Tigers manager AJ Hinch talks about the rollercoaster 2025 season
AJ Hinch: “We want more and we know that we can do more.”
Seattle – Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and George Springer woke up Toronto’s offense as the Blue Jays hit five home runs to rebound from an early deficit, routing the Seattle Mariners 13-4 Wednesday night and closing to 2-1 in the AL Championship Series.
Julio Rodríguez’s two-run, first-inning homer off Shane Bieber put Seattle ahead and stirred thoughts of a possible sweep in the best-of-seven matchup by a team seeking its first World Series appearance, but Andrés Giménez sparked the comeback with a tying, two-run homer in a five-run third against George Kirby.
Springer, Guerrero, Alejandro Kirk and Addison Barger also went deep as the Blue Jays totaled 2,004 feet of homers among 18 hits.
Guerrero had four hits, falling a triple short of the cycle, after going 0 for 7 as the Blue Jays lost the first two games at home.
.“Obviously Vladdy was great,” Springer said. “I think as a team, it was just a good overall game and it’s on to the next.”
In the 2-3-2 format, teams that lost the first two games at home and won Game 3 on the road have captured the series three of 11 times.
A crowd of 46,471 at T-Mobile Park for Seattle’s first home ALCS game since 2001 saw the teams combine to match the postseason record of eight combined home runs, set by the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis in Game 3 of the 2015 NL Division Series and matched by the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston in Game 2 of the 2017 World Series.
Giménez hadn’t homered since Aug. 27 before his drive off a fastball from Kirby, who allowed eight runs, eight hits and two walks, taking the loss.
“The first couple innings I thought he was dynamite,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “This is a team that’s going to hurt you if you make mistakes on the plate. It looked like there were a couple that they were able to get to.”
Kirby’s run-scoring wild pitch put Toronto ahead 3-2 and Daulton Varsho followed with a two-run double.
Springer homered in the fourth and Guerrero hit his fourth of the postseason for a 7-2 lead on the firsy pitch of the fifth.
Kirk added a three-run homer in the sixth and is hitting .413 (19 for 46) with eight RBIs in 14 games at T-Mobile Park.
Bieber, who got the win, pitched shutout ball after the first and wound up allowing four hits in six innings – the longest outing by a Blue Jays starter in seven postseason games.
“Obviously didn’t the start the way he would have wanted to, but that’s pretty much who he is,” Springer said. “He can battle back from anything.”
After the Blue Jays opened a 12-2 lead, Randy Arozarena connected in the eighth against Yariel Rodríguez for his first home run since Sept. 9 and Cal Raleigh, who led the major leagues with 60 home runs during the regular season, followed three pitches later with his third of the postseason.
Up next
Seattle RHP Luis Castillo, who pitched 1 1/3 innings of relief against Detroit in Game 5 of the Division Series, starts Thursday against RHP Max Scherzer. The 41-year-old, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, is 0-3 over eight postseason starts since the 2019 World Series opener, and hasn’t started a game since Sept. 24.
Dodgers’ starters dominate Brewers
Los Angeles – Dave Roberts has found a way around the Los Angeles Dodgers’ struggling relievers. Barely use ’em.
The defending World Series champions have relied on their starting pitching to take a commanding 2-0 lead against the Milwaukee Brewers in their best-of-seven NL Championship Series.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell tossed eight scoreless innings to go with 10 strikeouts before rookie Roki Sasaki and Blake Treinen tamped down a late Brewers rally in closing out Game 1.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a three-hitter in the first postseason complete game by a Dodgers pitcher since Jose Lima threw a five-hit shutout in the 2004 NL Division Series against St. Louis in Game 2.
“I’ll take as many as we can get,” Roberts said, laughing when asked how many complete games his staff can deliver. “They’re doing their part by attacking, being efficient and putting themselves in a position to do that.”
Snell and Yamamoto combined to allow one run on four hits over 17 of 18 innings in Milwaukee.
Now, here come Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.
Glasnow starts Game 3 at Dodger Stadium on Thursday. Ohtani is set to go in Game 4 on Friday.
The Dodges’ rotation struggled earlier in the season with injuries and slumps, but it’s clicking now.
“It’s perfect timing,” Glasnow said Wednesday. “The vibe is really good in the clubhouse. Everyone is feeling great. It’s just a good time to get hot, for sure.”
Glasnow allowed two hits over six scoreless innings in Game 4 of the NLDS against Philadelphia, when the Dodgers finished off the best-of-five series.
The Dodgers have carefully managed Ohtani’s innings this season – his first pitching since he had a second elbow surgery in December 2023 when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. The right-hander twice pitched into the seventh in the regular season.
