Dan Lanning is having flashbacks to Oregon’s 56-22 loss to Indiana in the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinals. Except they’re colored in blue and gold. 

With a bye week and change to spare before the 15th-ranked Ducks (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) host No. 23 UCLA (4-0, 2-0) on Saturday, Oct. 10th, Lanning is preparing for a team and a coach he’s very familiar with.

“We’re about to play a UCLA team that reminds me a lot of Indiana from last year,” Lanning said at his Tuesday media availability. 

To his point, the similarities between UCLA and Indiana are eerie. Both had flailing football programs at schools known for men’s basketball. Both are being rebuilt by a coach who came over from James Madison. 

To turn around their program, the Hoosiers plucked Curt Cignetti from JMU after he helped the school jump to the FBS level. Two years later, the Bruins hired Chesney after he led the Dukes to a CFP appearance. Cignetti brought his coordinators Bryant Haines and Mike Shanahan from JMU to Indiana as Chesney did with Colin Hitschler and Dean Kennedy. Cignetti brought 13 players from JMU to Indiana ahead of his first season. Chesney brought 11. Cignetti’s Hoosiers’ have carried over 20 transfers in both seasons as he identified players that matched his system, rather than superstars. Chesney brought in 43 transfers for his first season at UCLA, synchronizing quickly for an exciting start to the season. 

“Why I draw some comparisons to Indiana — a lot of guys traveled with (the coach) to their next stop,” Lanning said. “Extremely well-coached team. You’ve got two coordinators that were with (Chesney) before, so they’ve been together for a while, a lot of continuity.”

In Cignetti’s first season at Indiana, the Hoosiers outdid expectations, qualifying for the College Football Playoff and competing valiantly against eventual-runners up Notre Dame. The following year, Indiana had a perfect season and defeated Miami in the CFP national championship. Now, in Bob Chesney’s first season at UCLA, he and the Bruins are surprising everyone, dominating each opponent they’ve faced to achieve a 4-0 record heading into their bye week. 

Bob Chesney and UCLA defeated Maryland 54-3 in College Park last Saturday. (Photo by Jim Sabo/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

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Ironically, Oregon’s path in the CFP last season included matchups with Chesney and JMU and Cignetti and Indiana. The Ducks defeated the Dukes 51-34 before falling to Indiana in the semifinals. So if Lanning believes this UCLA team reminds him of that Indiana team, he clearly holds some fear that the Bruins could defeat the Ducks like the Hoosiers did last year. 

“They’ve got a lot of different looks, and they certainly present some challenges.”

To evaluate the Bruins, Lanning said, he’s looking back at Oregon’s matchup with JMU in the CFP, but also the “body of work” UCLA has put on tape throughout its 4-0 start. The Bruins have defeated each of their four opponents in different ways. UCLA is currently tied for the third-most points (44.8 per game) and forced the most amount of turnovers (13) among Big Ten teams. 

“They got some players that can play ball,” Lanning said. 

Outside of football, Lanning holds respect for Chesney as the coach reached out, offering his help to Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, who sustained a concussion in the Ducks game against USC last Saturday.

“He texted me as (the Bruins) were traveling back to LA and said, ‘Hey, if you need my help with Dante or anything, and he’s still in LA, I’ll go check on this guy. I’m giving the team off tomorrow; let me know.’ It speaks to the kind of person he is,” Lanning said on the “Jim Rome Show.”

It’s a class-act move from Chesney, but when Oregon’s game against UCLA kicks off next Saturday, the comparisons and narratives will be put to the side as two sides with a brief, yet deep history, face off. 

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The MLB Wild Card Series continues with the Boston Red Sox trying to keep their season alive against their biggest rival, the New York Yankees. Polymarkets is giving new users a $50 bonus when they use promo code FOX for the AL Wild Card game.

The Yankees exploded for nine runs led by Ben Rice’s six RBIs in the rout of the Red Sox last night. Now, they look to send the Red Sox back to Boston. With two of MLB’s biggest rivals battling for a spot in the AL Division Series, there’s plenty of postseason stakes and trade value for this Wild Card series.

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Wednesday, Sept. 30
Game 2: Red Sox @ Yankees (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Peacock)

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Game 3: Red Sox @ Yankees (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN/Peacock, if necessary)

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Dylan Raiola was texting Dan Lanning all week.

He heard one thing about USC in a press conference and spotted something else while watching film, and wanted his head coach to know. Raiola, Oregon’s backup quarterback, was unlikely to take a snap against the Trojans last Saturday. But he wanted to be helpful and proactive, just in case.

Oregon quarterback Dylan Raiola threw for 289 yards and two touchdowns in the Ducks’ Week 4 win over USC. (Photo by Ben Liebenberg/Getty Images)

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The best backups, whether they’re quarterbacks or play another position, often say they prepare as if they’re going to start. They study and stay ready even without first-team reps. 

We don’t always see that effort pay off. But in Raiola’s case, it did. 

The Nebraska transfer was thrust into Saturday’s game against USC early in the second quarter after Oregon starter Dante Moore took a frightening hit to the head. Moore, a Heisman Trophy candidate and projected first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft, had led the Ducks to the College Football Playoff semifinal last season.

After receiving medical attention for several minutes, Moore was taken off the field on a stretcher before leaving in an ambulance. It was later announced that he had suffered a concussion, but did not have any additional injuries. On Wednesday, Lanning said that Moore is “healthy and doing well.”

Moore and Raiola are close friends and have developed something of a mentor-mentee relationship. So while Raiola was shaken up after seeing his teammate go down, there wasn’t much time to dwell on it. He had to lock in and take over.

“Every guy had faith in him,” Lanning told reporters after the Ducks’ 41-27 win at the LA Coliseum. “He was ready for his moment.”

Raiola’s story is well-known by now. Originally from Buford, Georgia, he was a five-star prospect in the 2024 class who initially committed to play for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs before flipping to play for Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers. Raiola started 22 games at Nebraska until he broke his leg last November, ironically against USC. He transferred to Oregon in the offseason, and shortly after, Moore announced he would be returning for his senior year.

This kind of situation is unusual in the transfer portal and NIL era, when players often change schools in search of more playing time or better monetary opportunities. Coming off a major injury, Raiola knew he could learn from Moore, who had gone through a similar transition after transferring from UCLA to Oregon ahead of the 2024 season and sitting behind Dillon Gabriel.

“They want each other to be the best QB they can both possibly be,” said former Oregon Hall of Fame running back Kenjon Barner, who remains closely connected to the program. “I don’t think there’s another QB room in the country that has what this room has in two starters. When you go back to Dillon Gabriel and Dante, it was the same type of situation. The way their relationship is, [Gabriel] laid the foundation; Dante stood on that foundation.”

Raiola had barely seen the field this season, earning his first meaningful snaps when he completed 11-of-11 passing attempts in garbage time of Oregon’s 84-0 rout of Portland State in Week 3. He certainly wasn’t expecting his next opportunity to come against USC.

“It’s complicated,” Raiola said following the win over the Trojans. “You don’t ever want to see someone be hurt, especially how much [Moore] means to me, how much he teaches me, how much he means to the team.”

It was an emotional few moments after Moore was carted off the field. Lanning said everybody wanted to “go get in a street fight,” but the Ducks remained composed and chose to honor their teammate by winning the game. Raiola leaned on the preparation he’d done earlier in the week, while offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer adjusted the game plan to better suit his backup’s skill set. 

On Raiola’s second play of the game, he found wide receiver Evan Stewart for a 3-yard touchdown pass to give Oregon a 10-7 lead.

There were only a few times Saturday night when Raiola made a decision and Lanning thought, “OK, that’s not where we wanted the ball to go.” For the most part, Lanning was impressed by Raiola’s ability to execute the offense, get rid of the ball when necessary and avoid taking sacks. He finished the night 19-of-25 passing for 289 yards and two touchdowns.

“Dylan has never stopped seeing himself as the guy,” Barner said. “To step into that spot with so much pressure speaks volumes about the professional that Dylan Raiola is. When you watch that kid play, he doesn’t allow anything to affect him. He remains the same player every week – calm, cool, collected, completely in control of the offense.”

That kind of poise and confidence is a reflection of the growth Raiola has made since first arriving in Eugene.

“I’m very proud of Dylan,” Lanning said. “That moment happens in sports a lot of times when guys aren’t ready and that becomes the story. And regardless of how Dylan would have performed, like, I love that guy. He works so hard – so incredibly hard – to put himself in that position to be successful. He came in and he operated, man, and we’ve seen that go other ways before.

“To know he put in the work, the prep, was ready in his moment, and then didn’t come in and try to force it, he just played the game, man,” Lanning added. “I can’t say enough great things about Dylan and how he operates. That’s why he came here.”

On Monday, Matt Rhule, who coached Raiola for two seasons at Nebraska, was asked about his former quarterback during his weekly press conference.

“There’s no doubt that Dylan is an elite quarterback,” Rhule told reporters.

After rallying to beat Boise State in its season opener and falling to Oklahoma State the following week, Oregon has rebounded to put itself in position to make another CFP run. The Ducks are now 4-1 and ranked No. 15 in the country. They’re idle this week before diving into the heart of their conference schedule – Oregon hosts No. 23 UCLA on Oct. 10 and visits No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 7.

There’s no timetable yet for Moore’s return. But if Raiola is needed again, he’s shown he’s ready.

“I never knew when my moment was going to happen or what to expect,” Raiola said. “The ultimate goal is to win, no matter how it happens, no matter, sadly, whoever goes down. The game of football doesn’t feel sorry for us. We’ve got to step up and keep fighting and those guys in that locker room did just that. Coming in on the road and doing what we did is not normal.”

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The Atlanta Falcons go as Bijan Robinson goes.

Robinson rumbled for 194 rushing yards in Atlanta’s first win of the season, a 35-14 triumph over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field in a primetime showing in Week 3. Robinson was buoyed by the return of Michael Penix Jr., who posted 256 passing yards and a touchdown, creating balance in Atlanta’s offense.

But it’s Robinson who is the straw that stirs the drink and is the engine of Atlanta’s offense. Since 2023, Robinson tops the league with 6,115 scrimmage yards. He also leads the league this season with 467 scrimmage yards, showing out when the rest of the Falcons’ offense looked lackluster in the first two weeks of the year. 

Robinson’s explosiveness and ability to run through trash stand out. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry and, according to Next Gen Stats, 4.9 yards after contact per carry — second among running backs with at least 25 carries this season.

Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski should know how to take advantage of Robinson’s unique skill set. The Cleveland Browns’ offense Stefanski oversaw as head coach finished in the top 12 in rushing in four of his six years at the helm, with Nick Chubb shining out of the backfield. 

