MLB Wild Card Game 2 Live Playoff Updates, Results, Highlights From Every Game

Schedule

Game 1 (at MIL): Saturday, Oct. 3
Game 2 (at MIL): Sunday, Oct. 4
Game 3 (at SD): Tuesday, Oct. 6
Game 4 (at SD): Wednesday, Oct. 7
Game 5 (at MIL): Friday, Oct. 9

Outlook

The Brewers took two of three from the Padres at home in May, but they were swept at Petco Park in August, one of only three times all season the 103-win NL Central champs were swept.

The teams had identical 18-6 records in September, as Milwaukee is one of the few teams that could match San Diego's momentum down the stretch.

Who's ready for a game where Jacob Misiorowski and Mason Miller both pitch and the radar gun explodes?

The Cubs high-powered offense managed one extra-base hit in 18 innings against the Padres pitching staff, and it came in the ninth inning when Nico Hoerner doubled off Mason Miller before the Cubs hopes were eventually extinguished.

The Padres relief corps combined for 5.2 shutout innings behind starter Nick Pivetta, allowing just two hits, and the Cubs were outscored 12-1 in the two-game sweep.

On a list of things you don't want to see when you're staring up at a 4-1 deficit on the scoreboard and your season is hanging in the balance, this has to be No. 1.

The early hook for Sonny Gray will be questioned throughout Boston in the coming days, and Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras said a lot without saying much in his postgame interview.

One of your star players seemingly questioning whether there is too much data being used within the organization is a less-than-ideal way to start of the offseason, especially when he's under contract for another year.

The North Siders ranked third in the majors with 220 home runs during the regular season, trailing only the Astros (226) and Yankees (220).

Schedule

Game 1 (at TB): Saturday, Oct. 3
Game 2 (at TB): Monday, Oct. 5
Game 3 (at NYY): Wednesday, Oct. 7
Game 4 (at NYY): Thursday, Oct. 8
Game 5 (at TB): Saturday, Oct. 10

Outlook

Both ALDS matchups are now set, and both feature matchups of division foes. The Rays won the season series against the Yankees by a 7-6 margin, but they were outscored across those 13 games by nine runs, so it's essentially a push.

Homefield advantage is a storyline here after Tampa Bay went 55-26 at Tropicana Field this year, while the Yankees have recent success on their side after taking three of four from the Rays at Yankee Stadium during the final week of the regular season.

Gavin Sheets missed almost the entire month of September with a foot injury, returning to go 2-for-7 with a double down the stretch, and he was expected to be limited to pinch-hit duties in the Wild Card Series.

That's exactly the role he was called on to fill on Wednesday night, and he delivered with a majestic two-run blast to right field on his first swing of the postseason.

After the Cubs sent Nick Pivetta to the showers in the top of the fourth inning, the Padres returned the favor as a one-out double off the bat of the red-hot Xander Bogaerts ended Kevin Gausman's night.

Final line: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K -- still responsible for runner on second

Behind a terrific start from Max Fried (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 6 K) and a six-run sixth inning from the offense, the Yankees send the rival Red Sox home in the AL Wild Card Series for the second straight season.

It was utter dominance across the two games by the Yankees.

A single back up the middle off the bat of Nico Hoerner cut the Padres lead in half and chased San Diego starter Nick Pivetta from the game after 3.1 innings and 66 pitches.

Now it's up to San Diego's vaunted bullpen to protect this lead the rest of the way, and Bradgley Rodriguez will come on with runners on first and second and only one out.

They've also already burned one of their manager challenges, adding just a bit more depth to that hole they'll be trying to dig out of the rest of the game.

After a Ty France double and Jackson Merrill infield single, Xander Bogaerts plated the first run of the game with an RBI single.

Rookie Ethan Salas tacked on a second run with a sacrifice fly, and it's 2-0 Padres heading into the third inning.

After a sac fly and an RBI groundout had Garrett Whitlock one out away from getting out of the never-ending bottom of the sixth, Cody Bellinger got his arms extended on a changeup and drove it over the right field fence for a three-run home run.