“The century mark isn’t like a ceiling on pitches. Yeah, I think it’s just kind of contingent on how he’s throwing,” Roberts said. “He’s waited for this moment, and I think with the rest that he’s got going into that game, he’s going to be ready to go.”
Ohtani was impressed with Snell and Yamamoto pitching deep into their starts and he’s eager to do the same.
“That would be great,” he said through a translator. “But my number one priority is making sure I’m putting up zeros no matter what and making sure we’re the team that scores first.”
The Brewers have lost their last nine road playoff games since 2018, and will need to win at least two of the next three games in Los Angeles to force the series back to Wisconsin. They swept a three-game series at Dodger Stadium in July.
Milwaukee had not yet announced its Game 3 starter. Manager Pat Murphy said the pitching plans were “under construction.” Left-hander José Quintana expects to see action, whether he starts or an opener is used ahead of him.
“I think we pitched better than we played, our defense,” Quintana said. “We stay positive for the game tomorrow. We need to show really good baseball and win one ballgame at a time. Tomorrow we expect to get the first win.”
Jumpstarting Ohtani
A relatively quiet Dodger Stadium got jolted with a blast of Ohtani’s walk-up song, “Feeling Good.”
The three-time MVP walked to the batting cage as Clayton Kershaw and other teammates hooted and hollered at him. Ohtani went through five rounds of hitting in an attempt to regain his stroke amidst a postseason offensive skid. He hit the metal roof of the right-field pavilion on one left-handed cut.
The two-way superstar is 2 for 25 with no extra-base hits in the NL Division Series and NLCS. He hit a career-high 55 home runs during the regular season.
Still, the Dodgers have won seven of eight postseason games with Ohtani contributing very little offensively.
“The contribution is not just by batting average,” Roberts said. “Certainly him being in the lineup, posting, I think getting the walks, allowing for Mookie (Betts) to have opportunities to drive runs in, that’s contribution. The first two games in Milwaukee his at-bats have been fantastic. That’s what I’ve been looking for. That’s what I’m counting on.”
Murphy dismissed any suggestion that Ohtani is struggling at the plate.
“He’s dangerous,” he said, “and we pitch him as tough and as careful as we can pitch him, and we bring a matchup in anytime we can.”
Murphy’s Dodger connection
Murphy brought along his 10-year-old son, Austin, when he spoke to the media.
He said the boy’s middle name, Lynn, is a tribute to Bob Welch, the retired Dodgers pitcher born Robert Lynn Welch who was a friend of Murphy’s until his death in 2014 at age 57.
Austin sat quietly and yawned once until he was asked what the Brewers need to do to get back in the series. “Just stick with it and keep battling through it,” he said, sounding a lot like his dad.
The kid was just getting warmed up.
Leaning into the microphone like an old pro, he said, “The guys respond back really good. Started the season 0-4. Those games were not good. But then they responded with the best record in baseball, so I believe they can do it.”
Cubs look toward future
Chicago – Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was sure of one thing. The team was at its best when Kyle Tucker was at his best.
Whether they’ll be together next season remains to be seen. Tucker, after all, is set to become a free agent, and he will be arguably the top player on the market.
“Everyone can use a guy like Kyle Tucker,” Hoyer said Wednesday. “Everyone gets better by having a player like that. We’ll certainly be having those conversations.”
The offseason trade that reeled in Tucker from Houston played a big role in propelling the Cubs to the playoffs for the first time in five years. So did Pete Crow-Armstrong’s emergence as an All-Star as well as big seasons from sluggers Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki.
With an elite defense and solid pitching, Chicago finished second behind Milwaukee in the NL Central at 92-70 and posted its highest win total since the 2018 team finished 95-68. The Cubs hadn’t advanced in the postseason since 2017, but that changed when they beat San Diego in the NL Wild Card Series. In the NLDS against the Brewers, they regrouped after losing the first two games and won the next two before getting knocked out on Saturday.
“I was really proud of the way that group came together,” Hoyer said. “They really cared about each other. They really worked hard together. It was a really special group.”
Whether Tucker remains part of that group or turns out to be a one-year rental is a big question. The four-time All-Star started the season on a strong note before struggling through injuries to his right hand and left calf. He finished with a .266 average and 22 homers while driving in 73 runs and scoring 91.
Tucker also found friendlier confines on the road than at Wrigley Field, where he hit just .236 with seven home runs compared to .292 with 15 in away games.
If Tucker does leave, the Cubs could try to reunite with Kyle Schwarber in free agency. They could also go young and give players like Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros a shot.
Hoyer said he hasn’t discussed the budget yet with ownership. But he said he’s “confident” he will have the resources to “field a good team.”
While Tucker’s future looms large, the Cubs also have a decision to make on Shota Imanaga.
