The New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox secured their qualification for the Major League Division Series, while the Philadelphia Phillies avoided elimination and forced a third game against the Atlanta Braves.
New York completed a 2-0 sweep of the Boston Red Sox with a 9-2 victory at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees, who also won the first game 9-0, will now face the Tampa Bay Rays in the next round.
Cody Bellinger was the protagonist of the victory by hitting a three-run home run during a six-run sixth inning. The hit extended the home team’s lead to 8-1 and put the New Yorkers on track.
White Sox surprise Houston
The White Sox also advanced after defeating the Astros 7-3 in Houston and closing the wild card series 2-0. Chicago will face Cleveland in the Division Series.
The White Sox took a 4-0 lead in the first inning, although Houston responded with solo home runs from Jeremy Peña, Cam Smith and José Altuve.
Chicago sealed the game with a three-run homer by Chase Meidroth, who once again put distance on the scoreboard.
The White Sox, who received a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV before the series, continue with one of the most striking stories of this postseason.
Phillies survive in Atlanta
In the National League, the Phillies defeated the Braves 4-3 in ten innings to tie the series at 1-1 and keep their hopes of advancing alive.
Philadelphia responded in the eighth inning with consecutive home runs by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, which tied the game 3-3.
Harper had previously made a defensive error in the seventh inning that allowed Atlanta to take the lead, but he responded with the home run that put the Phillies back in the game.
The winning run came in the 10th inning, when Alec Bohm hit a two-out home run.
Andrew Painter, in his playoff debut, took charge of closing the game and struck out Dominic Smith to ensure the victory for Philadelphia.
The winner of this series will face the Los Angeles Dodgers, current Major League champions, in a best-of-five Division Series that begins on Saturday.
Padres eliminate Cubs and advance to Division Series
A year ago, the San Diego Padres saw the Chicago Cubs knock them out of the postseason. This time, the story was different: the Californian team defeated the “bear cubs” for the second consecutive night, this time with a score of 4-1 at Petco Park, and sealed its ticket to the Division Series.
Those led by Craig Stammen had an outstanding performance from their intermediate bullpen. Rodríguez, Jason Adam and Adrián Morejón combined to limit Chicago’s offense to just one hit over 4.2 innings.
With the advantage secured, San Diego turned to Mason Miller in the ninth inning. The reliever faced four batters and got the three outs necessary to seal the Padres’ classification.
Now, San Diego will have to change scenery and travel to Milwaukee. The Padres will begin the best-of-five National League Division Series this Saturday against the Brewers at American Family Field.
