IAN HAPP’S BLAST SPARKS CUBS’ WIN OVER BREWERS, FORCING GAME 5
Ian Happ reached the majors in May 2017, just six-plus months after the Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years.
The nine-year veteran is now the longest-tenured player on the Cubs, and he came up big Thursday night with his team facing elimination.
Happ smacked a three-run homer in the first inning to set the tone as the Cubs rolled to a 6-0 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night to even the National League Division Series at two wins apiece.
Kyle Tucker and Michael Busch also homered as Chicago won its second straight game in the best-of-five series. The clubs will play the deciding contest on Saturday night in Milwaukee.
The homer by Happ was his second of the series off Brewers ace Freddy Peralta. It also revved up an already high-octane crowd to ear-thumping decibels.
“I’m just so happy for Ian,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “It was great for Ian to have the playoff moment that he deserves. It was a huge swing, a huge swing.”
Happ was just 2-for-21 with 11 strikeouts in six games this postseason before that electric swing on Thursday.
Nico Hoerner singled off Peralta with one out in the first and Kyle Tucker walked. After Seiya Suzuki struck out, Happ jumped on a 1-1 fastball and slammed it into the right field seats to give the Cubs a quick 3-0 lead.
“We’ve been doing really good at starting the game off,” Happ said. “Guys are getting on base and the big swing there, giving us a chance to get up.”
Hoerner had three hits and a run, Matt Shaw added two hits and an RBI and Tucker had two hits and two runs for the Cubs.
Matt Boyd struck out six in 4 2/3 innings as five Chicago pitchers combined on a three-hitter. Boyd gave up two hits and walked three.
Cubs reliever Daniel Palencia (3-0) permitted one hit in 1 1/3 innings. Drew Pomeranz fanned two in the seventh, Brad Keller worked the eighth, and Caleb Thielbar tossed a perfect ninth.
Peralta (1-1) gave up three runs and three hits in four innings. He struck out six and walked two.
Milwaukee was 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position in Game 4, one night after finishing 2-for-9 in a 4-3 defeat.
The Brewers will try to find their bats at home on Saturday. They scored 16 runs while winning two straight in Milwaukee before posting just three runs in the two losses at Chicago.
Now the Cubs have the momentum that the Brewers had earlier this week.
“It’s something you can’t force,” Milwaukee manager Pat Murphy said. “Momentum in baseball happens based what’s on the field. The Cubs earned it. They had their backs against the wall and they played great these last two games.”
Milwaukee is in the postseason for the seventh time in the past eight seasons and has reached the NLCS just once during that span, in 2018.
“It’s part of the story,” Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich said of the latest do-or-die situation. “Sometimes you have to win some big games and sometimes you face some adversity in the postseason. You just have to keep going.”
The Brewers threatened in the fifth as Sal Frelick doubled and Blake Perkins walked to start the inning. Boyd, a left-hander, retired the next two hitters before right-hander Palencia entered and got right-handed-hitting Jackson Chourio to hit an inning-ending popup.
In the sixth, Carson Kelly reached on an error by Brewers third baseman Caleb Durbin and was sacrificed to second by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Dansby Swanson drew a walk from Aaron Ashby before Shaw hit an RBI single to center to make it 4-0.
Tucker led off the seventh with a blast to center off Robert Gasser. Kelly appeared to hit a two-run homer to left later in the inning, but the play was reviewed and the ball was shown to be just foul.
Busch took Gasser deep to right-center in the eighth to make it a six-run margin. It was Busch’s third homer of the series and fourth of the
PHILLIES’ 11TH-INNING ERROR SENDS DODGERS INTO NLCS
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers managed to slip through a crack on Thursday, advancing to the National League Championship Series on a gift following a broken-bat comebacker.
Hyeseong Kim scored from third base on an 11th-inning error by Philadelphia pitcher Orion Kerkering and the Dodgers advanced to the NLCS for the seventh time in the past 10 seasons with a 2-1 victory over the Phillies on Thursday.
