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MLB’s first-ever wild-card series weekend is here.

As the playoff field expands to 12 teams for the 2022 postseason, four best-of-three series starting today will determine which teams will advance to the American League Division Series (against either the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees) and National League Division Series (against either the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers).

The Friday festivities began with the Cleveland Guardians taking a close victory from the Tampa Bay Rays at home, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies engineering an incredible late-game comeback against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Seattle Mariners followed up by shutting out the Toronto Blue Jays, and finally, the San Diego Padres hit four home runs off Max Scherzer in a win over the New York Mets.

Here are the biggest takeaways from each game of the first day of the postseason.

More: Everything you need to know about the 2022 MLB playoffs | Could this be the greatest postseason … ever? | Bracket, results and more


Cleveland leads the series 1-0.

Two hours and 17 minutes. That’s all it took to get through the first game of the 2022 MLB playoffs. This was the shortest AL postseason game ever. It’s only fitting that Game 1 between two teams not known for the long ball was decided by … the long ball. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez erased a brief deficit with a two-run blast after Jose Siri went deep for the Rays for the first run of a very brief AL wild-card opener. Ramirez, nearly traded during spring training before signing a long-term contract, was the one home run threat in the Guardians lineup that Kevin Cash said he was concerned about before the series — but it was hard to pitch around him with a runner on first base in a tight game. Meanwhile, Shane Bieber was about as good as he’s been all year in keeping the Rays to one run over 7⅔ innings — and now Cleveland is just one win away from knocking out Tampa Bay. Yeah, these wild-card series might go by that fast. — Jesse Rogers

Our experts’ pick to win the series: Guardians 19 votes, Rays 12


Phillies lead 1-0

Game 1 takeaways

The Cardinals had it all lined up. Jose Quintana, who would have been considered an unlikely playoff Game 1 starter when the season began, matched Phillies ace Zack Wheeler zero for zero. Rookie manager Ollie Marmol pulled the right lever in the seventh, as pinch-hitter Juan Lopez wrapped a Jose Alvarado pitch around the left-field foul pole for a two-run homer, breaking a scoreless tie. All-Star closer Ryan Helsley came on to close it out … but whether it was a bad game or a physical problem, Helsley simply lost command. He was charged with four Philadelphia runs during a nightmarish ninth-inning in St. Louis. That’s playoff baseball: The margin for error for every team is nil. And now the Cardinals have to win on Saturday or the careers of Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina will be over. — Brad Doolittle

The Phillies go ahead … and pile on

Yepez breaks the scoreless tie

Standing O in St. Louis

Phan-tastic headgear

Pregame fashion


Mariners lead 1-0

Game 1 takeaways

First the Seattle Mariners broke their 20-year playoff drought, and on Friday night they booked their first postseason victory since 2001. Now, with one win separating them from the division series, it’s fair to wonder just how magical this season can get. The Mariners input their season-long formula into Game 1 of their wild card series with Toronto — great starting pitching (thanks, Luis Castillo for 7.1 innings), big home run (Cal Raleigh, two-run shot in the first), lockdown relief (hello, Andres Muñoz) — and emerged with a 4-0 victory. Next up: Robbie Ray returns to Toronto, where he won the Cy Young last season, to try to finish the series for Seattle. And the Blue Jays, shut out for the ninth time this season, need to win two straight to set up a matchup with Houston. — Jeff Passan

Local support


Padres lead 1-0

Game 1 takeaways

It doesn’t matter that Max Scherzer had a 2.29 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP in 23 starts this season. All it takes is a couple of bad pitches for a game and, potentially, a series to flip on its head. That’s what happened to the Mets ace when he left four pitches out over the middle of the plate to Josh Bell, Trent Grisham, Jurickson Profar and Manny Machado, who hit home runs in the first, second and fifth innings, respectively. Those three home runs more than made the difference in a game where the Mets’ offense was nonexistent aside from an Eduardo Escobar home run in the fifth inning. New York’s offense will need to wake up from its slumber if it hopes to keep its season alive beyond Saturday. — Joon Lee

Emma Stone gets booed … for wearing a Padres jacket

Pregame fits

Hometown solidarity

Eyes on the prize

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Ichiro shows funny side, joins CC, Wagner in HOF

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Ichiro shows funny side, joins CC, Wagner in HOF

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Ichiro Suzuki became the first Japanese-born player to be enshrined into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, one of five new members of baseball’s hallowed institution.

