[Tigers-Guardians | Padres-Cubs | Red Sox-Yankees | Live blog]
The 2025 MLB postseason action persisted Thursday, culminating the wild-card stage with victories secured by the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, and New York Yankees in a trio of decisive, do-or-die encounters.
Here’s a recap of the day’s events.
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In a showdown between time-honored rivals, in a contest where the victor claims all, a 24-year-old newcomer etched their name into the annals of Yankees history.
Cam Schlittler achieved a remarkable feat, becoming the first pitcher — not just any rookie, but a pitcher — in the annals of postseason competition to record 12 strikeouts, issue zero walks, and deliver eight innings of shutout baseball, completely dominating the Red Sox. Unleashing blazing fastballs reaching triple digits early in the game and maintaining speeds in the high 90s during his final inning, Schlittler managed to persevere through the eighth inning with a pitch count of 107.
Remarkable, especially considering that he began the season in Double-A and made his Major League debut in July.
With minimal pressure from the Boston offense, the Yankees capitalized with a four-run surge in the fourth inning, initiated by a Cody Bellinger double. New York’s next challenge lies against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS. For the Red Sox, their season has reached its conclusion.
A Padres offense lacking in power encountered a formidable Cubs defense, resulting in Chicago’s advancement to the NLDS, where they are set to face their divisional adversary, the Milwaukee Brewers.
Jameson Taillon, Caleb Thielbar, Danny Palencia, Drew Pomeranz, Brad Keller, and Andrew Kittredge united to restrict the Padres to a mere single run, aided significantly by one of MLB’s premier defensive units. Gold Glove recipients Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner, in particular, executed several crucial plays.
The Cubs had opportunities to extend their lead, but the damage was contained to rallies in the second and seventh innings. Nevertheless, Chicago amassed sufficient runs against a Padres pitching staff that appeared fatigued. Yu Darvish’s outing lasted only a single inning, leaving the bases loaded with no outs and two runs already conceded in the second. It’s a testament to the San Diego bullpen’s capabilities that they allowed only one additional run, but this provides little consolation for the Padres.
The game’s conclusion was far from comfortable for the home crowd, as Keller surrendered a home run to Jackson Merrill to commence the ninth inning, followed by hitting consecutive batters, placing the tying run on base. Despite this, the lower portion of the Padres’ batting order couldn’t bridge the gap.
The Guardians dedicated the majority of September to pursuing the Tigers, ultimately overtaking them on the final day of the regular season, achieving the most significant comeback in the standings in MLB history. Fate intervened to arrange a wild-card series showdown between the two teams, culminating in a decisive Game 3.
In a manner befitting baseball’s unpredictable nature, the team that had endured a month-long decline had the final say. The Tigers triumphed with a 6-3 victory, securing an ALDS matchup with the Seattle Mariners.
A closely contested game transformed into a one-sided affair in the seventh inning, as the Tigers completed a full batting order, establishing a five-run advantage. Dillon Dingler delivered the go-ahead run in the preceding inning with a solo home run, a devastating blow to the Progressive Field faithful.
The loss brings an end to what had been a remarkable journey for the Guardians until Thursday, prolonging their MLB-leading World Series drought to 76 years.
MLB wild-card Game 3 live blog
Stay connected with Yahoo Sports for real-time updates, highlights, and comprehensive coverage of the wild-card round’s concluding game:
