Orioles designate Luis Vázquez for assignment

Ohtani has not looked great since coming off the injured list, as he has just one extra-base hit since his return and whiffed twice in the Game 2 loss. The 32-year-old superstar will still get a chance to hit in the middle of the lineup against Chris Sale, but this placement does remind that Ohtani is nowhere close to 100 percent right now.

With left-hander Chris Sale on the mound, the Dodgers will sit both Tommy Edman and Max Muncy and go with a right-heavy lineup. The Dodgers will also move Shohei Ohtani down to fifth in the lineup, as the reigning MVP has struggled in the first two games of action after returning from injury. The full lineup with Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound for Los Angeles: SS Mookie Betts, 1B Freddie Freeman, RF Teoscar Hernandez, C Will Smith, DH Ohtani, 2B Rojas, CF Andy Pages, RF Kyle Tucker and 3B Enrique Hernandez.

Kim was out of the lineup for Game 2 against the Dodgers, as they went with a left-handed heavy group against Blake Snell for that contest. Mauricio
Dubón moves to left field, and Lane Thomas will open the game on the bench. The full lineup for the pivotal third game against Yoshinobu Yamamoto: C Drake Baldwin, RF Ronald Acuña Jr. 1B Matt Olson, 2B Ozzie Albies, CF Michael Harris II, LF

Dubón, DH Sean Murphy, 3B Austin Riley and Kim at short with Chris Sale on the mound. It’s a small sample, but Kim has hit Yamamoto well; going 3-for-7 with a homer off him thus far.

Martinez was designated for assignment by the Red Sox in August. The 32-year-old has a 4.03 ERA in 145 MLB innings in his career, mostly spent with the Astros.

Miller played in just one game for the Cubs this season and had no plate appearances. He did hit .295/.345/.443 with seven home runs and 12 steals in 113 Triple-A games and will get a camp invite somewhere.

Falter was designated for assignment by the Braves in the middle of September. He posted a 10.38 ERA in 13 innings in 2026 and has a 4.73 ERA in his 479 MLB innings. He will undoubtedly get a Spring Training invite somewhere.

Palacios gave Tampa Bay a commanding four-run advantage by smacking a two-run single to center field off Yankees reliever Brent Headrick with two outs in the fifth inning. The Rays used a contact-oriented approach to neutralize New York’s ace Cam Schlittler, holding him to just a pair of strikeouts, before ultimately chasing him from the contest in the fifth. With the victory, Tampa Bay takes a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series and has a chance to punch their ticket to the ALCS during Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

Rice was one of the few bright spots as New York committed a whopping four errors to fall into an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five series. The 27-year-old slugging first baseman took Rays starter Freddy Peralta deep in the early stages of the contest before tattooing an eighth-inning blast off lefty reliever Ian Seymour. It was his second multi-homer performance in four games this postseason. The Yankees will attempt to stave off elimination when the series resumes with Game 3 in New York on Wednesday.

Baker got the call with Tampa Bay holding a three-run advantage entering the final frame. He got Spencer Jones and George Lombard Jr. to ground out harmlessly before coaxing a game-ending ground ball from Jazz Chisholm Jr. The 31-year-old All-Star stopper has closed out both Rays’ victories to open the best-of-five series.

Peralta was gone from the contest by the time Tampa Bay erupted for four runs in the fifth inning. He did his job early on, limiting New York to just a solo homer by Ben Rice. He struck out three and only issued one walk. The 30-year-old has looked completely rejuvenated over the last couple weeks, posting a microscopic 0.79 ERA across 34 innings during his final six regular-season outings. He’ll be ready to take the ball if the Yankees somehow manage to get the best-of-five series to a winner-take-all contest.