MLB playoffs winners, losers from NLDS, ALDS Game 1: Phillies bullpen, Blue Jays curse, Yankees on base, more

The League Division Series all got started on Saturday in the 2025 MLB postseason

Major League Baseball's 2025 postseason resumed Saturday with Game 1 of all four Division Series: Cubs vs. Brewers, Yankees vs. Blue Jays, Dodgers vs. Phillies and Tigers vs. Mariners. All four home teams -- the Brewers, Blue Jays, Phillies and Mariners -- are playing for the first time in these playoffs after having byes through the Wild Card Series. The LDS round is of the best-of-five variety. The winners will advance to the League Championship Series, where they'll fight for this year's pennant. 

The Brewers kicked off the day with a blowout of their division rivals, beating the Cubs 9-3 after knocking out Chicago starter Matthew Boyd in the first inning. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, took down their own division rivals in a dominant 10-1 win over the Yankees, their first postseason win since 2016. That also marked the largest Yankees' loss in a playoff game since 2018, when they lost by 15 to the Red Sox in Game 3 of the ALDS. The Dodgers staged a comeback win behind Shohei Ohtani, making his postseason pitching debut, to beat the Phillies.

To properly recap the day, we've broken down the winners and losers from all four games.

Winner: Fans of normal extra innings

There is no automatic runner in extra innings in the postseason. It's old school baseball, which I get the sense most fans prefer. The Tigers scored the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth with a rally they had to build from scratch. Spencer Torkelson worked a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on Zach McKinstry's two-out single back up the middle.

A line drive in the box score, that is. The Tigers will take it. The Mariners could only muster a two-out single against Keider Montero, pretty much the last guy in Detroit's bullpen, in the bottom of the 11th.

There were a few 10-inning games last postseason, including Game 1 of the World Series (Freddie Freeman's walk-off grand slam). Game 1 Saturday night was the first 11-inning postseason game since Game 1 of the 2023 World Series, which Adolis García won on a walk-off homer. The last postseason game longer than 11 innings was the 18-inning marathon in Seattle in the 2022 ALDS.

I'm a fan of the automatic runner in extra innings. I understand I'm in the minority, but I enjoy the action it creates. I do enjoy going back to the old way we used to live every once in a while though, which regular innings in extra innings in October. We got two of them in Game 1, and the Tigers came out ahead.

Loser: The Mariners

Not only because they lost Game 1. They lost Game 1 and they have to face Tarik Skubal in Game 2, and he's a handful. The Mariners will have to beat the best pitcher in the league to avoid a dreaded 2-0 deficit in the best-of-five ALDS. Not insurmountable, of course, but an uphill climb, for sure. Skubal struck out 14 Guardians in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series.

To beat Skubal, the Mariners will need a lot more from their non-stars. Cal Raleigh went 3 for 5 in Game 1. Julio Rodríguez went 3 for 5 with a home run. The rest of the Mariners went 0 for 28. That just isn't gonna cut it. The Mariners burned through their bullpen, lost Game 1 anyway, and now get Skubal in Game 2. That's a triple whammy.

Winners: Baseball fans

Put aside allegiances and biases against these teams. In terms of entertainment and the sport we all love, that was a damn fine baseball game.

To begin the game, we were treated with ace-like starting pitchers who were actually "main character" types instead of openers or starters who would be treated to a quick hook. It was slightly old school there with Shohei Ohtani striking out nine in six innings of work, though Cristopher Sánchez faltered in the sixth and couldn't finish it. Still, both starters were overall good against a tough opposing lineup.

It's awfully tough to mount a rally against Ohtani, especially with the electric stuff he had in Game 1, but J.T. Realmuto's two-RBI triple was perfectly timed. The Phillies had a 3-0 lead for a while. Then the Dodgers grabbed two and it got tense. The Dodgers got two runners on base with no outs and Ohtani coming to the plate in the seventh. Ohtani struck out before Mookie Betts popped out (infield fly rule). It looked like maybe Phillies reliever Matt Strahm might escape. But then Teoscar Hernández clubbed a go-ahead opposite-field, three-run home run that turned everything on its head.

Then we saw starting pitchers in relief as the Dodgers used Tyler Glasnow before eventually closing with Roki Sasaki. The Phillies got two runners on in the eighth, too, but failed to plate them.

This one had it all. Good on-field action, tense moments, a game-changing home run and players used in spots where they wouldn't be in the regular season.

It's too bad we don't get a seven-game series with these two titans, but can we please at least get four more of these?

Losers: The Phillies bullpen

A big storyline heading into the series was the Dodgers' bullpen and how unreliable it had been, notably in September and in the two Wild Card Series games. Against the 8-9 hitters, Phillies right-hander David Robertson allowed a single and then hit a batter to start the seventh-inning Dodgers rally. Then Strahm coughed up the Hernández homer. The life of a reliever is difficult in that anything short of perfection can change the entire game, fair or not. The Phillies really needed these outs and it cost them Game 1.

