New York Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. scores on an hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Boston Red Sox during Game 2 of the wild-card round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Yankee Stadium.
Brad Penner-Imagn Images
By Kevin Henry
|
Last updated Oct 2, 2025 12:29 AM ET
Home-field advantage paid off on the American League side of the wild-card equation on Wednesday, while the Southern California teams made a statement on the National League side of the bracket.
Guardians use power to force Game 3The Detroit Tigers had a chance to finally finish off the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday afternoon, but the never-say-die Guardians seem harder to put an end to than any vampire tale.
Limited to just one run and two hits through the game’s first seven innings, the Guardians exploded for five runs in the eighth to post a 6-1 win, forcing Game 3 between the two AL Central rivals on Wednesday.
George Valera’s first-inning solo shot was Cleveland’s only offense until the Guardians found their rhythm and power in the eighth. Cleveland got another solo shot from Brayan Rocchio to grab a 2-1 lead, then Bo Naylor added a three-run blast later in the frame to give the Guardians plenty of cushion.
Bo delivers a blow.#GuardsBall pic.twitter.com/jXM8XEgCsd
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) October 1, 2025
Jazz Chisholm’s speed pays off for YankeesIn the Bronx, the New York Yankees had the right person on first base when it mattered most on Wednesday.
Taking off on the pitch, Jazz Chisholm Jr. scored all the way from first base on Austin Wells’ single in the first inning, barely beating the throw home with what would be the game-winning run in a 4-3 nail-biter over the rival Boston Red Sox.
New York’s much-maligned bullpen took over after 6.0 innings from starter Carlos Rodon and lived up to the challenge, with Fernando Cruz, Devin Williams and Jared Bednar each throwing a scoreless inning to keep the Yankees’ season alive.
Miller, Machado make headlines as Padres stay aliveThe San Diego Padres kept their 2025 season going on Wednesday thanks to a trade-deadline acquisition and a foundational piece of the franchise.
Manny Machado lifted a two-run homer in the fifth inning and four Padres pitchers limited the Chicago Cubs to just four hits in a 3-0 win at Wrigley Field. One of those pitchers was reliever Mason Miller, who struck out all five batters he faced in his 1.2 innings of work.
Miller, brought over from the Athletics before this year’s trade deadline, has now struck out all eight of the Cubs batters who have challenged him in this series, helping the Padres force a Game 3 on Thursday. That run set a new MLB postseason record as no pitcher had ever struck out more than six consecutive hitters to begin their postseason career.
Yamamoto’s strong start pushes Dodgers into NLDSLos Angeles starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto shook off two unearned runs plated by the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning to show exactly why he will get plenty of votes in this year’s NL Cy Young Award balloting.
After a Teoscar Hernández misplay of a first-inning Sal Stewart single allowed two Reds to score, Yamamoto dominated Cincinnati’s lineup to give the Dodgers a chance to rally. The right-hander retired 13 consecutive Reds to shut down the visitors while the Dodgers pieced together enough offense to take the lead on a Miguel Rojas RBI single in the fourth.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto drops a nasty curveball for his 5th strikeout #Postseason pic.twitter.com/WTbhwl4Sw4
— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2025
Yamamoto’s best work, however, came in the sixth as he worked his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam with a force play at home and a pair of strikeouts to keep the Reds off the board and preserve the Dodgers’ lead.
Los Angeles then scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to blow the game open on the way to an 8-4 victory.
By sweeping the Reds out of the wild-card round, the defending world champion Dodgers move on to face the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS.
Kevin Henry
A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA), Kevin Henry has been covering MLB and MiLB for nearly two decades. Those assignments have included All-Star Games and the MLB postseason, including the World Series. Based in the Denver area, Kevin calls Coors Field his home base, but travels throughout North America during the season to discover the best stories possible
More must-reads:
Guardians’ unexpected hero delivers again in Game 2 of ALWC
Carlos Narvaez hits his teammate with a flying bat in scary moment
The ‘MLB playoff debut strikeouts leaders’ quiz