With that, it's now an 8-1 lead for the Yankees, with six runs on the board in their half of the sixth inning.

While the Red Sox try to get out of a sixth-inning jam, we are underway from San Diego for Game 2 of the Cubs vs. Padres.

The only right-handed bat in the Yankees lineup, George Lombard Jr., delivered an RBI single to make it 3-1, but the bulk of the damage for the Yankees has been coming from the left side of the plate.

Garrett Crochet's return to the mound: 0.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Spencer Jones reached on a dropped third strike, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Adley Rutschman, and then scored on Lombard's single.

The last time Garrett Crochet pitched was the day that Alex Cora was fired. The Red Sox were 10-17 and at the bottom of the AL East standings.

After 26.2 innings without a run to begin the postseason, the Red Sox finally got on the board when Willson Contreras snuck one over the right field wall and into a fan's outstretched glove.

His slow trot around the bases drew the ire of Yankees starter Max Fried, so his next at-bat will be worth watching closely.

A single from Ben Rice chased Red Sox starter Sonny Gray, and Cody Bellinger delivered an RBI single against reliever Erik Miller to extend the Yankees lead to 2-0.

Luis García Jr. followed with a single to left field, but Rice was thrown out at home by Nate Eaton to end the inning without any further damage.

We are through five full innings at Yankee Stadium.

Aside from a hustle double by Nate Eaton that came on a shallow blooper to center field, the Red Sox have nothing remotely resembling an offensive highlight in this series.

After a quiet pitcher's duel through the first three and a half innings, Luis García Jr. puts the Yankees on the board with a solo home run, turning around a sweeper from Sonny Gray that caught too much of the plate.

One of the most impactful deadline pickups of the year delivers his first big October moment.

Schedule

Game 1 (at CLE): Saturday, Oct. 3
Game 2 (at CLE): Monday, Oct. 5
Game 3 (at CWS): Wednesday, Oct. 7
Game 4 (at CWS): Thursday, Oct. 8
Game 5 (at CLE): Saturday, Oct. 10

Outlook

The White Sox won the season series 7-6, but the Guardians took the final matchup of the regular season by winning two of three from Sept. 14-16, including a walk-off win.

The Guardians went 16-9 in September to overtake the White Sox and claim the AL Central division title, but they will have to navigate a lay-off while the South Siders are riding the momentum of a Wild Card Series sweep.

Their last playoff win at home was Game 1 of the 2023 ALDS.

Sequels rarely live up to the original, but there are rare exceptions.

A 1-2-3 frame for Sonny Gray in the bottom of the first inning. The veteran has stepped up all season against top-tier competition.

A four-run first inning that sent Astros ace Hunter Brown to the showers early was all the White Sox needed to send Houston packing, and Chase Meidroth provided breathing room with a three-run blast in the sixth inning to silence the Houston crowd.

The White Sox advance to face the Guardians in the ALDS, and the South Siders won the season series 7-6.

It's Christian Walker, Lucas Spence and Cam Smith to face White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde with the season on the line.

White Sox continue to get creative with how they're deploying their bullpen, as Fedde is on for his second inning of work.

Jahmai Jones and Nate Eaton are in, Roman Anthony and Jarren Duran are out as the Red Sox face lefty Max Fried in Game 2.

For those keeping score at home, that's eight left-handed hitters and George Lombard Jr. for the Yankees in Game 2.

Luis García Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham and Ryan McMahon were all on the bench to start Game 1 with lefty Payton Tolle on the mound for Boston.

The Red Sox have made their move to replace Roman Anthony on the roster, which means he'll also be ineligible should they advance to the ALDS.

Jahmai Jones gets the start at DH tonight with lefty Max Fried on the mound, but Mead could be a candidate to start in Game 3 if they survive tonight and the Yankees give the ball to Gerrit Cole.

With one swing of the bat, Chase Meidroth erases all the progress the Astros had made clawing back into the game.

Houston now has 12 outs to come up with a response.

The White Sox summoned Anthony Kay out of the bullpen with two on and one out to face Yordan Alvarez, and he managed to escape the inning unscathed.

