Dodgers And Brewers Advance, Yankees Are Out: 4 Takeaways From Division Series Slate

The Dodgers and Brewers are set for another collision course, while the Yankees simply imploded. 

We're down to five teams left with World Series hopes. In the National League, we'll have a rematch of last year's NLCS. And in the American League, the Rays swept the Yankees and now await the winner of the White Sox-Guardians series for a chance at the World Series. 

Here are our takeaways from Wednesday's action:

Rowan Kavner: Before the National League Division Series shifted from Los Angeles to Atlanta, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts gave a vote of confidence to his struggling All-Star center fielder. 

After going 4-for-51 in the postseason during the Dodgers’ 2025 World Series run, Andy Pages started this October hitless in the first two games of the NLDS. He also was banished from using ABS challenges again after another failed attempt in a year full of them. 

But Roberts stuck by the 25-year-old outfielder, who was one of the Dodgers’ most productive players this season. 

"I’m gonna continue to give Andy leash," Roberts said. "I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team." 

Roberts just wanted to see better at-bats from the whiff-prone outfielder, who had struck out in half of his plate appearances over Games 1 and 2. 

The Dodgers’ manager didn’t have to wait long. 

Pages responded with two hits and a run scored in Game 3, then delivered a game-breaking, series-sealing, two-run knock in Wednesday’s Game 4 to send the Dodgers through to the National League Championship Series in a 4-1 win. 

"I've been preparing myself all series for a moment like that," Pages said.

 Braves starter Tyler Mahle gave the Dodgers’ lineup fits, just as he did to most of his opponents after getting dealt from San Francisco to Atlanta at the trade deadline. Mahle, who had a 5.13 ERA in 18 appearances with the Giants and a 1.99 ERA in nine second-half starts with the Braves, held the Phillies to one run in seven innings in the wild-card series and the Dodgers to one run through the first six innings Wednesday night. 

The only hit Mahle surrendered through his first four innings was a single to Pages in the third. Four innings later, the biggest moment of the game found Pages after reliever Didier Fuentes loaded the bases and Braves manager Walt Weiss called upon Robert Suarez with two outs and the bases loaded. 

The free-swinging center fielder demonstrated restraint, taking the first two pitches outside the zone. He worked a 3-1 count, fouled off a four-seamer down the middle and then delivered the blow to end the Braves’ season with a base hit back up the middle. 

It was the Dodgers’ only hit with a runner in scoring position during the series. 

They hit eight home runs over the four games, including three from Max Muncy, whose solo shot in the ninth inning of Game 4 gave Dodgers closer Edwin Diaz some extra insurance before he locked down his second straight save to send the Dodgers forward to the NLCS for the eighth time in the last 11 years. 

They’re one series away – a rematch with the Brewers in the NLCS – from a third straight trip to the World Series. 

Deesha Thosar: If there’s any team to avoid making a mistake against, it’s the Rays. The Yankees know that. They learned that lesson the hard way during their atrocious, four-error performance in Game 2 of the ALDS at Tropicana Field. On Wednesday night in the Bronx, with their backs against the wall, the last thing they could afford to do was lose focus, or even get gassed. 

Yankees left-hander Max Fried appeared fatigued and wiped out on his final pitch of the night: a 77.9 mph sweeper that he could not have hung more if he tried. 

That was the dagger.

Rays left fielder Victor Mesa Jr. promptly sent it to the moon, breaking up the tied game with a go-ahead, two-run rocket. It was Mesa’s first career postseason home run, and it gave the Rays a lead they would never relinquish. 

And that was how the Yankees season ended, by getting swept at the hands of their division rival. It’s a story we witnessed as recently as last year. It’s a problem the Yankees do not know how to fix. 

Tampa Bay defeated New York, 4-3, and advanced to the ALCS for the first time since 2020. The Rays will go up against the winner of the other ALDS matchup between the White Sox and Guardians, with Chicago owning a 2-1 edge in the series heading into Thursday’s Game 4.

The Rays received offensive production from unsung heroes in their Game 3 clincher. Third baseman Junior Caminero was quiet — besides the throwing error he committed in the eighth inning. Yandy Diaz led off the game with a single, and then was sent down in each of his next three at-bats. Jonathan Aranda contributed with an RBI single in the third, but most of Tampa Bay’s damage came from their overlooked bench players. 

Right fielder Ryan Vilade, who posted a 108 OPS+ in 96 games for the Rays this year, tested Fried twice on Wednesday. In his first at-bat, Vilade sent a hard-hit fly ball to the warning track in left. In his second at-bat, he took Fried deep on a solo shot to the short porch in right field. Vilade’s fly ball to right field counted as a home run in exactly one major-league ballpark: Yankee Stadium. Wednesday was Vilade’s first career playoff game. His home run was his first career postseason hit. 

