The Dodgers and Brewers are set for another collision course, while the Yankees just blew up.
We’re down to five teams left with World Series hopes. In the National League, we will have a rematch of last year’s NLCS. And in the American League, the Rays swept the Yankees and now await the winner of the White Sox-Guardians series for a chance at the World Series.
Here are our takeaways from Wednesday’s action:
Rowan Kavner: Before the National League Division Series moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave his All-Star center fielder a vote of confidence.
After going 4-for-51 in the postseason during the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series run, Andy Pages started this October hitless in the first two games of the NLDS. He was also kicked out of using ABS challenges again after another failed attempt in a year full of them.
But Roberts was stuck by the 25-year-old, who has been one of the Dodgers’ most productive players this season.
“I’m going to keep giving Andy the leash,” Roberts said. “I believe in him. I think in order to win the World Series this year, we’re going to need him to be an active part of our team.”
Roberts simply wanted to see better at-bats from the wind-prone outfielder, who had struck out in half of his plate appearances during Games 1 and 2.
The Dodgers manager didn’t have to wait long.
Pages responded with two hits and a run scored in Game 3, then pitched a two-run, two-hit shutout in Game 1 to send the Dodgers to the National League Championship Series in a 4-1 victory.
“I’ve been preparing myself all series for a moment like this,” Pages said.
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Braves starter Tyler Mahle gave the Dodgers lineup adjustments, as he did with most of his opponents after being traded from San Francisco to Atlanta at the trade deadline. Mahle, who had a 5.13 ERA in 18 appearances with the Giants and a 1.99 ERA in nine second-half starts with the Braves, held the Phillies to one run in seven innings in the wild-card series and the Dodgers to one run in the first six innings Wednesday night.
The only hit Mahle gave up over his first four innings was a single to Pages in the third. Four innings later, the biggest moment of the game found Pages as reliever Didier Fuentes loaded the bases and Braves manager Walt Weiss called on Robert Suarez with two outs and the bases loaded.
The free-swinging center fielder showed composure, taking the first two pitches out of the zone. He worked a 3-1 count, hit a four-man single up the middle and then delivered the hit to end the Braves’ season with a base hit up the middle.
It was the Dodgers’ only hit with a runner in scoring position during the series.
They hit eight home runs over four games, including three off Max Muncy, whose solo shot in the ninth inning of Game 4 gave Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz some extra insurance before he notched his second straight save to send the Dodgers to the NLCS for the eighth time in the last 11 years.
They are one series away — a rematch with the Brewers in the NLCS — from a third straight trip to the World Series.
2. The undoing of the Yankees? Loss of focus
Deesha Thosar: If there’s one team to avoid making a mistake against, it’s the Rays. The Yankees know this. They learned that lesson the hard way during their atrocious, four-error performance in Game 2 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field. Wednesday night in the Bronx, with their backs against the wall, the last thing they could afford was to lose focus, or even get gassed.
Yankees left-hander Max Fried appeared tired and wiped out on his final pitch of the night: a 77.9 mph sweeper that he couldn’t hang on to if he tried.
That was the dagger.
Rays shortstop Victor Mesa Jr. immediately sent it to the moon, breaking the tying game with a two-run blast. It was Mesa’s first career postseason home run, and it gave the Rays a lead they would never relinquish.
And so ended the Yankees’ season, folding at the hands of their division rival. It is a story that we witnessed only last year. It’s a problem the Yankees don’t know how to fix.
Tampa Bay defeated New York, 4-3, to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 2020. The Rays will play the winner of the ALDS next game between the White Sox and Guardians, with Chicago holding a 2-1 series advantage heading into Thursday’s Game 4.
The Rays got offensive production from unsung heroes in their Game 3 clincher. Third baseman Junior Caminero was quiet — except for his throwing error in the eighth inning. Yandy Diaz led off the game with a single, then struck out in each of his next three at-bats. Jonathan Aranda contributed an RBI single in the third, but most of Tampa Bay’s damage came from their neglected bench players.
Right fielder Ryan Vilade, who posted a 108 OPS+ in 96 games for the Rays this year, tested Fried twice on Wednesday. On his first at-bat, Vilade sent a hard-hit ball into the warning track in left. In his second at-bat, he took Fried deep on a solo shot to the short porch in right field. Vilade’s fly to right field counts as a home run right in a major league ballpark: Yankee Stadium. Wednesday was Vilade’s first career playoff game. His home run was his first career postseason hit.
“It was pretty crazy,” Vilade said. “I definitely didn’t expect anything, like the homer being your first postseason hit. You dream about it, and then to do it was really special. And I think, at the time of the game, it was super cool, too. Just blessed.”
