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The 2022 MLB playoffs could be down to just two teams after today.

The Philadelphia Phillies punched their ticket to the World Series — their first appearance since 2009 — in front a home crowd. Can the Houston Astros do the same in the Bronx with a sweep of the New York Yankees?

A potential double-elimination Sunday began with the Phillies beating the San Diego Padres 4-3 in Game 5 of the National League Championship Series, while the Yankees look to avert a sweep as they battle Houston in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series.

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


Houston Astros at New York Yankees

Astros lead series 3-0

Rizzo with a second RBI

Anthony Rizzo hits a single to bring the Yankees even with the Astros at 4. He has driven in two of New York’s four runs on the day.

Houston tacks on another

Astros erase Yankees’ lead

Rookie Jeremy Pena ties the game with a three-run home run.

New York adds on

Rizzo drives in an RBI with a double down the third-base line.

Yankees strike first

New York scores two runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 2-0 lead — the team’s first lead in the ALCS since the second inning of Game 1.

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. — Joon 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


Phillies win series 4-1

Harper named NLCS MVP

Bryce Harper has a message to the city of Philly:

Harper and actor Miles Teller, a Phillies superfan, celebrate after the game.

Phillies celebrate winning NL pennant

Game 5 takeaways

Wow. Wow. Wow. Bryce Harper is going to the World Series, and he did it with a home run to remember. You can debate whether Robert Suarez or Josh Hader should have been pitching to Harper with the Padres leading 3-2 and no outs in the bottom of the eighth. Maybe asking Hader to get six outs was asking too much considering the Padres would have needed to win two more games. I’m not sure it would have mattered. This is Harper’s team, Harper’s ballpark and most definitely Harper’s postseason. After fouling off two two-strike pitches from Suarez, Harper connected with a 98 mph fastball and drilled it on a line into the left-center-field stands for one of the most dramatic home runs in Phillies history.

The Phillies signed Harper back in 2019 with the hopes of a day like this. It took a few years — and it took the expanded playoffs for the Phillies to even get to October — but they’re here and Harper has been the man, the face of the franchise, the face of October. He’s hitting .419 with five home runs, slugging .907, and sending Citizens Bank Park into a ridiculous crescendo of noise. And remember — after coming back from a broken thumb in August, he had struggled with his power stroke, with just three home runs in 35 games. He’s hot now, however, and it’s awesome.

(And no, we’re not going to talk about that inexcusable one-out sacrifice bunt in the top of the ninth.) — David Schoenfield

King of Philly with a two-run blast

Harper gives the Phillies a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth that sends Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy.

The Padres’ go-ahead steal

Jose Azocar steals home on a Seranthony Dominguez wild pitch to put the Padres ahead 3-2.

We have a tie game!

Josh Bell evens it up at 2 with a double.

Wheeler’s dealing

Zack Wheeler strikes out Manny Machado for his eighth of the game.

Soto gets Padres on the board

Hoskins crushes his fourth homer of NLCS

Schwarber’s there for his teammate

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. — Jesse 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. — Schoenfield

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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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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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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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