Friday was the most thrilling night yet of the 2023 MLB playoffs — and it might have been one of the most thrilling nights in postseason history, period.
Never before had multiple playoff teams overcome a multi-run deficit in the eighth inning or later. In the American League Championship Series, Jose Altuve and the defending World Series champion Houston Astros rallied from down 4-2 in the ninth inning to defeat the Texas Rangers and move to one win from returning to the Fall Classic. In the National League, the underdog Arizona Diamondbacks erased a 5-3 Philadelphia Phillies lead in the eighth inning to tie the National League Championship Series at two.
But that doesn’t tell the whole story. Along the way, we had a thundering bat flip and a benches-clearing brawl, a home run into a pool and a ground ball bouncing wildly around the infield. Here are our five favorite moments from a wild night of October baseball.
Altuve — the face of an Astros franchise playing in its seventh straight ALCS — comes up huge for Houston yet again. With runners on first and second after a single and a walk off Rangers closer Jose Leclerc, Altuve sends a ball sailing to left field — just out of rookie Evan Carter‘s grasp — for a three-run, go-ahead homer that drains the life out of a raucous Globe Life Field. The visiting Astros take a 5-4 lead and don’t relinquish it, en route to winning all three games in Arlington and heading home needing just one victory to return to the World Series for the fifth time in seven years.
Stat to know: This is the third time in MLB history a team took a 3-2 series lead after dropping the first two games at home in a best-of-seven postseason series. The Astros, in 2023 and 2019, have now accounted for two of them.
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Garcia stuns Verlander with go-ahead 3-run HR for Rangers
Adolis Garcia crushes a three-run homer off Justin Verlander to give the Rangers the lead.
2. Adolis Garcia puts the Rangers ahead, celebrates with a dramatic bat flip
Before Altuve spoils the party for the Rangers, Adolis Garcia rocks Texas with a dramatic game-changing home run, followed by a bat flip — or bat slam — and a slow, deliberate trot around the bases that doesn’t exactly endear himself to the Astros (see moment No. 3). After Corey Seager doubles and Carter follows with a single to put runners on the corners, Garcia hits a three-run blast — his fourth homer of the postseason — to give Texas a 4-2 lead.
Stat to know: According to ESPN Analytics, up 4-2 in the eighth inning, the Rangers had a 96% chance to take a 3-2 series lead.
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Benches clear, multiple ejections after Adolis Garcia is hit by a pitch
Benches clear after Adolis Garcia gets hit by a pitch, leading to multiple ejections and Dusty Baker refusing to leave the dugout after getting tossed.
In his next at-bat after his dramatic home run, Garcia gets drilled by Houston reliever Bryan Abreu‘s fastball, causing the benches to clear as Garcia and Astros catcher Martin Maldonado exchange heated words. Abreu is ejected from this game. Astros manager Dusty Baker, who throws his cap against the railing while arguing with umpires, is tossed too (and temporarily refuses to leave the dugout). Shortly after, Garcia is also ejected.
Stat to know: Friday was Baker’s 106th playoff game as a manager. It was the first time he’s been ejected.
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Splash down! Alek Thomas’ game-tying HR lands in the pool
Alek Thomas comes up as a pinch hitter and crushes a game-tying two-run home run for the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning.
4. Alek Thomas makes a splash — literally — for the D-backs
The Phillies’ bullpen melts down after taking a 5-3 lead into the eighth inning. After a Lourdes Gurriel Jr. double and an Evan Longoria lineout, pinch hitter Thomas drives a game-tying home run off Craig Kimbrel … right into the Chase Field swimming pool. Later in the inning, with Jose Alvarado now pitching for Philly, catcher Gabriel Moreno delivers the biggest hit of his young career, singling to plate a run and put Arizona ahead for good.
Stat to know: Thomas is the ninth player in MLB history with a game-tying, pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning or later in a playoff game. At 23, he’s the youngest to do it.
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Phillies grab lead after Emmanuel Rivera’s low throw home
With the bases loaded, Diamondbacks 3B Emmanuel Rivera’s throw home is low, allowing the Phillies to score two runs and take the lead.
5. The Phillies score two runs … on a grounder to third
After D-backs lefty Andrew Saalfrank loads the bases on three walks, he’s replaced by Ryan Thompson, who manages to induce a ground ball to third base off the bat of Alec Bohm. Emmanuel Rivera‘s momentum, however, takes him into foul territory, away from home plate. It’s a difficult throw for a force play, and sure enough, the ball bounces off catcher Moreno, allowing not only Kyle Schwarber but also Trea Turner, who never slows down as he rounds third, to score.
Stat to know: Entering Friday, the Phillies were 40-3 (.930) in their playoff history when leading by three-plus runs in the seventh inning or later.
Jesse joined ESPN Chicago in September 2009 and covers MLB for ESPN.com.
The last-place Washington Nationals fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Davey Martinez, the team announced Sunday.
Rizzo, 64, and Martinez, 60, won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019, but the team has floundered in recent years. This season, the Nationals are 37-53 and stuck at the bottom of the National League East after getting swept by the Boston Red Sox this weekend at home. Washington hasn’t finished higher than fourth in the division since winning the World Series.
“On behalf of our family and the Washington Nationals organization, I first and foremost want to thank Mike and Davey for their contributions to our franchise and our city,” principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “Our family is eternally grateful for their years of dedication to the organization, including their roles in bringing a World Series trophy to Washington, D.C.
“While we are appreciative of their past successes, the on-field performance has not been where we or our fans expect it to be. This is a pivotal time for our club, and we believe a fresh approach and new energy is the best course of action for our team moving forward.”
Mike DeBartolo, the club’s senior vice president and assistant general manager, was named interim GM on Sunday night. DeBartolo will oversee all aspects of baseball operations, including the MLB draft. An announcement will be made on the interim manager Monday, a day before the club begins a series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Rizzo has been the top decision-maker in Washington since 2013, and Martinez has been on board since 2018. Under Rizzo’s leadership, the team made the postseason four times: in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. The latter season was Martinez’s lone playoff appearance.
“When our family assumed control of the team, nearly 20 years ago, Mike was the first hire we made,” Lerner said. “Over two decades, he was with us as we went from a fledging team in a new city to World Series champion. Mike helped make us who we are as an organization, and we’re so thankful to him for his hard work and dedication — not just on the field and in the front office, but in the community as well.”
The Nationals are in the midst of a rebuild that has moved slower than expected, though the team didn’t augment its young core much during the winter. Led by All-Stars James Wood and MacKenzie Gore, Washington has the second-youngest group of hitters in MLB and the sixth-youngest pitching staff.
The team lost 11 straight games in a forgettable stretch last month. And during a 2-10 run in June, Washington averaged just 2.5 runs. Since June 1, the Nationals have scored one run or been shut out seven times. In Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Boston, they left 15 runners on base.
There was industry speculation over the winter that the Nationals would spend money on free agents for the first time in several years, but that never materialized. Instead, the team made minor moves, signing free agents Josh Bell and Michael Soroka, trading for first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and re-signing closer Kyle Finnegan. Now, the hope is a new management team, both on and off the field, can help change the franchise’s fortunes.
The rosters for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game will feature 19 first-timers — and one legend — as the pitchers and reserves were announced Sunday for the July 15 contest at Truist Park in Atlanta.
Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw, a three-time Cy Young Award winner who made his first All-Star team in 2011, was named to his 11th National League roster as a special commissioner’s selection.
Kershaw, who became only the fourth left-hander to amass 3,000 career strikeouts, is 4-0 with a 3.43 ERA in nine starts after beginning the season on the injured list. He joins Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera as a legend choice, after the pair of sluggers were selected in 2022.
Kershaw said he didn’t want to discuss the selection Sunday.
