Dodgers and Rays Reach Championship Series as Yankees Are Swept Out
The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays have both reached their Championship Series, with the Dodgers eliminating Atlanta and the Rays completing a sweep of the New York Yankees.
Los Angeles won 4-1 at Truist Park to take their Division Series 3-1, while Tampa Bay won 4-3 at Yankee Stadium for a 3-0 series victory.
Dodgers Chase a Third Straight Title
Tyler Glasnow delivered the pitching performance that settled the National League series, and Andy Pages produced the decisive contribution with the bat, turning on a 100mph pitch to put Los Angeles 3-1 ahead.
It is a third consecutive NLCS appearance for the Dodgers, who are attempting to become the first team to win three straight World Series since the New York Yankees managed it between 1998 and 2000.
They finished the regular season 100-62 and secured a 14th consecutive postseason appearance, equalling the record Atlanta set between 1991 and 2005. The Braves, who won 94 games, go home.
Rays Finish the Yankees
Tampa Bay's sweep was built on pitching. Drew Rasmussen set the tone in the opener with a no-hit bid that lasted into the eighth inning, finishing with 10 strikeouts and one hit allowed in a 1-0 win decided by a Jonathan Aranda home run.
They took Game 2 5-2 and then closed it out 4-3 in the Bronx, with Richie Palacios producing the significant hit. Nick Martinez started against Max Fried.
The Rays finished the regular season with the best record in the American League at 98-64, having been widely tipped to finish bottom of the AL East in preseason projections. The Yankees, who won 93 games and swept Boston in the wild card round, were beaten in three straight.
Two Series Still Live
The remaining Division Series are both going the distance or close to it.
Cleveland kept their season alive with a 9-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, cutting Chicago's lead to 2-1. A Game 5 would be played on Saturday at Progressive Field.
In the National League, San Diego avoided elimination with a 4-3 win in Game 3, Jake Cronenworth hitting a tiebreaking home run and Michael King pitching the final two innings two days after a five-inning start. Xander Bogaerts turned a game-ending double play. That left Milwaukee leading 2-1 heading into Game 4 at Petco Park.
The Brewers finished the regular season with baseball's best record at 103-59.
The Championship Series are best-of-seven. The World Series is scheduled to begin on 23 October.
Should Chicago hold on against Cleveland, they would reach their first ALCS since 2005, the year they won the World Series. They lost 121 games in 2024 and more than 100 in each of the two seasons either side of it, and no team had previously reached the postseason after three consecutive 100-loss campaigns.