After enduring the baseball tradition known as a rain delay, the five speeches went off without a hitch as the deluge subsided and the weather became hot and humid. Joining Suzuki were pitchers CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, and sluggers Dick Allen and Dave Parker, both of whom were enshrined posthumously.

“For the third time, I am a rookie,” Suzuki said, delivering his comments in English despite his long preference for conducting his public appearances in Japanese with the aid of an interpreter.

For the American audience, this provided a rare glimpse into Suzuki’s playful side. Teammates long spoke of his sense of humor behind the closed doors of the clubhouse — something the public rarely saw — but it was on full display Sunday.

When Hall voting was announced, Suzuki fell one vote shy of becoming the second unanimous selection for the Hall. He thanked the writers for their support — with an exception.

“Three-thousand [career] hits or 262 hits in one season are achievements recognized by the writers,” Suzuki said. “Except, oh, one of you.”

After the laughter subsided, Suzuki mentioned the gracious comments he made when balloting results were announced, when he offered to invite the writer who didn’t vote for him home for dinner to learn his reasoning. Turns out, it’s too late.

“The offer to the one writer to have dinner at my home has now … expired!” Suzuki said.

Suzuki’s attention to detail and unmatched work ethic have continued into the present day, more than five years since he played his last big league game. That was central to his message Sunday, at least when he wasn’t landing a joke.

“If you consistently do the little things, there’s no limit to what you can achieve,” Suzuki said. “Look at me. I’m 5-11 and 170 pounds. When I came to America, many people said I was too skinny to compete with bigger major leaguers.”

After becoming one of the biggest stars in Japanese baseball, hitting .353 over nine seasons for the Orix BlueWave, Suzuki exploded on the scene as a 27-year-old rookie for the Seattle Mariners, batting .350 and winning the AL Rookie of the Year and MVP honors.

Chants of “Ichiro!” that once were omnipresent at Mariners games erupted from the crowd sprawled across the grounds of the complex while the all-time single-season hits leader (262 in 2004) posed with his plaque alongside commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame chairman Jane Forbes Clark.

Despite his late start in MLB, Suzuki finished with 3,089 hits in the majors and 4,367 including his time in Japan. Suzuki listed some of his feats, such as the hit total, and his 10 Gold Gloves.

“Not bad,” he said.

Sabathia’s weekend got off to a mildly rough start when his wife’s car broke down shortly after the family caravan departed for Cooperstown. They arrived in plenty of time though, and Sabathia was greeted warmly by numerous Yankees fans who made the trip.

After breaking in with Cleveland at age 20, Sabathia rocketed to stardom with a 17-5 rookie season. Alas, that came in 2001, the same year that Suzuki landed in the American League.

“Thank you most of all to the great players sitting behind me,” Sabathia said. “I am so proud and humbled to join you as a Hall of Famer, even Ichiro, who stole my Rookie of the Year Award in 2001.”

Sabathia focused the bulk of his comments on the support he has received over the years from his friends and family, especially his wife, Amber.

“The first time we met was at a house party when I was a junior in high school,” Sabathia said. “We spent the whole night talking, and that conversation has been going on for 29 years.”

Parker, 74, died from complications of Parkinson’s disease on June 28, less than a month before the induction ceremony. Representing him at the dais was his son, Dave Parker II, and though the moment was bittersweet, it was hardly somber.

Parker II finished the speech with a moving poem written by his father that, for a few minutes, made it feel as if the player nicknamed “The Cobra” were present.

“Thanks for staying by my side,” Parker’s poem concluded. “I told y’all Cooperstown would be my last rap, so the star of Dave will be in the sky tonight. Watch it glow. But I didn’t lie in my documentary — I told you I wouldn’t show.”

Parker finished with 2,712 hits and 339 homers, won two Gold Gloves on the strength of his legendary right-field arm and was named NL MVP in 1978. He spent his first 11 seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates and entered the Hall representing the Bucs.

Wagner, whose 422 career saves ranks eighth on the all-time list, delivered an emotional but humorous speech about a small-town guy with a small-for-a-pitcher 5-foot-10 stature who made it big.

“I feel like my baseball life has come full circle,” Wagner said. “I was a fan before I could play. Back when baseball wasn’t so available on TV, every Saturday morning I watched Johnny Bench and so many of the other greats on a show ‘The Baseball Bunch.'”

In one of the moments of baseball serendipity that only Cooperstown can provide, the telecast flashed to Bench, sitting a few feet away from where Wagner was speaking.

Allen’s widow, Willa, delivered a touching tribute to her late husband, who died in 2020 after years of feeling overlooked for his outstanding career. The 1964 NL Rookie of the Year for the Phillies, Allen won the 1972 AL MVP for the Chicago White Sox.

“Baseball was his first love,” Willa said. “He used to say, ‘I’d have played for nothing,’ and I believe he meant it. But of course, if you compare today’s salary, he played almost for nothing.”

Willa focused on the softer side of a player who in his time was perhaps unfairly characterized for a contentious relationship with the media.

“He was devoted to people, not just fans, but especially his teammates,” Willa said. “If he heard someone was sick or going through a tough time, he’ll turn to me and say, ‘Willa, they have to hear from us.'”

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Braves get starting pitcher Fedde from Cardinals

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Braves get starting pitcher Fedde from Cardinals

The Atlanta Braves acquired veteran starting pitcher Erick Fedde from the St. Louis Cardinals for a player to be named later or cash, both teams announced Sunday.

As part of the deal, the Cardinals will cover the majority of what remains of Fedde’s $7.5 million salary for 2025, a source told ESPN.

Fedde, 32, is a free agent at season’s end, making him a surprising pickup for a Braves team that was swept by the Texas Rangers over the weekend and is 16 games below .500, trailing the first-place New York Mets by 16½ games.

But the Braves have sustained a slew of injuries to their starting rotation of late, with AJ Smith-Shawver (torn ulnar collateral ligament), Spencer Schwellenbach (fractured elbow), Chris Sale (fractured ribcage) and, more recently, Grant Holmes (elbow inflammation) landing on the injured list since the start of June.

Fedde reestablished himself in South Korea in 2023, parlaying a dominant season into a two-year, $15 million contract to return stateside with the Chicago White Sox. Fedde continued that success in 2024, posting a 3.30 ERA in 177⅓ innings with the White Sox and Cardinals.

This year, though, it has been a struggle for a crafty right-hander who doesn’t generate a lot of strikeouts. Twenty starts in, Fedde is 3-10 with a 5.22 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP.

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Dodgers go to 6-man rotation amid Ohtani return

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Dodgers go to 6-man rotation amid Ohtani return

BOSTON — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani is expected to start on the mound Wednesday as he continues his buildup from elbow surgery that kept him from pitching all last season.

Manager Dave Roberts said Sunday before the Dodgers faced the Boston Red Sox in the finale of their three-game series that the plan is for Ohtani to work four innings at Cincinnati, with an off day to recover before hitting in a game.

With the Japanese superstar working his way back along with left-hander Blake Snell, who pitched 4⅔ innings on Saturday in his fourth rehab start for Triple-A Oklahoma City, the Dodgers will be using a six-man rotation.

They currently have Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Dustin May, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Emmet Sheehan in the rotation.

“Shohei is going to go on Wednesday and then he’ll probably pitch the following Wednesday, so that probably lends itself to the six-man,” Roberts said.

In Ohtani’s last start, he allowed one run and four hits in three innings against Minnesota on July 22. He struck out three and walked one, throwing 46 pitches, 30 for strikes.

Roberts said this season is sort of a rehab year in the big leagues and doesn’t foresee the team extending Ohtani’s workload deep into games for a while.

“I think this whole year on the pitching side is sort of rehab, maintenance,” he said. “We’re not going to have the reins off where we’re going to say: ‘Hey you can go 110 pitches.’ I don’t see that happening for quite some time. I think that staying at four [innings] for a bit, then build up to five and we’ll see where we can go from there.”

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