2026 MLB Wild Card scores, live updates: Padres blow out Cubs, Yankees dominate Red Sox in opener

The Padres got seven scoreless innings from Michael King and homers from Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Xander Bogaerts to beat the Cubs 8-0 in the first game of their NL Wild Card series.

The end of the game featured the return of Joe Musgrove, who last pitched in the majors in the 2024 Wild Card against the Braves. He needed Tommy John after that, and though he was originally expected to be ready to open this season, he’s dealt with multiple setbacks in his recovery. Musgrove loaded the bases in the ninth but pitched a scoreless inning while topping out at 96.8 mph.

Tatis and Machado both took Matthew Boyd deep in the first. Machado’s homer was his 13th in 52 career postseason games. Tatis, who struggled in going 1-for-12 in the Wild Card loss to the Cubs last year, has seven in 17 postseason games. Bogaerts has seven in 55 games.

Tatis also turned heads in the seventh, when he ended up scoring on a steal of second base.

The Cubs finished the night with just three hits, all of them singles. They had just one in seven innings against King, with Nico Hoerner‘s infield single breaking up the no-hit bid in the seventh.

The Padres will use Nick Pivetta to try to finish off the Cubs in Game 2. The Cubs will counter with Kevin Gausman, who is getting the nod despite leaving his final regular-season start with a left (non-throwing) shoulder injury.

Nico Hoerner delivered an infield single with one out in the seventh to end Michael King’s no-hit in Game 1 against the Cubs.

Machado had to range several steps to his right and slide to get the ball, which he then lost as he was trying to throw. That left him pretty angry, but with the speedy Hoerner running, it’s hard to imagine Machado would have had a play anyway.

Although the no-no is gone, King maintained his shutout by getting the final two outs of the seventh in a 7-0 game. He’s up to 97 pitches now, so the Padres might turn to the pen for the final two frames.

While the offense keeps pouring it on, Michael King has held the Cubs hitless for six innings in a 7-0 game.

The Padres got a homer from Xander Bogaerts in the fourth and then three more runs in the fifth after Matthew Boyd was replaced by Javier Assad.

Boyd, who limited the Padres to one run over 4 1/3 innings as the Cubs prevailed in Game 1 of last year’s Wild Card series, gave up three homers and four runs in four innings tonight.

King is at 83 pitches through six, so a nine-inning no-hitter for him probably isn’t in the cards. His season high for pitches is 106.

After Massachusetts-born Cam Schlittler dominated the Red Sox through 6.1 innings, another Massachusetts son, Ben Rice, was terrorizing them at the plate. After homering off Erik Miller in the fifth inning when the Red Sox surprisingly removed starting pitcher Payton Tolle, Rice clobbered another home run off a reliever in the eighth inning, this time crushing a grand slam off Brayan Bello to put the Yankees up 9-0.

In Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series against the Red Sox, Cam Schlittler allowed just two hits in 6.1 innings while striking out 10 and walking one. That lowered his career ERA against the Red Sox to 0.47 and made him the second pitcher in baseball history to make multiple postseason starts against the Red Sox and strike out 10 batters twice. Bob Gibson is the only other pitcher who can say that.

Yet, that’s not where the accolades stop. As Sarah Langs pointed out, this performance made Schlittler the fourth pitcher in postseason history with two 10+ strikeout games before turning 26, joining Trey Yesavage (2025), Josh Beckett (2003), and Jim Palmer (1970-71). It also gave Schlittler two scoreless postseason outings with 10+ strikeouts, which put him in elite company.

Oh, and another stat

Any way you want to slice it, there have been few better pitchers in baseball history than Cam Schlittler against the Red Sox.

The San Diego Padres came into the playoffs after posting the best record in baseball in September. They kept that momentum going in the first inning of Game 1 of the NL Wild Card round thanks to a home run from Fernando Tatis Jr.

Three pitchers later, Manny Machado also left the yard, and a team that three weeks ago looked like it could miss the playoffs is up 2-0 at the end of the first frame.

UPDATE: Red Sox manager Chad Tracy confirmed that Roman Anthony’s exit was due to his troublesome right hand, which he hurt in May and kept him sidelined for nearly four month.

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The Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, and the Red Sox desperately needed to respond. Yet, when Roman Anthony’s spot came up in the sixth inning, it wasn’t the Red Sox lefty who walked into the batter’s box.

On the NBC broadcast, Red Sox analyst Lou Merloni mentioned that Anthony seemed to have injured himself on a check swing in the game against the Cubs down in Florida on Sunday. It remains to be seen if that is the case and if it could jeopardize the former top prospect’s availability for the series.

