Chasing October: Wild-card series takeaways for every Game 2

theScore provides running analysis and insights throughout the 2025 MLB wild-card series, continuing Wednesday and running through Thursday if necessary. Keep checking back for updates as the opening round unfolds and check out our Game 1 takeaways here.

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DET vs. CLE I SD vs. CHC | BOS vs. NYY

Final: The Reds go extremely gently into that good night. The Dodgers win the right to play the Philadelphia Phillies in a best-of-five NLDS starting Saturday. Heading into that, have the Dodgers unlocked something special in Roki Sasaki? The Japanese righty came in to close the game with a four-run lead and dominated Cincinnati's hitters. After the debut season he endured, it was no wonder that the rest of the team looked so happy for him out there getting the final outs. He might be an underrated weapon going forward.

But let's show some respect to the Reds. Don't let any New York Mets fans tell you they deserved to be there more than Cincinnati. The Reds had the third-best pitching staff in the majors this year, by FanGraphs WAR, behind only the Dodgers and Phillies. Their starters posted the ninth-best ERA in MLB despite playing half their games in one of the most notorious hitters' parks. And they did it without a huge ace in the rotation but with a committee of shockingly reliable guys. Kudos to the Reds for an organizational step forward. Getting swept by this Dodgers team is nothing to be ashamed of. After all, you made it further than the Mets and their $340-million payroll.

8th inning: Something I've never seen before: a pitcher and hitter getting changed in the middle of an at-bat. With Will Benson in a 1-2 count, Roberts comes out to get Emmet Sheehan, who has already given up two runs and looks shaky. The Dodgers replace Sheehan with lefty Alex Vesia. Francona counters, pinch-hitting for Benson with Miguel Andujar, who then strikes out on the next pitch. Benson is credited with the strikeout on the hitter's side. Vesia gets the punchout on the pitcher's ledger. Very odd. Vesia goes on to retire TJ Friedl, who represented the tying run with the bases loaded.

6th inning: Redemption for Teoscar Hernández and Game 2 is broken open. After Freeman is intentionally walked to load the bases, the Dodgers slugger hits the first pitch he sees right back up the middle for a two-run double. Tony Santillan is summoned from the bullpen and gets the Reds out of the jam but the damage is done. It's a five-run lead for the home team. It's looking increasingly like there will be only three games Thursday.

6th inning: If you told me Betts was the most gifted baseball player of all time, I'd believe you. The man has won six Gold Gloves in the outfield, and here he is at shortstop preventing the Reds from tying the game by throwing home with the bases loaded on an extremely heads-up play. He could've traded the game-tying run in for a shot at a double play, but he opted against it, and Yamamoto proceeded to strike out Stewart and Elly De La Cruz to strand the rest of them. That's good fundamentals and trusting your ace.

4th inning: The Dodgers are trying to ensure there aren't four elimination games Thursday. They've gotten to Zack Littell. It started with Ben Rortvedt, of all people, setting the table in the third inning by hitting a double down the line in left field. If you get on base at the bottom of this lineup, one of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, or Freddie Freeman will get you home. But the fourth inning is where the real damage was done, with a game-tying double from Enrique Hernández and a go-ahead double by Miguel Rojas pushing Littell out. Terry Francona now turns to young left-hander Nick Lodolo with the season on the line.

1st inning: Rewind to mid-August when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said that Teoscar Hernández's defense has to "get better out there." Well, it's the postseason and ... spoiler alert: it hasn't. He plays a lazy Austin Hays fly ball far too nonchalantly, and it puts runners on the corners for Sal Stewart, who sends both guys home with a single in the next at-bat. Getting two early tallies against Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a great start, but the Reds will need to keep manufacturing runs for Littell (3.81 ERA over 186 2/3 innings this year).

Final: What a damn game. Yankees-Red Sox is the third wild-card series going the distance after New York pulled off a win in Game 2. We wouldn't have it any other way. The margin for error is so small in the postseason, and that was on display tonight. The Yankees recorded a run on a Jarren Duran miscue. The Red Sox failed to score after Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a great defensive play to keep the ball in the infield. Chisholm got a running start and came around to narrowly score the winning run on a single. One night after the Yankee bullpen imploded, Aaron Boone gets three shutout innings from his relievers. Everything is magnified in October, and a series can flip in just a couple of hours.

8th inning: The Yankees have a lead. Austin Wells ropes a single that stays just fair to score a speedy Jazz Chisholm Jr., who bolts around the bases. Almost anyone else on the Yankees isn't scoring there. Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock has been excellent this season, but he was clearly running on fumes to end his outing, throwing a season-high 47 pitches. Boston rookie Peyton Tolle retired Trent Grisham with the bases loaded to end the inning and give the visitors a shot in the ninth.

