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MLB’s first-ever wild-card series weekend is in full swing. And as many as four teams could be sent packing today.

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

Saturday’s festivities begin with the visiting Tampa Bay Rays looking to stave off elimination against the Cleveland Guardians, followed by the Seattle Mariners hoping to knock out the Blue Jays in Toronto. Then it’s the New York Mets trying to avoid a home sweep against the San Diego Padres and, finally, the Philadelphia Phillies eyeing a series win against the Cardinals in St. Louis.

Follow the action below all day long with start times, pitching matchups and starting lineups as they’re announced, followed by in-game updates and takeaways after each game is concluded.

More: Everything you need to know about the 2022 MLB playoffs | Greatest postseason … ever? | Ace rankings (ESPN+)| Bracket, results and more


Tampa Bay Rays at Cleveland Guardians (12:07 ET on ESPN2)

Guardians lead series 1-0

Rays starter: Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 10 K, 1.35 ERA)

Guardians starter: Triston McKenzie (11-11, 190 K, 2.96 ERA)

Starting lineups:

RAYS

1. Yandy Diaz (R) 3B
2. Wander Franco (S) SS
3. Randy Arozarena (R) LF
4. Harold Ramirez (R) DH
5. Ji-Man Choi (L) 1B
6. Isaac Paredes (R) 2B
7. Manuel Margot (R) RF
8. Christian Bethancourt (R) C
Jose Siri (R) CF

Guardians

1. Steven Kwan (L) LF
2. Amed Rosario (R) SS
3. Jose Ramirez (S) 3B
4. Josh Naylor (L) 1B
5. Oscar Gonzalez (R) RF
6. Andres Gimenez (L) 2B
7. Will Brennan (L) DH
8. Austin Hedges (R) C
9. Myles Straw (R) CF

What to watch for: After a Game 1 loss, it will be up the righty Glasnow to save the Rays’ season on Saturday. It’s quite the challenge considering he just returned to make his first two starts down the stretch (allowing one run in 6 2/3 innings) after undergoing Tommy John surgery in Aug. 2021. Glasnow and the Rays’ staff both say the 28-year-old’s stuff is as good as ever, but he will be limited to 4-5 innings in Game 2.

Normally, that would be an unusual strategy in an elimination game, but it’s business as usual for a Tampa Bay team quite accustomed to turning things over to its bullpen. The Rays led the majors in innings pitched by relievers, and no other 2022 postseason team finished higher than 11th. It’s a feature for the Rays — not a bug.

Meanwhile, the 24-year-old McKenzie will take the mound with a chance to pitch Cleveland to its first playoff series win since the 2016 ALCS. McKenzie’s ERA dropped this season by just about two runs from his 2021 mark, and now he has a chance to follow Guardians ace Shane Bieber‘s strong Game 1 outing with one of his own. — Jesse Rogers


Seattle Mariners at Toronto Blue Jays (4:07 ET on ESPN)

Mariners lead series 1-0

Mariners starter: Robbie Ray (12-12, 212 K, 3.71 ERA)

Blue Jays starter: Kevin Gausman (12-10, 205 K, 3.35 ERA)

Starting lineups:

MARINERS

TBD

BLUE JAYS

TBD

What to watch for: Few opposing pitchers know the Blue Jays as well as Robbie Ray. He spent last season with Toronto, won the American League Cy Young Award, absconded for Seattle as a free agent and now can end his former team’s season Saturday, as the Mariners need just one more win following their 4-0 victory against the Blue Jays in Game 1 of their wild-card series. Seattle’s offense quieted a raucous Rogers Centre crowd with three first-run innings in Game 1, and it’ll look to touch up Gausman, Ray’s replacement in the Jays’ rotation and Game 2 opponent, just the same. The stakes for the Mariners are clear: With a win in Game 2 (or Game 3), they’ll advance to the division series against AL West rival Houston — and ensure hosting a postseason game for the first time since 2001. For Toronto, getting to Ray is imperative. If they don’t, the Jays’ October could be a short one. — Jeff Passan


San Diego Padres at New York Mets (7:37 ET on ESPN)

Padres lead series 1-0

Padres starter: Blake Snell (8-10, 171 K, 3.38 ERA)

Mets starter: Jacob deGrom (5-4, 102 K, 3.08 ERA)

Starting lineups:

PADRES

TBD

METS

TBD

What to watch for: It doesn’t matter that the Mets won 101 regular-season games. It all comes down to deGrom to help save New York’s season on Saturday. The Mets will need deGrom at the top of his game, with their offense struggling in big moments in recent weeks, most notably during their disastrous final series against the Braves. Even with Starling Marte back in the lineup, the Mets looked sluggish on Friday, leaving eight runners on base, and failing to capitalize on any momentum they built off Yu Darvish.

