The Brewers and Dodgers had their brooms ready on Wednesday, but the Cubs and Phillies had other ideas. Chicago and Philadelphia each notched wins in Game 3 of their respective NLDS matchups, avoiding sweeps and keeping their seasons alive for another day. That sets the stage for today's double feature: a pair of NLDS Game 4s, with Milwaukee and Los Angeles trying once again to advance to the NLCS, while the Cubs and Phillies each look to force a winner-take-all Game 5. Below, you'll find a quick primer on the key storylines for each of today's games. (Will Leitch has a more extensive breakdown of the two matchups here.) Phillies at Dodgers (LAD up 2-1)
6:08 p.m. ET, TBS The Phillies' five-run eighth inning on Wednesday turned a 3-1 game into a blowout and ensured the club wouldn't have to use flamethrowing closer Jhoan Duran. With Duran potentially available for multiple innings, Philadelphia might not have to lean on its shaky middle relief crew in Game 4. It all hinges on how deep Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez can go. The Dodgers' ability to get to Sánchez early will be that much tougher if Shohei Ohtani doesn't snap out of his slump. Ohtani is 1-for-14 with seven strikeouts in this series, including three K's in three at-bats against Sánchez in Game 1. Brewers at Cubs (MIL up 2-1) 9:08 p.m. ET, TBS This series has been characterized by early offense -- 26 of the 29 runs between the two clubs have come in the first four innings, and the team leading at the end of the third inning has held on to win every game. The problem for the Cubs is that their offense has been anemic outside of the first frame, hitting .150 with two runs scored from the second inning on. They have a .398 OPS against Milwaukee's bullpen. At some point, that's likely going to have to change for Chicago to avoid elimination. Although they needed 7 2/3 innings from their relief corps on Wednesday, the Brewers' bullpen is still in good shape for Game 4, having refrained from using Abner Uribe, Trevor Megill, Jacob Misiorowski and Aaron Ashby. There's also an off-day before Game 5, so Brewers manager Pat Murphy can unleash his top relief arms without hesitation following Game 4 starter Freddy Peralta. -- Thomas Harrigan |
OH MY DARLING, IT'S CLEMENT'S TIME |
By now, we all know that Vladimir Guerrero Jr. torches the Yankees, and his 1.609 OPS, three homers and nine RBIs were critical to the Blue Jays moving on to the ALCS for the first time since 2016.
However, Vladdy had plenty of help from his friends -- including some unlikely heroes at the plate.
Ernie Clement was one of them. Given an opportunity to play with Bo Bichette still sidelined by a left knee injury, the 29-year-old infielder had nine hits in 14 at-bats, including a two-run homer off Max Fried in Game 2. He scored five runs and knocked in five more. This from a guy who entered the 2025 playoffs with a career 87 OPS+ in five seasons.
Guerrero and Clement certainly weren't alone. Daulton Varsho (2 HRs, 1.471 OPS) and Alejandro Kirk (2 HRs, .833 OPS) combined for nearly half of Toronto's nine homers in the series, and fellow unsung hero Nathan Lukes knocked in five runs, including two in the seventh inning of Game 4 that gave the Blue Jays' bullpen a bit of breathing room.
Clement and Lukes joined the likes of Adam Kennedy, Jeff Suppan, Geoff Blum and Steve Pearce in the annals of surprise postseason heroes. There's a good bet some others will join them in the coming weeks, perhaps even another Blue Jay or two.
-- Ed Eagle |
Everything seems magnified in the postseason. But with Kyle Schwarber home run distances, there's no seems about it. They're objectively longer in October. And we'll prove it in a minute. Schwarber's latest postseason moonshot came Wednesday in Game 3 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium, when he clubbed a 455-foot game-tying homer off Dodgers righty Yoshinobu Yamamoto that landed on the right-field pavilion roof and nearly left the stadium. As impressive as that is, it was only his fourth-longest postseason dinger. Schwarber's longest came in Game 1 of the 2022 NLDS, when he crushed one 488 feet to right field at San Diego's Petco Park. That was the second-longest postseason homer tracked by Statcast and the longest of Schwarber's career, period. His long homer Wednesday -- his first of two dingers that helped the Phillies stave off elimination with an 8-2 win -- was Schwarber's fifth postseason homer of at least 450 feet. Which brings us to his apparent ability to summon extra strength in the postseason. Schwarber's 23 postseason homers -- the third-most all time -- have averaged 417 feet. Compare that to his 340 regular-season homers, which have averaged 408 feet. See? Objectively longer. While Schwarber was the distance king Wednesday, Tigers slugger Riley Greene nearly matched him. Greene launched a 454-foot go-ahead blast at Comerica Park that sparked a 9-3 Tigers win that forced Game 5 in their ALDS against the Mariners. It was the second-longest homer of Greene's career and his first postseason long ball. -- Jason Foster |
Before we get to the Tigers' season-saving victory in Game 4 of the AL Division Series on Wednesday, let's backtrack for a moment. One year ago, when they were playing the Guardians in the AL Division Series, Javier Báez was out of sight and out of mind. He had undergone season-ending surgery on his right hip, spelling the end of a disastrous season that threw his entire future in Detroit into doubt. This spring, the two-time All-Star, signed to a $140 million contract three years earlier, had to prove himself all over again. And he had to do so while learning how to play center field for the first time in his career. Since then, the roller-coaster ride has continued. Through June, Báez had a .783 OPS. He started the All-Star Game in July, when the Tigers held an 11 1/2-game lead in the AL Central. Then, the bottom fell out again: Báez hit .219/.225/.315 with one walk and 53 strikeouts over the last three months as Detroit lost its grip on the AL Central. But just in time, Báez righted the ship. It started at the very end of the regular season (6-for-16 with a homer in his last four games), and it has continued into the postseason. Báez, back at shortstop in place of Trey Sweeney, has made huge plays with the glove. (He's still the best tagger in the business.) Báez also is hitting .346/.370/.500 this postseason, with only two strikeouts in seven games. His finest work came in Wednesday's elimination game in Detroit: a game-tying RBI single in the fifth inning, followed by a no-doubt two-run blast in the sixth that broke open the game. Báez's four RBIs were his most in 43 career playoff games and pushed the Tigers to within one win of the ALCS. They wouldn't be there without Báez pulling his career back from the brink -- again. -- Andrew Simon |
Tomorrow is your last chance to cast your vote for the All-MLB Team presented by MGM Rewards. The All-MLB Team, which was established in 2019, recognizes the top players at each position during the regular season, with both First Team and Second Team honors. The winners will be announced on Nov. 13 during the MLB Awards in Las Vegas. |
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