close
close

Latest Post

Watch Tom Llamas seek shelter from Hurricane Milton in Sarasota, Florida Sean Combs: Sean Diddy's legal team accuses the US government of leaking footage of the Cassie attack

play

A blitzkrieg of wild playoff baseball roller coaster rides is about to reach its climax: a quadruple-header with two potential closeout games and two more crucial Division Series games.

From the moment the Detroit Tigers greet a Comerica Park crowd awaiting their first playoff game in 10 years to the moment the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres leave the stage – perhaps forever in the case of the Dodgers – it's about nine hours of exciting, exciting postseason games will unfold.

It's the last day to watch that many games until 2025, and for the first time all four Division Series started with 1-1 splits. As that day of reckoning approaches, USA TODAY Sports breaks down what to watch in these crucial hours:

Guardians-Tigers, 3:08 ET (TBS): Speeding up in Motown

After two games at Cleveland's Progressive Field that can seem claustrophobic, the Guardians and Tigers return to the spacious facilities of Comerica Park with their ALDS tied 1-1.

And the Tigers are certainly relishing the chance to not only play in front of their home fans, but also stretch their legs on the grounds.

Detroit led the major leagues with a 49% extra bases rate in 2024, and since third base coach Joey Cora presided over a heated meeting in August touting the benefits of aggressive baserunning, the Tigers have done so more than any other team from first to third base occupies the majors.

And after taking Cleveland's best hit in Game 1 – the Guardians scored five runs before the Tigers recorded an out – the series has calmed down significantly. Cleveland has scored just two runs in 17 innings since that breakthrough, while Detroit has managed just one run-scoring hit – Kerry Carpenter's stunning three-run home run off the incomparable Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning of Game 2.

Now the series is back on Detroit soil and perhaps on its terms. After an off day, they rested their bullpen and with right-hander Alex Cobb starting for Cleveland, they can move the speedy Parker Meadows back to the top of the lineup.

Sure, Comerica remains a tough place to hit a ball into the seats. But don't take your eyes off the Tigers, lest they escape with another win against the AL leaders.

Phillies-Mets, 5:08 ET (FS1): End of the road?

Once again, Mets slugger Pete Alonso faces what could be his final home game at Citi Field, a road that crossed back on Sept. 22 when New York wrapped up its home schedule with a Sunday night win over the Phillies.

That set off a wild baseball elimination game for the Mets, ten consecutive road games between the regular season and the playoffs until the Mets finally hosted Philly again on Tuesday for Game 3 of their NLDS.

And Alonso ensured that this unlikely party continued to rage. His second-inning home run off Aaron Nola ensured the Mets never trailed in their series-turning 7-2 win.

Yes, today Alonso, an impending free agent and four-time All-Star, could be playing his final home game in Flushing. But this time he probably won't.

The Mets are 2-1 in this NLDS and have two options to knock off the Phillies: in Game 4, behind Jose Quintana, or back in Philly, where they would have to topple Phillies ace Zack Wheeler again.

But suddenly all the pressure is on the other side of the field.

The Phillies have endured terrible offense in almost all 27 innings of this series, except for a late rally in Game 2. Their hopes rest on the left arm of Ranger Suarez, and while he was a standout playoff player, he is not having the year finished in good form.

And it makes more sense to think about what the Phillies might be wasting.

Their 95 regular season wins were for nothing. An undeniable feeling that despite all the good vibes at Citizens Bank Park, they're backing down: Pennant winners in 2022, NLCS losers in 2023, NLDS exit in 2024.

In short, it's going to be a disgusting evening in both dugouts on Wednesday night. But it will be prescient for the Mets; for the Phillies, simple fear.

“This whole experience,” Alonso said after Game 3, “was just incredible.”

Yankees-Royals, 7:08 ET (TBS): Same as usual?

After their own 17-day travel odyssey, the royals are finally home. And Salvador Perez says once again that 2015 “feels like yesterday.”

The Royals certainly hope so. Their fancy old ballpark will host their first two playoff games since defeating the Mets in a five-game World Series victory in 2015. Perez, the respected and likely future Hall of Fame catcher, is of course the only soul left from this roster.

It's quite a hornet's nest for the Yankees.

The ALDS is tied 1-1. They face a monumental matchup with veteran right-hander Seth Lugo, who dominated them at Yankee Stadium exactly a month ago, striking out 10 in seven shutout innings. And while they love their own starter, Clarke Schmidt, he has made just five starts since returning from a nearly four-month absence due to a right lat strain.

It would help if he gave them some length. Right now, the only element firing for the Yankees is their bullpen, which has absorbed 9 ⅓ innings and given up just one run.

This feels untenable. And the Royals have managed to score nine runs in two games while their best player, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., is 0 for 10 with four strikeouts.

A much friendlier crowd will greet him in Game 3. The Yankees would do well to get out of town while their season is intact – which requires a win on Wednesday or Thursday night.

“Now the boos will be for them, not for us, as was the case in New York,” Perez said Tuesday. “Super excited. I can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Dodgers-Padres, 9:08 ET (FS1): Heading for the kill

It's going to be a hot mess.

There's really no other way this crazy NLDS can end, and it will likely end in Game 4 when San Diego ace Dylan Cease is sidelined for three days to quell the Dodgers once and for all.

It's been a crazy fall for the Dodgers, who once had high hopes early in the postseason, only to have the strangest of disasters – some of them self-inflicted – befall them.

Now, two years in a row, they've vacillated into October with shaky pitching plans and, unsurprisingly, failed in occasionally spectacular fashion. One more loss and they'll be eliminated from the NLDS for the third time in a row – twice to the Padres.

But unlike last year's dismal win over Arizona, these Dodgers are fighting back. Sure, they lost a crucial Game 3 at Petco Park 6-5, but considering they trailed 6-1 and fired up every Padres savior, that's no small victory.

Now it’s all about converting that win into momentum for the next day’s starting pitcher….

“It’s a bullpen game,” manager Dave Roberts said after Game 3. “I see one of our relievers starting.”

Oh well.

It's not just weapons that are bad for the Dodgers. Shortstop Miguel Rojas suffered an adductor injury and first baseman Freddie Freeman was again unable to complete nine innings due to an ankle injury, although of course he did throw a base hit before limping off.

LA stopped in Game 1, or more specifically Shohei Ohtani did, erasing an early deficit with a three-run home run. Padres manager Mike Shildt says Cease will have “some ball” for Game 4 and that his bullpen will be “ready to rock” despite going four heavy-duty innings on Wednesday.

“It’s good to have two,” Shildt says, “but it doesn’t matter until we have three.”

Get to the heart of the news quickly with the USA TODAY app. Download for award-winning reporting, crosswords, audio storytelling, the e-newspaper and more.

On By John Fenwick

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post