MLB Wild Card Series: Analysis and takeaways from a FOUR-sweep day!
Well, that was fast!
On the second day of Wild Card week, all four series were decided: The Texas Rangers kicked off the day by eliminating the Tampa Bay Rays with a dominant 7-1 win, and the Minnesota Twins won their first playoff series since 2002 by sweeping the Toronto Blue Jays.The Arizona Diamondbacks knocked off the NL Central-winning Milwaukee Brewers, and the Philadelphia Phillies dominated the Miami Marlins in front of a raucous home crowd.
We’ve got you covered with our takeaways on each series — and what’s next for the four teams eliminated Wednesday.
Key links: Day 1 | Everything you need to know | Bracket | Picks | Watch on ESPN, ABC
Takeaways
Twins 2, Blue Jays 0: Sometimes the analysis is simple: The Twins pitched well, the Blue Jays didn’t hit well — and the Twins swept two low-scoring games for their first postseason series win since 2002. Give credit to a Minnesota pitching staff that has ability to make a deep postseason run. Pablo Lopez and Sonny Gray were both excellent in their starts and match up favorably with any team’s top two starters. The bullpen has several guys who can pump it up into the upper 90s. That relief corps has the ability to be dominant this October (although manager Rocco Baldelli’s insistence on using Louie Varland in high-leverage situations may bite him at some point). The question is whether the Twins can score enough runs — but don’t discount their chances of knocking off the Astros in the ALDS. As for the Jays, they remain without a postseason win in the Vladimir Guerrero Jr./Bo Bichette era, and you have to wonder whether the team needs a major offensive overhaul in the offseason. — David Schoenfield
Rangers 7, Rays 1: Give the Rangers credit: They lost that last series of the season in Seattle, costing them the AL West title, and then had to fly cross-country to play a tough Rays team that had the best home record in the AL. We saw the best version of the Rangers, especially with Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi combining to allow just one run in 17⅔ innings. We saw a lineup that has power up and down the lineup — including rookie Evan Carter, who is having an October breakout.
What we didn’t learn: Can the bullpen close out a tight game? The starters went deep and the games weren’t close. And manager Bruce Bochy’s decision to bat Robbie Grossman third against right-handed starters, with some other good hitters to choose from, remains more than a little questionable given Grossman has hit .182 with a .569 OPS against righties the past two seasons. We’ll see if that continues in Baltimore. — Schoenfield
Arizona 5, Brewers 2: What we witnessed during a very brief NL wild card round in Milwaukee might well have been a young, talented team embarking on a new chapter in its history. Arizona’s sweep was impressive — not because its flashy athleticism was on full blast but because the team showed the big stage was not too big. It’s a cliched observation to be sure, but it fits.
The Diamondbacks displayed professional, disciplined at-bats in both games. The quality of their at-bats improved as the games progressed, and they got to Corbin Burnes and Freddy Peralta the second time through the order. They did it with power, too, always a good formula for postseason winning.
The Arizona bullpen was impressive in the two games, with manager Torey Lovullo showing no compunction about trotting out a parade of guys you’ve probably never heard of. But Kevin Ginkel, Joe Mantiply, Miguel Castro and others have all gotten rolling late in the season — and when a bullpen gathers steam in the playoffs, anything can happen.
To be sure, it’s a gut-punch loss for Milwaukee, which squandered numerous scoring chances with multiple runners on base and so come away from a 94-win season with little to show for it. But credit for that perhaps goes to Arizona too, which did an outstanding job managing situations. If the D-Backs keep that up over the next week, this matchup against the heavily favored Dodgers might be an awful lot of fun. — Bradford Doolittle
Phillies 7, Marlins 1: The Phillies dominated in all phases of the game in their sweep of the Marlins. In Game 2, Aaron Nola cruised through seven scoreless innings and the offense ripped out six extra-base hits, including a 110-mph home run from J.T. Realmuto and a Bryson Stott grand slam to break the game open. Can we read too much into these two games? Not really, as the Marlins had the weakest offense of any of the playoff times. Still, the Phillies certainly look like the team that rolled through the NL side of the bracket last season — except this team is a little deeper, better defensively and still has that raucous home crowd behind them. This sets up what could be the most exciting series of the postseason: Phillies versus Braves. The Braves won the season series 8 to 5, including four out of seven in September. You can throw that out the window. It’s 0-0 now. — Schoenfield
Relive the day
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is starting to take shape.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. become the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He has since been followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals and Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins.
As the entrants are announced, we’ll add them to the running list below — and break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 9 | Longest: 467 feet
Why he could win: Acuna has been crushing it since he returned to the lineup May 23 after knee surgery. Indeed, his numbers are even better than during his MVP season in 2023. It should help that he’ll be hitting in front of his home fans in Atlanta: Todd Frazier in Cincinnati in 2015 and Bryce Harper with the Nationals in 2018 rode the loud support to Derby titles. Acuna’s raw power should also translate well to the Derby: Among players with at least 500 at-bats since 2023, he has the longest average home run distance in the majors.
Why he might not: Will he run into Pete Alonso again? Acuna competed in the 2019 and 2022 contests, losing both times to Alonso by a single home run (in the semifinals in 2019 and in the first round in 2022). The home-field advantage can also perhaps be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first with 41 home runs but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 35 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, with 32 home runs, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he can win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he won’t: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Pittsburgh Pirates are back on the board after Tommy Pham‘s two-run home run in the third inning at Kansas City on Monday night ended a 30-inning scoreless streak.
The Pirates had been shut out in all three games at Seattle during their previous series.
However, they tallied another loss against the Royals, losing 9-3.
The scoreless streak included Sunday’s 1-0 loss to the Mariners in which Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes threw 10 strikeouts in five scoreless innings before the Pirates gave up a run in the bottom of the sixth.
Before beginning this nine-game trip with the sweep by the Mariners, the Pirates had blanked the St. Louis Cardinals in three consecutive home games. Their streak of playing in six straight shutouts matched the longest in major league history.
Pham, a 12-year veteran who is in his first season with the Pirates, bookended the scoreless skid with RBIs. He drove in a seventh-inning run with a groundout Wednesday during the 5-0 victory over the Cardinals.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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