the shutout bid. The Phillies had their four-game win streak snapped and lost for the first time in five tries on their 10-game, three-city road trip.
Royals 8, Nationals 5
Vinnie Pasquantino clubbed a three-run homer and had five RBIs, and Michael Wacha allowed two runs while pitching into the sixth inning as Kansas City beat visiting Washington.
Jonathan India added a two-run homer as Kansas City won its fourth straight home game. It was the third time this season Pasquantino recorded at least five RBIs in a game. Meanwhile, Wacha won his third straight start, lasting 5 2/3 innings.
James Wood and CJ Abrams each had two hits with an RBI for Washington, which has lost 10 of 13. The Nationals’ Mitchell Parker (7-13) yielded only two hits but three walks aided in his surrendering five runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Rockies 3, Cardinals 0
Kyle Freeland and Victor Vodnik combined on a six-hitter as visiting Colorado blanked St. Louis to snap an eight-game losing streak.
Freeland (3-12) allowed just five hits over 7 1/3 innings and Vodnik got the last five outs to earn his third save. Hunter Goodman hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning to provide all the offense the Rockies needed. Kyle Farmer added an RBI single.
Cardinals starter Matthew Liberatore (6-10) allowed three runs on four hits in four-plus innings. Brendan Donovan had two of St. Louis’ six hits.
Diamondbacks 3, Rangers 2
Ketel Marte’s solo home run with two outs in the ninth inning was the difference as Arizona came from behind to beat Texas in the middle game of a three-game interleague match set in Arlington, Texas.
Marte’s long ball came off Rangers reliever Danny Coulombe (2-1), who had not allowed a home run all season. Marte had two hits and two RBIs as the Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in their past five games. Tyler Locklear also had two of Arizona’s eight hits and Blaze Alexander added a solo homer.
Texas managed just four hits — only one after the third inning — and lost for the fifth time in six games.