Payton Tolle got the first two hitters of the fifth inning out. He was sitting at 83 pitches with left-hander Ben Rice coming up. Still, Red Sox manager Chad Tracy decided to go to the bullpen and bring in left-hander Erik Miller. The decision backfired as Rice slammed a home run to center field.

The decision could have been because Tolle has a bit of a reverse-splits issue. Righties strike out at a 31% clip against him and have a 12.3% HR/FB rate, while lefties strike out at a 22.5% rate with a 24% HR/FB rate. Whatever the decision may have been, it did not work out for Boston, and the Yankees now have a 2-0 lead.

The Yankees struck first in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series as Austin Wells drilled a single to right field to put New York up 1-0.

It’s the continuation of a much better second half for Wells. The Yankees’ catcher slashed .154/.245/.256 with a .502 OPS across 66 games in the first half, but then posted a .782 OPS over 55 games in the second half, with eight home runs and 19 RBI.

Now the Yankees will see if that’s enough for Cam Schlittler, who already has six strikeouts in three innings.

The game wasn’t necessarily pretty, but the White Sox will take it.

In a game which featured 13 pitchers, the White Sox defeated the Astros 6-3 in Game 1 of the Wild Card series on Tuesday.

The Astros used AJ Blubaugh as the opener, but he walked three batters and didn’t make it out of the first inning. The White Sox plated runs in each of the first two innings. Miguel Ullola kept the Astros in the game with three innings of relief, though he also gave up a long home run to Colson Montgomery in the fourth inning.

Meanwhile, rookie left-hander Hagen Smith set the tone early for the White Sox with three scoreless innings. He was very efficient in throwing 28 out of his 38 pitches for strikes.

The Astros finally got on the board in the fifth via a two-run homer from Nelson Velasquez and they added another when Jose Altuve beat out a ground ball in the eighth. However, that’s as close as they would get.

The bottom-third of the White Sox order (Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Colson Montgomery) combined for five out of Chicago’s 11 hits. The White Sox went 4-for-9 with runners in scoring position while the Astros were 0-7. That told the story of the day.

With the Astros’ season on the line, they’ll turn to ace Hunter Brown in Game 2 on Wednesday. The White Sox have yet to name their starter, but Sean Burke is expected to have a big role.

If you need another reason to get excited for the Wild Series clash between the Red Sox and Yankees at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, here you go.

You couldn’t script this sort of thing. Payton Tolle vs. Cam Schlittler is coming up at the top of the hour.

The Astros are back in the game against the White Sox, with Nelson Velázquez coming off the bench to drill a two-run homer while hitting for Taylor Trammell in the fifth inning.

Velázquez definitely could have started this game over the left-handed-hitting Trammell, but the Astros thought White Sox opener Hagen Smith might be done before Trammell would come up in the ninth spot. When that didn’t happen, Trammell delivered a sac bunt his first time up. As it turned out, Trammell never got to face a righty, as Velázquez replaced him with lefty Sean Newcomb into the game as the White Sox’s third pitcher of the afternoon.

The Astros scored for the fourth time in five innings in Game 1 after Isaac Paredes couldn’t handle this grounder from Chase Meidroth.

That kept the bases loaded with one out, but Josh Hendrickson, who is pitching in relief today despite having just made his major league debut last week, was able to induce a double play ball from Colson Montgomery afterwards to keep the White Sox from blowing the game truly wide open.

Colson Montgomery, batting ninth for the first time all year and just the second time since debuting in 2025, homered off Miguel Ullola in the top of the fourth to make the score 4-0 White Sox in the opener against the Astros.

Montgomery hit 31 homers during the regular season, but he went the final 19 games without one. His homer was the first by a White Sox player in a postseason game since Gavin Sheets took Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. deep in the finale of the 2021 ALDS, which the Astros won four games to one.

Is it a bad sign that the Astros are fortunate to be down 3-0?

After getting on the board in the first inning, the White Sox kept it rolling in the second against left-hander Bryan King.

Braden Montgomery and Chase Meidroth opened the frame with back-to-back singles before Colson Montgomery was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Sam Antonacci cashed in with an opposite-field single to drive in two runs.

Kyle Teel followed with a single of his own, but he hit it so hard that Montgomery had to stay at third. King was then pulled in favor of Miguel Ullola, who induced a fielder’s choice before striking out both Munetaka Murakami and Andrew Benintendi.

