The Guardians will turn to ace Parker Messick in Game 4 today as they try to close out a playoff series at home for the first time since 1906. Chicago is expected to answer with a bullpen game.
Elsewhere in the postseason, Garrett Mitchell stole the spotlight for the Padres’ opponent with a jaw-dropping grab at the wall in the eighth inning of Game 4. Manny Machado launched what looked like a game-tying drive to center, but Mitchell tracked it down, leaped into a crowd of eager Padres fans, and came away with the out.
“We had talked about that, with the short wall, if you can get to it, you can cover a lot of area over the top of it,” Sal Frelick said (h/t Curt Hogg of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). “I’m just happy he wasn’t mauled by a fan.”
Anthony Volpe nearly delivered a different kind of late swing for the Yankees. In the sixth inning, his shot toward the left-field wall was initially called a home run before replay wiped it away because of fan interference.
The ruling left Volpe with an RBI double instead, trimming Tampa Bay’s lead to one. Spencer Jones then struck out to leave Volpe stranded, and the Yankees never found another hit.
They finished the sweep with just five runs.
The Dodgers got a much-needed lift from Andy Pages. He had been in a postseason slump, enough for Dave Roberts to publicly address it, and the manager dropped him to ninth in the order yesterday while still backing him.
Pages had a chance to deliver after Tyler Mahle kept Los Angeles to one run through six-plus innings. Mahle was pulled after a one-out single, Didier Fuentes recorded the second out, then walked two.
Pages made the opening count, lining a two-RBI single to break a 1-1 tie. “Nobody doubted him,” Kiké Hernández said (h/t Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic).
“That’s why he stayed in the lineup. And I’m really happy that he was the one who won us a series.”
In Other News...
Padres Offseason May Finally Force A Core Roster Decision
After a strong season, the Padres are heading into an offseason that could end up defining the next phase of the roster as much as anything that happened during the year. The front office has a few obvious priorities, but the bigger backdrop is familiar in San Diego: how far ownership wants to go, and whether the club is content to keep its current shape or start leaning harder into younger pieces.
Several parts of the roster are already in flux, with the bullpen especially looking like an area where turnover is likely. The broader question is whether this winter becomes a one-off shuffle or the start of a more meaningful reshaping, and the answer will depend on decisions that have not yet come into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Playoff Exit Exposed A Roster Problem Preller Cant Ignore
The Padres got where they wanted in the postseason, at least for a round, but the exit in Milwaukee only sharpened the questions that have been hanging over the roster for months. This group was built around trades, bullpen strength and an aging veteran core, and it still managed to fight into October despite obvious thin spots in the pitching staff and too many lineup issues to ignore.
Now the problem is no longer theoretical. Injuries undercut the rotation, key arms never gave San Diego the kind of stability it needed, and some of the deadline help did not hold up when the pressure tightened. Preller has spent aggressively to patch holes before, but this loss made it harder to miss the bigger picture: the Padres cant keep trying to paper over the same roster flaws and expect a different ending. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Finally Have A Prospect Reason For Hope Again
The Padres farm system has spent plenty of time looking light after years of trades aimed at stocking the big league roster, so any sign of life in the draft matters. Baseball Americas Carlos Collazo offered one of those encouraging reviews, giving San Diego a positive draft report card and pointing to a few names that at least give the organization something to build on as A.J. Preller keeps trying to replenish the pipeline.
Elliot Lascelles, the Canadian shortstop, drew notice for his hitting and speed, while pitcher Borthwick earned praise for his fastball, secondary pitch and athleticism. For a club that has leaned on the present more than the future, that kind of feedback does not fix the depth issue overnight, but it does suggest the Padres may finally have a little more prospect reason for hope than they have had in a while. [Read more 🡒]