William Contreras Knew He Got It
Or at least, he had an inkling after the ball left his bat. It ended up clearing the fence by plenty, prompting one of the slower home run trots you're going to see.
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It's the first day of the Division Series round of the 2026 MLB playoffs, and baseball fans are getting their money's worth with four Game 1s on the schedule.
In the American League, it's the Chicago White Sox vs. the Cleveland Guardians and the New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays. For the National League, it's the San Diego Padres vs. the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers.
If you like ace pitchers, today is the day for you. Two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal is on the mound for the Dodgers. Likely NL Cy Young Award winner Jacob Misiorowski has the ball for Milwaukee.
Keep it here for live updates, highlights, commentary, final scores and anything else worth knowing.
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Or at least, he had an inkling after the ball left his bat. It ended up clearing the fence by plenty, prompting one of the slower home run trots you're going to see.
He had been 1-for-20 against Padres pitchers before this. HUGE home run to get Milwaukee a lead with six outs left to get. This was 103.7 mph off the bat and went 406 feet.
What a play by Jake Cronenworth to take a hit away from Jackson Chourio and rob the Brewers of a leadoff baserunner in their half of the seventh.
Abner Uribe came in to get Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Ty France out, and he let all three reach on a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch. DL Hall bailed him out, getting Jackson Merrill to pop out to end the threat.
2-2 headed to the bottom of the seventh.
San Diego relievers have logged 3.1 scoreless, hitless innings in relief of Robbie Ray. Milwaukee relievers are at 2.0 scoreless in their own right, the last 1.1 coming from ever-useful lefty Aaron Ashby.
Still 2-2 headed to the top of the seventh.
This ended up being huge, as the next two batters reached and got to second and third on a wild pitch.
Still 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth.
His day is done after 88 pitches, 52 of which were at least 100 mph. You never see that in the postseason.
If there's a Game 5 on Friday, Misiorowski could start on five days' rest. Tom Verducci noted on the FS1 broadcast that him starting Game 4 on Wednesday on three days' rest could be in play.
He's at 88 pitches through four, and has been pushed to the brink by a Padres offense that just keeps spoiling pitches. And yet, still just the two runs allowed.
The question now is if Pat Murphy sends him back out there for the fifth. He's had a lot of high-stress pitches and the top of San Diego's order is due up. Misiorowski would be facing a third time through the lineup.
2-2 in the bottom of the fourth.
Because what's a few more after a guy does something like that?
After Jackson Chourio tied it with a two-run homer, the Brewers had the bases loaded and one out against Robbie Ray. It was a chance to put the Padres in a hole.
Instead, Christian Yelich flew out and Cooper Pratt grounded into a forceout after Ray was lifted for Bradgley Rodriguez.
Home run swing. Home run result.
What an absolute missile, at 113.3 mph and 420 feet. It's Chourio's fifth career postseason home run, the most of anyone in Brewers history.
Note the sheer "What do you want me to say?" energy with these remarks. It's never easy or recommended to excuse inexcusable plays such as Well's baserunning blunder.
He's thrown 42 fastballs through three innings so far in Game 1, and Padres hitters have put one of them in play. They have five hard-hit balls and four hits off his cutter and slider.
In total, he's thrown only 28 of those.
He's the fourth pitcher in playoff history to pitch at least 8.0 innings, allow one hit or fewer, and strike out 10.
The first three:
Two runs in the second inning and 58 pitches for "The Miz" already. It's an impressive display by San Diego hitters. They're working counts and not trying to do too much, and it's working. They have four hits and a walk.
2-0 Padres in the bottom of the second.
Series: Rays lead 1-0
Jonathan Aranda hit a solo home run in the third, and Drew Rasmussen did the rest. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, and even Austin Wells' two-out double in the eighth turned into an out.
There were no more hits for the Yankees. It's the 17th one-hitter in playoff history, and the first since 2022.
Game 2 is on Monday, when Cam Schlittler will try to even the series. He can expect to hear it from Rays fans at the Trop.
That's already four hits for the Padres off Misiorowski, who is still clearing triple digits with ease. Just a really nifty swing by Luis Campusano to go the other way there.
Drew Rasmussen's night is done, with Rays closer Bryan Baker coming in for the top of the ninth to protect a 1-0 lead.
The Rays are going for the first postseason one-hitter since 2022.
He averaged 102.7 mph, a full 2.1 mph above his season average. He topped 104 mph five times, peaking at 104.8 mph on his first pitch of the game.
No score heading to the bottom of the first.