But Robinson could reach heights that Chubb didn’t, if he hasn’t already. Currently, Robinson is fourth in Offensive Player of the Year odds at DraftKings Sportsbook (+1200) behind Kenneth Walker III, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Jahmyr Gibbs. Robinson will need more performances like the one against the Packers to stay in the running with some of the top playmakers in the league.

Let’s take a closer look at my picks for the top three of all the major awards heading into Week 4.

Offensive Player Of The Year

The skinny: The Kansas City Chiefs are getting the best version of Kenneth Walker through three games, who has 442 scrimmage yards and four scores. Jaxon Smith-Njigba, meanwhile, has started that year by recording at least 120 receiving yards in each of the Seattle Seahawks’ first three games as he looks to become the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons in over two decades.

Jahmyr Gibbs also deserves a mention here, as Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Drew Petzing has done a nice job of creating innovative ways to get the dynamic runner in space. Gibbs has forced 29 missed tackles this season. 

Defensive Player Of The Year

The skinny: Greg Rousseau leads the NFL in sacks (6) and tackles for loss (8). He also has three forced fumbles, which is tied with Las Vegas Raiders linebacker Nakobe Dean for the league lead. 

Will Anderson and T.J. Watt are among the league’s top pass rushers again, at least to start the season. Anderson has four sacks (2.5 came in the Houston Texans’ Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts) and T.J. Watt has 3.5 sacks.

Dallas Turner also deserves a mention. He leads the league in quarterback pressures (25) and has 3.5 sacks on the year, greatly benefiting from defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ blitz-happy scheme. 

Coach Of The Year

The skinny: Few NFL observers expected first-year head coaches in Klint Kubiak and Todd Monken to have their teams atop the division at this point of the season, and both have done it with veteran quarterbacks considered past their prime. Kirk Cousins is tied for the league lead in passing touchdowns with nine, and Deshaun Watson has stayed healthy and is playing efficient football in Cleveland for the first time since the trade.

Kevin O’Connell, meanwhile, has yet to get Kyler Murray on track. But the Minnesota Vikings are the only undefeated team in the NFC North, and their start is too strong to ignore. 

Offensive Rookie Of The Year

The skinny: Kenyon Sadiq has been a revelation for the Jets. The athletic tight end out of Oregon had his first 100-yard receiving effort as a pro, posting seven catches for 105 receiving yards and a score in a close loss to Detroit. 

Denzel Boston continues to show explosive playmaking ability. The Cleveland Browns’ wide receiver leads all rookies in receiving yards (195), logging long touchdown grabs in each of the first two weeks of the season.

But Jeremiyah Love leads all rookies in scrimmage yards (204) after a solid performance against San Francisco in Week 3, putting up 109 total yards.

Defensive Rookie Of The Year

The skinny: Hezekiah Moses leads all rookies in interceptions (3) and pass breakups (4). And he has been one of the reasons the Raiders’ ball-hawking defense is tops in the NFL in takeaways (9). Genesis Smith moved into the top three on the strength of a two-interception effort against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. 

Miami Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez also deserves some credit, totaling six combined tackles — including three tackles for loss — and an interception in a tough loss to Kansas City. David Bailey should get a mention as well, leading all rookies in sacks with two, giving the New York Jets some solid pass-rushing ability. 

MVP

The skinny: Patrick Mahomes continues to impress less than a year after tearing his ACL. He helped the Chiefs improve to 3-0 with a 246-yard, two-touchdown performance in a 24-10 win over the Dolphins, and he’s now top five in passing yards (812) and passing touchdowns (7). 

All Jared Goff does is put up impressive numbers. The Lions’ quarterback is second in the league in passer rating (116.1), with eight touchdown passes and no interceptions. 

Brock Purdy leads the league in passer rating and touchdown passes. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

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But Brock Purdy’s numbers largely stand alone to start the season. He hasn’t been sacked in three games and is the only quarterback with multiple touchdown passes and a passer rating of at least 100 in each of the first three weeks of the season. Purdy also leads the league in passer rating (133.1) and is tied with Cousins for the league lead in touchdown passes with nine. 

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September tells you who’s good. October tells you who’s great.

It’s the month when hot starts get tested, soft schedules run out and the sample size gets big enough to matter. Across FOX Sports’ biggest franchises, October is when the season stops being a preview and starts to count.

In MLB, the postseason is underway, with the division series set to begin Saturday, October 3. Every pitch matters more now than any other point in the season, and the World Series will be decided before the month ends.

In the NFL, October is a month of validation. September success can be misleading, but should a team be able to sustain it, a showdown can feel like a postseason preview. The month brings the first 49ers-Seahawks game and potential Super Bowl glimpses like Bills at Rams and Chiefs at Seahawks.

In college football, October is when seasons can be made or ruined, and games include Ohio State-Indiana, Florida-Texas and Alabama-Tennessee. The College Football Playoff picture will begin to take shape in a real way, and the true Heisman Trophy frontrunners start to emerge.

Here’s what our writers are watching, and what October will reveal.

No Second Chances In October

For six months, Major League Baseball has been building toward October.

The standings are wiped clean. Cinderella stories are born. Evil empires are despised. Every pitch is consequential; there are no mulligans. This is when forgotten bench players have the chance to become postseason legends. Only the most ruthless will survive.

