Month: October 2025

The Tigers and the Guardians opened the playoffs with a classic nail biter. Tarik Skubal was brilliant, going 7 and 2/3 innings, giving up just one unlucky run and 3 hits. He struck out 14 and walked 3. The only odd thing he did was walk Austen Hedges twice. Hedges is batting .161 for the season. In the bottom of the 4th, the Indians never got a ball out of the infield but were able to scratch out a run. The Indians had their chance in the bottom of the 9th. Jose Ramirez hit a sharp ground ball up the middle that Javier Baez made a great play on. He tried to make a throw from his knees. It one-hopped to the first baseman, who could not make the scoop, and the ball went down the right field line. Ramirez made it all the way to third with no one out. Will Vest got the next batter to strike out. The next batter hit a little tapper back to the mound. Ramirez was caught in a rundown, and quickly there were two outs. The last batter popped out, and the Tigers escaped with the win in the first game of the 3-game series. The good news for the Guardians: Tarik Skubal cannot pitch every game.

The second game of the day saw the Cubs beat the Padres 3-1. Even though it was low-scoring, there was no dominant pitching performance here. The Padres could not get a runner in from 3rd base with less than 2 outs. In the second inning, back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts gave the Padres a 1-0 lead. A throwing error allowed Bogaerts to go all the way around to third with no one out. The Padres could not get him in. In the top of the 4th, the Padres had 1st and 3rd with one out and could not get the run in. After a one-out single in the 5th, the Padres went Pirates mode with 14 batters in a row making outs. In the bottom of the 5th, the Cubs went back-to-back long balls to take a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, the Cubs went small ball to get an insurance run. Single, sacrifice bunt, intentional walk, wild pitch, and sacrifice fly made the score 3-1. The Cubs won one for the home team.

In the early evening game, the Red Sox defeated the Yankees 3-1. Garret Crochet mowed down the Yankees for 7 and 2/3 innings. He gave up a solo home run and 3 other hits. He struck out 11 and walked none. He threw 117 pitches. Max Fried pitched just as well, going 6 and 1/3 innings, giving up 4 hits and 0 runs. Fried got the first out in the 6th inning. He had thrown 102 pitches. Aaron Boone decided to take him out, and the Yankee bullpen imploded again. Luke Weaver did not get anybody out. He walked the first batter he faced. He gave up a double and a single, giving the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. David Bednar came in the top of the 9th and showed that he is not used to pitching in meaningful games. After getting the first two outs, he gave up a single and a double to give the Red Sox a 3-1 lead. The bottom of the ninth increased the Yankee frustration. Aroldis Chapman gave up 3 hits to load the bases with no outs. Ten of the next thirteen pitches he threw were 100 MPH or more. This resulted in a strikeout, a shallow fly ball to right field, and a strikeout. The Red Sox pulled out the first game. They used just two pitchers. In defeat, the Yankees used 6 pitchers. It should be another great game today.

In the final game of the day, the Dodgers lit up the Reds for 5 home runs en route to a 10-5 victory. Blake Snell pitched a solid 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. The Dodger bullpen ran into control issues, which allowed the Reds to make the game interesting. The Reds started the top of the 8th with a single. After getting one out, the Dodgers’ pitchers walked 3 straight batters. Another single and a walk made the score 10-5, with the bases still loaded and only one out. A key hit here would have put the Reds right back in the game. Tyler Stephenson struck out in an 11-pitch at-bat. Unfortunately, he swung at the last 3 pitches that were all out of the strike zone. Ke’Bryan Hayes, showing why he was no big loss to the Pirates, popped out to end the inning. The Reds did not really threaten in the 9th.

The first day of the wild card round went pretty much as expected. The first three games were tight, well-pitched, and well-played ball games. The Guardians lost because they were completely dominated by Tarik Skubal. They were fortunate to get the run that they did. They had a chance in the bottom of the 9th but could not get a run home with nobody out and a runner on third. This was the downfall of both the Padres and the Yankees: a failure to score with a runner on third and less than 2 outs. The Yankees loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th with no outs and came up empty. It is rinse and repeat today as the teams play in the same order as yesterday. I feel we will see some wins from the teams that are down. I think there will be two elimination games on Thursday. Whatever happens, it should be a very good day of baseball again.