Winner: Getting the monkey of your back

Coming into 2025, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was a career 3-for-22 (.136) hitter with one double and two walks in six career postseason games. There is no chance -- zero -- the Blue Jays can make a deep run without Vlad Jr. leading the way, especially with Bo Bichette sidelined with a knee injury. Toronto needs Guerrero to be a difference-maker, and he was in Game 1.

Vlad Jr. opened the scoring with a first-inning solo homer, his first home run since Sept. 5, also against the Yankees. A half-inning later, Guerrero made a terrific diving catch at first base to turn a double play. Two-way impact right out of the gate.

Guerrero singled later in the game and also added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly as Toronto pulled away in the seventh and eighth innings. In his first postseason game of 2025, Vlad Jr. had nearly as many hits (two) and more total bases (five) as he had in his playoff career entering the season (three hits and four total bases).

Guerrero got the monkey off his back in Game 1 and so did the Blue Jays, who hadn't won a postseason game since the days of Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. This was the first playoff win of the Bichette/Guerrero era.

Loser: The Yankees with the bases loaded

Game 1 swung on bases-loaded situations. In the top of the seventh, the Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs for the 2-3-4 hitters, and scored just one run on a Cody Bellinger walk. Kevin Gausman, who cruised through the first five innings, wobbled a bit, but got Aaron Judge to chase ball four for the first out of the inning. A rare bad swing decision by Judge here:

The Blue Jays took a 2-0 lead into that sixth inning and the Yankees did cut it to 2-1, but with the bases loaded and the middle of the order up, you want to put a crooked number on the board, not chip away. The Yankees didn't, and while that alone didn't cost them the game, it certainly took a huge bite out of their chances.

An inning later, the Blue Jays loaded the bases with one out for their 2-3-4 hitters in the bottom of the seventh, and pushed across three runs. The Yankees failed with the bases loaded. The Blue Jays didn't.

The Yankees had an .854 OPS with the bases loaded this year, fifth best in baseball, though it was skewed toward the first half. It was a .928 OPS before the All-Star break and a .762 OPS after the All-Star break. The bases loaded have been an issue for a few weeks now. Game 1 really swung when the Yankees could only get one run across the plate in the sixth inning.

Winner: Brewers

The Brewers, the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs by virtue of having the best record in the majors during the regular season, didn't need any validation. Even so, Saturday's 9-3 thrashing of the Cubs in NLDS Game 1 was certainly a good way to make a first impression on a national audience that may not have had a full appreciation for this team's capabilities.

After falling behind 1-0 on a leadoff home run by Michael Busch to open the game, the Brewers regathered and dominated from there. Milwaukee pieced together three consecutive doubles to begin their half of the first inning and by the time the second rolled around, the Brewers held a comfortable 6-1 advantage.

Right-hander Freddy Peralta, meanwhile, bounced back just fine. He threw 5 ⅔ innings and allowed two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out nine of the 24 batters he faced before giving way to the bullpen.

The only negative to be found for the Brewers in Game 1? The hamstring issue that forced Jackson Chourio from the contest in the second inning. The team is awaiting results from an MRI but manager Pat Murphy conceded after the game that it "could be devastating." Here's hoping -- for his sake and baseball's as a whole -- that he isn't sidelined for long.

Why Cubs' decision to start Matthew Boyd on short rest backfired spectacularly in blowout NLDS loss to Brewers

Matt Snyder

Loser: Matthew Boyd

Give Cubs left-hander Matthew Boyd credit for his willingness to start Game 1 against the Brewers on short rest. Alas, he wasn't rewarded for his selflessness. Instead, Boyd recorded one of the shortest postseason starts in franchise history, surrendering six (albeit only two earned) runs while notching just two outs.

On the bright side, Chicago's Game 1 loss counts for only one -- no matter how ugly it was to experience. Sunday's scheduled day off means the Cubs won't feel the taxing effects on their bullpen. Besides, manager Craig Counsell mitigated the impact by relying on several multi-inning appearances from pitchers who would not, under normal circumstances, be used in tight games.

The Cubs will try to even the best-of-five series at 1-1 come Monday.

[Oct 5, 2025 at 12:03 am ET · Mike Axisa]

Raleigh: 3 for 5. Julio: 3 for 5. The rest of the Mariners: 0 for 28.

[Oct 5, 2025 at 12:01 am ET · Matt Snyder]

The Detroit Tigers have toppled the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of the ALDS, 3-2, in 11 innings. The game-deciding inning came in the top of the 11th when Spencer Torkelson drew a leadoff walk from Carlos Vargas. Torkelson then advanced to second on a passed ball with no out. Vargas stuck out the next two hitters, but Zach McKinstry came through with what would prove to be the game-winning hit. 