The 12-team field is set, and the usual suspects are here. The Dodgers are back, looking to become the first team to three-peat since the 1998-2000 Yankees. Two-way icon Shohei Ohtani is once again carrying the weight of enormous expectations into the postseason. 

The Yankees are back, too, and they’re forced to begin the playoffs without their three-time MVP, Aaron Judge. His multiple injuries limited him to just 66 games this season. The Red Sox managed to turn their disastrous season around in late June and made a surprising push to qualify for a Wild Card Series matchup against their rival Yankees.

The Padres return to the postseason for another October run. San Diego is still chasing its first World Series championship in franchise history. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

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The Padres, starring a lights-out weapon in elite closer Mason Miller, return for another October run. San Diego is still chasing its first World Series championship in franchise history. The Brewers enter as the National League’s top seed with plenty to prove, particularly if they’re actually capable of defeating the Dodgers this time. Meanwhile, the Phillies and Braves start October off with a win-or-go-home game 3, another dramatic episode of a division rivalry that has become an October staple.

Then there are the teams trying to change their place in baseball history. The Guardians are back after another late-season push. The Cubs are hoping their success during the regular season, where Chicago had the highest scoring offense, will translate on the biggest stage. The Rays are all but unbeatable at home. The White Sox, who finished the 2024 season with 121 losses that broke the modern-day single-season record, are a team of misfits showing the world why they believe they can win it all just two years later.

Across the bracket, every contender understands one thing. Whatever happened before the playoffs matters only as much as players allow it to. That’s the magic — and cruelty — of this month.

Pitcher Erick Fedde and his Chicago White Sox won the franchise’s first postseason series since 2005, beating the Astros in the AL Wild Card. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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A dominant regular season can disappear in as little as three games. A sputtering lineup can catch fire at exactly the right time. Rookies can become heroes. Superstars can spend an entire series searching for one big swing. A single pitch, a special moment, can change an entire franchise.

The Wild Card Series starts the chaos before the calendar officially flips to October. Then comes the Division Series, the Championship Series and, finally, the Fall Classic. By the time October ends, baseball will have its answer.

One team will have survived all of it. Everyone else will be left wondering what could have been. — Deesha Thosar

Time To Prove September Wasn’t A Fluke

What does October mean in the NFL?

It’s a month of validation. September success can be fleeting, but sustain it into Halloween and it’s not a costume.

Brock Purdy and the San Francisco 49ers are undefeated, but their October schedule includes the Seahawks. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

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It’s a month in the middle, not as oppressively hot as September 1 p.m. kickoffs in Florida, not as frigid as December in Buffalo or Green Bay. Baseball is ending, hockey and basketball are just beginning, but football finds itself in October.

A huge game in September is a throwback to last year’s playoffs, but a showdown in October can feel like a postseason preview. October brings us the first 49ers-Seahawks game and potential Super Bowl glimpses, like Bills at Rams and Chiefs at Seahawks. A year ago, the Patriots and Broncos were ordinary 2-2 teams when October arrived, but were 6-2 contenders when it ended.

Denver coach Sean Payton is an ordinary coach in September, with barely a winning record in his career, but in October, he’s 54-17, winning 76% of his games for the best mark in NFL history. October was Tom Brady’s best month — 28 more career touchdowns, 17 fewer interceptions than he would total in December, and yet his teams somehow had a better record in December. That might go back to frigid and handling cold from experience.

What will we learn in October? How many undefeated teams will survive the month, and how many winless teams will still be that way? Which struggling teams, already written off, will get up off the mat? 

November opens with the Chargers at the Rams at the site of this year’s Super Bowl — a month ago, you could have seen that as a postseason preview, but that seems farfetched already. Will Bears-Seahawks on Monday, November 2, end up being the massive prime-time bout it looks to be right now? October will let us know. — Greg Auman

CFP, Heisman Contenders And Pretenders Emerge

For college football, October has become a tree-shaking month in a sport that counts going undefeated as a mere metric for consideration. 

With more than a third of the season gone and every single team worthy of inclusion in the College Football Playoff conversation beginning to play conference games — many against ranked opponents who have managed to remain undefeated or suffer just one loss. 

Josh Hoover and the Indiana are aiming to defend both the Hoosiers’ Big Ten title as well as their national title. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

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October 17 might be the most pivotal Saturday in the sport, with Associated Press poll-ranked No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Indiana playing to prove who the best team in the Big Ten is this season. In the SEC, No. 8 Florida takes on No. 1 Texas for a resurgence for the former and conference domination for the latter, and both No. 7 Alabama and No. 17 Tennessee face off for what could prove to be a CFP de facto elimination game.

And to think of all of this comes before Ohio State travels to No. 18 USC and Florida plays No. 2 Georgia on October 31 for what will surely be games that influence not just the CFP but coaching legacies, notably Lincoln Riley’s.

Yes, October is tree-shaking time in college football. Let’s see who drops off, and who stays put. 

As much as this month is important for establishing something like a decent pencil sketch for the 12-team CFP picture, it’s also the first month when Heisman Trophy frontrunners in September begin to fade, and late-breakers make a move to the front of the race. In the Big Ten, all eyes are on Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith — a sure top contender for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top wide receiver, and a Heisman Trophy away from immortality in the sport. For two years, I’ve written and said Smith is the best player in the sport. With three of Ohio State’s four games in October coming against top-25 programs, he’ll once again have a chance to prove it. — RJ Young

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Tom Brady’s Week 3 NFL Power Rankings

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Joey Porter Jr. has not played this season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it didn’t look like he was close to seeing the field. He was ruled out with a back injury ahead of Thursday Night Football against the Cleveland Browns.

