[Thursday’s play-in schedule | Tigers-Guardians | Padres-Cubs | Red Sox-Yankees | Live blog]
The 2025 MLB postseason continued Thursday, as the play-in round wrapped up with victories by the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees in a trio of elimination contests.
Here’s how the scenarios played out.
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In a face-off between established adversaries, in a decisive match, it was a 24-year-old newcomer who cemented his status in Yankees history.
Cam Schlittler emerged as the first pitcher — not rookie, pitcher — in the annals of the postseason to record 12 strikeouts, zero walks and eight shutout innings in a complete dominance of the Red Sox. Unleashing triple-digit velocity early in the contest and maintaining velocity in the high 90s in his concluding inning of work, Schlittler succeeded in remaining in through the eighth inning with a pitch count of 107.
Remarkable for a pitcher who commenced the season in Double-A and made his MLB debut in July.
Without substantial pressure from the Boston offense, the Yankees secured all the runs they needed in a four-run burst in the fourth inning, commencing with a Cody Bellinger double. New York will oppose the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS.
A subdued Padres offense struggled against a formidable Cubs defense as Chicago progressed to the NLDS, where the division rival Milwaukee Brewers await.
Jameson Taillon, Caleb Thielbar, Danny Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller and Andrew Kittredge collaborated to limit the Padres to a solitary run, with considerable assistance from one of the premier defenses in MLB. Gold Glovers Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner in particular executed some crucial plays.
The Cubs could’ve tallied a greater number of runs, but the damage was contained in rallies in the second and seventh innings. Nevertheless, Chicago amassed all the runs it required against a depleted Padres pitching staff. Yu Darvish lasted only one inning and departed with the bases loaded with no outs and two runs scored in the second. It’s a notable that the esteemed San Diego bullpen permitted only one additional run, but that’s scant solace for the Padres.
The conclusion was far from serene for the home team, however. Keller conceded a homer to Jackson Merrill to initiate the ninth, then struck consecutive batters to place the tying run on base. Even still, the bottom of the Padres’ order couldn’t diminish the deficit.
The Guardians dedicated the majority of September pursuing the Tigers and overcame them on the concluding day of the regular season for the most substantial comeback in the standings in MLB history. Fate intervened to position the two teams against each other in the play-in series, which inevitably progressed to a decisive Game 3.
And considering the nature of baseball, the team that devoted the past month in an alarming decline experienced the final triumph. The Tigers advanced with a 6-3 victory, establishing an ALDS confrontation with the Seattle Mariners.
A tight contest evolved into a demolition in the seventh inning, when the Tigers batted around to seize a five-run advantage. Dillon Dingler furnished the go-ahead run one inning prior with a solo homer, the culmination of a devastating blow for the Progressive Field spectators.
The defeat concludes what had been an enchanting stretch for the Guardians until Thursday, prolonging their MLB-longest World Series drought to 76 years.
MLB play-in Game 3 live blog
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