2026 Wild Card round

Starts TODAY!

Very thoughtfully, the games are at a decent time so that Pope Leo and I can both follow. Yes, the White Sox game starts at 11pm this time, but he’s a 162 guy, that won’t matter at all.

Today (29/9):

Phillies - Braves
2pm EST/11am PST/7pm BST
Luzardo-Sale

White Sox - Astros
5pm EST/2pm PST/10pm BST/11pm CEST
Smith-Blublaugh (it’s a bullpen game for the Astros, PLEASE NOTE they do not have a single qualified starter this year)

Red Sox - Yankees
8pm EST/5pm PST/1am BST
Tolle-Schlittler

Cubs - Padres
10pm EST/7pm PST/3am BST
Boyd-King

Tomorrow (30/9)

Phillies - Braves
2pm EST/11am PST/7pm BST
TBD-TBD

White Sox - Astros
5pm EST/2pm PST/10pm BST/11pm CEST
TBD-TBD

Red Sox - Yankees
8pm EST/5pm PST/1am BST
Gray-Fried

Cubs - Padres
10pm EST/7pm PST/3am BST
TBD-TBD

Wednesday, if needed (ACTUAL OCTOBER BASEBALL 1/10)

Phillies - Braves
2pm EST/11am PST/7pm BST
TBD-TBD

White Sox - Astros
5pm EST/2pm PST/10pm BST/11pm CEST
TBD-TBD

Red Sox - Yankees
8pm EST/5pm PST/1am BST
Suarez-Cole

Cubs - Padres
10pm EST/7pm PST/3am BST
TBD-TBD

Phillies (Luzardo) / Braves (Sale) definitely a marquee match-up.

I'm sure Tyler Mahle will start for the Braves tomorrow, even though they haven't announced it yet. Sure hope the bats show up.

From Posnanski: "My favorite Chris Sale stat is this: He currently has the highest strikeout-to-walk ratio in baseball history at 5.36-to-1. This year was typical: He struck out 200 and walked 31. Actually, my favorite Chris Sale stat might be this: Over his career, he has a sub-3.00 ERA (2.95) AND a sub-3.00 FIP (2.84). The only two starters (min. 2,000 innings) in the last fifty years to finish their careers with sub-3.00 ERAs and FIPs were Clayton Kershaw and Pedro Martinez. And Sale’s FIP is lower than both of theirs."

He's pretty good. Too bad he was up against Miz in the game I went to.

Koufax also sub-3.00 in both--but not last 50 years, and he had a big home-park/era advantage. That Pedro did that during the PED era is, again, astounding.

If the Miz didn’t have an unreal season Sale would be winning his second Cy Young

luzardo hasn't pitched since early september he might be rusty

Huge improvement on the pregame show on Peacock — there's no sound.

Lmao exactly same this side of the Atlantic.

Some interesting targeted ads: they’re pushing some skincare serum for men really hard.

Me (very excited) hey that’s fucking legit! Panthenol is a ball knower ingredient!!

Backing up to the peacock home screen fixed the sound issue. Weird.

playoff baseball is here, season went by fast imo

Who is Derek Hill

"Did the Phillies just win the series?" Votto takes 1/2 inning to reveal himself as a total idiot.

I know! WTF was that shit

all knob

What a terrible AB

Whether Riley or Kim, that comment is almost always correct.

What happened to Riley? Age?

I was meaning Kim, Luzardo couldn’t find the zone with a rocket launcher and he still managed to strike out after taking a lead in the count

Combination of abdominal surgery, death of his swing coach, 100% pressing and head on upside-down, I guess. Summary at https://www.bravestoday.com/p/what-really-happened-to-austin-riley. I think any correct swing decisions he's made this year have been stopped-clock-occasionally-right.

Thank you. Not surprised at a core injury, they have such long tails for the severe ones.

Oh Ronnie 😞

ahhhhahahahaha, this fucking bad swing decisions guy

What a fucking nuke!!!!

wow

Lmao when Trey Turner threw it into the dugout, they were like, “I was talking to Don Mattingly and he was saying how Trey has trouble getting the ball out of his glove sometimes” he’s a shortstop! It’s his whole job!

Commentary also called that Riley clutch hit. What a TANK. Also, Jhoan Duran in a non-save situation always delivers (pure shit)

talking shit about someone to reverse-jinx them is totally a thing and I'm glad to do my part

I honestly could not be happier for Riley after reading about his injury troubles

Also, Votto saying “these old guys on the Phillies know they’ve got to win while they’re still in their semi-primes” 💀

Players of the game: Austin Riley, Chris Sale
Runner-up: Trey Turner

Trea, ffs

wow astros are garbage

Horrible team at home vs horrible team on the road - resistible object meets less resistible force I guess

Capacity at Atlanta Braves' home park is 41,500. They only Only had 30,127 show up for the first playoff game.

It was at 2pm local time

It would have sold out in LA, San Diego or even Philadelphia. Braves have always had attendance problems. I thought the new park was supposed to fix that, I guess not.

Forgot the Cubs but they are the most use to day games and would have sold out too.