If the Astros come back in this one, they’l have Ullola to thank for putting out the fire. There’s still a long way to go in this one.

The lineups are in for Game 1 of the Red Sox-Yankees Wild Card series beginning at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Young guns Payton Tolle and Cam Schlittler will get the starts.

The Red Sox will have Willson Contreras at first base after he made a brief, two-at-bat return from a hand contusion Sunday. He had missed eight straight games after a HBP that he thought might have left him with a fracture. Ceddanne Rafaela is also in there after his late late-season quad and hamstring issues, though he’s hitting fifth. He was batting second regularly before getting hurt at the beginning of September.

With the lefty starting for Boston, the Yankees are sitting Jazz Chisholm Jr, who hit .218/.269/.381 versus southpaws this season. Anthony Volpe gets the nod over José Caballero in his place at second base. They also have Amed Rosario starting at third. Trent Grisham, who is available after missing the final three weeks of the season with a hamstring strain, is on the bench in favor of Spencer Jones.

The Yankees also have Giancarlo Stanton back tonight, but he’ll be limited to pinch-hitting duties for now. Ben Rice figures to DH throughout the series.

Just like in the Phillies/Braves opener, we have some early offense in Game 1 of the Wild Card matchup between the White Sox and Astros.

AJ Blubaugh, serving as the opener for Houston, issued three walks before being pulled in the first inning.

After Blubaugh walked Sam Antonacci to begin the game, Kyle Teel was retired on a fielder’s choice which led to a throwing error from first baseman Christian Walker. Antonacci moved to third base on the play and eventually came home on a sacrifice fly to right from Miguel Vargas.

Bryan King entered for Blubaugh and got Tristan Peters to strike out swinging to escape further damage. It’s 1-0 White Sox as we move to the bottom of the first in Houston.

Reminder that you can watch all of the action on Peacock.

In what some would consider a miracle, the White Sox are back in the postseason after three straight 100-loss seasons. Coincidence or not, Pope Leo XIV is one of their most ardent backers. This is basically his way of giving a pep talk to the team and the fanbase.

Game 1 between the White Sox and Astros is getting underway now. Let’s do this.

Austin Riley slugged a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading the Braves to a 5-3 victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the Wild Card series on Tuesday.

It was a back-and-forth affair in which the Phillies grabbed the lead in the first inning. The Braves tied it in the second inning and moved ahead in the sixth before J.T. Realmuto delivered a go-ahead two-run triple for Philadelphia in the seventh.

Chris Sale had the longest postseason start of his career, pitching 6 1/3 innings while being charged with three runs. Despite not making a start since September 7 due to shoulder inflammation, Jesús Luzardo was able to post five innings of one-run ball.

Between that, Realmuto’s two-run triple, and the ball in the hands of their closer in Jhoan Duran, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly had everything set up the way they wanted in order to steal Game 1. However, Riley washed away his regular season struggles with his clutch go-ahead blast.

Braves closer Raisel Iglesias gave up a leadoff single to Brandon Marsh in the top of the ninth inning, but he was quickly erased on a double play grounder before Bryson Stott flew out to end it.

In this new Wild Card format, 15 out of the 16 teams who have won Game 1 have gone on to advance. This was a game the Braves needed to win with their ace on the mound. And while it didn’t exactly go down as expected, they were able to get the job done.

This series is still far from over, though, as Cristopher Sanchez will get the ball in Game 2 for Philadelphia on Wednesday. Tyler Mahle is expected to get the start for Atlanta.

With seemingly little trust in his other bullpen options, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly hoped to get Jhoan Duran through multiple innings to close out Game 1. It worked in the seventh, as Duran set the Braves down in order, but he wasn’t so fortunate in the eighth.

After Duran retired the first two batters, Michael Harris II reached on an infield single before Ozzie Albies reached on a hit-by-pitch that was upheld after a review. Austin Riley then delivered a first-pitch homer to put the Braves in front.

A massive moment for the Braves and for Riley, who struggled to the tune of a .654 OPS during the regular season.

With the Braves up 5-3, the Phillies are down to their final three outs in Atlanta.

J.T. Realmuto has had a rough season, but he just stepped up for his team at the moment they needed him the most.

Chris Sale was pulled with runners on first and third with one out, bringing 22-year-old Didier Fuentes into the game. Fuentes was able to get pinch-hitter Justin Crawford on a fly out, but Realmuto punched a ball into the right-field corner to put the Phillies back in front. With Michael Harris II struggling to get a handle for the ball, Realmuto ended up with a triple.