Austin Wells forgot the rule: Never make the first or third out of an inning at third base. The Yankees could have had a baserunner in scoring position at second base with two outs, but he pushed it too far.
Drew Rasmussen's no-hitter is over, but his shutout remains intact heading into the bottom of the eighth.
His very first pitch of the game was 104.8 mph, the new record for the fastest pitch ever recorded in the postseason.
Mason Miller, your move.
He has struck out 10 and throw 94 pitches. He's thrown as many as 114 pitches in a game this year, and it was against the Yankees just a few weeks ago on September 22.
He is absolutely dealing, especially with those front-door two-seamers to lefty batters. He's at 83 pitches and only getting sharper.
Gerrit Cole is not coming out for the bottom of the sixth. His day is done.
That is generally considered to be against the unwritten baseball rules. And unfortunately for the Yankees, it didn't work.
This was just great theater, and a great pitch by the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner to end it.
Cole has done his job well, getting through five innings and allowing run. Time for Yankees hitters to do theirs.
Drew Rasmussen is through five no-hit innings with eight strikeouts. He's thrown 69 pitches.
There have been three no-hitters in playoff history. The Astros' combined no-hitter in Game 4 of the 2022 World Series is the most recent.
Gerrit Cole was able to work around a leadoff single in the fourth inning, but Paul Blackburn was seen getting hot in the pen.
Meanwhile, Drew Rasmussen still hasn't given up a hit.
Barrel, meet ball. Ball, meet bleachers.
The velocity on his pitches is down relative to the regular season, and he's served up four of the game's five hard-hit balls. Aaron Boone might want to be careful sticking with him for too long.
That's not even that bad of a pitch by Gerrit Cole. Just a great swing, and it went 107.1 mph and 417 feet. It's Aranda's first postseason homer.
Like that, the Rays are halfway to the Red Sox's run total in the Wild Card Series.
He expanded the zone for two whiffs, including one that was level with his neck. The strikeout allowed Drew Rasmussen to escape a two-out, one-on jame in the third.
Still no score, bottom three.
According to Statcast, that ball is a home run at 16 of 30 stadiums. At the Trop, it's a double. Nothing came of it when Taylor Walls grounded out to end the second.
Also of note is that George Lombard Jr. had a liner in the top of the second that would have been a homer at one park: Yankee Stadium.
That got Gerrit Cole out of a jam after he had allowed a pair of baserunners on a single and a walk with one out.
No score after one.
Series: Dodgers lead 1-0
Tarik Skubal had one bad inning out of six, and it only cost him a run. The Dodgers otherwise hit three home runs, with Teoscar Hernรกndez, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy doing the honors.
The Braves made it interesting with a two-run homer in the ninth by Ozzie Albies. All told, though, they only had four hits in the game.
Game 2 is tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. ET. The Braves have not announced who will be opposing Blake Snell. Chris Sale is still a possibility after pitching in relief to close out Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.
After sitting out the Wild Card Series, Judge isn't on the Yankees' Division Series roster either. They would rather have the three-time MVP healthy for the ALCS and/or World Series than risk him aggravating his calf strain in the ALDS.
It's a safe play, but also the smart one. Calf strains don't heal that quickly, and Judge sustained his on September 16th.
Of course, the Yankees have to survive the Rays for their strategy to matter.
Two quick runs, and still nobody out in the top of the ninth. It's not over yet, folks.
Jacob Misiorowski has the ball for the Brewers. In case anyone's wondering, the fastest pitch in postseason history is 104.5 mph, by Mason Miller last year. Just in case.
Robbie Ray really struggled after joining the Padres at the trade deadline. In nine starts, he had a 5.02 ERA and 27 walks against 33 strikeouts over 43.0 innings.
Not really bulletin board material for the Rays as much as their fans.
Schlittler is slated to pitch Game 2 for the Yankees at Tropicana Field on Monday.
Dave Roberts goes to Brock Stewart for the seventh inning. The book on Skubal is closed after 6.0 innings of one-run ball, with two hits, two walks and seven strikeouts.
He threw 96 pitches. That's about his limit. And given the heat and the Dodgers' four-run lead, there was no need to push him any further.
It's a lot of lefties for the Yankees against Drew Rasmussen, even though both righties and lefties had an OPS in the .500s against him this season.
We'll see if a bit of rest did Gerrit Cole some good. He last pitched on September 23, capping a six-start stretch in which he got hit around for a 4.98 ERA.