The Padres counter deGrom with Snell, one of the best pitchers in baseball during the second half. Since the All-Star break, Snell has the second-highest strikeout rate in baseball (12.12 K/9) among all starters, ranking behind just Carlos Rodon, the fifth-best ERA (2.19), third-best FIP (2.23) and the second-highest fWAR. While Snell has not looked like a former Cy Young Award winner during his time in San Diego, he has found his form again in recent months. The Mets have their work cut out for them. — Joon Lee


Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals (8:37 ET on ESPN2)

Phillies lead series 1-0

Phillies starter: Aaron Nola (11-13, 235 K, 3.25 ERA)

Cardinals starter: Miles Mikolas (12-13, 153 K, 3.29 ERA)

Starting lineups:

PHILLIES

TBD

CARDINALS

TBD

What to watch for: The Cardinals need a win to save their season — and they might also need a closer. Ryan Helsley, dominant all year, was noticeably erratic in the ninth inning of Game 1, setting the stage for an improbable Phillies comeback. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said he “started to lose a little bit of feel for his pitches,” a byproduct of the right middle finger he jammed three days earlier. At the very least, it seems as though the Cardinals won’t have him for Game 2 — and that could prompt them to turn to Jack Flaherty, previously hailed as their ace, to pitch in a save situation. Flaherty was warming up in the ninth inning alongside Andre Pallante, and Marmol kept Pallante throwing a little longer than expected in order to save Flaherty for potential usage in Game 2.

That might not matter if the Cardinals can’t get to Nola, a perfect example of why a team like the Phillies can be so dangerous in a best-of-three series. The Phillies’ roster is littered with issues, but their lineup has top-end talent in Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber, and their pitching staff is fronted by two bona fide aces in Zack Wheeler and Nola. Wheeler held the Cardinals scoreless through 6 1/3 innings in Game 1. And Nola, who pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings against the Astros in the Phillies’ clincher earlier this week, is perfectly capable of doing the same. But Mikolas, who has a 2.13 ERA in two starts against the Phillies this season, can hang with him. — Alden Gonzalez

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

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Buckeyes seize No. 1; LSU, Canes rise as Tide fall

Ohio State climbed to No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 college football poll on Tuesday, LSU and Miami moved into the top five, and Florida State jumped back into the rankings at the expense of Alabama, which plummeted to its lowest spot in 17 seasons.

The defending national champion Buckeyes received 55 of 66 first-place votes to move up two spots after their win over preseason No. 1 Texas. Ohio State is at the top of a regular-season poll for the first time since November 2015.

The Longhorns dropped to No. 7 as the media voters shuffled the rankings following a topsy-turvy Labor Day weekend. It was only the second time — and first since 1972 — that two top-five teams lost in Week 1 and the first time that four top-10 teams lost.

Only three teams in the Top 25 are in the same spot they were in the preseason poll.

Penn State got seven first-place votes and remained No. 2. LSU, which received three first first-place votes, was followed by Georgia and Miami to round out the top five.

Oregon got the other first-place vote and was followed by Texas, the Clemson Tigers, Notre Dame and South Carolina.

LSU jumped six spots after winning at Clemson and Miami got a five-rung promotion for its victory over Notre Dame.

The biggest movers in the poll were Florida State and Alabama after the Seminoles’ 31-17 victory in their head-to-head matchup.

The Seminoles, who were 15 spots outside the Top 25 in the preseason, are now No. 14. The Crimson Tide fell all the way from No. 8 to No. 21 — their lowest ranking since Bama was No. 24 in the 2008 preseason poll. That was the second of Nick Saban’s 17 teams in Tuscaloosa.

It’s been quite a turnabout for Florida State. The Seminoles were No. 10 in the 2024 preseason, lost their first two games, finished 2-10 and weren’t ranked again until now.

Utah, at No. 25, joins Florida State as the only newcomers to this week’s poll. The Utes are ranked for the first time since last October, when they were at the front end of a seven-game losing streak.

Utah had received the second-most points, behind BYU, among teams outside the preseason Top 25, but the Utes got more credit for beating UCLA on the road than the Cougars received for hammering FCS foe Portland State.

Boise State, which had been No. 25, received no votes following its 34-7 loss at South Florida. The Broncos had appeared in 14 straight polls.

The other team to drop out of the poll was No. 17 Kansas State, which followed up its season-opening loss to Iowa State with a last-minute home win over FCS team North Dakota.

Ohio State is the first team to take over the top spot in the first regular-season poll since Alabama in 2012. It was the biggest jump to No. 1 in the first regular-season poll since USC was promoted from No. 3 in 2008.

Texas’ fall was the biggest for a preseason No. 1 since Auburn dropped to No. 8 in the first regular-season poll of 1984.

