TORONTO — The Yankees settled on their Game 1 starter for the ALDS, picking Luis Gil over Will Warren.

“I feel like he’s ready for this and in line and trust him to handle the situation,” Aaron Boone said of Gil with the Yankees working out at Rogers Centre on Friday. The manager added that he wants to keep Warren as a bullpen option ...Read more

MILWAUKEE — A short turnaround did not prevent the Chicago Cubs from calling on their veteran left-hander.

Matthew Boyd, pitching on three days’ rest, will start Game 1 on Saturday in the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. His usage in the opener of the wild-card series put him in play to be used ...Read more

SEATTLE — Troy Melton was on the plane with his teammates late Thursday night, trying to relax after the Tigers’ clinched the wild-card series and celebrated like rock stars at Progressive Field, when his phone buzzed.

“You’re going Game 1,” read the text from manager AJ Hinch.

“Let’s go!” Melton said.

Hinch announced Friday ...Read more

SEATTLE — George Kirby threw a gem in the Mariners’ last home playoff game in 2022.

He’s getting the chance to do it again in the Mariners’ next playoff game.

Kirby, the 27-year-old right-hander, has been named the Mariners’ starter for Saturday's Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers at T-Mobile ...Read more

TORONTO — Shortly after shoving for eight scoreless innings in the Yankees’ do-or-die Game 3 wild-card win over the Red Sox on Thursday, Yankees rookie Cam Schlittler said that ending Boston’s season was “personal for me.”

Not just because the Walpole, Mass., native grew up rooting for the Red Sox, but because some members of the fan ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — The last time Shohei Ohtani took the mound against the Philadelphia Phillies, it was the first time all year he looked like a true starting pitcher again.

Ohtani, of course, had pitched plenty before that Sept. 16 game at Dodger Stadium, when he spun five no-hit innings against a Phillies team on the verge of a National League ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs got used to clinching parties in the mid-2010s, and liked it so much they turned their new clubhouse into a pseudo nightclub so they could celebrate after regular-season wins.

But when the spigot of W’s got turned off, the music stopped, the lights were turned down and the golden era of Cubs baseball ended.

By ...Read more

NEW YORK — Months before Cam Schlittler made the biggest start of his life, the Yankees’ rookie right-hander found himself in his native New England with an evening to kill.

The 24-year-old, pitching for the Double-A Somerset Patriots on May 21, had just wrapped up an early day of work on the road, twirling six scoreless innings against the...Read more

NEW YORK — The Mets are overhauling much of their major league coaching staff underneath manager Carlos Mendoza, giving the skipper a mostly clean slate to work with for his third season. Most of the coaches were holdovers from the previous regime, with some of them joining the Mets even before Steve Cohen took over as majority owner.

...Read more

LOS ANGELES — All due respect to the Cincinnati Reds.

But the Dodgers' first real test of their World Series title defense is about to begin this weekend.

After advancing past the plucky Reds and their 83-win roster in a best-of-three wild-card series this week, the Dodgers will now face a true powerhouse in the best-of-five National League ...Read more

NEW YORK — Thursday night didn’t exactly draw parallels to the Yankees’ collapse in the 2004 ALCS, yet the pinstripers did extract some odds-defying revenge over the Red Sox with their decisive 4-0 victory in Game 3 of the American League wild-card series.

A best-of-three set, the hosting Yankees didn’t have to conjure the same magic ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Wrigley Field ivy peaked in the 2003 National League Championship Series, but the change of colors looks to be coming a little later this fall after the long, dry summer.

In a perfect world, the Chicago Cubs would be peaking at the same time.

“That would be the dream,” head groundskeeper Dan Kiermaier said before the start ...Read more

CLEVELAND — They’d been waiting since mid-summer, through August, through a painful September. The Tigers were still waiting as the playoffs began, waiting for another shot, looking for their moment. And then on a perfect sunny afternoon, here they came, swing by swing, hit by hit, the clutch Tigers who once held the best record in baseball....Read more

NEW YORK — As much progress as the Red Sox made this season, there have still been moments when the club inexplicably shot itself in the foot.

An outfield miscommunication here. An infield error there. Unproductive first-pitch outs and an inability to capitalize on scoring opportunities everywhere.

It was all on display Thursday night, and ...Read more

NEW YORK — It didn’t take long for Cam Schlittler to show he was ready for this moment.

The Yankees’ rookie right-hander began Thursday night’s do-or-die wild-card Game 3 by pumping 100-mph fastball after 100-mph fastball, overpowering the Boston Red Sox in a statement 1-2-3 first inning.

And that was just the start.

In a dominant ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers aren't ready to call Roki Sasaki their closer, but who are they kidding?

Sasaki is their closer.

When the 23-year-old rookie from the Japanese countryside stepped onto the October stage on Wednesday night, he revealed himself to be more than the team's best late-inning option.

He showed he was special.

He was ...Read more

CHICAGO — For the first time since 2017, the Chicago Cubs are moving on in the postseason.

The Cubs used an early lead and stellar pitching to beat the San Diego Padres, 3-1, on Thursday in Game 3 of the wild-card series to advance to the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers, their division rivals and owners of ...Read more