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...
Braves Roster Choice Just Changed This Phillies Wild Card Matchup
The Braves made their Wild Card Series roster move with the kind of caution that usually comes with October baseball, adding Luke Williams and Rowdy Tellez from Gwinnett while carrying 11 pitchers into the short series. It is a setup that says plenty about how Atlanta expects to play this round, with a roster built around starting pitching and selective use of the bench rather than a long, rolling relief plan.
For the Phillies, the opponents roster construction matters because it shapes how the matchup may unfold from the first game on. Atlanta is also expected to be without Martin Perez and Lane Thomas because of injuries, which trims some of the depth the Braves would normally lean on in a tight playoff series. The result is a familiar October tension for Philadelphia, one where the numbers on the roster card may matter almost as much as the names in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Face Immediate Pressure After Game 1 Gamble Backfires
Jess Luzardo gave the Phillies a chance to settle in, working well enough to keep the opener tight against Atlanta before the game turned on a sequence the club cant afford to relive. Don Mattingly chose to lean hard on Jhoan Duran in Game 1 of the Wild Card Round, asking the closer to cover multiple innings in a high-stakes spot, and the decision looked viable until the game unraveled around a defensive misplay by Trea Turner and the hits that followed.
Austin Rileys game-winning home run finished the Braves comeback and left Philadelphia with an urgent problem as the series shifts forward. Now the Phillies have to win two straight to keep moving, and they may have to do it with Duran either unavailable or not fully right for Game 2, which puts even more pressure on a roster that already spent its best late-game weapon in a night that got away. [Read more 🡒]
Walt Weiss Sends A Clear Message Before Braves Phillies Showdown
The Braves finally locked up the NL East and punched their ticket to the postseason, then celebrated the division win after beating the Astros. It was a familiar kind of finish for a club that has spent the summer chasing another first-place finish, and it sets up a quick turnaround as the Wild Card Series opens Tuesday afternoon.
For Philadelphia, the timing adds another layer to a rivalry that already carries plenty of October weight. Walt Weiss made clear his team is not interested in worrying about the start time or the opponent, only about being ready when the next round begins. However the bracket settles, the Braves have put themselves in position to keep playing, and the Phillies now know the path ahead includes a division rival that sounds prepared for anything. [Read more 🡒]