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The 2022 MLB playoffs are down to just four teams. After today, it could be down to two.

Will the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros punch their tickets to the World Series? Or will the San Diego Padres and New York Yankees save their seasons?

A potential double-elimination Sunday begins with Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Phillies and Padres, with Philly up 3-1 and playing in front of a home crowd. Later, the Yankees look to avert a sweep as they battle Houston in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series in the Bronx.

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: Who has the NLCS edge? Preview, predictions for Padres-Phillies | Who will rule the ALCS? Preview, predictions for Yankees-Astros | Bracket, results and more


San Diego Padres at Philadelphia Phillies (2:37 p.m. ET, FS1)

Phillies lead series 3-1

Padres starter: Yu Darvish

Phillies starter: Zack Wheeler

Starting lineups:

PADRES

TBD

PHILLIES

TBD

What to watch for: Padres manager Bob Melvin will need to ride Game 5 starter Yu Darvish for as long as he can in an ace showdown with Philadelphia’s Zack Wheeler after everything San Diego tried on the mound backfired in Game 4. In fact, both bullpens are taxed after the teams used a combined 13 pitchers on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Phillies are swinging their bats so well right now, they should be able to play loose and easy knowing they have a two-game lead in the series and Aaron Nola waiting in the wings for Game 6 — if needed.

Almost all of Philly’s bats have contributed so far this series, and there’s little reason to think that will end Sunday. That’s why it is all on Darvish to save the Padres’ season. — Jesse Rogers

Our picks

Phillies 3, Padres 2: Darvish will pitch his heart out but Philadelphia has that destiny look — at least to win the NL pennant. It will survive a tight, low-scoring affair — the exact opposite of Game 4 — and win the series with a tight win on Sunday. — Rogers

Phillies 5, Padres 2: The Phillies are 4-0 at home in the postseason and they look like they’re ready to pop some champagne. Wheeler has been outstanding over his three playoff starts and top relievers Jose Alvarado and Seranthony Dominguez didn’t have to pitch in Game 4 after a little extra workload in Game 3 (a combined 61 pitches), so everything is lining up for a boisterous celebration at Citizens Bank Park. — David Schoenfield


Houston Astros at New York Yankees (7:07 p.m. ET, TBS)

Astros lead series 3-0

Astros starter: Lance McCullers Jr.

Yankees starter: Nestor Cortes

Starting lineups:

ASTROS

TBD

YANKEES

TBD

What to watch for: The Yankees will need to look to the 2004 Red Sox as a source of inspiration as New York faces a 3-0 deficit in the ALCS against the Astros. Houston has cruised through the series, looking like the better team in every aspect of the game, highlighted by strong performances from starting pitchers Justin Verlander, Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier. McCullers will have the chance to close things out on Sunday against a Yankees lineup that looked totally lifeless in Games 2 and 3.

Houston will need more of the same to punch a ticket to the World Series: strong performances up and down the lineup. The Yankees will need a season-extending outing from Cortes, who has been their most consistent starter all year. New York’s lineup will need to wake up, starting with Aaron Judge, who has had an awful postseason, hitting .156/.182/.344. — Joon Lee

Our picks

Astros 4, Yankees 2: The Yankees’ season ends on a disappointing and uncompetitive note as the Astros continue their postseason undefeated streak off a solid all-around performance from the offense and a strong start from McCullers. — Lee

Astros 7, Yankees 2: It’s a not-very-analytical take, but the Yankees’ body language was very zombie-like on Saturday. They look done. — Bradford Doolittle

Astros 2, Yankees 1: Not even Cortes on full rest can stop the juggernaut that is Houston, with McCullers Jr. the latest to silence New York’s bats. — Jeff Passan

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

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Sale, Crochet named comeback players of year

LAS VEGAS — Left-handers Chris Sale of the Atlanta Braves and Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox won Major League Baseball’s Comeback Player of the Year awards on Thursday.

Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase won his second AL Reliever of the Year award and St. Louis righty Ryan Helsley won the NL honor.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani joined David Ortiz as the only players to win four straight Outstanding Designated Hitter awards. Ohtani and the New York YankeesAaron Judge won Hank Aaron Awards as the outstanding offensive performers in their leagues.

Major League Baseball made the announcements at its All-MLB Awards Show.

Sale, 35, was 18-3 with a 2.38 ERA and 225 strikeouts in 177⅔ innings for the NL’s first pitching triple crown since the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw in 2011. He earned his eighth All-Star selection and first since 2018.

Sale helped Boston to the 2018 World Series title but made just 56 starts from 2020-23, going 17-18 with a 4.86 ERA, 400 strikeouts and 79 walks over 298⅓ innings. He was acquired by Boston from the White Sox in December 2016 and made nine trips to the injured list with the Red Sox, mostly with shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.

Sale fractured a rib while pitching in batting practice in February 2022 during the management lockout. On July 17, in his second start back, he broke his left pinkie finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of the Yankees’ Aaron Hicks. Sale broke his right wrist while riding a bicycle en route to lunch on Aug. 6, ending his season.

Crochet, 25, was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA over 32 starts for a White Sox team that set a post-1900 record of 121 losses, becoming a first-time All-Star. He struck out 209 and walked 33 in 146 innings.

He had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022, and returned to the major leagues on May 18, 2023. Crochet had a 3.55 ERA in 13 relief appearances in 2023, and then joined the rotation this year.

Sale and Crochet were chosen in voting by MLB.com beat writers.

Clase and Helsley were unanimous picks by a panel that included Hall of Famers Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Dennis Eckersley and Rollie Fingers, along with John Franco and Billy Wagner. The AL award is named after Rivera and the NL honor after Hoffman.

A three-time All-Star, Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA, 66 strikeouts and 10 walks in 74⅓ innings, holding batters to a .154 average. The 26-year-old converted 47 of 50 save chances, including his last 47.

Voting was based on the regular season. Clase was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in the playoffs, allowing three home runs, one more than his regular-season total.

Helsley, a two-time All-Star, was 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and 49 saves in 53 chances. He struck out 79 and walked 23 in 66⅓ innings.

Ohtani became the first player with 50 or more homers and 50 or more stolen bases in a season. A two-way star limited to hitting following elbow surgery, Ohtani batted .310 and led the NL with 54 homers and 130 RBIs while stealing 59 bases.

Ortiz won the DH award five years in a row from 2003-07.

The DH award, named after Edgar Martinez, is picked in voting by team beat writers, broadcasters and public relations departments. MLB.com writers determined the finalists for the Aaron awards, and a fan vote was combined with picks from a panel of Hall of Famers and former winners to determine the selections.

Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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