MLB Division Series Roundup: Dodgers, Brewers, Rays Advance; Guardians Stay Alive

The Dodgers are headed back to the NLCS, and the Guardians are still alive. On a Wednesday with four potential clinchers, Los Angeles became the first team to advance to the league championship series when Andy Pages delivered a two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning of a 4-1 win over the Braves. In Chicago, the Guardians avoided a sweep with a 9-3 win in Game 3 of the ALDS. Seven Cleveland pitchers struck out 19 White Sox hitters and Jo Adell and José Ramírez each hit a triple to power the offense. Later in the evening, the Rays finished off a sweep of the Yankees with a 4-3 win in the Bronx. Here is what stood out from Day 5 of the MLB Division Series: Best Moment Garrett Mitchell took the air out of Petco Park with his home run robbery of Manny Machado. With the Brewers clinging to a 3-1 lead and the Padres’ season on the line in Game 4 of the NLDS, Machado hit a ball to right-center that he, and many Padres fans, thought was a two-run homer that would have tied the game. Mitchell leaped at the wall and made the grab to preserve the Brewers’ lead and, ultimately, the series. Mitchell drove in the game’s first run with a single in the third inning before Fernando Tatis Jr. answered with a solo homer in the bottom half to tie it at 1-1. Jackson Chourio delivered another clutch hit, an RBI single that scored Mitchell and gave the Brewers a 2-1 lead. In the sixth, Sal Frelick’s sacrifice fly made it 3-1. Milwaukee held on for a 3-1 win, punching its ticket to the NLCS where they will now face the Dodgers in a rematch of last year’s NLCS. Best Hitter Andy Pages went hitless in his first two games against the Braves and had a total of four hits in the entire 2025 postseason. But in a 1-1 game in the seventh inning of Game 4, the Dodgers’ RBI leader came up with two outs and the bases loaded and delivered a two-run single, to give Los Angeles a 3-1 lead. Pages had two hits in Game 3 and two more in Game 4, equaling his postseason total from a year ago. Max Muncy homered in the ninth for the Dodgers’ last run, the same way every other run came in the series, and Tyler Glasnow and the bullpen did the rest, as the Dodgers beat the Braves 4-1 and won the series 3-1. The Dodgers are going to the NLCS for the third straight year, and they have their eyes set on a third straight World Series title. Best Pitchers The Guardians used seven pitchers and 19 strikeouts to cut Chicago’s series lead to 2-1 and forced a Game 4 on Thursday. Seven Cleveland pitchers combined to strike out 19 White Sox hitters in a 9-3 victory in Game 3 of the ALDS, a new postseason record for a nine-inning game. It was a bullpen game from the start. Opener Daniel Espino couldn’t get through the first inning, and manager Stephen Vogt turned to Foster Griffin with two outs and runners in scoring position. Griffin then proceeded to strike out seven in 2⅔ innings, a Cleveland postseason record for a reliever, to earn the win. Shawn Armstrong, Joey Cantillo, Hunter Gaddis, Tim Herrin and Cade Smith handled the rest. Jo Adell’s bases-clearing triple in the third inning and José Ramírez’s two-run triple in the eighth powered the Cleveland offense. The Guardians recorded two triples in a postseason game for the first time in franchise history. Game 4 is Thursday in Chicago, with the White Sox leading the series 2-1. What’s Next The Dodgers, Brewers and Rays have booked their spots in the league championship series, with one ALDS matchup still to be decided. Here’s how it will play out: