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. The only time an MLB team has won a best-of-seven postseason series after losing the first three games, Dave Roberts was a hero of that story. Then an outfielder with the Red Sox, Roberts' iconic steal in Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS set the stage for a remarkable comeback as the Sox beat the Yankees on their way to breaking an 86-year curse. Twenty-one years later, the Milwaukee Brewers will attempt to become the second team to accomplish the feat -- only this time, they hope it's at the expense of now-manager Roberts, who is looking to lead his Dodgers to their second straight World Series. Yesterday's 3-1 win in Game 3 of the NLCS made the Dodgers the 42nd team in AL/NL history to take a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven. Of the previous 41, 31 won by way of sweep, six won in Game 5 and two won in Game 6. Just two of those series went to a Game 7, with only those 2004 Red Sox completing the comeback from a 3-0 deficit. But don't mention any of this to the man himself. In last year's World Series when the Dodgers were up 3-0 against the Yankees, it was the furthest thing from Roberts' mind. "Don't talk about that. Wrong guy. Way too early," Roberts said. If the Brewers are going to stay alive and possibly send the series back to Milwaukee for Games 6 and 7, they will have to get through Shohei Ohtani, who is slated to start Game 4 for L.A. (8:38 p.m. ET, TBS). Ohtani has never faced Milwaukee as a pitcher, but he posted a 2.87 ERA in 14 regular-season starts in 2025 and tossed a quality start in the NLDS vs. Philadelphia. It will also require the Brewers' bats to awaken -- and fast. The Crew boasted one of the NL's best offenses throughout the regular season, but so far in the postseason, Milwaukee has hit .197 with far more strikeouts (64) than hits (49). -- Jacob Gurvis |
Speaking of Shohei Ohtani, he'll have the chance to pitch -- and hit -- the Dodgers into the World Series tonight. And watching him, it's like a magician on the mound. Ohtani throws seven pitches, and he can conjure up any one of them at any time to strike out even the best hitters in baseball. His latest trick? Making his splitter reappear this postseason. In his first playoff start against the Phillies, Ohtani brought back his splitter -- which had all but disappeared from his repertoire -- in a big way. He used it to strike out Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper. Ohtani's splitter used to be his signature pitch, and it just looked the best it has in years in one of the biggest games he's ever pitched.
So watch out for the vintage Ohtani splitter when he takes the mound against the Brewers in Game 4 tonight at Dodger Stadium. Or maybe it'll be another trick completely. But Ohtani will have something up his sleeve.
-- David Adler |
The ALCS is all knotted up at two games apiece, setting the stage for a pivotal Game 5 in Seattle tonight (6:08 p.m. ET, FS1). The series has been dominated by the road team -- the Mariners won the first two games at Rogers Centre, but the Blue Jays have come storming back with two straight wins at T-Mobile Park. While both teams will be looking to their stars to perform, these series so often hinge on players who weren't supposed to be the story -- until they are. With that in mind, here is an X-factor for each team who could swing Game 5. Blue Jays: Andrés Giménez
Giménez is in the lineup for his defense, not his bat. He was the least productive hitter (78 wRC+) with at least 1,000 PAs over the past two seasons and was as cold as could be before Game 3 of the ALCS, having gone 17-for-97 (.175) over a 31-game homerless streak dating back to Aug. 29. So it's safe to say no one saw this coming. Batting out of the nine-hole, the shortstop delivered two of the biggest swings of Toronto's season after the club fell behind early in each of the past two games, hitting a game-tying two-run homer in the third inning of Game 3 and a go-ahead two-run blast in the third inning of Game 4. Overall, he went 5-for-8 with six RBIs in the two games. Does he have more magic in store for Game 5? Mariners: Bryan Woo Woo isn't exactly an unheralded name, given he was the Mariners' best starter in the regular season with a 2.94 ERA over 30 starts. That said, he hasn't been heard from at all in these playoffs after suffering a right pectoral injury on Sept. 19. That could change in Game 5, with the 25-year-old looming as a potential option out of the bullpen. Woo has never pitched as a reliever in his professional career, but if we see him tonight, it will likely be in a high-leverage situation. -- Thomas Harrigan |
Dave Dombrowski had plenty to say yesterday in his season wrapup with the media, and big changes are likely coming in Philadelphia this winter. But what certainly raised an eyebrow or two was what the Phillies president had to say about franchise player Bryce Harper, questioning the slugger's status as one of the game's elite players. In other news around the league:
• There was ample Yankees news on the injury front yesterday. Lefty starter Carlos Rodón had surgery to remove a bone spur from his throwing elbow and is not expected to be ready for Opening Day. Shortstop Anthony Volpe had surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder and likely won't be ready for the start of the season either. In better news for the Yanks, Aaron Judge avoided surgery on his right elbow flexor strain and is expected to be the everyday right fielder next season, while Gerrit Cole, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery, is on track to face live hitters during Spring Training.
• A.J. Preller held one of the longest news conferences of his 12-year tenure as Padres GM on Thursday, answering questions about Mike Shildt's surprising retirement, the search for a new manager and the status of Preller's own future with the club, as his contract runs only through next season.
• It appears that the Orioles have entered the fray for Albert Pujols. The three-time MVP, who has already spoken to the Angels about their managerial opening, is on Baltimore's radar.
-- Ed Eagle |
Spooky and spicy? It's rare that these adjectives can be simultaneously utilized in service of an accurate description, but the Winston-Salem Dash's new alternate identity provides that opportunity.
The Dash -- the High-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox -- announced yesterday that they will play as the Carolina Reapers on select dates in 2026. This moniker -- appropriately unveiled in advance of Halloween -- pays tribute to the (very, very) hot pepper of the same name. The Carolina Reaper, a hybrid of the naga and the habanero, was created in South Carolina by hot pepper breeder Ed Currie.
This blazing capsicum features prominently in the logo, of course, forming the "C" in the wordmark. The aesthetic, like so much else in our ephemeral world, is otherwise haunted by the specter of death. The remaining letters are spelled out in bones, while the primary logo features a (the?) grim reaper carrying a bat with the eponymous hot pepper speared atop it. The jersey, meanwhile, features an approximation of the Scoville heat-measuring scale, with the green at the bottom of the placket gradually transitioning to a literally hot-under-the-collar red.
The Carolina Reapers were the first of what will be many new Minor League Baseball alternate identities unveiled this offseason. It remains to be seen what heretofore unimagined adjectival pairings will be required to describe them. -- Benjamin Hill (For Minor League business and culture news, subscribe to The Baseball Traveler newsletter.) |
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