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

ATLANTA — Like statues, there they stood, this Phillies team. Leaning against the dugout railing, chins resting on their crossed arms as they watched it all slip away once again.

This one was a slow death. But the end could have been discerned a mile away.

Even before Michael Harris II’s first-inning homer off Aaron Nola that gave Atlanta ...Read more

BALTIMORE — The Red Sox paid a pretty penny for Adley Rutschman, hoping he could catapult them to October glory.

Orioles fans, though, surely recognized the version of Rutschman who showed up this week in the postseason. The No. 1 overall pick from the 2019 MLB draft again struggled to deliver when it mattered most.

Boston’s deadline ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers' back-to-back World Series championships each have been punctuated by the Freddie Freeman Signature Moment.

It is the flair for the dramatic. It is coming through in the clutch, at the clutchiest of times. When you tell your friends about the game the next day, it is the first thing you mention.

Did you see that?

...Read more

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