What are you basing this on? Truist is quite famously in some random suburb with shaky public transport. Every other stadium you mention is much more easily accessible in more ways.

>I thought the new park was supposed to fix that, I guess not.

the park is famously further away from the... urban (literally and racistly) center. so anyone who might play hooky and go at a 2pm game isn't gonna

people tend to be at work or in school on Tuesday afternoons

I dunno, I feel like any other teams is going to do better than 3/4 capacity at the same time slot*

*not counting teams based in Florida

Haven't been able to watch anything today, but checking the boxscore and looks like Schlittler's killing it.

Trauma spiking double play by the yanks there

Only game I really care about today is the Padres v Cubs. I also lost internet today so it has been an adventure. I will have to pay for Peacock but think it's worth it.

not actually watching; how hard are the announcers leaning on schlitter being a massachusetts kid

wow pads

PCA hungry but just not there. Love/Hate to see a hot Mannyando

Tatis and Machado both homer in the first!

wiki kids are at it again

https://postimg.cc/p90Y2b96

https://i.postimg.cc/bJP69qqp/schittki.jpg

Wyatt Olds really does look like a guy called Wyatt Olds

at the risk of being an awful and horribly pedantic person . . . i'm not sure mantle ever played at wrigley? maybe a preseason or barnstorming tour tho

He was a reserve in the (second) '62 ASG--maybe there?

https://www.baseball-reference.com/allstar/1962-allstar-game-2.shtml

cool

It may have been some type of event like that, or possibly even an All-Star game. I don’t know the year, I would have to ask my uncle to see if he knows the story.

(I also allow for the possibility that he was misremembering things at a certain point…)

that was a really tough situation to put crochet into

Bye Red Sox

I never did understand why the Dodgers gave up on, looks stoned all the time, Cody Bellinger.

the sox were a shitty team that had one good month

Cmon surely that’s an undersell

sox just need to bring in johnny damon

San Diego already has teo

Braves clinched their division in Houston, and CHW won their series there tonight, so that's twice the visitors' clubhouse got drenched in alcohol. Sux to be a Houston clubhouse attendant.

feel like we need to rein in the champagne showers in general?

you made the playoffs: totally
you won the division: okay i guess (unless it was simultaneous with ^^^)
you won a wild card series: gtfo, who cares
you won a division series: that's nice but still not worthy of spray; get back to work
you won a pennant: i'll allow it; good for you guys

cya cubbies

gl brewcrew, pads look HOT

103

Cubs have a pulse

Two down

Padres are on an amazing run.

They’re red hot at the moment. Home advantage is no joke, both the Padres and the Yankees have showed that. (Astros don’t count per my earlier post as I mentioned they are a horrific home team).

The Pope and I are both happy: the first Guardians-White Sox ALDS game is 6pm my time 7pm Vatican time on Saturday. And yes, someone has been asking him about the team.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CifdbtYszuo

Someone in the Vatican pool needs to ask him the REAL questions: which Montgomery does he like better, does he like the Mune/Vargas bromance, what does he think of the fact that there are so many Italian Americans on the team, does he love Sam Antonacci as much as the rest of the fanbase, etc

Yordan + PCA: 15 AB, 1 single, 0 BB, 0 runs, 0 RBI.

Ray Kerr starting for the Braves tonight, Nola for PHI.

I was going to post about Nola--why not Wheeler?--but I see he'd be on short rest (pitched on the 27th). Too bad one of these teams has to make such an early exit.

if the phils were to adopt the new marlins strategy i think wheeler would be available out of the pen no?

Wheeler's pitch counts the last five times out: 97, 101, 91, 110, 95. Sometimes on five days' rest, sometimes on four; today would be on three.

right but today would have been a bullpen day anyway for wheeler?

I don't know how they operate; if I'm Mattingly, I go to Wheeler for the first critical out.

Nola pitched well against the Braves twice in September. Not a terrible option even though he's no Wheeler

Here we go

indeed

mods how do i delete a post

lol, hi stranger.

Kerry pitched well

Kerr

RayKerr

Oh no

I’m cautiously optimistic

ozzie albies needs to get paid after this year

consider me pleasantly surprised, so far! i was expecting some vintage postseason barves by now.

was absolutely certain that was going to be the inning everything for the braves fell apart to moment schwarber reached base

strong support for Yastrzemski's "When the Levee Breaks" walkup music

ozzie albies needs to get paid after this year

― 龜, Thursday, October 1, 2026 8:35 PM

Club option next year for pocket change, and his dropoff is real enough that he may never get real paid.

Getting late

if it keeps on rainin
ozzie albies won't get paid

literally just said to myself "c'mon olson, give these fans a taste"

Congrats William and other Braves fans, now go beat the Dodgers!

Apparently Sale was waiting in Weiss's office when he got there today and said "put me in, Skip." I wish he hadn't pulled seniority rank...I think they would have closed the game out anyway, and they'll need him fresh in (presumably) game 3. But getting the game in hand was critical, so ok.

can't believe Weiss had any intention of putting him in the game unless it was necessary. tbf i thought the harper at-bat would be it, but my "fuck yeah, playoff time" brain got even more hyped when he went out for the ninth.