Los Angeles closed out the best-of-five NL Division Series in Game 4. The Dodgers will open the NLCS on Monday either on the road against the Milwaukee Brewers or at home vs. the Chicago Cubs.
“An instant classic game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.
Los Angeles starter Tyler Glasnow struck out eight over six scoreless innings, and reliever Roki Sasaki threw three perfect innings. Mookie Betts drew a game-tying, bases-loaded walk in the seventh inning.
Tommy Edman singled for Los Angeles with one out in the 11th inning against Jesus Luzardo, and Kim entered as a pinch runner. Max Muncy singled with two outs to put runners on the corners. Enrique Hernandez walked against Kerkering to load the bases.
Andy Pages hit a comebacker that Kerkering bobbled. Instead of throwing to first base to end the inning, Kerkering tossed the ball past catcher J.T. Realmuto to set off a Dodgers celebration on the infield.
“That’s a tough way to go out,” Edman said of Kerkering and the Phillies. “You feel for the guy, but that’s what pressure does to you.”
Kerkering referenced the pressure-packed moment as well.
“Just hit off my foot,” Kerkering said. “Just kind of, once the pressure got to me, I just thought there’s a faster throw to J.T, little quicker throw than trying to cross-body it to Bryce (Harper at first base). So just a horse s— throw.”
Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sanchez was charged with one run over 6 1/3 innings. Jhoan Duran, Matt Strahm and Luzardo (0-2) got the Phillies into the 11th before their season ended on their second error of the game.
“Deep down my heart, I felt that this was a team that was gonna do it and overcome (a 2-0 series deficit),” Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber said. “But it’s a really good team across the way, too, and you have to tip your cap. They held us at bay for eight innings and we just couldn’t push through there at the end.”
When Glasnow exited, the Dodgers turned to Emmet Sheehan in the seventh inning, and the Phillies pounced. Realmuto led off with a single but was forced out at second base on a Max Kepler ground ball. The Dodgers failed to complete the double play when Sheehan misplayed the throw from Betts at the first base bag. Sheehan’s error put Kepler at second base.
Castellanos followed with a go-ahead double just inside the third base bag and into the left field corner for a 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers threatened immediately against Sanchez in the bottom of the inning when Alex Call walked and Hernandez singled with one out. Duran came on to get Pages on a groundout, advancing the runners, before Shohei Ohtani was intentionally walked to load the bases.
Los Angeles tied it 1-1 on Betts’ walk.
After Sasaki retired all nine batters he faced, Alex Vesia (1-0) pitched a scoreless 11th for the Dodgers.
“Oh my gosh, you’re talking about one of the great all-time appearances out of the bullpen that I can remember,” Roberts said of Sasaki, a rookie from Japan, who struggled as a starter then missed more than four months with a shoulder injury.
“Certainly given where he started this year, to go out there and not only go one inning, two innings and then three innings, and to do what he did gave us a huge boost.”
MARINERS GIVE GAME 5 START TO RHP GEORGE KIRBY
George Kirby will get the ball for the Seattle Mariners in the decisive Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the visiting Detroit Tigers on Friday.
The right-hander will be matched up against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal.
Seattle manager Dan Wilson opted for Kirby over Luis Castillo, who could work on four days’ rest. He might be an option out of the bullpen should Kirby falter.
Kirby got a no-decision in Game 1 vs. the Tigers on Saturday after throwing five innings of two-run ball. He allowed six hits and one walk while striking out eight, with the big blow being a two-run homer by Kerry Carpenter in the fifth.
Kirby owns an impressive postseason resume: no decisions, one save and a 1.38 ERA in three outings (two starts). He saved Game 2 of the 2022 AL wild-card series against the Toronto Blue Jays as the Mariners completed a sweep. Kirby then fired seven shutout innings against the Houston Astros in Game 3 of the ALDS that year, a contest Houston won 1-0 in 18 innings.