LSU has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 3 in 2012, and Miami has its highest ranking after Week 1 since it was No. 5 in 2004.

South Carolina is in the top 10 in the regular season for the first time since it was No. 8 in December 2013.

CONFERENCE CALL

SEC: 10 (Nos. 3, 4, 7, 10, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)

Big Ten: 6 (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 11, 15, 23)

ACC: 4 (Nos. 5, 8, 14, 17)

Big 12: 4 (Nos. 12, 16, 24, 25)

Independent: 1 (No. 9)

RANKED VS. RANKED

No. 15 Michigan at No. 18 Oklahoma: This weekend’s game will be the first meeting since Oklahoma beat the Wolverines in the Orange Bowl to win the 1975 national championship. Wolverines freshman QB Bryce Underwood gets put to the test in his second start.

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

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Hold that, Tiger: Kelly asks if Dabo saw 2nd half

While Dabo Swinney isn’t inflating LSU‘s grade for beating his team in Saturday’s season opener, Brian Kelly is ready to give the Clemson coach an incomplete for his evaluation.

Both coaches weighed in Tuesday on how LSU’s 17-10 win at Clemson should be viewed. After trailing 10-3 at halftime, LSU outscored Clemson 14-0 in the second half and finished with significant edges in both total yards (354-261) and first downs (25-13).

LSU rose six spots to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll Tuesday, while Clemson dropped four spots to No. 8.

“It was a helluva game, down to the last play,” Swinney said in his weekly news conference. “Right out of the gate. It’s like getting the final exam [on] Day 1 of class. They made a 65; we made a 58. Neither one of us were great.”

Kelly had not won a season opener at LSU before Saturday, and the victory was his first with the Tigers against an AP top-5 opponent.

“I thought we dominated them in the second half, so he’s really a really good grader for giving himself a 58, or he’s a really hard grader on us,” Kelly said in his news conference when told about Swinney’s comment.

“Or he didn’t see the second half, which, that might be the case. He might not have wanted to see the second half.”

Kelly added that LSU is moving on to this week’s game against Louisiana Tech.

“Clemson is a darn good football team,” Kelly said. “That’s a top-notch team, and they’re going to be a team in the hunt for [the] playoff picture. We hope we are, too. But it was only one game. So I don’t know if he’s a hard grader or an easy grader, but I like the way that we played in the second half.”

Clemson visits LSU to open the 2026 season.

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Venables: Michigan’s Underwood ‘a little different’

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Venables: Michigan's Underwood 'a little different'

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said Bryce Underwood “looks to be wise beyond his years” and compared Michigan‘s freshman quarterback to former Clemson national championship QB Trevor Lawrence on Tuesday ahead of the No. 18 Sooners’ Week 2 visit from the No. 15 Wolverines.

Underwood, ESPN’s No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, will make his second career start at Oklahoma on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

The coveted freshman earned Michigan’s starting job at the end of fall camp, beating out a collection of experienced passers on the depth chart including offseason portal additions Mikey Keene (Fresno State) and Jake Garcia (East Carolina). Underwood delivered a smooth college debut against New Mexico in Week 1, completing 21 of 31 passes for 251 yards and a touchdown in Michigan’s 34-17 win.

At Oklahoma, Underwood is set to face a much stiffer challenge against Venables, who resumed control of the Sooners’ defensive playcalling ahead of the 2024 season, and an experienced defense that held Illinois State to 151 yards of total offense in Week 1.

The former Clemson defensive coordinator compared Underwood to Lawrence, the five-star quarterback prospect who started as a freshman in 2018 and led the Tigers to a national championship win over Alabama.

“He’s a little different,” Venables said of Underwood. “It reminds me a lot of a Trevor Lawrence. Quick. Decisive. Accurate. Poised. Tough. Consistent. There’s a reason he was the No. 1 player in America. And he’s got a maturity and a work ethic and leadership agility to go along with that.”

As Oklahoma seeks to rebound from a 6-7 finish last fall, a new-look Sooners offense will get a test of its own Saturday.

Behind transfer QB John Mateer and first-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, Oklahoma gained 495 yards of offense in its 35-3, season-opening win over Illinois State. Mateer, who arrived in the offseason from Washington State alongside Arbuckle, passed Baker Mayfield for the most passing yards by an Oklahoma QB in a debut with 392 yards.

On Tuesday, Venables highlighted the Wolverines’ experience on defense, particularly in the front seven, as a defining challenge for the Sooners in an intriguing Week 2 matchup between two of college football’s most storied brands.

“[It’s] a defense that for the last several years has been one of the gold standards of college football when it comes to playing good defense,” Venables said. “It’s going to be a great physical matchup, and for us, a great litmus test to where we’re at.”

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