Well, Porter will reportedly not even be part of the Steelers organization for that game.

According to Tom Pelissero, Porter is going to be traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth.

It’s no surprise that the Cowboys have made a big move. Dallas hired defensive coordinator Christian Parker from the Eagles to revamp a unit that significantly held the team back last season. Through three games, though, it doesn’t look like the defense has greatly improved.

Last season, when the Cowboys got off to a slow start, they traded a first- and second-round pick to the Jets for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. The deal has worked out well in that Williams has continued playing at a high level, but the defense as a whole still needs to improve.

Since his rookie season in 2023, Joey Porter Jr. has been the Steelers’ most consistent defensive back. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

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Dallas is coming off a 34-31 loss to the Ravens that saw quarterback Lamar Jackson deliver late heroics to set up a game-winning 56-yard field goal. The drive started with just 7 seconds remaining.

The 26-year-old Porter started all 30 games he appeared in over the past two seasons for Pittsburgh, establishing himself as a very good cornerback in the NFL. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Porter wanted a new deal. He was on the physically unable to perform list during camp.

The cornerback market was reset during the offseason, with the Seahawks CB Devon Witherspoon getting a four-year deal worth $132 million in August. The next month, Patriots standout Christian Gonzalez got $135 million over four years.

Both Witherspoon and Gonzalez, like Porter, were drafted in 2023. The difference is that they were first-round picks, which means there was an option for a fifth year on their rookie contracts. Assuming those were picked up, they could not hit free agency until after the 2027 season.

Porter was a second-round pick in 2023, the first pick of the round, by the Steelers. This was firmly the final year of his contract.

This is the second time that these two teams have made a trade for an established Steelers starter. Dallas acquired offensive tackle Broderick Jones and a fourth-round pick in late August for a third and sixth.

Pittsburgh sent another key player to Dallas back in May 2025, when wide receiver George Pickens was sent to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and a 2027 fifth.

Porter’s dad, linebacker Joey Porter, famously played for the Steelers from 1999-2006 and won Super Bowl XL with the team.

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He may have struggled at the plate, but Munetaka Murakami knows how to make the most of the locker room party. 

With the Chicago White Sox ousting the Houston Astros thanks to a 7-3 win on Wednesday to sweep their AL Wild Card Series, Murakami and his South Side teammates didn’t hold back from celebrating the franchise’s incredible turnaround.

It’s the first time Chicago has won a playoff series since beating Houston in the World Series in 2005. Under the direction of Venable, the second-year skipper, and with a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV, the White Sox advanced to face AL Central champion Cleveland in the AL Division Series beginning Saturday in Cleveland.

The White Sox, who lost 100 games in each of the previous three seasons, are the only team in major league history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth.

Murekami, who hit 35 homers and knocked in 77 RBI in his first season with Chicago, had just one hit and struck out five times in the two games against Houston. But that stop him from taking in the moment. 

“It means everything for our fans,” Chase Meidroth said, who hit a three-run shot to seal Wednesday’s win. “They have been incredible all year. So the main thing was getting back to Chicago for some postseason baseball, and so we’re really blessed that we get to do that.”

“I’m proud of the guys and certainly happy for them as they’re probably the only ones in this country that believed that they could be in this spot,’ manager Will Venable said. “And they maintained that belief in the beginning of the season and went throughout the season maintaining that, and they made it happen. So it’s awesome to get to this point.”

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Max Fried dominated Boston in the playoffs for the second straight year, Cody Bellinger and Luis Garcia Jr. homered, and the New York Yankees romped over the Red Sox 9-2 Wednesday night for a two-game AL Wild Card Series sweep.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead after Willson Contreras homered to end Boston’s 26-inning postseason scoreless streak, the Yankees broke the game open with a six-run sixth after Spencer Jones reached on a wild pitch while striking out leading off — with the help of a video review.

García, acquired at the trade deadline, had three hits in his first postseason start, and Bellinger had four RBIs that included a three-run homer capping the sixth-inning burst that put New York ahead 8-1.

New York will face AL East champion Tampa Bay in an AL Division Series starting Saturday.

Boston, which reached the playoffs after rebounding from a 32-46 start, was eliminated by the Yankees in the first round for the second straight year. The Red Sox hit .117 in the two-game series (7 for 60) with 18 strikeouts and were outscored 18-2.

A day after Cam Schlittler led New York to a 9-0 win, Fried pitched three-hit ball over six innings to win a postseason game for the first time since the 2021 World Series clincher with Atlanta.

New York started eight left-handed hitters against Sonny Gray, back on the mound where his career derailed during a dismal Yankees stretch in 2017 and ’18.

García’s fourth-inning homer put the Yankees ahead and Bellinger, one of the top lefty-on-lefty hitters in the major leagues, added a fifth-inning RBI single against left-handed Erik Miller, who had just relieved. Bellinger caught the ceremonial first pitch from his dad, Clay Bellinger, who won a World Series with New York in 2000.

Jones struck out both to start and end the bottom of the sixth, a weird half-inning that included a wild pitch, throwing error, stolen base, bunt single and intentional walk to Ben Rice that preceded Bellinger’s homer.

