MLB division series: Live updates, analysis on Day 5

Four games on one Super Wednesday of the 2025 MLB playoffs are in the books.

The division series in both the American League and National League could have all ended today -- but the Detroit Tigers put an early stop to that, and two other teams facing elimination followed suit.

Detroit kicked off all the fun Wednesday by overcoming an early deficit en route to a dominant win over the Seattle Mariners, sending the series back to Seattle for a decisive Game 5 on Friday. The Chicago Cubs eked out a close win over the Milwaukee Brewers to force Game 4 on Thursday in Chicago. Likewise, the Philadelphia Phillies extended their season by riding a five-run eighth inning to a dominant victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers for their first win of the series -- and will hope to do it again Thursday at Dodger Stadium.

Our first -- and only -- clinch of Super Wednesday came when the Toronto Blue Jays held on for the win in the Bronx in the day's third game to secure a trip to the American League Championship Series and bounce the New York Yankees from the playoffs.

We have all the day's action covered, from in-game analysis to postgame takeaways.

Key links: Mega-preview | Series outlooks | Bracket | Schedule

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Takeaways | In-game analysis

Takeaways

Philadelphia Phillies 8, Los Angeles Dodgers 2

Los Angeles leads series 2-1

The Philadelphia Phillies needed Aaron Nola to shorten the game on the front end. They needed Ranger Suarez to pitch really well behind him. And, most of all, they needed their bats to come alive. The Phillies did all of that and saved their season with an emphatic win at Dodger Stadium. Nola found a way to contribute two scoreless innings, Suarez pitched five innings of one-run ball behind him, and the top of the Phillies' order came alive. Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper entered a combined 2-for-21 and wound up going 7-for-13 on Wednesday, with two of those hits being home runs from Schwarber. A lot of the damage was done in the eighth inning against Clayton Kershaw, who clearly did not have the stuff to match the Phillies' prowess. But maybe this is what finally gets Philadelphia's bats going. -- Alden Gonzalez

The Los Angeles Dodgers still have two games to notch just one win, so that will be the focus moving forward as they flush this one, but the end of this game was sad to watch, seeing the Phillies score five runs off Clayton Kershaw in the eighth inning. It took a terrific catch by center fielder Justin Dean crashing into the wall just to get the final out of the inning and end the misery. Undoubtedly, this was Kershaw's last game. Even if the Dodgers advance, he's now unlikely to be on the National League Championship Series roster. With four other lefty relievers, there's no need to carry him on the active roster.

Aside from that, the inning was also damaging for Game 4, as it allowed the Phillies to not use Matt Strahm or Jhoan Duran, their top two relievers, like they would have in a 3-1 game. The Dodgers' inability to do much off Ranger Suarez also points to the fact that they really haven't done much damage off Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and Suarez, the three left-handers, with Sanchez ready on regular rest for Game 4 and Luzardo again on regular rest for Game 5. Shohei Ohtani, in particular, has certainly been shut down by these lefties. Suddenly, the Dodgers' path to a repeat looks a lot more precarious. -- David Schoenfield

Toronto Blue Jays 5, New York Yankees 2

Toronto wins series 3-1

The Toronto Blue Jays could have folded. They could have harped on blowing their biggest lead of the 2025 season in Game 3 of the division series. They could have deviated from playing their brand of baseball, chased something they weren't, panicked.

Instead, in clinching an ALCS berth with a 5-1 victory at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night, they did what they've done all season: put the ball in play, field cleanly, run the bases with vigor and get enough pitching -- in this case from eight arms who combined to limit New York to six hits. Blue Jays manager John Schneider navigated a pitching shortage with masterful bullpen deployment, and Toronto scratched across four runs against Yankees starter Cam Schlittler while striking out just twice. Next up at Rogers Centre on Sunday: Game 1 of the ALCS, the deepest the Blue Jays have gone in the postseason since 2016. -- Jeff Passan

Multiple times this season, manager Aaron Boone said this Yankees team was the most talented team he has managed in his eight years at the helm. Aaron Judge registered another otherworldly MVP-caliber season. Seven players clubbed at least 20 home runs -- and an eighth, Anthony Volpe, hit 19. The bullpen, bolstered at the trade deadline, featured proven veterans. Max Fried and Carlos Rodon were All-Stars atop the rotation. Rookie Cam Schlittler emerged and shined. The defense, an issue for stretches, had improved down the stretch. They ranked eighth in baseball in steals.

But the Yankees couldn't beat Toronto for the AL East title over 162 games and they couldn't beat Toronto in a five-game series to continue playing October baseball.

On Wednesday, the Blue Jays scored their five runs without a homer. On the other side, Blue Jays relievers held the Yankees, the highest-scoring offense with the most home runs in the majors during the regular season, to two runs on six hits. The only run came from an unlikely source: No. 9 hitter Ryan McMahon, who swatted a pitch from left-hander Mason Fluharty over the short porch in right field in the third inning.