Overall, the 19 first-time All-Stars is a drop from the 32 first-time selections on the initial rosters in 2024.
Kershaw would be the sentimental choice to start for the National League, although Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes, who leads NL pitchers in ERA and WAR, might be in line to start his second straight contest. Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, a three-time All-Star, is 9-3 with a 2.17 ERA after Sunday’s complete-game victory and also would be a strong candidate to start.
“I think it would be stupid to say no to that. It’s a pretty cool opportunity,” Skenes said about the possibility of being asked to start by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “I didn’t make plans over the All-Star break or anything. So, yeah, I’m super stoked.”
Kershaw has made one All-Star start in his career, in 2022 at Dodger Stadium.
Among standout players not selected were New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto, who signed a $765 million contract as a free agent in the offseason, and Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts, who had made eight consecutive All-Star rosters since 2016.
Soto got off to a slow start but was the National League Player of the Month in June and entered Sunday ranked sixth in the NL in WAR among position players while ranking second in OBP, eighth in OPS and third in runs scored.
Earning his fifth career selection but first since 2021 is Texas Rangers righty Jacob deGrom, who is finally healthy after making only nine starts in his first two seasons with the Rangers and is 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA. He has never started an All-Star Game, although Skubal or Brown would be the favorite to start for the AL.
“Red carpet, that’s my thing,” Chisholm said. “I do have a ‘fit in mind.”
Rosters are expanded from 26 to 32 for the All-Star Game. They include starters elected by fans, 17 players (five starting pitchers, three relievers and a backup for each position) chosen in a player vote and six players (four pitchers and two position players) selected by league officials. Every club must be represented.
Acuna, Wood and Raleigh are the three All-Stars who have so far committed to participating in the Home Run Derby.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees were seemingly in deep trouble Sunday when Juan Soto cracked a pitch to left field in the seventh inning.
The New York Mets, down two runs, were cooking up a rally with no outs. Francisco Lindor stood at first base, Pete Alonso loomed on deck, and Brandon Nimmo was in the hole. This was the heart of the Mets’ potent lineup. Given the Yankees’ recent woes, fumbling their two-run lead and suffering a Subway Series sweep at the hands of their neighbors — and a seventh straight loss — seemed almost fated.
Then Cody Bellinger charged Soto’s sinking 105 mph line drive, made a shoestring catch and fired a strike to first base for an improbable double play to secure a skid-snapping 6-4 win — and perhaps rescue the Yankees from another dreadful outcome.
“Considering the context of this week and everything,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said, “that’s probably our play of the year so far.”
Soto’s line drive off Mark Leiter Jr. had a 10% catch probability, according to Statcast, but Bellinger, a plus defender at multiple positions who started at first base Saturday, was just able to snatch it before it touched the grass. Certain that he caught it clean, he made an 89.9 mph toss that reached first baseman Paul Goldschmidt on a line, over Lindor, who didn’t slide into the bag.
“I saw it in the air and had a really good beat on it,” said Bellinger, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk at the plate.
The Mets challenged the catch, but the call stood.
“That was incredible,” said Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who swatted his 33rd home run of the season in the fifth inning. “I’ve never seen something like that on the field.”
For the past week, a stretch Boone described as “terrible” for his ballclub, poor defense has been an issue for the Yankees. Physical errors. Mental lapses. Near disasters. The sloppiness helped sink a depleted pitching staff, more than offsetting the offense’s strong production.
That combination produced the team’s second six-game losing streak in three weeks and a three-game deficit in the American League East standings behind the first-place Toronto Blue Jays.
The surging Blue Jays won again Sunday to extend their winning streak to seven games and keep their division lead at three games, but Bellinger’s glove and arm ensured it didn’t grow to four.
“That was an unbelievable play,” Goldschmidt said. “Amazing catch and absolute cannon to me at first. To make that play was a game-changing play and potentially game-winning play for us today. And we needed it.”