Garrett Crochet, who beat the Yankees in last year’s Wild Card Series opener, hadn’t pitched since April 25 because of left shoulder inflammation when he bounced a sweeper off Contreras’ chest. The catcher picked up the ball and threw to first, where umpire John Libka signaled out. The Yankees appealed and the call was reversed by the video umpire at the commissioner’s office.

Jones swiped second and kept going to third when Contreras’ throw skipped into center. Rookie George Lombard Jr. singled for his first postseason RBI, Jazz Chisholm Jr. singled and Trent Grisham loaded the bases with a bunt single.

Austin Wells’ sacrifice fly against Garrett Whitlock increased the lead to 4-1, Ryan McMahon hit an RBI groundout and Rice, who had four hits and six RBIs in the opener, was intentionally walked. Bellinger reached down and pulled a changeup into the right-center field seats.

Fried struck out six and walked one. He has allowed one run over 12 1/3 innings in the two Wild Card Series against the Red Sox.

Nick Sogard hit a solo homer off Will Warren in the seventh.

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The second day of the MLB playoffs brought our first set of eliminations from the postseason, while one team extended its season by at least one more day.

The White Sox finished off a sweep of the Astros for their first playoff series win since 2005, and the Phillies forced a decisive Game 3 behind back-to-back homers and an extra-inning win in Atlanta. Max Fried, meanwhile, shut down the Red Sox in the Bronx as the Yankees completed a sweep to advance past their rivals. The Padres stayed hot to send the Cubs packing.

The White Sox now face the Guardians in the American League Division Series, with the Yankees taking on the Rays. The Padres will get the Brewers, owners of the best record in baseball. The Braves and Phillies will play a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday for the right to take on the two-time defending champion Dodgers in the NLDS. 

Here is everything you might have missed on Day 2 of the MLB Playoffs:

Biggest Moment

The White Sox got a letter of support from Pope Leo XIV and have not looked back since.

The White Sox scored four first-inning runs on two Astros errors and beat Houston 7-3 to sweep the AL Wild Card Series, their first playoff series win since the 2005 World Series.

Munetaka Murakami knows how to party. Last week, the rookie first baseman went viral for his clubhouse interview after the White Sox clinched a playoff berth, answering in English that he’d rate the celebration a “100” on a scale of 1 to 10. 

On Wednesday, he was enjoying himself again after Chicago swept the Houston Astros in the AL Wild Card Series:

Chase Meidroth’s three-run homer in the sixth inning pushed the lead to 7-3. The White Sox lost 100 games in each of the last three seasons and are the only team in MLB history to follow consecutive 100-loss seasons with a playoff berth. 

Second-year manager Will Venable’s club now visits AL Central champion Cleveland in the division series beginning Saturday. The Astros, who went 81-81, lost their ninth straight home playoff game.

Best Hitters

Harper, Schwarber Keep Philly Alive

 

Bryce Harper’s night turned on two swings. In the seventh inning, with the Phillies trailing 1-0 in what had become a pitchers’ duel, Drake Baldwin’s drive glanced off Harper’s glove as he leaped at the warning track in right field.

The double drove in the go-ahead run, and Matt Olson added a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Atlanta. Harper was not charged with an error, but he owned it. “Probably should have been caught, obviously,” Harper said afterwards. 

An inning later, Kyle Schwarber hit a 447-foot homer off Dylan Lee, and Harper followed with a 418-foot shot to tie the game at 3-3. Alec Bohm’s two-out, 357-foot homer in the 10th inning put the Phillies ahead for good in a 4-3 win that forces a decisive Game 3 on Thursday. Philadelphia has a history of beating Atlanta in October, including the 1993 NLCS as well as the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.

Philadelphia has won each of its past three playoff series against the Braves: the 1993 NLCS and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS, taking 10 of 14 games.

Best Pitcher

Max Fried had a strong outing on the mound as the Yankees finished off a sweep of the Red Sox with a 9-2 win at Yankee Stadium. He allowed one run over six innings with six strikeouts, and he was one strike from six scoreless innings when Willson Contreras clubbed a high fastball into the first row of the right-field bleachers. 

That homer was Boston’s first run of the series. Fried stranded a runner at second in the third inning and stayed ahead of a lineup that had managed just three hits the night before. Fried and Cam Schlittler combined to allow one run over 12⅓ innings with 16 strikeouts as the Yankees outscored Boston 18-2 over both games.

Fried had a 0.77 ERA in two starts against the Red Sox this season, and he threw 6⅓ scoreless innings against them in last year’s Wild Card opener. Cody Bellinger’s three-run homer capped a six-run sixth inning that broke the game open, and New York now faces the Tampa Bay Rays in a division series beginning Saturday.

Honorable mention goes to the Phillies’ Andrew Painter, a starter in the regular season, who threw three scoreless innings in relief to close out the win. He ended the game by striking out Dominic Smith on an 0-2 fastball that was initially called a ball, then confirmed as a strike on a challenge. 

Painter, a starter during the regular season, bailed out a taxed Phillies bullpen with three scoreless innings of relief work. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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It was the first time a postseason game ended on a strike-zone appeal.

What’s Next

The White Sox, Yankees and Padres have punched their tickets to the division series, with those matchups beginning Saturday. That leaves the Braves and Phillies, who play a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday night. 

