MLB Playoff Divisional Round Overreactions to Dodgers vs. Braves, Rays vs. Yankees and Every Game

When the summer doldrums start to wear you down as a baseball fan, dreaming about days like these can quickly put that pep back in your step.

Four postseason games, back-to-back-to-back-to-back.

All of them are potential elimination games, no less.

And we're celebrating the occasion with one rapid (over)reaction for each of the eight teams in action.

More will be added after each of the Rays-Yankees and Brewers-Padres games goes final.

Cleveland Guardians: They Done Woke Up J-Ram

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For most of this season, José Ramírez simply wasn't the J-Ram we've come to know and love.

Even before suffering that broken hamate in mid-June, he was only on pace for 22 home runs and 74 RBI, both of which would have been his worst (non-2020) totals since 2016.

But he really was not the same after his return to the lineup.

In his last 52 regular-season games, Ramírez hit just two home runs and posted a .593 OPS.

And in the first two postseason games against the White Sox, he went 0-for-6 with two walks and three strikeouts.

At long last, though, the proverbial light may have come back on.

J-Ram went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, a stolen base and a walk in Wednesday's 9-3 win over Chicago.

Even his unsuccessful plate appearances were impressive. The lineout in the first inning was scalded at 107.9 MPH with an expected batting average of .830. It just happened to find Randal Grichuk's glove. He also worked the count full before popping out in the seventh inning.

But it was the double-stolen base-run scored on a grounder sequence in the fifth inning that felt like the J-Ram of yore. And the two-run triple in the eighth made it feel like more than a flash in the pan.

If he's back—with Parker Messick pitching Thursday and Gavin Williams gearing up for Game 5—Cleveland might storm back from a 2-0 deficit.

(Also, three cheers to Foster Griffin, who struck out seven of the 11 batters he faced to get the win. He had a 5.19 ERA after relocating from Washington at the trade deadline, but that was huge.)

Chicago White Sox: The Bullpen Shtick Has Finally Imploded

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In winning their first four postseason games, the Chicago White Sox's MVP was the entire bullpen.

Of the total 36 innings pitched in those victories, the bullpen was responsible for 26.0, doing so with a 1.04 ERA, 0.69 WHIP and 10.4 K/9.

It was as if they all of a sudden had nine Josh Haders out there. (Houston's Hader finished the year with a 1.01 ERA, 0.76 WHIP and 11.1 K/9 in his 44.2 innings of dominance.)

But after Sean Newcomb gave them two scoreless innings in starting Game 3, the wheels came all the way off.

Starting with Bryan Hudson, the subsequent six White Sox pitchers took turns getting smoked to the tune of 10 hits, 10 walks and nine earned runs as the Guardians lived to see another day.

Notably, Jordan Hicks and Grant Taylor played no part in that implosion. The former has gone 10.1 scoreless innings with 18 strikeouts since Labor Day, while the latter has been quietly one of MLB's most dominant relievers since July 4.

All the same, the dam may have broken on Wednesday.

A very limited supply of reliable pitching was everyone's concern about the White Sox heading into the postseason, and it finally reared its ugly head in Game 3.

Can they reel it back in on Thursday, presumably with Erick Fedde and Taylor each pitching multiple innings?

Los Angeles Dodgers: There Is No Achilles' Heel

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Less than one month ago, the thought of Edwin Díaz pitching in anything close to a high-leverage situation for the Dodgers was inconceivable.

In 16 appearances across two trips to the IL, he posted a 11.85 ERA and blew four of his last seven save chances.

But something clicked during his last rehab assignment.

Over his final five regular-season appearances, he struck out nine of 17 batters faced while allowing just two baserunners. And after pitching a flawless sixth inning in Game 2, Dave Roberts had seen enough to put him back in the closer role for Games 3 and 4.

He locked them both down, not even allowing a baserunner in the series clincher.

Meanwhile, the hero in both Games 3 and 4 came out of the 9-hole in the lineup.

After not even getting a plate appearance in Game 1 or Game 2, Kiké Hernández hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning in Game 3 to break a scoreless tie, ultimately driving in the winning run.

On Wednesday night, Andy Pages delivered a massive two-out, two-run single that put the Dodgers ahead for good.

Of course, with this loaded roster, the 9-hole has never been much of a hole.

During the regular season, they had an MLB-best .259 batting average from that bottom spot in the order. But those two games in Atlanta were a sobering reminder that there are no easy outs when facing the twice-reigning champs.

Atlanta Braves: It Might Be Time to Trade Ronald Acuña Jr.

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Ronald Acuña Jr. is a five-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger.

He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2018 and the NL MVP in 2023.

When he's at his best, not many who have ever played the game have been better.

But he sure has been a ghost in October for a while now.

Dating back to Game 2 of the 2020 NLDS against Miami, Acuña has gone 14-for-84 (.167 AVG) with 24 strikeouts, zero home runs and just one RBI in 24 games played.

The idea of Atlanta trading away its final two years of team control on Acuña would have been considered blasphemy just a few days ago. Braves fans certainly sang his praises when he played a massive role in keeping the Phillies at bay in the first half of September.

But here at the end of his third consecutive injury-plagued season, the fans sure seem to have had enough of his inability to deliver when they need him the most, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position this postseason.

We'll leave the "Where would he go?" and "How much could they get?" speculations for another day, but it does feel like the Braves need to do something drastic to shake things up after yet another early flameout in October.