Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, postseason edition! We'll keep you up to speed on everything you need to know every weekday throughout the 2025 MLB playoffs. Thanks for being here. We've got FOUR Division Series games on tap today, and every pitch and at-bat will carry the weight of a season.
Four teams are facing elimination, with the Tigers, Cubs, Yankees and Phillies all trying to keep their seasons alive. It's also the last time we'll see this much baseball on one day until Spring Training next year, so let's make the most of it.
Here's what these win-or-go-home clubs need to do to survive another day.
Tigers (down 2-1) vs. Mariners (3:08 p.m. ET, FS1)
Time for their lefty bats to step up
Kerry Carpenter got to George Kirby for a two-run homer in Detroit's Game 1 win, but the Tigers' left-handed hitters otherwise have been shut down by a righty-centric Mariners pitching staff. The club's lefty bats are 6-for-55 (.109) with 25 K's and a .319 OPS in this series. That needs to change today against Seattle starter Bryce Miller, who allowed an .863 OPS to lefty hitters this season.
Cubs (down 2-0) vs. Brewers (5:08 p.m. ET, TBS, truTV, HBO Max)
It's all on Taillon
The Cubs found themselves in an early hole in each of the first two games, as their two starting pitchers combined to allow 10 runs while getting just 10 outs. Unless Chicago's offense suddenly rediscovers its first-half form, the onus is going to be on Game 3 starter Jameson Taillon to slow down Milwaukee's lineup and try to get the game to the Cubs' bullpen with a lead for the first time in the series.
Yankees (down 2-1) vs. Blue Jays (7:08 p.m. ET, FS1)
More Schlittler magic coming?
After delivering a historically dominant performance (8 IP, 0 R, 0 BB, 12 K's) in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Red Sox, Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler will once again get the ball in a must-win situation. The Aaron Judge-led Yankees offense has a chance to stay hot in Game 4 as the Blue Jays prepare to throw a bullpen game, but New York also needs Schlittler to provide some length after its relief corps had to get 20 outs yesterday. The Blue Jays have battered Yankees starters in this series (16.88 ERA), but facing Schlittler will be no easy task, as our own Jared Greenspan explains here.
Phillies (down 2-0) at Dodgers (9:08 p.m. ET, TBS, truTV, HBO Max)
Can the top three hitters make some noise?
The Dodgers' offense isn't exactly tearing it up, but they've managed to eke out two close wins while holding the Phillies to six runs in this series. Philadelphia needs its three big bats -- Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner -- to get going after hitting .095 (2-for-21) with 11 strikeouts in the first two games. -- Thomas Harrigan |
From former Top 100 Prospect with the Pirates to being traded twice to starting Game 3 of the NLDS for the Brewers tonight at the ballpark where he learned to love the game, Milwaukee right-hander Quinn Priester has had a whirlwind couple of years.
It's only fitting that the Northern Illinois native will be making his postseason debut against his favorite team growing up, and on the mound of the ballpark he'd visit with his Grandpa Paul and Grandma Judy as a kid.
"Watching the [Cubs] teams here was always a blast and definitely created a lot of my love for the sport," Priester said.
It was also against the Cubs on May 2 when Priester had one of his worst outings, which ended up being the turning point of his career. Later that month, the club began an incredible streak of winning 19 consecutive Priester outings, as he went on to finish 13-3 with a 3.32 ERA.
Our own Alex Stumpf has more on Priester's amazing turnaround here. -- Ed Eagle |
The Phillies are going retro for Game 3 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, which is sure to create a visual that's awash in nostalgia.
For the first time since 1988, Philadelphia will wear its powder blue uniform on the road. After several years of wearing the iconic throwback as an alternate during Thursday home games, the Phils opted to break out these beauties on the road, where they shined from 1972-1988, including as World Series champs in 1980.
As our Todd Zolecki points out, the Phillies have lobbied for this for years, so the decision to wear them tonight isn't some panic move designed to change the team's luck as it faces elimination in Game 3. The Phillies first received approval from the league in June to wear them on the road in general, and the approval to wear them in the postseason came weeks ago. It's more about vibes than anything.
"We love wearing the blues," Bryce Harper said. "We just thought it'd be fun."
The Phillies aren't the only team embracing uniform-based vibes. The Blue Jays had won five straight while wearing the white-panel hats most associated with the Toronto championship teams of the early '90s. But that luck ran out Tuesday in New York, where the Jays blew a 6-1 lead in Game 3 with a chance to sweep the Yankees and advance to their first ALCS since 2016. Will they wear the hats for Game 4, despite the loss? "I didn't pack another hat," manager John Schneider said before Game 3.
Well, there's always overnight shipping. -- Jason Foster |
Possibly the only person who isn't impressed with Mookie Betts' latest feat is … Mookie Betts.
In NLDS Game 3 on Monday night in Philadelphia, the Dodgers narrowly escaped a furious Phillies rally in large part thanks to the "wheel play" they executed to absolute perfection on a bunt by Bryson Stott. Betts' quick thinking in calling for the play during a mound meeting, and quick feet in covering third base to apply a tag on Nick Castellanos, allowed the Dodgers to head back to Los Angeles with a 2-0 lead. Betts, though, was blasé about it.
"I think it's such a basic play," he said. "There's only, like, two or three ways, and that's one of them. It would be like the Lakers -- they won the NBA championship running the 2-3 zone. That's how I view it. It's just we ran it in a big spot, and we were able to do it right."
Mookie might not gush over himself, but it doesn't mean we can't. This is a player who put together a Hall of Fame-caliber resume as a right fielder, then suddenly switched to the middle infield in his early 30s. That just doesn't happen. In Year 2 of that transition, Betts improved his shortstop defense from minus-5 Outs Above Average, per Statcast, to plus-5.
Betts was quick to assign credit to teammate Miguel Rojas, for both the inspiration behind the wheel play specifically and for his improvement at short. It still takes a world-class athlete -- "a special brain and talent," as L.A. manager Dave Roberts put it -- to absorb those lessons and unleash their power in the biggest of moments.
-- Andrew Simon |
HOW TO WATCH 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC |
Once a World Series champion is crowned, our thoughts will turn to the Hot Stove season, then to Spring Training and, of course, the World Baseball Classic. How can you catch all of the 2026 WBC action? Every game will be televised and streamed in the United States on FOX Sports, with FOX airing the U.S. Pool B games, two quarterfinals and the championship game. The remaining contests will air on FS1, FS2, the FOX Sports app, FOX One and Tubi. FOX Deportes will carry 28 games in Spanish. Next year will be the sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic, which will take place in Tokyo; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Houston; and Miami. Team Japan famously won the previous Classic for the third time in the tournament's history when Shohei Ohtani fanned then-teammate Mike Trout for the final out. For tickets, game times and more info, visit worldbaseballclassic.com. |
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