Here’s how it will play out:

• The White Sox will visit the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians.
• The Yankees will face the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays.
• The Padres will face the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers, who have MLB’s best record.
• The Braves-Phillies winner will take on the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers. First pitch at Truist Park is set for 8:15 p.m. ET

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Eight teams entered the wild-card round on Tuesday. Three are already heading home Wednesday. That’s playoff baseball for you.

The Red Sox, Astros and Cubs didn’t get to technically play October baseball. But the Yankees, White Sox and Padres made sure to keep their hopes of a deep run alive. That just leaves us one more wild-card matchup (Phillies vs. Braves) to settle.

Here are our takeaways from Wednesday’s action:

1. Bryce Harper Redeems Himself

Rowan Kavner: The repercussions of two San Francisco Giants trades threatened to end the Phillies’ season Wednesday afternoon at Truist Park. 

‘On Aug. 2, the Giants sent starter Tyler Mahle to Atlanta. The move garnered little attention at the time, but Mahle would become the most consequential player to switch teams at the deadline. 

On Aug. 3, the Giants traded Luis Arraez to the Phillies, who then reshuffled their defensive alignment to accommodate the infielder. One of those moves, shifting Bryce Harper from first base to right field, nearly had ruinous consequences in Game 2 of the wild-card series. 

Mahle delivered seven innings of one-run ball on Wednesday to put Atlanta in prime position to move on to the National League Division Series. Arraez, meanwhile, didn’t make the Phillies’ wild-card roster after spraining his ankle a week ago. Harper, however, remained in right field for the first two games of the playoffs. 

That decision backfired in the seventh inning Wednesday when Harper misplayed a fly ball from Drake Baldwin, allowing the go-ahead run to score. A sacrifice fly followed, adding an insurance run for the Braves, ending Cristopher Sánchez’s day and endangering the Phillies’ season. 

“It doesn’t matter what you did the at-bat before, the inning before,” Harper said. “It’s what you do in that moment.”

An inning later, the moment found Harper again. 

And this time, he delivered in a 4-3 comeback win to keep the Phillies’ season alive. 

Braves reliever Dylan Lee hadn’t allowed a home run to a left-handed hitter all year before Kyle Schwarber and Harper started the eighth inning with back-to-back shots to tie the game, erasing Mahle’s superb work. 

Mahle, who stepped up with a 1.99 ERA over nine second-half starts to lessen the Braves’ rotation concerns, aced his first playoff test in Atlanta, outdueling a Cy Young contender in Sánchez before handing the ball to one of the best bullpens in baseball. 

But his gem was not rewarded. 

Lee blew the lead, Andrew Painter provided three vital innings of relief for Philadelphia to keep the game tied, and Alec Bohm delivered the deciding blow in the 10th inning with a solo shot off Didier Fuentes to keep the Phillies’ season going in a back-and-forth battle. An elimination Game 3 will take place Thursday in Atlanta. 

“I really, really don’t want this year to end,” Bohm said. 

2. White Sox Meet The Moment

Deesha Thosar: With one decisive swing, Chase Meidroth sucked all the air out of Houston. For Chicago, call it the franchise’s biggest hit of the past five years. 

The White Sox were hanging onto a miniscule one-run lead when Meidroth’s three-run home run off Astros reliever Bryan Abreu in the sixth inning broke the game open. As the South Siders charged ahead to a 7-3 lead that they would never relinquish, Meidroth and his flowing brown locks rounded the bases in unbridled joy. The 25-year-old second baseman joined the White Sox from Boston as part of the Garrett Crochet trade in 2024. It was, by far, the most memorable and clutch hit of Meidroth’s budding career. 

Chase Meidroth’s homer slammed the door shut on the Astros. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

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“There’s no better feeling than coming through for the guys,” he said. 

Moments before Meidroth’s deafening shot, none other than Astros homegrown legend Jose Altuve had the perfect opportunity to put his team in front. The Astros, trailing 4-3, had loaded the bases for Altuve, who had already hit a solo shot in the fourth inning. All he needed was a hit, something he had done 120 times in 107 playoff games for Houston. But Altuve flew out to right field, and with him, the Astros’ dreams of making something out of an otherwise disappointing season went down the drain.

After all, the Astros were the team with the worst record (81-81) ever to win a division. Given how the year unfolded, it was always going to be a longshot for Houston to suddenly resemble a serious playoff team. One of their only hopes was slugger Yordan Alvarez, the AL MVP favorite after crushing 42 home runs in a full, healthy season for the Astros. But the White Sox pitching staff kept Alvarez in the ballpark throughout the series. He went 1-for-8 with his lone hit being a single in Tuesday’s 6-3 loss. 

“They made sure they came in with the objective of not letting Yordan beat them,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “If I’m on the other side, I would have come in here with the same game plan, not letting Yordan beat you. But I thought they executed really well. We couldn’t get our bats going. We had some opportunities but just couldn’t get that big hit.”

Preseason projection systems had this year’s White Sox team penciled in to lose close to 100 games. Instead, they went 84-78, and were this close to grabbing the division title from the Guardians. Chicago’s successful season was built from a band of misfits, including Savannah Banana to AL All-Star, Tristan Peters, and Nippon Professional Baseball slugger to 35-homer AL All-Star, Munetaka Murakami. They believed, since the club came together at spring training, that they had the right blend of players to prove the world wrong. 

The White Sox, after recording three consecutive 100-loss seasons from 2023-2025, now advance to the ALDS to face the Guardians. They will look for their first ALDS victory since 2021 and after that, they hope, their first trip back to the World Series since they won it all in 2005. 