Keider Montero would close things down for the Tigers. He was mostly a starting pitcher in the regular season and had no career saves entering the game. He was tasked with the top of the Mariners' order and got them out, 1-2-3.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning on a Julio Rodríguez home run. The Tigers grabbed a 2-1 lead in the fifth on a two-run shot from Kerry Carpenter. The Mariners struck back in the sixth with an RBI single from Rodríguez. Then it remained tied until the 11th.

Rodríguez and Cal Raleigh combined for six hits for the Mariners, but the rest of the team had zero. Riley Greene had a pair of hits for the Tigers, who only managed seven hits in all. There was generally good pitching and defense throughout the game -- notably with great mound work from both bullpens, as the first four runs (two each side) were scored off the starting pitchers and neither worked very deep into the game. 

This was the first Mariners home playoff game since the 2022 ALDS, when Game 3 went 18 innings before the Mariners lost and were eliminated, meaning each of the last two home Mariners playoff games went to extras.

Game 2 will take place in T-Mobile Park again Sunday night. It'll be Luis Castillo of the Mariners against likely Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal of the Tigers.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:52 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Zach McKinstry with a seeing-eye grounder up the middle to score the run with two outs. It's 3-2 Tigers.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:49 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Perez did try to bunt on the first pitch. Fouled it away. I think he was trying to bunt for a hit though, not a sacrifice.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:48 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

A wild pitch moves the runner to second.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:46 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Methinks a bunt is coming.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:46 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Generally that's a good sign for the offense. 

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:40 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

We're gonna be here all night, aren't we?

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:36 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Five hitless innings for Seattle's bullpen so far. Detroit's last hit was Riley Greene's single immediately after Carpenter's homer.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:34 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

That's the first time since 2019, when he was still with the Padres, that Muñoz has gone two full innings in a game.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:31 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

A swing off right now would be pretty damn cool. 

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:26 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

First extra innings games in the postseason since Game 1 of last year's World Series. Reminder: The last postseason game played in this ballpark went 18 innings 😨

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:23 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Some fine self-preservation from Andrés Muñoz sends us to the bottom of the ninth tied 2-2.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:19 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

There is no automatic runner on second base in extra innings in the playoffs. 

Related: Never call it a "ghost runner." A ghost runner is not an actual person. An actual person is the automatic runner. Thank you for your consideration.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:15 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

It's 2-2. If the Mariners are going to win Game 1, it will be in a walk-off.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:13 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Raleigh is 3 for 4. Julio is 2 for 3. The rest of the Mariners are 0 for 20.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:12 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

And he pokes a single the other way.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:12 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Finnegan vs. Raleigh after Crawford and Arozarena had balls die on the warning track.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 11:11 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

good "Randy" chants in T-Mobile 

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:58 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

The first two games of the day were blowouts. These last two have been much closer and much more entertaining. The Tigers have one out and the bases empty in the top of the eighth.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:58 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Remember, the only playoff game in Seattle between 2001 and this one came in 2022 between the Mariners and Astros and it lasted 18 innings. With the scored tied right now, the fear of that is rising.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:51 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Tommy Kahnle in for the Tigers. I'm guessing he'll throw a changeup.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:46 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Props to the Tigers pitchers so far today. The Tigers bullpen was 21st in ERA in the second half and 25th in September.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:37 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Man, bad baserunning by Julio. Ran right into Javier Báez, who tagged him and threw to first for the double play. You have to freeze there and force him to throw to a base or come after you for the tag, and avoid the double play.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:33 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Rafael Montero went four-pitch walk, single, single, showers. Julio Rodríguez drives in Randy Arozarena to knot the game up 2-2 in the sixth. Julio has driven in both Seattle runs.

This is where things get dicey for the Tigers. The middle of their bullpen just isn't very good, and no one in their rotation other than Tarik Skubal gives them length. The old "wear down the starter, go to work on the soft underbelly of the bullpen" strategy works well against Detroit. The Mariners are into that soft underbelly now.

Lefty Tyler Holton is replacing Montero, who did not retire any of the three batters he faced.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:31 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

The Mariners tie it on Julio Rodríguez's RBI single. He's been The Man for them tonight.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:29 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

A single puts runners on the corners with no outs. The Tigers are in business.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:29 pm ET · Mike Axisa]

Cal Raleigh is up representing the go-ahead run here in the sixth. Tigers leading 2-1.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:08 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

Troy Melton's night is over. Give him credit. He hadn't gone four innings since July 28 and only allowed the solo shot to Julio Rodríguez. He struck out four. Brant Hurter comes on for the Tigers. Their bullpen has been shaky down the stretch.

[Oct 4, 2025 at 10:06 pm ET · Matt Snyder]

First base was open. There were two outs. It's hard to justify feeding Carpenter a hittable pitch there, given how much he owns righties.