Three Game 3s. One day. The best kind of baseball chaos.
Thursday’s Wild Card triple-header is a gift to fans. The Guardians, Padres, and Yankees all won Game 2 to force a decisive third game. Now, it’s win or go home.
First pitch comes from Cleveland, where the Tigers and Guardians meet for the rubber match. Detroit took Game 1 behind Tarik Skubal’s brilliance, but Cleveland answered with a 6-1 win in Game 2. The Tigers and Guardians meet for the rubber match. Detroit sends Jack Flaherty to the mound—yes, that Jack Flaherty. Cleveland counters with Slade Cecconi. The winning team goes to Seattle.
Next up: Padres vs. Cubs at Wrigley. Chicago took Game 1 with back-to-back solo shots in the fifth from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly to flip the score and seize momentum, but San Diego blanked them in Game 2 behind Dylan Cease and a Manny Machado bomb. Game 3 could hinge on which lineup wakes up first. The winner gets Milwaukee.
Finally, the nightcap: Red Sox vs. Yankees. It’s only fitting that one of baseball’s oldest rivalry gets a Game 3. the Red Sox stole Game 1 in the Bronx with a late rally and a lockdown bullpen, but the Yankees roared back in Game 2 but the Yankees roared back with an eighth-inning rally that flipped the game and forced a decisive Game 3. Connelly Early versus Cam Schlittler in Game 3, and the winner heads north to face Toronto.
For Cardinals fans, it’s a postseason without our birds—but not without intrigue.
Three games. Three tickets to the Division Series. Play ball!