3. Even Without Judge, Yankees Can Still Hit

Thosar: The Red Sox knew that facing the Yankees’ elite rotation was going to be the toughest uphill battle in a season full of them. What they didn’t expect, what they couldn’t have known, was how much of a force the Yankees offense would suddenly become while their best hitter sat on the bench trying to make his way back from injury. 

Aaron Judge, idling in the dugout wearing a sweatshirt with the hoodie pulled over his head, watched as the Yankees embarrassed the Red Sox for a second consecutive day, ending Boston’s season on a balmy night in the Bronx. There was action up and down New York’s lineup in its 9-2 series-clinching win on Wednesday — something the Bombers have struggled to consistently provide throughout most of the season without their key sluggers.

Giancarlo Stanton, who hasn’t played since April 24, was actually activated and included on the Yankees’ wild-card series roster against the Red Sox, unlike Judge. But the Yankees never needed either of their big bats to dispose of their longtime division rivals and advance to the ALDS against the Rays. 

Throughout Game 2, the Yankees were in cruise control. Left-hander Max Fried kept Boston’s bats at bay with six innings of one-run ball, and New York provided plenty of run support with 14 hits, including at least one hit from each of its nine starters. 

Will Aaron Judge return for the ALDS? (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

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“Being able to celebrate with your teammates after a playoff series win, it doesn’t get old,” Fried said. “This is what we start practicing in February for. This is where we want to be. So just about playing our game, having fun and hopefully we’ve got a couple more of these that we can do.”

The Red Sox failed to generate enough offense to be a real threat to the Yankees at any point during the wild card series. They were without Roman Anthony for the majority of Game 1 and all of Game 2 after the outfielder went down with a hand injury. That left catcher Adley Rutschman and first baseman Willson Contreras as the only bats who could realistically do some damage. Contreras, at least, snapped Boston’s 26 ⅔ scoreless innings streak in the postseason with a solo shot in the sixth. But that was never going to be enough against a 93-win Yankees team that relied on its elite starting pitching staff to get it to this point. 

Plus, Chad Tracy’s moves backfired. The Red Sox manager deployed southpaw Garrett Crochet in the sixth inning — his first time pitching since April after being sidelined all season with a shoulder and lat injury — only for the Yankees to pulverize him. Crochet faced four batters and coughed up four runs while failing to record an out. He was booed off the mound by the Bronx faithful.

In the same inning, Tracy and the Red Sox opted to intentionally walk the red-hot Ben Rice in favor of facing Cody Bellinger. It backfired. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Bellinger slugged a three-run home run to right field, increased New York’s lead to 8-1, and buried the Red Sox for good. 

“Regardless of all the special things that happened this summer, and there were quite a few, the goal is to win the World Series, and that ended for us tonight,” Tracy said. “So it’s frustrating. And there’s a lot of things you can say, but in the moment, right now, I think the guys only care that we lost. And it’s going to take some time to get over that.”

4. Padres Were Dominant Across The Board

Kavner: In Game 1, the Padres’ offensive stars dazzled. In Game 2, their bullpen arms dominated. 

And after two nights of quieting the highest-scoring lineup in the sport, stymying the National League MVP favorite, dissecting a depleted Cubs pitching staff, exploiting one of MLB’s most electrifying home-field advantages and dominating in every way imaginable, the Padres are moving on to the NLDS, where they’ll face the Brewers in a matchup of baseball’s two best teams since the All-Star break. 

“I can’t speak for anyone else,” Padres third baseman Manny Machado told me, “but playing here, tonight, these last two days, I’ve never felt anything like it. I never have.” 

The Padres demonstrated why they went 51-30 at home this year. A raucous crowd, featuring 47,000-plus screaming fans twirling yellow towels both nights, seemed to help smother a Cubs offense that led MLB this year in OPS and scoring. 

San Diego was raucous throughout the series. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune via Getty Images)

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The Cubs got outscored 12-1 in the series, with standouts Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman finishing a combined 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts. 

“Those were the two guys we marked as, ‘We don’t want those guys to beat us in this series,’” said Padres manager Craig Stammen. “We tried our best to set up our pitching to handle them.” 

In Game 1, it was starter Michael King who shut down the star duo. In Game 2, it was Nick Pivetta and a well-rested, fearsome bullpen. Bradgley Rodriguez, Jason Adam, Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller combined to allow just two hits over 5.2 scoreless innings to finish off the sweep. 

And after their offensive stars powered them forward at the plate in Game 1, with Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill combining for six hits, five RBI and five runs scored, it was the depth of the lineup that shined in Game 2. 

Ty France doubled and scored. Xander Bogaerts had two hits, including an RBI single off Kevin Gausman to start the scoring Wednesday night. And Gavin Sheets, behind a chorus of “Ho-ly Sheets” chants, came off the bench and parked a two-run homer to right field to break the game open. 

San Diego’s shutdown bullpen took it from there. A Nico Hoerner double was the only extra-base hit the Padres surrendered all series. 

And now, the hottest team in baseball will move on to face its best, the 103-win Brewers, in the NLDS. 

“We’re playing as a group, playing as a whole,” Machado told me. “Everyone’s pulling by the same rope. Wherever you have that going, it’s impressive to see. It’s impressive to be a part of. Never seen anything like it.” 

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