Victor Mesa Jr hit a tiebreaking two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the New York Yankees 4-3 on Wednesday night with the help of a fan interference call to complete a three-game sweep of their American League Division Series.
Ryan Vilade also homered for the Rays, who reached the American League Championship Series for the first time since 2020 and will host either the Chicago White Sox or Cleveland Guardians in Monday’s opener.
After Mesa’s homer gave the Rays a 4-2 lead, Anthony Volpe appeared to hit a two-run shot against Griffin Jax with two outs in the bottom half of the inning as a fan reached over the left-field wall and caught the ball above the glove of a leaping Mesa.
A video review determined the ball would not have cleared the wall and would not have been caught by Mesa. Volpe was awarded an RBI double and George Lombard Jr was allowed to score from first. Jax recovered to strike out Spencer Jones.
Baseball’s use of video technology was key to the inning.
Lombard reached on a one-out walk when a 3-1 pitch called a strike by home plate umpire Dan Bellino was ruled inside on an automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge. Austin Wells then walked on a full-count changeup, but an ABS challenge by Rays catcher Liam Hicks determined the pitch had caught the inside corner for a strikeout, bringing up Volpe.
It was quite a change from 1996, when umpires had no such technology to assist them and Derek Jeter’s home run for the Yankees helped turn around the ALCS opener despite Jeffrey Maier reaching over the right-field wall where Baltimore’s Tony Tarasco was positioned to catch the ball. MLB began using video review for home run calls in 2008 and allowed challenges to ball-strike decisions starting this year.
Ian Seymour pitched one and a third scoreless innings, Kevin Kelly struck out pinch-hitter Giancarlo Stanton to strand a runner in the eighth and Bryan Baker pitched the ninth for his third save of the series.
Seeking their first World Series title, Tampa Bay celebrated on the field of the big-spending Yankees for the second time in two weeks after clinching the AL East on 22 September. New York opened the season with MLB’s third-highest payroll at $303m, while the Rays ranked 26th at $91m.
Swept in a best-of-five postseason series for the first time since the 1980 ALCS against Kansas City, the Yankees ended their 17th consecutive season without a World Series title. That equaled their longest championship drought since winning their first title in 1923, matching the gap between their triumphs in 1978 and 1996.
Yankees captain Aaron Judge missed the postseason after straining a calf on 16 September. The three-time AL MVP played just seven games after 31 May because of a fractured rib and the leg injury, an absence the team could not overcome.
After sweeping Boston in the wildcard series, New York never led against the Rays and have not advanced past a higher-seeded team in the postseason since 2020.
Jonathan Aranda put the Rays ahead with an RBI single in the third, and Ben Rice tied the score against Nick Martinez with a single in the bottom half, his eighth RBI of the postseason.
Vilade, a 27-year-old enjoying extensive major league playing time this year with his sixth organization, hit an opposite-field, 340ft drive into the short porch in right field in the fourth. The ball, just beyond the glove of a leaping Jones, would not have cleared the fence at any other major league ballpark.
Volpe, starting at second base in place of Jazz Chisholm Jr, hit a 96.6mph line drive off Martinez’s back with two outs in the fourth for an infield single, prompting Seymour to enter in relief. Jones’ opposite-field double landed beyond Mesa, driving in Volpe.
Junior Caminero singled in the sixth before Mesa sent a sweeper deep into the right-field seats to chase Fried.
LA Dodgers 4-1 Atlanta Braves
Andy Pages drove in two runs with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning to give Los Angeles the lead as the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Wednesday night to clinch their National League Division Series.
The Dodgers won back-to-back games in Atlanta to take the best-of-five series 3-1 and advance to the National League Championship Series as they seek to become the first NL team to win three consecutive World Series titles.
Pages lined a 3-2 pitch from Robert Suárez up the middle to drive in Teoscar Hernández, who had singled off starter Tyler Mahle, and pinch-runner Tommy Edman for a 3-1 lead. Didier Fuentes had walked pinch-hitter Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker to load the bases, with Edman running for De Paula.
Max Muncy’s solo homer off Raisel Iglesias in the ninth padded the lead and gave the slugger 19 postseason home runs with the Dodgers, extending his franchise record.
Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, making his first start since 24 September, allowed just one hit but walked five batters in four and two-thirds innings. After he issued two walks in the fifth, left-hander Alex Vesia ended the inning by inducing a groundout to second base from Matt Olson.
The missed opportunity left the Braves with 18 walks in the series, none of which resulted in a run.
Glasnow and four relievers combined to allow just three hits. Tanner Scott pitched a perfect eighth before Edwin Díaz retired the side in order in the ninth for the save.
Mahle, a native of Newport Beach, California, who grew up a Dodgers fan, allowed two runs, one earned, in six and a third innings.
Michael Harris II singled on Glasnow’s first pitch before stealing second and eventually scoring from third on a wild pitch that bounced off catcher Will Smith’s chest protector.
The Dodgers pulled level in the second with the help of two Atlanta errors. Shohei Ohtani walked, stole second and advanced to third on catcher Sean Murphy’s errant throw into center field. Muncy’s pop fly into shallow left field was dropped by shortstop Mauricio Dubón for another error, allowing Ohtani to score.
Hernández crashed into the wall while attempting to catch Ozzie Albies’ leadoff double off Vesia in the sixth. Hernández pointed to his head and neck while speaking with an athletic trainer but remained in the game.
Edgardo Henríquez stranded Albies at second. Henríquez allowed one hit in one and two-thirds scoreless innings to earn the win.
