Raisel Iglesias closes out Phillies for 29th save

Baseball is a game of inches. Literally. Nobody is more aware of that age-old truism than Volpe as the Yankees were unable to stave off elimination and keep their season alive. It looked momentarily like the much-harangued former top prospect was going to have his signature moment at Yankee Stadium before a replay review overturned a potential game-tying home run to left field due to some fairly obvious fan interference in the sixth inning. He struck out on seven pitches against Rays closer Bryan Baker leading off the ninth as the Yankees were swept out of the postseason by their division rivals.

Baker got the call in a save situation for the third consecutive game and managed to once again slam the door. He struck out Anthony Volpe on seven pitches before issuing a four-pitch walk to Spencer Jones. He didn’t look particularly sharp early on, but Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder was able to somehow get him back on track with a timely mound visit. Baker responded by getting Jazz Chisholm Jr. to ground into a force out before striking out Trent Grisham to end the series.

Pages delievered the metaphorical knockout punch for Los Angeles, coming through with a two-run single on a full-count fastball from Atlanta veteran reliever Robert Suarez to put the Dodgers ahead and send their star-studded juggernaut back to the NLCS for the third consecutive season. His heroics were set up by two-out walks to Josue De Paula and Kyle Tucker that loaded the bases. Pages has been much maligned for his postseason struggles over the last two years, but he came through with four hits over the final two games of the series to send Atlanta packing.

Harris was one of the few bright spots for the Braves as they once again were unable to come up with a big hit when presented with plenty of opportunities against Los Angeles, going 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position during a brutal series-ending loss. The 25-year-old center fielder gave Atlanta an early lead when he reached on a leadoff single and swiped second base before scampering home on a wild pitch from Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow with two outs in the opening frame. He also doubled to bring the potential tying run to the plate with two outs in the seventh inning.

Muncy went deep for the third time this postseason, supplying a critical insurance run for Los Angeles with a ninth-inning blast to right field off Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias to put them up by three runs. The 36-year-old third baseman is up to 19 career playoff round-trippers dating back to 2018.

Acuña, who played through a right knee issue for most of the series, finished 2-for-15 with zero extra-base hits as Atlanta’s season came to an end at the hands of the back-to-back defending World Series champions. The 28-year-old stalwart remains one of the more impactful power/speed combo threats in the fantasy landscape and will be an early-round pick in fantasy leagues next spring, despite his seemingly omnipresent injury concerns.

Ohtani single-handedly manufactured a run by swiping second base and advancing to third on an errant throw on the play following a leadoff walk in the second inning. It was Los Angeles’ first postseason run that didn’t come on a home run after their first 10 came via the long ball. He clearly doesn’t look like himself, but it wasn’t a huge factor as the Dodgers still managed to dispatch the Braves with relative ease in a four-game gentleman’s sweep.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called upon Díaz in a save situation for the second time this postseason, this time to protect a three-run lead against the bottom of Atlanta’s order with a chance to end the best-of-five series. He punched out pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez on an impressive 99.1 mph fastball and got Mauricio Dubón to fly out to right field before coaxing a series-ending fly ball from Austin Riley to send Los Angeles back to the NLCS to face either the Brewers or Padres later this week. It’s a massive development for the Dodgers that Díaz looks like his former self again after an abysmal, injury-plagued regular season.