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3:40 PM ET

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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Cubs vs. Brewers (Oct 6, 2025) Live Score – ESPN

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October 7, 2025

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Cubs vs. Brewers (Oct 6, 2025) Live Score - ESPN

After breezing past the Cincinnati Reds in the wild-card round, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers have kept up the momentum against the Phillies, and with Monday’s Game 2 victory in Philadelphia, they now have a 2-0 NLDS advantage.

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Chourio (hamstring) gets start, hits HR in Game 2

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October 7, 2025

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Chourio (hamstring) gets start, hits HR in Game 2

  • ESPN News Services

Oct 6, 2025, 05:27 PM ET

Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio got the start in left despite a hamstring injury and made his presence felt with a 419-foot, three-run homer in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Chicago Cubs.

The homer gave Milwaukee a 7-3 lead.

Chourio, 21, had an MRI after leaving Game 1 on Saturday with a right hamstring injury after legging out an infield hit in the bottom of the second inning. It’s the same hamstring he injured in July — also while playing against the Cubs.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy said before Monday’s game that Chourio isn’t 100% and would be removed if he’s hampered at all by the injury.

“I’m sure it’s not 100%, but I’m more worried about behavior than feelings,” Murphy said before the game. “However he feels isn’t as important as how he behaves. If he gets in a situation where he doesn’t feel like he can do the job, we’re going to take him out.”

Chourio was 3-for-3 with three RBIs in Game 1 before he suffered the injury. He hit .270 with 21 home runs and 78 RBIs during the regular season.

The Brewers lead the best-of-5 series 1-0.

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Dodgers stay playoff perfect, take 2-0 NLDS lead

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October 7, 2025

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Dodgers stay playoff perfect, take 2-0 NLDS lead

  • ESPN News Services

Oct 6, 2025, 09:16 PM ET

PHILADELPHIA — Will Smith drove in two runs in support of Blake Snell, who tossed six masterful innings of one-hit ball, and the Los Angeles Dodgers outlasted the Philadelphia Phillies 4-3 in Game 2 of the NLDS on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.

With the win, the Dodgers improved to 4-0 in the postseason, and own a 2-0 series lead headed into Wednesday’s Game 3 in Los Angeles.

The Phillies, eliminated in the same round last season by the New York Mets, have lost five of the past six postseason games. And in Monday’s loss, the struggles continued for stars Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.

“You’d like those guys to be swinging the bats,” Philadelphia manager Rob Thomson said of his top three hitters, who are a combined 2-for-21 in this series. “But I do like what we’re doing at the bottom part of the order. And Snell was good tonight, but I thought our at-bats were better. … But you do have to have confidence that those guys will get it going.”

Turner ended the game with a groundout in the ninth inning, when Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman saved a wild throw from second baseman Tommy Edman that would have scored at least the tying run.

“Obviously, Tommy threw it into the dirt, thankfully, I was able to catch it and stay on the base,” Freeman said. “But that was a stressful inning.”

Snell struck out nine before giving way to relievers Emmet Sheehan, Blake Treinen, Alex Vesia and Roki Sasaki.

Shohei Ohtani delivered an RBI single for his first hit of the series in a four-run seventh, and the Dodgers took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.

Nick Castellanos slid headfirst into second base, barely eluding a tag, for a two-run double off Treinen that sent the Philadelphia crowd into a frenzy and trimmed the Phillies’ deficit to 4-3. Vesia came in to face Bryson Stott, who tried to advance Castellanos with a bunt. But third baseman Max Muncy wheeled and threw to shortstop Mookie Betts, who sprinted to cover the bag in time to get Castellanos.

Pinch hitter Harrison Bader singled, and Max Kepler grounded into a fielder’s choice that left runners at the corners with two outs just before Turner grounded out.

The Dodgers can advance to their 17th National League Championship Series with a win Wednesday night. A club that used the injured list this season 37 times for 2,585 days, according to Major League Baseball, is finally mostly healthy and needs to win just once in two home games to clinch the series. Teams taking a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five postseason series have won 80 of 90 times, including 54 sweeps.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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