3. MLB’s best team cools the hottest one
Rowan Kavner: Questions entering October about whether a Milwaukee offense that led the league in batting average and on-base percentage can successfully use this contact-heavy formula in the postseason, where home runs tend to rule, will have to be tabled for now.
So far, so good.
Hours after the White Sox lineup set a postseason record by hitting 19 times, the Brewers punched their ticket back to the National League Championship Series by displaying the opposite approach Wednesday night, one that helped them win a franchise record 103 games.
In a 3-1 victory in the deciding Game 4 of the National League Division Series, they didn’t score until their 29th hit of the game.
By then, the Padres were already on their sixth pitcher of the night, Mason Miller, who was on the mound a day after celebrating the birth of his first child. This time, three days after suffering a blowout in a Game 2 loss, the closest team had no lead to defend.
The Brewers brought San Diego to the brink despite the Padres scoring first in each of the first three games of the series. On Wednesday, they reversed that script when Sal Frelick drew an infield single, stole second base and scored on an RBI single by Garrett Mitchell.
(Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)
It was the only run surrendered in three innings by October sensation Walker Buehler, who was making his first postseason appearance since the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series victory ended. Fernando Tatis Jr. then brought Petco Park to life when he sent his second hit of the series 429 feet to center field for a solo shot.
But the Brewers did something few teams have, responding to the hype of one of the best home runs in the sport.
Their pesky offense, which put 13 hard-hit balls into play, never went away.
“When I think back to last year, I think there was an element of maybe a little bit of a lack of belief that we could do it, maybe a little bit too much doubt,” Jake Bauers said. “And I think going into this postseason, there’s a different feeling around the team.”
There is a tax to pay every time a reliever enters a postseason series. Hitters gain familiarity with each appearance. That might have gotten the Padres into Wednesday’s elimination game.
Brewers star left fielder Jackson Chourio hit an RBI single off Bradgley Rodriguez, who played in all four games of the series. Sal Frelick followed an inning later with a sacrifice fly by Jason Adam, who drove in three of the four innings, to score Jake Bauers, who reached base in each of his four plate appearances. The Padres were clearly missing left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon, who had a sore shoulder and sat out Game 1.
Milwaukee starter Robert Gasser and a mix of Brewers relievers held the Padres offense in check after Tatis’ outburst until the eighth inning that provided a moment of confidence, when Manny Machado sent a fly ball 406 yards into the San Diego night sky. He thought he got it. The crowd was also quiet in anticipation, ready to celebrate the tying blast, until Mitchell fought through a sea of Padres fans in the front row of the center field bleachers to record the score.
The Brewers cooled off baseball’s hottest team and snapped a 12-game postseason losing streak in one of the most hostile road environments in the sport.
Now, after surviving a four-game sweep against the Padres, the best team in baseball will move on to face the favorites in an NLCS rematch between the Brewers and Dodgers.
Deesha Thosar: José Ramírez picked a great time to make his postseason mark.
After memorable, hitless performances through the first two games of this ALDS, Ramirez had his fingerprints all over Game 3 as the Guardians defeated the White Sox, 9-3, and avoided elimination. He went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBIs and a walk at the plate. Ramirez became the 10th player to record a double, triple and stolen base in the same game in MLB postseason history.
And he was excellent on both sides of the ball.
(Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images)
Ramirez, playing in his 14th season with Cleveland, saved multiple runs by crossing the plate on a spectacular play in the sixth inning. After right-hander Hunter Gaddis hit Sam Antonacci with the bases loaded to force in a run, White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas ripped a liner toward the draw that looked like it was destined to slide into the hole and into left field.
But Ramirez grabbed it right off the bat for the final out. For good measure, he also threw a perfect shot at first, even though the inning was already over. It doesn’t hurt to be safe.
“It’s a great mentality from the team,” Ramirez said through an interpreter after the win. “I think we did the best we could because there’s no going back. We came out to compete. There’s no tomorrow.”
The White Sox, who took a 1-0 lead in the first, had plenty of chances to retake their lead. They pressured almost every pitcher that came out of the lineup to save Cleveland’s season. Chicago went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight players on base.
Even then, the more chances the South Siders got, the Guardians just wreaked more havoc on the bases. This was their plan all along. Get on base, create pressure and force the White Sox to make near-perfect plays. Cleveland went 5-for-17 with runners in scoring position, actually rallying when they scored Wednesday, something it had struggled to do in Game 3. The Rangers have Ramirez to thank for being a central figure in their critical win.
“Josy, that’s why he’s one of the best players in the league,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “He can hurt you with the stick, the leg and the glove. He showed all of that today.”