Otherwise, New York stranded two runners in the sixth inning, two in the seventh and three in the eighth. After Judge's massive home run in Game 3, the Yankees didn't produce the clutch hit they needed to force a Game 5 and keep hopes of their first World Series title since 2009 alive. A long winter awaits. -- Jorge Castillo

Chicago Cubs 4, Milwaukee Brewers 3

Milwaukee leads series 2-1

This time, the Chicago Cubs punched back. After taking leads in the first inning of Games 1 and 2, only to see the Milwaukee Brewers eliminate those deficits quickly, it was Chicago's turn to steal the momentum away. It started with yet another Michael Busch leadoff home run, his second of the series. It tied the game 1-1 and immediately got the crowd back into it after a rare non-call of the infield fly rule led to a run for Milwaukee in the top of the first. The Cubs added on in the first inning as Pete Crow-Armstrong delivered the big hit, a two-run bases loaded single. Five relievers held the Brewers at bay just enough to secure the Cubs their first win of the series. Chicago has only scored runs in the first inning of each of the last two games but is 1-1 in them. -- Jesse Rogers

This was a fascinating game, as the Cubs once again took an early lead, exploding for four runs off Quinn Priester in the bottom of the first after the Brewers had scored once in the top of the inning. In the end, however, the game came down to one crucial high-leverage at-bat: Chicago's Brad Keller facing Milwaukee's Jake Bauers, bases loaded, two outs, top of the eighth. If Bauers gets a base hit, two runs score and the series is likely over, given the dominating late-game Milwaukee bullpen.

On the first pitch, Bauers stepped out, but the umpire didn't grant time, and Keller's pitch was a ball outside. It was shaping up as a Brewers moment. Instead, Keller delivered a 97 mph fastball for a strike, got Bauers looking at a changeup low and in and then blew him away with another 97 mph heater. Keller's season has been remarkable. Last year, he had a 5.44 ERA with the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox, spending much of the season in the minors. The Cubs signed him, and then he added 4 mph to his fastball and had a great year, taking over as the closer down the stretch. After striking out Bauers, Keller got through the ninth. The Cubs are still alive. -- David Schoenfield

Detroit Tigers 9, Seattle Mariners 3

Series tied 2-2

Say what you will about the way the Detroit Tigers finished the regular season, but this is one resilient bunch. They barely avoided collapsing their way out of the playoff field. But whereas missing the playoffs has a definite finality to it, squeezing in opens up all sorts of possibilities. The Tigers' offense began Wednesday with the lowest WOBA of any playoff team, including those already eliminated. But despite that, Detroit has scrapped and fought to win the close ones, winning games with no margin for error.

Finally, in the middle of Game 4, the hitters broke out. Riley Greene, who was removed for a pinch hitter during the wild-card series in Cleveland with tough lefty Tim Herrin on the mound, launched the go-ahead shot in the sixth, just Detroit's third homer of the playoffs, as the Tigers roared back from a 3-0 deficit. Javier Baez and Gleyber Torres followed up with two more home runs to round out the Game 4 win.

The moment was huge for the Tigers, and Greene -- their best position player. Now Detroit turns to its best player period, ace Tarik Skubal, for Game 5. Just hours after everything was swimming Seattle's direction after Game 3, the Tigers have once again fought back from the brink. -- Bradford Doolittle

For the Seattle Mariners, this was like the old Clint Eastwood movie. The first half of the game was good -- very good, as the Mariners built a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth. Then it turned bad. Then it turned ugly. The analysis will certainly revolve around Dan Wilson's decision with starter Bryce Miller, except Wilson will hear it from both sides: should have pulled him sooner, should have left him in. Miller was not good this year (5.68 ERA and one of the most homer-prone starters in the majors) and was starting only because Bryan Woo was injured.

The Mariners probably should have been happy to get four scoreless innings out of him considering he allowed an 0.923 OPS the second time through the order. But Wilson let him start the fifth and Miller allowed two hits, initiating the Detroit comeback. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway. Gabe Speier and Eduard Bazardo, excellent in the regular season, were not excellent on this day. For some reason, the Mariners continue to struggle to get out Javier Baez, one of the worst hitters in the majors in the second half.

Now they have to beat Skubal in Game 5. The Mariners won Game 2 when Skubal started, leading 2-0 when he left the game, blowing the lead and then scoring the winning run against the Detroit bullpen. Beating Skubal again feels unlikely. Except Cleveland faced this scenario last year in Game 5 of the ALDS and scored five runs off the Cy Young winner, including a grand slam, winning 7-3. The more likely hope is Seattle pulling out another low-scoring victory. Good luck. -- Schoenfield

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