LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers are better than you. They're smarter than you. They're richer and deeper and more popular than you. You know it, they know it, there's no point pretending otherwise.

So, yes, they went into the National League Divisional Series looking past the threadbare Atlanta Braves and thinking about the National League ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — As Bryce Harper came to the plate, with two out in the eighth inning Thursday night and the Phillies trailing by four runs, the Braves prepared their final insult.

They brought in Chris Sale.

Sale is Harper’s Kryptonite and has struck him out in 14 of 25 at-bats through the years. This time, the Braves ace and future Hall of...Read more

BOSTON — Growing up down the street from Fenway Park, I vividly recall the night when my father brought home Major League Baseball’s official 2004 World Series film on DVD.

I watched it over and over until the disc became too scratched to carry on, savoring the swing from the agony of almost-certain defeat, to a comeback the likes of which ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — The Padres were not beaten by Jacob Misiorowski.

But they were beaten.

Especially in the postseason, that squandered opportunity hurt.

Because after a 3-2 loss to the Brewers in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday night, the Padres need to win three of the next four games against the team that finished the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Teoscar Hernández? Sure. Max Muncy? Certainly. Tarik Skubal? Absolutely.

But Kyle Tucker? Are you kidding me?

Of all the heroes in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in their National League Division Series opener Saturday at Dodger Stadium, none was more stunning than the shrugging, somnolent, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — And now we present the forecast for the Atlanta Braves, brought to you by Yogi Berra: It gets late early out there.

The Dodgers can cloud the outlook for anyone. The Braves left Dodger Stadium in an uneasy spot Saturday, with one big decision to make: Do they risk putting themselves in the uncomfortable position of facing three ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Drew Rasmussen delivered everything the Tampa Bay Rays could have wanted and more on a spectacular Saturday night at Tropicana Field, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning in leading them to a 1-0 victory over the New York Yankees in the American League Division Series opener.

Rasmussen got the first two outs of the eighth, ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It was so hot at Dodger Stadium on Saturday ...

How hot was it?

It was so hot a team that averaged nearly 50,000 fans for occasionally meaningless regular-season games beat the Atlanta Braves, 5-3, in its first postseason game before thousands of empty seats — some of which were literally too hot to sit in.

It was so hot the...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Considering the efficiency he has shown at second base, the brilliance he’s shown at third base, his capacity to play shortstop, his durability, his affability, and his age, Bryson Stott surely will be in somebody’s lineup for at least the next five years.

Should it be the Phillies’ lineup?

On Thursday, Stott was among ...Read more

CLEVELAND — The last time Chicago White Sox closer Grant Taylor took the mound at Progressive Field, during a Sept. 15 showdown with the Cleveland Guardians, he watched a two-out fly ball to left field by Brayan Rocchio turn into a walk-off, two-run double in a 7-6 loss.

It was the most heartbreaking defeat of the season for the Sox and would...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Though the Dodgers would eventually break open the game via the long ball, and despite the Atlanta Braves being forced to throw a bullpen game coming out of a taxing wild-card round, Game 1 of the NLDS began as a pitching duel.

Braves left-hander Dylan Dodd held the Dodgers to just two hits through three scoreless innings. But ...Read more

CLEVELAND — Munetaka Murakami hit a rocket to right field.

The Chicago White Sox first baseman took a couple of seconds to admire the blast, then tossed the bat and turned to his teammates in the dugout, yelling in excitement.

Murakami’s two-run home run in the fourth inning lifted the Sox to a 3-0 victory against the Cleveland Guardians ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The verdict on the ALDS: The Yankees will be without Aaron Judge.

The star slugger, who has been dealing with a soleus strain in his right calf since mid-September, was left off the roster for the start of the series against the Tampa Rays. The club released the roster Saturday morning, ahead of Game 1. There was some ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — There are all the stars in this series — Mookie Betts, Matt Olson, Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuna Jr., Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal, Michael Harris II and more — and then there is the face of baseball around the world.

Major League Baseball wrapped a postseason advertisement around the front page of The Times ...Read more

CLEVELAND — If you’re a baseball fan of a certain age, you’ve probably spent most of your life knowing some certainties about a pitching staff.

The five best guys (or four if you’re really old) are the starters who will try to get you through the bulk of the game. The best reliever is the closer, who pitches the last inning or possibly ...Read more

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — For all of the noise that has been made about the Yankees’ use of analytics in recent years, their postseason decisions show the feel the club has for the game, something numbers can’t quantify.

Calling on Gerrit Cole to start Game 1 of the ALDS is one of those decisions. The Yankees may have four aces in their ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — When the Dodgers acquired left-hander Tarik Skubal at the trade deadline, they expected him to be a big part of their postseason plans. But they didn't necessarily pencil him in as their Game 1 starter.

After mulling over their options this week, the Dodgers are expected to announce Friday that Skubal will take the mound in Game...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers did not need Tarik Skubal to win the National League West. They traded for him to help them win a third consecutive World Series.

Their legacy is at stake. So is his.

That could be hyperbole. Skubal turns 30 next month, already the winner of two Cy Young awards, one of them unanimously. He could sign the largest ...Read more

BALTIMORE — After the Orioles’ final loss of a disappointing season, the club’s most important player answered questions one last time about how another year went wrong.

Gunnar Henderson spent the past six months frustrated, an emotion that bled through television screens after each strikeout, lineout and pop-up. After his MVP-caliber ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Cubs and White Sox clinched postseason spots two minutes apart Sept. 24, a crazy coincidence for the city rivals.

On Wednesday the Sox advanced to the American League Division Series with a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros in their wild-card series, about three hours before the Cubs bowed out of their wild-card series with a 4-1 ...Read more