MLB playoff field is down to eight

The GIST: After four truly wild (like, straight up wacky) Wild Card (WC) series over the long weekend, the MLB playoff field is down to eight, with the four best-of-five Divisional Series (DS) teeing off yesterday. And people say baseball’s too slow.

National League: Fresh off a stunning WC sweep of the No. 3 St. Louis Cardinals, the No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies kept the upsets coming, holding off the defending champ No. 2 Atlanta Braves 7–6 on the road. Now they’ll send ace Zack Wheeler to the mound today at 4:35 p.m. ET in hopes of taking an early 2-0 series lead.

• In the late game, the No. 1 LA Dodgers and No. 5 San Diego Padres added another chapter to their storied Cali rivalry, with the Dodgers coming out on top 5–3.

• Looking ahead, today’s 8:37 p.m. ET Game 2 is shaping up to be an all-timer as former teammates and future Hall of Fame pitchers San Diego’s Yu Darvish and LA’s Clayton Kershaw are set to square off. Yes, please.

American League: Never count out the Houston Astros. Left fielder Yordan Alvarez blasted a walk-off home run to help the top-seeded squad erase a four-run deficit in their 8–7 win over the No. 5 Seattle Mariners. What a moment.

• But the Ms are no strangers to comebacks either. They’ll need to harness the power of the Rally Shoe if they want to even the series vs. lockdown Astros pitcher Framber Valdez tomorrow at 3:37 p.m. ET.

• Elsewhere, the No. 3 Cleveland Guardians couldn’t keep up their dominant WC defense, losing 4–1 to the powerhouse No. 2 NY Yankees. Tune in tomorrow at 7:37 p.m. ET to see if outfielder Aaron Judge and co. can bash their way to another win.