MLB division series Saturday: Highlights and takeaways
Eight teams started Saturday still inthe 2022 postseason. After today's league division series games, that number shrank considerably.
ThePhiladelphia Phillieseliminated theAtlanta Braveswith an 8-3 National League Division Series Game 4 victory that had Philly's Citizens Bank Park rocking.
The Seattle Mariners played their first home playoff game in more than 20 years, but they couldn't avert a sweep by the Houston Astros. And the San Diego Padresknocked out the 111-win Los Angeles Dodgersafter rallying for a 5-3 victory in Game 4.
The American League Division Series matchup between theNew York Yankees and Cleveland Guardianswas split after the first two games in the Bronx. But the Guardians pushed the 99-win Yankees to the brink of elimination with a walk-off win in Game 3.
More: Everything you need to know about the 2022 MLB playoffs|Previewing LDS matchups| Could this be the greatest postseason ... ever?| Bracket, results and more
Los Angeles Dodgers at San Diego Padres
Padres win series 3-1
Takeaways
The Padres have slayed the "dragon up the freeway," to borrow a phrase from their owner, Peter Seidler. They won three consecutive NLDS games to eliminate a star-studded Dodgers team that dominated them throughout the regular season, and they seem to be operating at a completely different level at this juncture. They're getting solid-to-great starting pitching and playing stellar defense behind it. The back end of their bullpen is dominating. And they're stringing together timely hits, never more so than in the five-run seventh inning that produced an epic comeback on Saturday night.
Perhaps just as important, they're playing with an extreme level of confidence. Eliminating the Mets and Dodgers, two teams that combined to win 212 games during the regular season, will do that. Now they'll have home-field advantage in an NLCS showdown against the similarly hot Phillies. And given the energy at Petco Park these past two nights, that could be a major lift. -- Alden Gonzalez
San Diego's first lead of the game
Padres tie things up
Trayce Thompson flashes the leather
Dodgers strike first
Some pregame news
New York Yankees at Cleveland Guardians
Guardians lead series 2-1
Game 3 takeaways
It might seem impossible to win without going big on offense in the postseason, but don't tell that to the plucky Guardians. The Yankees hit three homers, including a 449-foot moon shot by struggling slugger Aaron Judge. But the Guardians kept blooping pitches into the outfield and looping little liners to the opposite field -- and before you knew, it added up to some real offense. The Yankees tried to close it out with a combination of Wandy Peralta and Clarke Schmidt, but Cleveland kept blooping and looping until the bases were loaded for frequent postseason hero Oscar Gonzalez, who singled softly through the middle, scoring two runs for a walk-off win in the ninth inning as a sellout crowd at Progressive Field set the grandstand shuddering. It turns out a slingshot offense actually can get it done in October, and when it does, it's awfully fun to watch. -- Bradford Doolittle
Cleveland walks it off
Guardians' lead is short-lived
Yankees add to the lead
All rise ... finally
Aaron Judge's first hit of the postseason is a game-tying two-run homer. Prior to that, Judge had been 0-9, with eight strikeouts this postseason. According to ESPN Stats & Information, that wasJudge's 12th career postseason home run, which broke a tie with Bernie Williams for the third most by a Yankee through the age-30 season. Judge trails only Mickey Mantle (14 home runs in 54 games) and Derek Jeter (14 HRs in 110 games).
Guardians strike first (and second)
Cleveland is ready to rock
Houston Astros at Seattle Mariners
Astros win series 3-0
Takeaways
The game that felt like it might never end finally did, at 7:31 p.m. local time -- 6 hours, 22 minutes after it started, 18 innings deep, on account of one bad pitch.
Jeremy Pena, the rookie shortstop for the Houston Astros, hammered a hanging slider from Seattle Mariners rookie Penn Murfee to center field, breaking the longest scoreless tie in playoff history and leading the Astros to a 1-0 victory.
In a game that had as many pitchers as hits (18), with a postseason-record 42 strikeouts, no errors and incredibly clean baseball, the Astros advanced to their sixth consecutive AL Championship Series, sweeping their division rivals and illustrating again that whether it's a slugfest or a pitching duel, they're as equipped as any team to triumph. -- Jeff Passan
Houston completes the sweep
Astros (finally) get on the board first
They're still scoreless in Seattle
Wait, what just happened?
Hail to the king
Arrivals
Philadelphia Phillies 8, Atlanta Braves 3
Phillies win series 3-1
Takeaways
Once again, Major League Baseball will not have a repeat World Series champion after the Phillies bounced the Braves from the postseason with a resounding 8-3 victory in Game 4 of their NLDS.
Just as they did in all three of their wins in the series, the Phillies jumped to an early lead that had Atlanta playing chase pretty much from the beginning. And for the second day in a row, it was a party from start to finish at a raucous Citizens Bank Park.
Instead of a bat-spike home run celebration providing the signature moment like it did in Game 3, the highlight on Saturday was a spring around the bases. In the third inning, J.T. Realmuto became the first catcher in postseason history to hit an inside-the-park home run, one inning after Brandon Marsh ignited the crowd with a three-run blast.
Two things are clear no matter who Philly faces in the NLCS: This team that found new life earlier in the season when manager Rob Thomson took over won't be an easy out for anyone; and when the Phillies take the field at home in an NLCS for the first time since 2010 on Friday, it's going to be quite a scene in Philadelphia. -- Jesse Rogers
Bryce adds the exclamation point
Phillies piling on
J.T. Realmuto has wheels
According to ESPN Stats & Information, that is the first inside-the-park home run by a catcher in the postseason and the first time any Phillies player has done it in the playoffs.
Braves get one back
Phillies strike big first blow
Dawn Staley is hyped
The Philadelphia native knows a bit about winning when it counts.
