The wild-card series format means that after one game, you are already on the brink of elimination.
Thanks to stellar hitting and some big at-bats, the Yankees and Padres took care of business to leave the Red Sox and Cubs, respectively, on the brink of an early exit. Meanwhile, the Braves rallied in front of the Phillies with some late theatrics as the White Sox cruised past the Astros.
Here are our goodies:
Rowan Kavner: Austin Braves infielder Riley had the worst offensive season of his eight-year career. Jhoan Duran was the only reliable piece in a shaky Phillies lineup.
That’s why October is so unpredictable, so fun, so amazing.
Riley, the ninth-worst qualified hitter in baseball by WRC+ this season, hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth off Duran, an All-Star closer who converted 33 of his 35 saves during the regular season, to put the Braves ahead for good in a 5-3 Game 1 victory.
“Everybody knows how my season went, not the way I wanted,” Riley said. “But that’s the beauty of the postseason. You kind of have pure evidence.”
It was just the third home run Duran has surrendered all year and erased the impressive work of starter Jesús Luzardo, who gave the Phillies far more than they could reasonably expect. Luzardo hadn’t started a game since the last time he faced the Braves 22 days ago, yet he still managed five one-run innings. Atlanta took the lead shortly after his departure, but Philadelphia answered right back on a go-ahead, two-run triple by catcher JT Realmuto in the seventh inning shortly after Atlanta ace Chris Sale left the game.
Phillies manager Don Mattingly didn’t want to mess with a bullpen that produced the worst ERA in the sport in September, so he immediately turned to the guy he trusted the most. Duran pitched a scoreless seventh on 12 pitches. Mattingly struck him out for the eighth. After two quick exits, the second round of work approached. Outfielder Michael Harris II singled, second baseman Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch and Riley delivered the decisive hit.
“In our mind, we had our best guy there,” Mattingly said. “You live with it.”
Considering the lack of depth in Atlanta’s rotation and the Phillies having lefty Cristopher Sánchez ready to go in Game 2, this Sale start seemed like a game the Braves had to have.
Deesha Thosar: Two years ago, this would have seemed absurd.
Somehow, the White Sox defeated the Houston Astros and took Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series with a 6-3 victory Tuesday at Daikin Park. It was their first postseason win since defeating the Astros in Game 3 of the 2021 American League Division Series.
Perhaps it was Pope Leo XIV’s letter to the White Sox organization, in which he “desires the abundant blessings of the Almighty” upon Jerry Reinsdorf, the team’s owner. Perhaps it was the continuation of what has been an unexpectedly magical year for South Siders.
Whether it was divine intervention or underrated talent from a team with so much to prove, the White Sox are one of the best stories in baseball.
Through the first five innings of the Game 1 bullpen, Chicago had eight hits, five of which came off the sticks of players they acquired in the trade that sent ace lefty Garret Crochet to Boston two years ago. The White Sox’s first run of the game was a leadoff sacrifice fly by Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, their biggest offseason acquisition.
From there, Chicago continued to pour it into Houston. Left fielder Sam Antonacci’s two-run single, right fielder Colson Montgomery’s solo home run and second baseman Chase Meidroth’s RBI single gave the White Sox a commanding 5-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning.
“I like to play baseball when it’s like every pitch counts, and that’s something I felt today,” Montgomery said. “It was really fun to play out there and especially with everyone on our team. We were all so locked in at the plate. We stuck to our plan and our approaches and our game planning and our stuff, really well. I think that’s what it showed us today. We’re looking to continue that tomorrow.”
The 84-win White Sox finished with the fifth-best wRC+ (104) in the majors this season, just behind the Astros (105). But no one would have believed that stat in the series opener.
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, the presumptive AL MVP award winner, went 1-for-4 at the plate, with his only hit of the night coming in the eighth inning on a single to right field. Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve, playing in his 106th career playoff game, homered in the third to cut Houston’s deficit to 6-3 in the eighth, but that was all the Astros could muster. They now face elimination in Game 2 on Wednesday after what has been an extremely disappointing year for the two-time World Series champions.
“Oh, the message is clear: We have to win tomorrow,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I don’t need to tell them that, they know. Our backs have been cornered before, and I think that’s when we’re at our best, when we fight back. We know it’s do-or-die and we’ve been here before, so I really admire the way they bounce back and respond to challenges. I expect them to go out there and get back going and get back.”