Cleveland Guardians 9-3 Chicago White Sox
It was a pretty typical game for José Ramírez, and that was a big deal for the Cleveland Guardians.
Ramírez broke out of his batting slump on Wednesday, helping Cleveland avoid a sweep in their American League Division Series against the Chicago White Sox. The seven-time All-Star had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice during the Guardians’ 9-3 victory in Game 3.
“Josy, that’s why he’s one of the best players in the league,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “He can hurt you with the bat, the legs and the glove. He showed all that today.”
The 34-year-old Ramírez also made a diving stop at third base on Miguel Vargas’ bases-loaded smash in the sixth inning, preserving Cleveland’s 5-3 lead.
“After that play, it was, OK, this is our game to win, and that’s what we were able to do,” Ramírez said through a translator.
Ramírez was sidelined for five weeks after breaking a bone in his left hand on a swing against Detroit on 13 June. The switch-hitter underwent surgery before returning on 22 July against Minnesota.
But he hit just .229 with two home runs and 20 RBIs in 53 games after the operation. He then went 0 for 6 with two walks in the first two games of the ALDS against the White Sox.
With the Guardians facing elimination, Ramírez delivered – just as he had so many times before.
“It feels special,” Ramírez said. “You know the type of season I had, but it’s important for us to win any game going forward because for us it’s do or die. So it feels really good. … But for us, it’s the same mindset going forward.”
The first sign Ramírez was headed for a big night came in the first inning, when he hit a 107.9mph line drive that was caught by a diving Randal Grichuk in left field.
“We always know he’s one swing away,” Vogt said. “When he hit that first ball in the first inning … great play by Grichuk. You knew he was here.”
Ramírez walked and scored on Jo Adell’s three-run triple in the third, helping Cleveland take a 4-1 lead.
Playing in his 48th postseason game – all with Cleveland – Ramírez manufactured an insurance run for the Guardians in the fifth. He doubled, stole third and scored on Chase DeLauter’s grounder to second, beating Kyle Teel’s tag with a headfirst slide.
Ramírez’s savvy baserunning gave the Guardians a 5-2 lead.
“When he got that stolen base at third, that kind of made it a José Ramírez game,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said.
Ramírez popped up leading off the seventh, but he helped Cleveland put the game away with a two-run triple with two outs in the eighth. Ramírez clapped his hands in excitement and threw an uppercut with his right arm as he stood on third after the crucial hit.
“Great game by Ramírez,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Obviously, we know how special a player he is.”
Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 San Diego Padres
Garrett Mitchell tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning before making a pivotal catch on Manny Machado’s drive to the wall in the eighth, and the Milwaukee Brewers advanced to the National League Championship Series for the second straight season with a 3-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Wednesday night, winning their best-of-five division series in four games.
Mitchell also drove in Sal Frelick with Milwaukee’s first run as the Brewers snapped their 12-game postseason road losing streak dating to 2018 and reached the franchise’s fifth League Championship Series.
Machado nearly tied Game 4 with a 406ft drive off reliever Abner Uribe, but Mitchell coolly tracked it down and reached just above the short wall in right-center field to keep it in the park.
Second baseman Brice Turang then ended the eighth with an acrobatic catch of Ty France’s tailing pop-up in foul territory.
After fending off the surging Padres in four tight games decided by a combined five runs, the 103-win Brewers will get an NLCS rematch with the Dodgers, who swept Milwaukee last October on their way to a second consecutive World Series title.
Fernando Tatis Jr hit a 429ft homer on an otherwise tepid offensive night for the Padres, who repeatedly tested the majors’ best regular-season team before falling short of what would have been the fourth NLCS appearance in franchise history.
One night after the Padres avoided elimination in Game 3, Milwaukee claimed their first road playoff win since the 2018 NLCS by sticking to their season-long formula for success.
Four Brewers pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the defense made nearly every big play, while Milwaukee’s lineup patiently worked counts, collected 10 hits against the Padres’ defense and manufactured enough runs to head home with a victory.
Game 2 hero Jackson Chourio capped his impressive series by driving in Mitchell to become the Brewers’ career leader in postseason RBIs at just 22 years old. Chourio has 17 RBIs, including six in this series, in 16 playoff games.
Milwaukee opened the scoring in the third when Frelick reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a single by Mitchell, an Orange County native and UCLA product.
Brewers starter and former Padres draft pick Robert Gasser threw four innings of three-hit ball, but Tatis ended his 1-for-19 slump dating to San Diego’s playoff opener with a long shot to center in the third. It was the longest home run ever hit by a Padres player in a postseason game at Petco Park.
Padres starter Walker Buehler allowed just three hits and a run, but manager Craig Stammen replaced him with Game 1 starter Robbie Ray after William Contreras’ leadoff single in the fourth.
Mitchell then lined a ball over first base and into the right-field corner to lead off the fifth, scoring on Chourio’s single through the drawn-in infield. Chourio surpassed Ryan Braun for the most postseason RBIs in Brewers history.
Jake Bauers singled to lead off the sixth and advanced to third on Cooper Pratt’s ground-rule double before scoring on Frelick’s sacrifice fly.
The Padres were already trailing 3-1 in the seventh when Mason Miller allowed three baserunners but no runs. The hard-throwing closer had missed Game 3 for the birth of his first child.
After sitting below .500 and in 11th place in the NL in late July, San Diego surged into the first wildcard spot and then swept the Cubs in the wildcard series last week. The Padres had won 19 of 22 before losing three of four to Milwaukee.