Realmuto hit just .205 this season and snapped an 0-for-34 stretch in Sunday’s season finale.

The Phillies aren’t messing around, as they have their closer Jhoan Duran pitching in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bring on the late-inning drama.

The Braves just greeted Alex McFarlane rudely in the sixth inning.

After Jesús Luzardo exited, McFarlane got Mauricio Dubón on a strikeout to begin the frame. However, Michael Harris Jr. II reached on an opposite-field single before Ozzie Albies drove a pitch over Derek Hill‘s outstretched glove in center field. With Hill struggling to pick up the baseball, Harris was able to score easily and Albies pumped his fist as he reached third base with an RBI triple.

McFarlane limited the damage by retiring the next two batters he faced, but Chris Sale and the Braves will carry a 2-1 lead into the seventh here in Atlanta.

Here are the lineups for Game 1 between the White Sox and Astros, starting at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN. Both teams will be using relievers as openers, with the White Sox turning to 2024 first-round pick Hagen Smith and the Astros going with AJ Blubaugh, who led the majors with 96 innings in relief this season.

The White Sox are batting new MLB single-season strikeout record holder Colson Montgomery, formerly the cleanup man, ninth for the first time all year. Montgomery hit 31 homers and drove in 87 runs in his sophomore season, but he finished up 4-for-62 with no homers and 34 strikeouts in his final 19 games. Along the way, he overtook Mark Reynolds’ total of 223 in 2009 for the new high in strikeouts at 227.

There aren’t really any surprises for Houston, though Lucas Spence would have been one a few weeks ago. He was just recalled from the minors last Wednesday and then stunned everyone by hitting his first three major league homers against the A’s on Thursday. He was 6-for-15 with four homers, nine RBI and three steals in the four-game series to conclude the regular season.

The Phillies probably weren’t sure what to expect from Jesús Luzardo when they decided to give him the ball for Game 1 against the Braves. He did everything they could have hoped for.

Luzardo just completed five innings of one-run ball against the Braves, a remarkable feat 22 days removed from his last start. The southpaw went down with shoulder inflammation in the early part of September and just made his return in Sunday’s finale with an inning of relief against the Rays.

It was a gutsy performance from Luzardo, who saw his velocity drop over the course of the outing. He averaged 98 mph on his fastball in the first inning and was at 95.5 mph in his final inning of work. Still, he limited the Braves to a lone run on three hits while striking out six. Most importantly, he kept the Phillies against Chris Sale.

It’s up to the bullpen now, with Alex McFarlane taking the ball next.

So far, Chris Sale is doing what aces do.

After Sale struck out the first two batters to begin the fifth inning, Edmundo Sosa poked a pitch to right for a double to move the go-ahead run into scoring position. Sale buckled down from there, getting J.T. Realmuto to strike out swinging to end the threat.

Sale is now up to seven strikeouts through five innings on 71 pitches.

Meanwhile, Jesús Luzardo is still in there for Philadelphia. We’ll see how much longer that can last.

It’s still 1-1 as we move to the bottom of the fifth.

After getting shut down in quick fashion in the bottom of the first, the Braves got to Jesús Luzardo in the second and tied the game in the process.

The rally started with Mauricio Dubón reaching on a leadoff double. Michael Harris II moved him over to third base on a sacrifice bunt before Ozzie Albies drew a walk. The Phillies got very lucky when Austin Riley took an inside pitch off the knob of his bat, which ended up getting Dubón caught in a rundown for the second out. However, Mike Yastrzemski followed with a first-pitch RBI single to tie things up.

Fortunately for Luzardo, he was able to rebound by striking out Ha-Seong Kim swinging to end the frame.

We’ll all tied up at 1-1 as the game moves to the third inning in Atlanta.

There was some question about Jesús Luzardo would look as he takes the ball in Game 1 against the Phillies. Safe to say he answered that right out of the gate.

Luzardo just shut the Braves down on 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 bottom of the first inning. He got Drake Baldwin on a ground out and Ronald Acuña Jr. on a fly out before striking out Matt Olson swinging.

The Phillies couldn’t have asked for a better start. Now the question is how many pitches can be expected of Luzardo.

The Phillies just struck first in Game 1 of their Wild Card Series against the Braves.

Chris Sale struck out Trea Turner swinging to lead things off, but Kyle Schwarber followed by drawing a walk in a great at-bat. After Sale struck out Bryce Harper on 100 mph heat, Alec Bohm launched a fly ball to deep center field which Michael Harris II was unable to track down. Schwarber scored on the play and Bohm would pull into second base with a double.

