The Padres have extended the most successful era in franchise history.

And just as there is no contesting that assessment of this decade, their National League Wild Card Series victory over the Cubs was not close.

The Padres finished off a two-game sweep on Wednesday at Petco Park with a 4-1 victory.

That was far more tense than the previous ...Read more

HOUSTON — The Chicago White Sox made believers out of skeptics this season, going from three straight seasons of 100-plus losses to the 2026 postseason.

And now they’re in the American League Division Series after sweeping the Houston Astros in a best-of-three wild-card series.

Whether Pope Leo XIV had anything to do with it is anyone’s ...Read more

NEW YORK — If you would’ve told Luis Garcia Jr. before this season what he’d be doing on Sept. 30, he probably wouldn’t believe you.

That’s because the 26-year-old was slated to bat in the middle of the order for the lowly Washington Nationals, who had virtually no aspirations of competing, with October as a good target month for a ...Read more

NEW YORK — Max Fried waited nearly a year for this.

Last postseason, Fried was lined up to start a decisive Game 5 in the ALDS, only for the Toronto Blue Jays to eliminate his New York Yankees in four games.

That meant the final start of Fried’s debut Yankee season was an Oct. 5 loss in which he surrendered seven runs over three innings in...Read more

ATLANTA — Alec Bohm sat behind a microphone for what could have been the last time as a Phillie on Wednesday morning, and he reflected on his 6 1/2 seasons in the majors as a Phillie, supporting rosters dotted with future Hall of Famers. He will be a free agent this winter, and his inconsistent play combined with his occasional truculence have...Read more

HOUSTON — The Chicago White Sox lead, which at one time stood at four runs, was down to one in the fifth inning of Game 2 of the American League wild-card series against the Houston Astros.

The Sox made a pitching change, calling on Anthony Kay with two on, one out and the dangerous Yordan Alvarez coming up.

Kay got Alvarez to line out to ...Read more

NEW YORK — When the Red Sox acquired Curtis Mead a week prior to the trade deadline in exchange for Connelly Early, they envisioned the 25-year-old fortifying the club’s lineup ahead of what the team hoped would be a big playoff push.

The Red Sox probably didn’t expect Mead to fulfill that role quite like this.

Mead was activated from ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — Six days ago, Kevin Gausman faced uncertainty surrounding whether he would be available to pitch for the Chicago Cubs in the National League wild-card series.

The left shoulder injury Gausman sustained during his final regular-season start last week while making a diving tag at third base did not feel great the next day. The Cubs ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Miguel Rojas has remained composed at the field. But away from it, on the precipice of what could be his last postseason run as a player, he hasn't been able to hold back the tears.

"It's been hard," Rojas said in a recent conversation with The Los Angeles Times. "I'm not going to lie. I've been crying by myself at home.

"Every...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker has never shied away from just how bad his performance at the plate was for much of his first season in Los Angeles.

For the first five months of the season, when he'd show brief glimpses of progress before sinking back into an extended slump, Tucker's .683 OPS was the third-worst among Dodgers ...Read more

ATLANTA — Staring down the potential end of his Phillies tenure, Alec Bohm set up against Didier Fuentes in the 10th inning.

With the Phillies facing elimination from their wild-card series in Game 2, and Bohm nearing free agency, it was fair to wonder as he dug in if it could be his final at-bat in a Phillies uniform. But with one swing, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When Dodgers rookie Josue De Paula debuted a little over two weeks ago, he was the youngest player in the lineup by four years. And when veteran infielder Miguel Rojas pinch-hit for Alex Freeland in the eighth inning, the 21-year-old De Paula and 29-year-old Kyle Tucker were the only Dodgers under 30 remaining in the batting ...Read more

Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado showed up, and Michael King could pitch more than one inning.

On their own, those factors had the Padres in an entirely different space than they were a year ago.

In the end, too, Joe Musgrove could pitch at all, and the San Diego native was the one who threw the final pitch of an 8-0 victory over the Cubs ...Read more

ATLANTA — As Don Mattingly settled into his seat on the golf cart to return to his clubhouse after he’d mismanaged his flawed roster into an eighth-inning collapse, Braves ace Chris Sale strode toward the interview room to discuss his role in the Braves’ 5-3 win in Game 1 of the National League wild-card series.

With his magnificent left ...Read more

HOUSTON — For the opening act, the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros began their American League wild-card series with openers on the mound.

Both bullpens got a workout during Game 1, which the Sox won 6-3 in front of 34,011 at Daikin Park.

Sam Antonacci was a menace to multiple Houston pitchers, going 1 for 3 with one walk, a hit by ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — The Chicago Cubs have been weighing the risk of playing Alex Bregman at third base the last few days.

Manager Craig Counsell ultimately erred on the side of caution. Bregman, 10 days removed from sustaining facial fractures in his left cheek from a foul ball, will be the Cubs’ designated hitter Tuesday night in Game 1 of their ...Read more

HOUSTON — It’s not every day a baseball team receives the blessings of the pope, especially a half-hour before its biggest game in years.

But that’s one of the perks of being the Chicago White Sox, having the leader of the Catholic Church rooting for you at the Vatican as you begin your playoff quest after years roaming in the baseball ...Read more

ATLANTA — For eight innings, all of it was there. The demon lurking in the corners of their minds, memories of postseasons past. Three losses in four games in 2022. Three losses in four games in 2023. Orlando Arcia poking the bear. J.T. Realmuto racing around the bases. This was the postseason and it was the Phillies and it was the Braves and ...Read more

ATLANTA — The circle of trust in the Phillies’ bullpen couldn’t be smaller.

That’s why closer Jhoan Duran was even in the game at all in the eighth inning, when Braves third baseman Austin Riley drove a three-run homer over the right field wall to lift Atlanta over the Phillies, 5-3, in Game 1 on Tuesday.

The only way the Phillies were...Read more