3. Shlitter shines, the rice rocks on the plate
Deesha Thosar: “MVP!” chants fell on Cam Schlittler all night. When Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake — not manager Aaron Boone — came out for a mound visit in the sixth inning, the crowd cheered. The Bronx faithful knew the end was near for their ace, but they didn’t want him to let go of his flawless start.
When Schlittler is dominating the Red Sox like he was in front of Tuesday night’s raucous crowd in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series, there’s nothing else like it. Nearly 48,500 fans lived and died on every pitch in the Yankees’ 9-0 victory. Since crushing Boston in Game 3 of last year’s wild series, the star character in the latest rendition of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been Schlittler — the towering 6-foot-7 right-hander with a permanent chip on his shoulder.
So you can imagine the buzz he got when he came back for the seventh time in 107 pitches.
“There’s a natural adrenaline that you get on the mound with them treating every at-bat like it’s two outs, two strikes in the ninth inning,” Schlittler said of the raucous home crowd.
Schlittler finally capped his night with a career-high 117 pitches, the most pitches thrown by a Yankee in a postseason game since CC Sabathia threw 121 against the Orioles in the 2012 ALDS. Schlittler struck out 10, allowed a walk and just two hits over 6 ⅓ scoreless innings against the Red Sox, his favorite childhood team growing up in New England.
“It’s pretty well known that if you want to be a legend,” Schlittler said, “you have to do it in the postseason.”
In six career starts against Boston, including the postseason, Schlittler has a 0.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 38 ⅔ innings. In Tuesday’s first inning, he threw a 101 mph four-pitch, the fastest of his career. The Red Sox, who had one of the worst offenses in baseball in September, had no chance. All Schlittler needed was some run support, and his teammate and fellow Massachusetts native was happy to oblige.
Designated hitter Ben Rice threw two shutouts in the series opener, none louder than his eighth grand slam that extended the Yankees’ lead to 9-0. Rice, who smashed 41 home runs in the regular season, became the first Yankee to record six RBIs and collect four hits in a postseason game, which is surprising given the club’s rich playoff history.
“I’ll remember getting a W against the Red Sox, there’s nothing better than that,” Rice said. “I’m going to remember Cam going out there, just being lights out like always. I’m going to remember the atmosphere. Just a fantastic night. A great way to start the series.”
Rowan Kavner: If the Cubs were hoping to take away one of the sport’s most electric home-field advantages, Matthew Boyd might want his first pitch back.
The party at Petco Park started right away Tuesday night when Padres shortstop Michael King struck out National League MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches to start a perfect first before Fernando Tatis Jr. to send the Cubs’ first pitch of the night 405 feet into center for the first home run in Padres postseason history.
Tatis admired the blast for a moment, then took off for the first time as the best center fielder in baseball lunged toward the wall trying to track it down. When the ball sailed over Crow-Armstrong’s outstretched arm and a sea of yellow towels began to swirl, Tatis beat his chest rounding the bases.
All night long, those towels continued to roll in an 8-0 San Diego victory that was over from the start.
Clearly, these are not the Padres of last year.
Not after they rebounded from a 50-53 start to the year to post MLB’s best record from late July through the end of the regular season. Not after they went 18-6 in September. Not after Tatís’ second-half revival, and San Diego’s offense continued into the playoffs.
Last postseason, Tatis and Manny Machado combined to go 2-for-22 in their wild-card series loss to the Cubs. On Tuesday, Tatis and Machado were 2-for-2 with two homers in the first game alone.
Padres stars Tatis, Machado and Jackson Merrill combined for six hits, two homers, one double, five runs and five RBI. Meanwhile, Cubs sluggers Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman combined to go 0-for-8 with six strikeouts.
The only hit King and the Padres allowed came on an infield single by Nico Hoerner with one out in the seventh as King defeated MLB’s top offense with eight hits over seven shutout innings.
It was a complete hit from start to finish.
Tatis, who became the first player ever to hit 25 homers in a season after going hitless in his first 50 games, kept the crowd going throughout, capping his electrifying evening by stealing second base, advancing to third when the ball drifted into shallow left field and going on to score the Padres’ eighth and final run.
The game, of course, was long decided by then.
The Padres scored more runs in their first five games Tuesday than they did in three games against the Cubs last postseason.
Good luck stopping this freight train in San Diego.