Literally. With the Dodgers up 5-1, this is the first time in Skubal's playoff career that he has gotten more than three runs of support.
That came in at 86 mph and left at 105.5 mph. His 17th postseason homer as a Dodger, adding to the franchise's all-time lead.
He put up a 97 OPS+ and 0.7 rWAR in the first year of a four-year, $240 million contract. If he wants Dodgers fans to love him, this is a good way to get it done.
He ran into trouble in the sixth, allowing a homer and walking two hitters to create a threat. A flyout by Matt Olson ended it, but not before Skubal's pitch count got up to 96.
That's right around his limit in the best of times. And today, he's pitching in 101-degree weather.
In all fairness, we don't know how many people are choosing to hang out in the shade of the concourses. Even for LA, heat like this is no joke.
Either way, this is the lowest announced attendance for a Dodger Stadium playoff game since 2016.
It's Atlanta's first hit since Drake Baldwin's leadoff single, and it was no cheapie. That was against 99 mph and it landed 421 feet away.
The Braves need one more, and as much good pitching as their bullpen can provide.
He's retired every batter he's faced since a leadoff single by Drake Baldwin, with seven strikeouts.
This right here is why the Dodgers got him, and he's only at 66 pitches through five.
He stood and admired and chucked the bat. You have to have really crushed a ball if you're going to do that*.
*And he did
That ball got out of sight in a hurry, sheesh.
Pitches don't get more down the middle than that, nor do they get hit much harder. That was 109.9 mph and 431 feet for a two-run homer.
The Braves now have to get two runs against Tarik Skubal, who's been spectacular so far.
That's Gold Glove defense right there. Heck of a play.
Skubal got the next two outs with ease. He's at 55 pitches with six strikeouts through four scoreless innings.
That's 3.0 scoreless innings for the lefty after he got Shohei Ohtani to line out to end the third.
After Ray Kerr went 3.1 scoreless in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series, that's now 6.1 total scoreless innings for Braves openers in back-to-back games. Walt Weiss must be thrilled.
Pretty good pitchers' duel so far. Altogether, Braves and Dodgers hitters are 2-for-17 with nine strikeouts.
He's matching Tarik Skubal so far, though he may not go much further after 32 pitches. His high during the regular season was 39 pitches.
It had been 100.4 mph before he hit 101.1 on a ball to Austin Riley. He seems loose.
Shohei Ohtani singled after this, so it could have been first and second or first and third for the Dodgers with nobody out.
Instead, the Dodgers went quietly without scoring in their half of the first.
He averaged 97.8 mph on his fastball, a full 1 mph increase on his 96.8 mph average during the regular season. He topped out at 99.6 mph.
No score for the Braves. Dodgers are coming up for the bottom of the first.
Those on the ground are saying 100 degrees on the nose. AccuWeather says 103 degrees, with RealFeel of 105 degrees.
According to Baseball Reference, the only playoff game to ever start amid triple-digit temperatues was Game 1 of the 2017 World Series between the Dodgers and Astros. And that was a night game.
Series: White Sox lead 1-0
Cleveland fans didn't have much to cheer for in this one. Parker Messick was upstaged by five White Sox pitchers, and the Guardians got only three hits.
Grant Taylor worked the last four innings to get the save. He's only the 10th pitcher to ever record a four-out save in the playoffs, and the first since Lance McCullers Jr. in 2017.
The series will resume with Game 2 on Monday at 5:00 p.m. ET.
The language of excitement is universal.
It's a bullpen game for Atlanta. Dylan Dodd did not make a single start this year, and topped out at 3.0 innings in relief.
Tarik Skubal is not, of course, a mere opener. He was somewhat shaky in his first three starts for the Dodgers, but then ripped off a 2.40 ERA and 1.88 FIP over hos last seven.
Talk about a master class in hitting it where they ain't. And this from a three-true-outcomes guy who hit 31 home runs but also set a single-season record with 227 strikeouts.
The Guardians have nine outs left to get three runs.
Tommy Pham hit that ball at 106.1 mph, so tough luck on his part. That's otherwise as clutch as catches get, and it notably held up upon review.
The double play preserved a 2-0 deficit for the Guardians.
This was 112.2 mph off the bat and it landed 440 feet from home plate, giving the White Sox a 2-0 lead over the Guardians.
This was after Cleveland had loaded the bases on three straight walks in bottom of the third, only to get nothing after Chase DeLauter lined out. Between these two events, you're not going to find a better illustration of the value of the long ball in October. It's easier to hit the ball over the fence than it is to string baserunners together.