Sale managed to get Derek Hill to fly out to center field to escape further damage, but this still isn’t the start the Braves had in mind with their ace on the hill.

Now we’ll what the Braves lineup can do against Jesús Luzardo in the bottom of the first.

With the MLB playoffs back on NBC, it’s easy to get caught up in the nostalgia. For me, I can’t help but go back to the Mets’ miracle comeback win against the Red Sox in 1986 or Kirk Gibson’s legendary walk-off home run against the A’s in 1988, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg as you’ll see below.

With Tuesday’s action on NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN about to get started, let’s hope for some more moments that will last a lifetime.

Well, here’s an interesting one.

Joe Musgrove, who hasn’t thrown a pitch in a major league game since a playoff outing against the Braves on October 2, 2024, will be on the Padres’ roster as they take on the Cubs in the Wild Card Round.

Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery on October 11, 2024 and experienced a setback while attempting to return during spring training this year. He had another setback near the start of September, but has been able to ramp things back up and convince the Padres staff that he’s ready to go.

Musgrove, who will pitch in relief, is one of 11 pitchers on the Padres’ roster for the Wild Card series. He’s going to get a heck of an ovation in San Diego when called upon.

From the Rotoworld Bet Staff:

“If you are looking for unlikely heroes in the Phillies/Braves series, Alec Bohm is hitting .304 (7-23) in his career against Chris Sale. Bryce Harper is just 2-21 with 11 strikeouts against Sale. Schwarber has homered twice in 25 at-bats against Sale but is just 5-25 with 10 strikeouts. The only Braves hitter with any success against Luzardo is Mauricio Dubon who is 4-9 (.444). Only Matt Olson has homered against Luzardo but Olson is hitting just .200 (6-30) against the southpaw.”

Also of note, Sale is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 29/6 K/BB ratio in four starts against the Phillies this season.

In terms of some betting props, here are some options to consider from FanDuel.

• Kyle Schwarber to hit a home run (+410)
• Alec Bohm to collect at least one hit (-195)
• Mauricio Dubon to collect 2+ total bases (+145)
• Chris Sale strikeouts 7.5 - The OVER is +102 The UNDER is -130
• Jesus Luzardo strikeouts 2.5 K The OVER is -150 and UNDER +122

While we wait for the Braves and Phillies to get underway at 2 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock, check out how the Rotoworld Baseball staff believes things will shake out in the Wild Card round.

You can read the full article here, complete with analysis on each series, but here’s the grid with the picks from our writers. Where do we have it wrong?

With the Phillies and Braves set to get underway at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, here’s a look at the lineups and pitching matchups.

We’ll start with the Phillies, who have center fielder Derek Hill in the No. 5 spot against left-hander Chris Sale. With Luiz Arraez sidelined due to an ankle injury, Bryson Stott slides back to second base and Edmundo Sosa is in at third base.

As for the Braves, they notably have Mauricio Dubón in the cleanup spot with Jesús Luzardo on the mound for Philadelphia.

The pitching matchup speaks for itself. The Braves don’t have a lot behind Sale in their rotation, so this is a game they need to get. With Luzardo, there are a ton of questions. How many innings/pitches can be expected from a pitcher who is working his way back from left shoulder inflammation? If the Phillies can pull this one out, they’ll have Christopher Sánchez waiting in Game 2. That tells you why this game is crucial for Atlanta.

Some big roster news for both the Yankees and the Red Sox in advance of their Wild Card Series showdown.

Aaron Judge, who is nursing a calf strain, has officially been ruled out for the series. The slugger took live batting practice on Monday, but it was still a lot to ask him to be active for the series as he recovers from what was described as a “moderate” calf strain. Now we’ll have to wait to see his status if the Yankees advance to the Division Series.

While Judge has been ruled out, the Yankees will get Giancarlo Stanton and Trent Grisham back. Stanton has been out since late April due to injuries to both of his calves, so the decision comes as a bit of a surprise. He’ll presumably be limited to pinch-hitting duties for the series.

As for Grisham, he’s been sidelined since September 4 with a right hamstring strain. Spencer Jones has stepped up during his absence in handling center field duties, so it’s clear what his role will be.

The other big headline here is that Garrett Crochet will be active for Boston. The southpaw hasn’t pitched in a major league game since April 25 due to left shoulder inflammation and lat tightness. He’s only advanced to throwing live batting practice since restarting his throwing program, so any contribution will be in a limited capacity. Still, Boston will take whatever they can get from him with the season in the balance.