The Japanese left-hander agreed to a $53 million, four-year contract prior to the 2024 season that includes a club option for 2028. The Cubs can exercise that option now or after next season. If they don’t in either instance, the 32-year-old Imanaga would have the right to opt out of the remainder of the deal and become a free agent.
Imanaga was an All-Star as a rookie in 2024, going 15-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 29 starts. But his production dropped this year and he was shaky in the playoffs. He missed most of May and June with a strained left hamstring, and he gave up a combined 15 homers in August and September.
Imanaga was 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 25 regular-season starts. In two playoff appearances against San Diego and Milwaukee, he had an 8.10 ERA. He took the loss in Game 2 against the Brewers, when he gave up four runs and two homers in 2 2/3 innings.
Hoyer praised the affable and outgoing Imanaga as a “great teammate” and “terrific asset to the organization.”
“Obviously, we have decisions to make and discussions to (have),” he added. “Over the course of the next two, three weeks, we’ll do that. I’ve got nothing but positive things to say about Shota.”
Either way, the Cubs could use another arm in the rotation.
Justin Steele, an All-Star in 2023, made just four starts before having season-ending elbow surgery. Hoyer, meanwhile, said he had no regrets about not acquiring another frontline starter prior to the trade deadline.
“I know what the market was and how tight the starting pitching market was,” he said. “I know to acquire players that could impact a pennant race, it would have cost us players that impacted our second half in a big way on the team.”
Guardians re-sign catcher Hedges
Cleveland – Catcher Austin Hedges re-signed with the Cleveland Guardians, agreeing Wednesday to a one-year contract worth $4 million.
Hedges, who had been eligible for free agency, gets the same base salary he had this season. He can earn $500,000 in performance bonuses for starts as a catcher: $125,000 each for 70, 75, 80 and 85.
Even though Hedges is the backup catcher, he has emerged as a key clubhouse leader on a squad that has won the AL Central three of the last four seasons.
Hedges said on Wednesday that both sides began to discuss a new deal toward the end of the regular season
“I told them this is where I want to be for years moving forward. I want to finish my career in Cleveland, whatever that means. If that means a year, if that means I can grind another 10 years out, then great,” he said. “I love the group coming back. I think we’re right in position to go win the division again. And it’s also that the group has now been a part of two deep playoff runs. A lot of young guys this past year got to witness what it’s like to make the playoffs and to be in there.”
Cleveland first acquired Hedges in 2020 from San Diego. He spent 2023 with Pittsburgh and Texas before returning to the Guardians in 2024.
The 33-year old was tied for fourth among AL catchers in defensive runs saved with nine. His 95 defensive runs saved since 2017 are the most in the majors among catchers.
He hit .161 with five homers and 10 RBIs in 180 plate appearances over 68 games, including 54 starts at catcher.
Hedges also made three pitching appearances in the ninth inning of losses, raising his career mound games to eight over the past three seasons.
Division SeriesAmerican League (ALCS)
(Seattle 2, Toronto 1)
Sunday, Oct. 12: Seattle 3, Toronto 1
Monday, Oct. 13: Seattle 10, Toronto 3
Wednesday, Oct. 15: Toronto 13, Seattle 4
Thursday, Oct. 16: Toronto at Seattle (Castillo 11-8), 8:33 p.m. (FOX/FS1)
Friday, Oct. 17: Toronto at Seattle, 6:08 p.m. (FOX/FS1)
x-Sunday, Oct. 19: Seattle at Toronto, 8:03 p.m. (FOX/FS1)
x-Monday, Oct. 20: Seattle at Toronto, 8:08 p.m. (FOX/FS1)
National League (NLCS)
(Los Angeles 2, Milwaukee 0)
Monday: Los Angeles 2, Milwaukee 1
Tuesday: Los Angeles 5, Milwaukee 1
Thursday: Milwaukee at Los Angeles, 6:08 p.m. (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
Friday: Milwaukee at Los Angeles, 8:38 p.m. (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
x-Saturday, Oct. 18: Milwaukee at Los Angeles, 8:08 p.m. (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
x-Monday, Oct. 20: Los Angeles at Milwaukee, 5:08 p.m. (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
x-Tuesday, Oct. 21: Los Angeles at Milwaukee, 8:08 p.m. (TBS/truTV/HBO Max)
World Series
(Best-of-7, FOX)
Friday, Oct. 24: TBA
Saturday, Oct. 25: TBA
Monday, Oct. 27: TBA
Tuesday, Oct. 28: TBA
x-Wednesday, Oct. 29: TBA
x-Friday, Oct. 31: TBA
x-Saturday, Nov. 1: TBA
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