The MLB playoffs begin Tuesday with all four wild-card series on the board, and the day is loaded from the first pitch to the last. It starts in Philadelphia, shifts to Houston, moves to the Bronx, and finishes late in San Diego.
The Phillies earned their spot by winning their final regular-season game, and now they get the Braves in Game 1 of a rivalry series. Atlanta cruised to the NL East title and will turn to Chris Sale to open the series.
Philadelphia used Zack Wheeler in Sunday’s season finale and will hand the ball to Jesús Luzardo for the opener. The winner moves on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
In the afternoon, the White Sox visit the Astros. Houston is hosting after winning the AL West with an 81-81 record, while Chicago finished 84-78 but ended up a game behind the Guardians in the AL Central. The winner of that matchup gets the Cleveland Guardians in the ALDS.
Night baseball brings another familiar heavyweight clash: Red Sox vs. Yankees.
It’s the second straight year these two meet in the wild-card round, and the Yankees took last year’s series in three games after losing Game 1. Boston’s season took a sharp turn thanks to a 15-game winning streak in July, but the offense vanished in September, when the Red Sox scored the fewest runs in MLB with 71.
The Yankees also had the upper hand in their most recent meeting, taking three of four in late August and finishing that set with a 16-1 win. The winner here advances to play the Tampa Bay Rays.
The nightcap should have plenty of juice too, with the Cubs and Padres closing out the wild-card slate. Chicago is led by likely NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong, who hit 45 home runs and stole 41 bases.
San Diego, meanwhile, has been the hottest team in baseball over the past two months, going 41-18 over its final 59 games. The reward for the winner: a date with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS.
Elsewhere, Andy Nesbitt also laid out the day’s top non-baseball moments, with Jalen Hurts, LeBron James, Payton Tolle, Stephen Curry and Case Keenum all making the list.
The full Tuesday slate also includes Aces at Fever at 6:30 p.m. ET on Prime, with Indiana back home facing elimination, and Lynx at Liberty at 8:30 p.m.
ET on USA Network and CNBC, as the league’s top seed tries to avoid a sweep on the road. In the NHL, the Panthers visit the Hurricanes at 5 p.m.
ET on ESPN, with Carolina set to raise its championship banner before the season opener.
In Other News...
Yankees Just Gave Red Sox Fans More Motivation Before The Wild Card
With the Wild Card round looming, the Red Sox are approaching this matchup the way October usually demands, one series at a time. Boston has been laying out its rotation with this specific test in mind, and Chad Tracy has kept the message centered on the immediate challenge rather than peeking ahead to anything beyond it.
Across the diamond, Aaron Boones comments about already weighing pitching strategies for the Divisional round only add a little extra fuel to an already charged playoff meeting. Whether Boone intended it or not, it gives Boston plenty of bulletin-board material heading into a Yankees-Red Sox showdown where the first job is simple: survive the opening round and make sure the conversation about later series gets cut short. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Schlittler Just Made Yankees-Red Sox Game 1 Even More Heated
The playoff stage at Yankee Stadium was already going to bring plenty of edge, but Cam Schlittler has helped turn the opener into something even more combustible. The Yankees starter has been trading public jabs with Red Sox fans online, leaning into the noise instead of ducking it, and that has only sharpened the atmosphere around a rivalry that hardly needed extra fuel.
For Boston, the matchup matters because it is not just another October game, it is the first look at a series that now comes with a little more bite. Schlittler is set to be one of the key figures in the spotlight, and his duel with Red Sox starter Payton Tolle adds another layer to a night already heavy with history, tension and the kind of crowd energy that can tilt a series before it really gets going. [Read more 🡒]
Red Sox Rookie Suddenly Enters Yankees Wild Card Pitching Debate
The Red Sox have lined up their Wild Card Series rotation against the Yankees, with Payton Tolle set for Game 1, Sonny Gray for Game 2 and Ranger Surez available for a decisive Game 3 if it comes to that. But one of the more interesting developments came Friday, when rookie Jake Bennett worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, giving Boston another arm to think about as the games get tighter and every bullpen choice starts to matter.
Manager Chad Tracy still has a few pitching calls to make depending on how the series unfolds, and Bennetts outing only adds to the conversation. For a Red Sox staff that already has its starters mapped out, the bigger question may be how much trust Bennett has earned for October leverage, and whether his unexpected late-season push can turn into a real postseason role against their biggest rival. [Read more 🡒]