In the 2025 regular season, Kirby went 10-8 with a 4.21 ERA. He got a victory in Detroit on July 12 after firing five innings of four-run ball, giving him a career 2-4 mark with a 7.48 ERA in six starts vs. the Tigers.
BLUE JAYS SS BO BICHETTE ‘OPTIMISTIC’ HE CAN RETURN FOR ALCS
Toronto Blue Jays infielder Bo Bichette is hopeful that he’ll be able to return to action for the team’s American League Championship Series.
Bichette, 27, has been sidelined since Sept. 6 with a left knee sprain sustained in a hard collision at home plate. He was left off the roster that beat the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series in four games.
Hours before Game 4 of the ALDS on Wednesday, Bichette was seen jogging in the outfield at Yankee Stadium, something that hadn’t previously been seen by reporters.
“I’ve made a lot of progress recently, so I’m optimistic about my chances,” Bichette told reporters after the Blue Jays’ series-clinching win. “I still have some hurdles to clear, but I’m optimistic. … I’m feeling better every day.”
Bichette, the starting shortstop for the Blue Jays, had a career-best .311 batting average in 139 games this season with 18 home runs, 94 RBIs and a career-high 44 doubles. He has a .294 career average with 111 home runs and 190 doubles over seven seasons.
With Bichette unavailable, Andres Gimenez moved over from second base to short to replace him defensively.
Toronto awaits the winner of Friday night’s Game 5 between the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. The Blue Jays will host the victorious team in Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS on Sunday and Monday.
TARIK SKUBAL ALL BUSINESS AS TIGERS HIT SEATTLE FOR DO-OR-DIE GAME 5
Before his start in Game 2 of the American League Division Series at T-Mobile Park, Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal was extremely affable.
He talked about inviting the entire baseball team from his alma mater of Seattle University to the game, how he used to go Mariners games while in college and even about doing his laundry, as the Tigers had been away from home for nearly two weeks.
Skubal is scheduled to pitch again Friday in the deciding game of the best-of-five series in Seattle, and judging by his demeanor, it’s strictly a business trip.
“I’ll let you guys create the narrative. I’m just going to do what I do best, and that’s play baseball and try to execute pitches,” Skubal said at a news conference after the host Tigers won 9-3 Wednesday in Game 4 to avoid elimination. “The game is still the game. I’ll let you guys write the stories and do your jobs, but you’re not going to get anything from me.”
Skubal bristled after his loss in Game 5 of the ALDS against Cleveland last year was mentioned, but he hasn’t fared any better against the Mariners this season.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner lost both of his regular-season starts against Seattle and took a no-decision in Game 2 — a 3-2 Mariners victory — despite allowing just two runs on five hits over seven innings, with one walk and nine strikeouts. Both of the runs Skubal allowed came on solo homers by Jorge Polanco.
“I understand win-or-go-home games are a little bit different, but every game means a ton,” Skubal said. “… I just need to be focused on being pitch-by-pitch and trying to execute the game plan that we’ll create.”
Riley Greene and Javier Baez homered in a four-run sixth inning Wednesday that broke a 3-all tie, and Gleyber Torres added a solo shot in the seventh.
“We knew our season was on the line,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “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.”
The Mariners’ bullpen, which except for one blip in a blowout in Game 3 had been stellar in the series, allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 innings Wednesday as Detroit rallied from a three-run deficit.
“They’ve been throwing the ball good all year,” Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh said of Seattle’s relievers. “I have confidence about a bounce-back on Friday, for sure.”
As of mid-afternoon Thursday, the Mariners had not yet announced their starting pitcher for Game 5.
It will likely be either George Kirby, who started the series opener, or Luis Castillo, who took the mound in Game 2.
Kirby went five innings in Game 1 and allowed two runs on six hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts. The runs came on a shot by Kerry Carpenter, who has five career homers against Kirby.
Castillo struggled with his command but gave up just one hit over 4 2/3 scoreless innings in a 3-2 Seattle victory Sunday. The veteran walked four and fanned three.