7th inning: That will do it for Carlos Rodón. The left-hander's night ends after issuing a four-pitch walk to Nate Eaton and plunking Jarren Duran. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hasn't done anything with his bat tonight, but he saves a run with an incredible diving effort to keep the ball in the infield. Still, the Red Sox have to wonder how Nate Eaton didn't come around to score on the play. Fernando Cruz is the most jacked-up person in Yankee Stadium after getting Trevor Story to fly out with the bases loaded to escape the jam. Isn't October baseball the best?

6th inning: Trevor Story immediately answers back for Boston by hammering a solo home run. After Carlos Rodón walks the next batter, Aaron Boone emerges from the Yankees dugout to ... chat. He ends up leaving Rodón in, and it pays off as the big left-hander gets Romy Gonzalez to pop up and Carlos Narváez to ground into an inning-ending double play. With Rodón at 83 pitches and Fernando Cruz warming up, we'll see if Boone rolls the dice with his bullpen again or rides his starter a little longer.

5th inning: Aaron Judge drives in the go-ahead run thanks to an assist from Jarren Duran. The Red Sox left fielder has the ball clank off his glove, and with two outs, Trent Grisham scores easily. Judge's ball had a .180 xBA, and because the official scorer ruled it a hit and not an error, the Yankees outfielder improved to 4-for-7 in the series.

3rd inning: Alex Cora has a reputation for being aggressive with his bullpen management in the postseason and brings the hook out quickly after Brayan Bello records seven outs. Bello wasn't overly sharp, allowing two runs off four hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings without recording a strikeout. Despite allowing a double steal, Justin Wilson retires Cody Bellinger and Ben Rice to end the inning. Garrett Crochet's unbelievable performance in Game 1 means Cora should have every reliever at his disposal tonight.

3rd inning: That's a big response from the Red Sox as they get to Carlos Rodón. Trevor Story ties the game with a two-RBI single with one out as Boston capitalizes on some shaky infield defense from the Yankees. Story was the Red Sox MVP from a position player standpoint during the regular season after a pair of injury-plagued campaigns.

1st inning: Ben Rice probably won't be sitting again. The Yankees first baseman, who was held out of the Game 1 lineup against a left-hander, hammers a two-run homer on the first pitch he sees from Brayan Bello to open the Game 2 scoring. Bello owned New York in the regular season, pitching to a 1.89 ERA over 19 innings. However, he posted a 5.40 ERA over his five September starts.

Final: It's no surprise this series is going the distance. The Padres couldn't have played Game 2 more perfectly with Mike Shildt executing his pitching plan flawlessly. The decision to remove Dylan Cease in the fourth inning could have backfired, but when you can throw the arms the Padres have, it makes the decision easier. San Diego's relievers have thrown eight shutout innings to go with 10 strikeouts and two walks through two games. If you like high velocity, you'll love what the Padres did today: the 79 fastest pitches in Game 2 came from San Diego's arms, with their four pitchers reaching at least 99 mph. The Cubs managed just one hit after the fourth inning.

8th inning: Major League Baseball needed Mason Miller pitching in October. The Padres flamethrower dazzled with three strikeouts in Game 1 and followed that performance by striking out five straight in Game 2. Miller struck out Seiya Suzuki with a 102.7-mph four-seam fastball, caught Carson Kelly looking with a 104.5-mph (lol) four-seam fastball, and finished off Pete Crow-Armstrong with a 90.5-mph slider to end the seventh. Miller returned for the eighth and struck out Dansby Swanson and Moisés Ballesteros before plunking Michael Busch. Mike Shildt goes to Robert Suarez after getting five outs and 27 pitches from Miller. Shildt's now used Miller and Morejon on back-to-back days, so we'll see if they'll be available in Game 3 if the Padres hang on.

5th inning: The Cubs' decision to pitch to Manny Machado with first base open backfired. Shota Imanaga served up a 404-foot, two-run homer to Machado, giving San Diego a 3-0 lead. It's odd that Craig Counsell didn't try his luck with the left-handed Imanaga facing left-handed hitter Jackson Merrill instead of Machado. Merrill hit just two home runs to go with a .648 OPS against southpaws this season. Imanaga looked really good up until that moment too. Home runs have been an issue for him all season, though - he'd surrendered 10 of them over his previous five starts entering October.

4th inning: What did we just say about Mike Shildt managing aggressively? The Padres skipper pulls Dylan Cease after just 11 outs despite the right-hander throwing a shutout with five strikeouts. San Diego intentionally walks Carson Kelly to get to Pete Crow-Armstrong - a decision that would've been unthinkable pre-All-Star Game. PCA's really struggled against left-handed pitching this season (.594 OPS) and grounds out to end the inning. Cease only threw 69 pitches, so maybe this benefits the Padres long term this postseason.