He got Alvarez to line out to left field, walked Isaac Paredes and then induced an inning-ending fly out from Jose Altuve with the bases loaded to preserve the one-run lead.

Only change for the Cubs is Matt Shaw getting the start at third base after Pedro Ramírez was at the hot corner in Game 1.

Rookie Ethan Salas makes the start behind the plate for the Padres, with Dustin Harris also moving into the starting lineup after he entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Samad Taylor yesterday.

Not only did his solo shot to the Crawford Boxes cut the Astros' deficit to 4-3, but it also pulled Jose Altuve within one home run of tying Manny Ramirez for the most in MLB postseason history.

Here's the updated leaderboard, courtesy of Sarah Langs:

Manny Ramírez: 29
Jose Altuve: 28
Kyle Schwarber: 24
George Springer: 23
Bernie Williams: 22
Derek Jeter: 20

Pretty elite company for Yankees starter Max Fried as he takes the ball for Game 2 and tries to end the rival Red Sox's season.

Ah, the many moving parts of playoff baseball scheduling.

After a solo shot from Jeremy Peña got the Astros on the board in the bottom of the first inning, Cam Smith added a towering shot of his own in the second inning to cut Houston's deficit to 4-2.

Starting to feel like four runs isn't going to win this game...

Ethan Salas became the youngest player to catch in a big league game since Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez when he debuted in September, and tonight he adds even an more impressive distinction to his resume.

Series: Tied 1-1
When: Thursday, 2 p.m. ET (tentative)

Aaron Nola (Phillies) and Grant Holmes (Braves) are the most likely starting pitchers for the win-or-go-home Game 3 matchup, though Zack Wheeler is also an option for the Phillies on short rest after pitching on Sunday, while the Braves could opt to use Holmes in a bulk role behind an opener.

The Braves won the season series 9-4 with a plus-23 run differential, so the Phillies pulling out a Game 3 victory would qualify as an upset on multiple fronts. They also dropped Game 1, which has generally been a death sentence in these best-of-three series.

While the Phillies were wrapping up a thrilling extra-inning victory to keep their season alive, the White Sox were busy jumping all over Astros starter Hunter Brown, chasing him in the top of the first inning.

Brown's final line: 0.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 36 pitches

A pair of Astros errors didn't help his cause, but a brutal outing when he was expected to chew up innings following a Game 1 where Houston used eight different pitchers.

Home runs from Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 victory for the Phillies, but there is a serious case to be made that Andrew Painter was the hero of the game.

It's clear the Phillies don't trust their relief corps outside of closer Jhoan Durán, and Painter delivered three scoreless innings in relief to close out the victory. As the No. 5 starter, he can be a weapon out of the 'pen all postseason.

With so many pitchers boasting triple-digit fastballs these days, this is genuinely surprising, even if he's not a perennial 30-homer guy.

While the Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper home runs earlier were no-doubters, Alec Bohm's looked like a routine fly ball off the bat that just kept carrying on its way to squeaking over the wall.

Is Jhoan Durán available for the bottom of the 10th?

Same lineup as Game 1 for the White Sox, just with Chase Meidroth and Braden Montgomery flip-flopped. Astros plug Nick Allen in at third base, shift Isaac Paredes to designated hitter and Yordan Alvarez to left field, and move Taylor Trammell to the bench.

Both teams also have legitimate starting pitchers on the mound after dual bullpen games in Game 1.

The Red Sox got 55 games out of Roman Anthony in what many expected to be a breakout season for the 22-year-old. Now his playoff debut ends after one game and with the season hanging in the balance. Brutal.

An absolute bomb off the bat of Kyle Schwarber cut the newly-minted Braves lead in half to lead off the eighth, and Bryce Harper followed with a solo shot of his own to quickly erase the memory of his miscue in the top half of the inning.

Now it's a battle of the bullpens.

It certainly looked catchable off the bat, whether Bryce Harper got a bad read on it or lost it in the sun, but it reads as an RBI double in the box score.

The Braves tacked on a insurance run with a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Olson, putting the Phillies six outs from elimination.