Welcome to Staten News, where the Bronx is closed for the season and Cleveland flat out refuses to leave.
Three games. Three losses. The last one by a single run, with a would-be home run taken back for fan interference.
The Yankees are done. Tampa Bay finished the sweep Wednesday night in the Bronx, 4-3, and now waits at home for whoever survives Saturday in Cleveland.
⚾ How the Bronx Went Dark
Victor Mesa Jr. did the damage. His two-run homer off Max Fried in the sixth put Tampa ahead for good, and it was his first career postseason home run. Ryan Vilade added a solo shot. Spencer Jones doubled to tie the game at 2 earlier, and Ben Rice drove in a run for New York.
The moment Yankee fans will replay all winter came from Anthony Volpe. His drive left the yard, then got overturned for fan interference and ruled an RBI double. In a one-run elimination game, that's the whole season in one replay review.
The Rays are the AL's No. 1 seed and host Game 1 of the ALCS on Monday at 8 p.m. ET on TBS.
🔥 Cleveland Dragged Chicago Back Home
The White Sox led this series 2-0. Then the Guardians stopped asking nicely.
Game 3 on Wednesday was a 9-3 beatdown on the South Side. Seven Cleveland pitchers combined for 19 strikeouts, José Ramírez hit a two-run triple, and Jo Adell cleared the bases with a triple of his own.
Game 4 on Thursday got weird and Cleveland won anyway, 9-5. Opener Parker Messick lasted just 2 1/3 innings, which turned it into an unplanned bullpen game. Patrick Bailey hit a pinch-hit homer in the fifth and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Gavin Williams got the final three outs on 18 pitches. Miguel Vargas homered in the ninth for Chicago, but it was too late to matter.
Series tied 2-2. Ramírez has five RBIs in four games, and he's been everywhere: a double, a triple, a homer, a stolen base, and a key play in the field.
Game 5 is Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Progressive Field on TBS. Neither team has named a starter. Williams is expected to pitch in some form after those 18 pitches Thursday, and White Sox manager Will Venable has only said Sean Burke will throw at some point. Translation: both bullpens are getting a phone call in the first inning.
🏆 The Two Best Teams in the NL, Again
The Dodgers closed out Atlanta 4-1 in Game 4 on Wednesday. Andy Pages broke a 1-1 tie with a two-run, bases-loaded single off Robert Suárez in the seventh. Max Muncy added a solo homer in the ninth off Raisel Iglesias, his 19th postseason homer as a Dodger. Edgardo Henriquez got the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, Tanner Scott threw a perfect eighth, and Edwin Díaz closed it.
Milwaukee finished San Diego the same night, 3-1, to take that series 3-1. Jackson Chourio drove in a run and set the Brewers' single-postseason RBI record. Garrett Mitchell had an RBI single and then robbed Manny Machado of a drive in the eighth that could have tied it.
So it's 103-win Milwaukee against 100-win Los Angeles. The Dodgers swept the Brewers in last year's NLCS and are chasing a third straight title. Milwaukee's bullpen posted a 0.47 ERA in the Division Series.
Game 1 is Sunday at 8 p.m. ET in Milwaukee on FOX. Jacob Misiorowski starts for the Brewers after leading MLB in ERA (1.80), strikeouts (252), and WHIP (0.80). He has a 1.59 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 17 career innings against the Dodgers. L.A. hasn't officially named a starter, though MLB.com lists Tarik Skubal as likely.
That's not a rematch. That's an appeal.
🏈 Bucky Irving Ran Through Dallas
Tampa Bay walked into Arlington at 0-4 with a rookie quarterback and left with a 24-16 win. Bucky Irving ran 21 times for 165 yards, including a 72-yard run, and scored twice on a 5-yard catch and a 1-yard plunge. The Bucs ran for 241 as a team.
Jalon Daniels, starting for Baker Mayfield, went 19 of 25 for 189 yards and a touchdown with zero turnovers. That's three fewer interceptions than his debut. Mayfield dislocated the thumb on his throwing hand and is expected to miss at least one more game.
Dak Prescott threw for 316 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. CeeDee Lamb, coming off a 17-catch, 189-yard game, finished with two catches for 9 yards and left with a quad injury. Dallas is 2-3. Tampa is 1-4.
📅 The Weekend Card
Saturday, 8 p.m. ET: ALDS Game 5, White Sox at Guardians (TBS)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET: Giants (3-1) at Commanders (1-3)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET: Browns (3-1) at Jets (1-3)
Sunday: Vikings (4-0) at Saints (1-3) and 49ers (4-0) at Seahawks (3-1)
Sunday, 8 p.m. ET: NLCS Game 1, Dodgers at Brewers (FOX)
Monday: ALCS Game 1 at Tampa Bay, 8 p.m. ET (TBS), plus Bills (3-1) at Rams (2-2)
The Giants are 3-1 and catching a 1-3 Washington team on the road. That's the kind of game good teams win without needing a 98-yard pick to do it. The Jets get a Cleveland team that's already won three.
This is the weekend October stops being a tournament and starts being a series. One game in Cleveland decides who gets the Rays, and Misiorowski against the champs decides whether the NL has a new tone.
Sources: ESPN Division Series takeaways, MLB.com ALDS Game 5 preview, MLB.com NLCS Game 1 preview, ESPN Buccaneers-Cowboys recap
— The Bandicoots ⚾🏈