4th inning: Mike Shildt is certainly managing this like an elimination game. San Diego's manager had Adrian Morejon temporarily warming up in the third inning and opted to pinch hit Jose Iglesias for Gavin Sheets with two on and one out in the fourth. Iglesias flew out to center field, and the Padres failed to score in the frame, as they cling to a 1-0 lead. Iglesias was then removed defensively for Bryce Johnson. Shildt doesn't have many options on his bench late in the game (Martin Maldonado, Luis Campusano, Mason McCoy), as the club opted to carry three catchers this series.

1st inning: The Padres strike early for a second straight game. They'll hope it won't be their only run like it was in Game 1. One day after San Diego's first three hitters went 0-for-11, the top of the lineup gets things going as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez lead off the afternoon with back-to-back singles. Then they team up for a double steal that pays off when Jackson Merrill drives Tatis in with a sac fly to open the scoring. The Cubs opted to open the game with Andrew Kittredge, who threw 14 pitches in the eighth inning of Game 1. Shota Imanaga took over in the second inning.

Final: The Guardians didn't make it easy behind Cade Smith, with sure-handed Rocchio making a key error to load the bases with two outs. Nevertheless, Cleveland forces a Game 3. Here's how the bullpens look heading into the decisive contest, with pitches thrown per game. Smith, Gaddis, and Erik Sabrowski will likely only be available for Cleveland under the most dire circumstances. The Tigers' situation is a lot more favorable:

8th inning: Those left-handed hitters finally pay dividends for Vogt's Guardians. Switch-hitter Brayan Rocchio hits the first go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later of an elimination game in Cleveland history. Lefty Steven Kwan follows that up with a double and then fellow left-hander Daniel Schneemann cashes in Kwan with a double of his own. After putting José Ramírez on via intentional walk, A.J. Hinch is forced to go back to another southpaw pitcher - Brant Hurter - to face Manzardo. The Tigers now only have righties remaining in the 'pen. And it might not matter. Naylor, another lefty, takes Hurter deep for a three-run shot. It's 6-1. This series is likely going the distance. Advantage: Vogt in the managerial chess game unfolding in Game 2.

7th inning: In the latest edition of "Are the Hitters Bad or Are the Pitchers Good? The AL Central Story": Gaddis, who worked yesterday, puts runners on the corners to start the seventh, and Tim Herrin gets him out of the jam by striking out Jahmai Jones and Wenceel Pérez. On the other side of the ball, Kyle Finnegan, working into his second inning, very easily retires Naylor, Gabriel Arias, and DeLauter. The good news for viewers: One of these teams does have to score another run eventually.

6th inning: The offense has really quieted down. The Guardians, looking to stave off elimination, have one hit since the Valera homer. The Tigers have gotten their fair share of baserunners but have stranded nine of them. The interesting thing to watch as the game progresses is that Guardians manager Stephen Vogt decided to keep almost all of his left-handed starters in the lineup against southpaw Tyler Holton, who relieved Mize to start the fifth. In order for the gamble to work, those lefty hitters (Manzardo, Bo Naylor, DeLauter, C.J. Kayfus) have to make the right-handed bullpen arms pay later.

4th inning: The redemption season for Javier Báez continues as the free-swinging Gold Glover comes up with the bases juiced and delivers. He initially appears to give the Tigers the lead by plating a couple, but a lengthy review rules that Zach McKinstry is out at third base. It's a very close call. Báez's RBI single still ties it up 1-1. Originally called safe by third base umpire Stu Scheurwater ... you decide:

1st inning: So, the AL Central can hit homers? With Tigers-Guardians into its 10th inning, George Valera delivers the series' first dinger. Valera only figured into 16 games for the Guardians this year, but the 24-year-old rookie performed well, hitting two homers. He swings hard, resulting in whiffs, but he can also work walks thanks to a pretty advanced plate approach. Detroit starter Casey Mize, a former first overall pick, had the best season of his career, but he simply isn't Tarik Skubal. He gives up another loud but ultimately harmless fly ball to Kyle Manzardo to end the inning. Skubal never gave up those hard-hit balls to these batters.

1st inning: We have our first DeLauter appearance. It's a rough one for the rookie, who lost a fly ball in the sun. Should've been a can of corn. Instead, it keeps the inning going for Bibee. Lucky for DeLauter, the pitcher bounced back to strike out Kerry Carpenter, Spencer Torkelson, and Riley Greene, stranding a pair in a scoreless first frame.

1st inning: The Tigers look to end the Guardians' season. Two players to watch will be Cleveland starter Tanner Bibee and outfield prospect Chase DeLauter, who's making his MLB debut. DeLauter was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He's the 13th first-rounder from that draft to make it to the bigs already, most notably joining Jackson Holliday and Zach Neto.