Big Hits And Baseball’s Hottest Team: 4 Takeaways From First Day Of MLB Playoffs

The format of the wild-card series means that after one game, you are already on the brink of elimination. Thanks to stellar pitching and some big bats, the Yankees and Padres took care of business to leave the Red Sox and Cubs, respectively, on the verge of an early exit. Meanwhile, the Braves rallied past the Phillies with some late-inning theatrics, while the White Sox cruised past the Astros. Here are our takeaways: Rowan Kavner: Braves infielder Austin Riley grinded through the worst offensive season of his eight-year career. Jhoan Duran was the one reliable piece in the Phillies’ shaky bullpen. This is why October is so unpredictable, so entertaining, so stupefying. Riley, the ninth-worst qualified hitter in baseball by wRC+ this season, hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning off Duran, an All-Star closer who converted 33 of his 35 saves during the regular season, to put the Braves ahead for good in a 5-3 Game 1 win. “Everybody knows kind of how my season went, not the way I wanted it to,” Riley said. “But that’s the beauty of the postseason. You kind of get a clean slate.” It was just the third home run that Duran has surrendered all year, and it erased the impressive work of starter Jesús Luzardo, who gave the Phillies far more than anyone could have reasonably expected. Luzardo hadn’t started a game since the last time he faced the Braves 22 days ago, yet he managed to throw five innings of one-run ball. Atlanta took the lead soon after his departure, but Philadelphia answered right back on a go-ahead, two-run triple by catcher J.T. Realmuto in the seventh inning right after Atlanta ace Chris Sale left the game. Phillies manager Don Mattingly didn’t want to mess around with a bullpen that produced the worst ERA in the sport in September, so he turned immediately to the guy he trusted most. Duran produced a scoreless seventh on 12 pitches. Mattingly sent him back out for the eighth. After two quick outs, the second inning of work spiraled on the closer. Outfielder Michael Harris II singled, second baseman Ozzie Albies got hit by a pitch, and Riley delivered the deciding blow. “In our minds, we had our best guy out there,” Mattingly said. “You live with this one.” Considering the lack of depth in Atlanta’s rotation, and that the Phillies have lefty Cristopher Sánchez ready to go for Game 2, this Sale start felt like a game the Braves had to have. Deesha Thosar: Two years ago, this would have seemed absurd. Somehow, the White Sox outplayed the Houston Astros and took Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series with a 6-3 win on Tuesday at Daikin Park. It was their first postseason win since beating the Astros in Game 3 of the 2021 American League Division Series. Maybe it was Pope Leo XIV’s letter to the White Sox organization, in which he “willingly invoked the Almighty’s abundant blessings” upon Jerry Reinsdorf, the team’s owner. Maybe it was the continuation of what has been an unexpected magical year for the South Siders. Whether it was divine intervention or underappreciated talent from a team with so much to prove, the White Sox are one of the best stories in baseball. Through the first five innings of Game 1’s bullpen game, Chicago had eight hits, five of which came off the bats of the players they acquired in the trade that sent lefty ace Garret Crochet to Boston two years ago. The White Sox’ first run of the game was a first-inning sacrifice fly from Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, their biggest acquisition of the offseason. From there, Chicago kept pouring it on Houston. Left fielder Sam Antonacci’s two-run single, right fielder Colson Montgomery’s solo home run and second baseman Chase Meidroth’s RBI single gave the White Sox a statement-making 5-0 lead by the top of the fifth inning. “I love playing baseball when it’s just like every pitch matters, and that’s kind of what I felt today,” Montgomery said. “It was really fun playing out there and especially with everyone on our team. We were all so locked in at the plate. We were sticking to our plan and our approaches, our game planning and stuff, really well. I think that’s what showed for us today. Looking to continue that tomorrow.” The 84-win White Sox finished with the fifth-best wRC+ (104) in the majors this season, slightly worse than the Astros (105). But no one would believe that stat going by the series opener. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, the presumptive AL MVP award winner, went 1-for-4 at the plate, with his only hit of the night coming in the eighth inning on a single to right field. Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve, playing in his 106th career playoff game, hustled on a groundball to third to cut Houston’s deficit to 6-3 in the eighth, but that was all the Astros could muster. Now they face elimination in Wednesday’s Game 2 after what has been an extremely disappointing year for the two-time World Series champions. “Oh, the message is clear: We got to win tomorrow,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “I don’t need to tell ’em that, they know. Our backs have been against the corner before, and I think that’s when we are our best, when we fight back. We know it’s a do-or-die and we’ve been here before, so I really admire how they bounce back and they react to challenges. I expect them to go out there and bounce back and get our offense going.” Deesha Thosar: The “M-V-P!” chants rained down on Cam Schlittler all night. When Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake – not manager Aaron Boone — walked out for a mound visit in the sixth inning, the crowd booed. The Bronx faithful knew the end was near for their ace, but they so badly did not want him to leave his impeccable start. When Schlittler is dominating the Red Sox like he was in front of Tuesday night’s raucous sold-out crowd in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series, there is nothing else like it. Nearly 48,500 fans were living and dying on every pitch in the Yankees’ 9-0 win. Ever since he stifled Boston in last year’s wild-card series-clinching Game 3, the main character in the latest rendition of the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry has been Schlittler — the imposing 6-foot-7 right-hander with a perpetual chip on his shoulder. So you can imagine the roar he received when he came back out for the seventh inning on 107 pitches. “There’s a natural adrenaline you can take onto the mound with them treating every at-bat like it’s two outs, two strikes in the ninth inning,” Schlittler said of the rowdy home crowd. Schlittler finally ended his night on a career-high 117 pitches, the most pitches thrown by a Yankee in a postseason game since CC Sabathia threw 121 against the Orioles in the 2012 ALDS. Schlittler struck out 10, allowed one walk and just two hits over 6 ⅓ scoreless innings against the Red Sox, his favorite childhood team after growing up in New England. “It’s very well known that if you want to be a legend,” Schlittler said, “You gotta do it in the postseason.” In six career starts against Boston, including the postseason, Schlittler has a 0.47 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 38 ⅔ innings. In the first inning on Tuesday, he threw a 101 mph four-seamer, the fastest pitch of his career. The Red Sox, who had one of the worst offenses in baseball in September, never stood a chance. All Schlittler needed was some run support, and his teammate and fellow Massachusetts native was happy to oblige. Designated hitter Ben Rice homered twice in the series opener, none louder than his eighth-inning grand slam that increased the Yankees lead to 9-0. Rice, who crushed 41 home runs in the regular season, became the first Yankee to record six RBI and collect four hits in a postseason game, which is astounding given the club’s rich playoff history. “I’ll remember getting a W versus the Red Sox, there’s nothing better than that,” Rice said. “I’ll remember Cam going out there, just being lights out like he always is. I’ll remember the atmosphere. Just an awesome night. Great way to kick off the series.” Rowan Kavner: If the Cubs were hoping to take away one of the sport’s most electric home-field advantages, Matthew Boyd might want his first pitch back. The party at Petco Park began immediately Tuesday night when Padres starter Michael King struck out National League MVP favorite Pete Crow-Armstrong on three pitches to start a perfect top of the first before Fernando Tatis Jr. sent the Cubs’ first pitch of the night 405 feet out to center for the first leadoff home run in Padres postseason history. “You’ve got to have some stones to hit first-pitch change-up first pitch of the game,” King said. Tatis admired the blast for a moment, then took off for first as the best center fielder in baseball went barreling toward the wall attempting to track it down. When the ball sailed over Crow-Armstrong’s outstretched arm and a sea of yellow rally towels started twirling, Tatis pounded his chest rounding the bases. All night, those towels kept whirling in an 8-0 San Diego win that was over from the start. “We couldn’t script it any better,” Tatis said. Clearly, these aren’t last year’s Padres. Not after they rebounded from a 50-53 start to post MLB’s best record from late July through regular season’s end. Not after they went 18-6 in September. Not after the second-half resurgence from Tatis and the San Diego offense continued into the start of the playoffs. Last postseason, Tatis and Manny Machado combined to go 2-for-22 in their wild-card series loss to the Cubs. On Tuesday at Petco Park, where the Padres were 51-30 this year, Tatis and Machado were 2-for-2 with two homers in the first inning alone. “Just the energy, our fans, our group, how we’re feeling playing at home, all that stuff just adds together, and you feel like your blood is running inside your body so fast,” Tatis said. “You have that adrenaline on your side, so might as well take advantage of it.” Padres stars Tatis, Machado and Jackson Merrill combined for six hits, two homers, a double, five runs and five RBI. Meanwhile, Cubs sluggers Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman combined to go 0-for-7 with six strikeouts. King, who overwhelmed MLB’s highest-scoring offense with eight strikeouts over seven shutout innings, had a no-hitter going until an infield single by Nico Hoerner with one out in the seventh. It was a complete beatdown from start to finish. Tatis, who became the first player ever to hit 25 homers in a season after going homerless through his first 50 games, kept the crowd going throughout, capping off his electrifying evening by stealing second base, advancing to third when the ball trickled into shallow left field and continuing on home to score the Padres’ eighth and final run in the seventh. The game, of course, was long decided by then. The Padres scored more runs through their first five innings Tuesday than they did in three games against the Cubs last postseason. Good luck stopping this San Diego freight train.