"It was pretty crazy," Vilade said. "Definitely didn't expect anything, like homer being your first postseason hit. You dream about it, and then to do it was really special. And I think, in the moment of the game, it was super cool as well. Just blessed."

Rowan Kavner: The questions entering October about whether a Milwaukee offense that led the majors in batting average and on-base percentage could successfully use that contact-heavy formula in the postseason, where home runs tend to rule, will have to be tabled for now.  

So far, so good. 

Hours after the White Sox lineup set a postseason record striking out 19 times, the Brewers punched their return ticket to the National League Championship Series showcasing the opposite approach Wednesday night, one that helped them win a franchise-record 103 games. 

In a 3-1 win in the deciding Game 4 of the National League Division Series, they did not strike out until their 29th batter of the game. 

By then, the Padres were already on their sixth pitcher of the night, Mason Miller, who was on the mound one day after celebrating the birth of his first child. This time, three days after suffering a blown save in a Game 2 defeat, the standout closer had no lead to protect. 

The Brewers brought San Diego to the brink despite the Padres scoring first in each of the first three games of the series. On Wednesday, they flipped that script when Sal Frelick legged out an infield single, stole second base then scored on an RBI single by Garrett Mitchell. 

That was the only run surrendered through three innings by October sensation Walker Buehler, who was making his first postseason appearance since finishing off the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series win. Fernando Tatis Jr. then brought life to Petco Park when he sent his second hit of the series 429-feet out to center field for a solo shot. 

But the Brewers did something few teams have, answering the noise of one of the best home-field advantages in the sport. 

Their pesky offense, which put 13 hard-hit balls into play, never went away. 

"When I think back to last year, I think there was an element of maybe a little bit of lack of belief that we could do it, maybe a little too much doubt," said Jake Bauers. "And I think going into this postseason, there's a different feeling around the team."

There’s a tax to pay every time a reliever enters a postseason series. Hitters gain familiarity with each appearance. That might have caught up to the Padres in Wednesday’s elimination game. 

Brewers star left fielder Jackson Chourio roped an RBI single off Bradgley Rodriguez, who pitched in all four games of the series. Sal Frelick followed an inning later with a sacrifice fly off Jason Adam, who pitched in three of the four games, to score Jake Bauers, who reached base in each of his four plate appearances. The Padres were clearly missing star left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon, who had been nursing a sore shoulder and did not pitch after Game 1. 

Milwaukee starter Robert Gasser and a medley of Brewers relievers kept the Padres’ offense in check after the Tatis blast until the eighth inning provided a moment of belief, when Manny Machado sent a ball 406 feet through the San Diego night sky. He thought he got it. The crowd did, too, quiet in anticipation, ready to celebrate the game-tying blast, until Mitchell fought through a sea of Padres fans in the first row of the center-field bleachers to record the out. 

The Brewers cooled off baseball’s hottest team and snapped a 12-game postseason road losing streak in one of the most hostile road environments in the sport. 

Now, after surviving a four-game battle against the Padres, baseball’s best team will move on to face the favorites in an NLCS rematch between the Brewers and Dodgers. 

Deesha Thosar: José Ramírez picked a great time to make his postseason stamp.

After forgettable and hitless performances through the first two games of this ALDS, Ramirez had his fingerprints all over Game 3 as the Guardians defeated the White Sox, 9-3, and staved off elimination. He went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, two RBI and a walk at the plate. Ramirez became the 10th player to record a double, triple and stolen base in the same game in MLB postseason history. 

And he was excellent on both sides of the ball. 

Ramirez, playing in his 14th season with Cleveland, saved multiple runs from crossing the plate on a spectacular play in the dirt in the sixth inning. After right-hander Hunter Gaddis hit Sam Antonacci with the bases loaded to force in a run, White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas ripped a liner toward short that looked like it was destined to break through the hole and into left field. 

But Ramirez snagged it straight off the bat for the final out of the inning. Just for good measure, he also fired a perfect throw to first, even though the inning was already over. It doesn't hurt to be sure. 

"It’s a great mindset from the team," Ramirez said through an interpreter after the win. "I think we did the best we could because there’s no way back. We came out to compete. There’s no tomorrow."

The White Sox, who went ahead, 1-0, in the first inning, had a ton of chances to take back their lead. They put pressure on nearly every pitcher who came out of the bullpen to save Cleveland’s season. Chicago went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. 

Even then, as many opportunities the South Siders had, the Guardians simply created more havoc on the basepaths. That was their plan all along. Get on base, create pressure, and force the White Sox to make near-perfect plays. Cleveland went 5-for-17 with runners in scoring position, actually piling on when they scored on Wednesday, something it had struggled to do coming into Game 3. The Guardians have Ramirez to thank for being a central figure in their critical win. 

"Josy, that's why he's one of the best players in the league," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "He can hurt you with the bat, the legs, and the glove. He showed all that today."