Wild Card Round: game thread

[Frisbee Slider]

I like the Padres in three.

Imanaga has 4.70 ERA in 76.2 IP since the break. Boyd has 4.63 ERA in the second half. Game three is either Taillon or Rea, presumably Taillon.

San Diego has a lot of LH hitters, though. 

[long ball]

I think I’d lean Padres over cubs. Both have some question marks in their rotation, but that padres bullpen in a 3 and 5 game series is daunting. On paper the cubs offense is way better, but they’ve been really hot and cold in the second half of the season. I think either team would be a tough opponent in the NLDS. 
 

for the other series, I’ll pick Dodgers, Cleveland, and the Yankees. 

[bm1090]

With Horton injured, I'd prefer to play the Cubs. I think the Padres win the series though.

This is the first time I've felt good about our chances in a series since 2018. But I like our chances a lot more if it's Chicago.

[young guns]

Emotionally I want to play San Diego, but I'm thinking we match up better vs the cubs.

[owbc]

Will road teams continue having success (8-4 in the 3-game series era)?

It feels like the home team should start doing better, but only 1 of the 4 series falls under the definition of "lopsided". I still don't see the home teams doing any better than 2-2 this year though, but with any luck we'll at least get a couple of game 3s. 

Det/Cle -- I'm taking Detroit in 3 here in a bit of an upset, but if they win Skubal's start in game 1 I think they can take the series.

Bos/NY -- lots of Stanton and Judge bombs incoming. Yankees win 2-0. 

Cin/LA -- LA 2-0. I know the Reds are a bit of a trendy pick because of their front-loaded rotation, but the Dodgers are playing well right now and will take care of business. 

SD/CHC -- Padres in 3. We know this Padres group has a track record of winning short postseason series so I think they overcome one dramatic Cubs win and pull it out. I agree that the Cubs are the preferred matchup for us on paper though. 

[Frisbee Slider]

12 minutes ago, owbc said:

It feels like the home team should start doing better,

Home teams could be bummed they didn’t get a bye and the road teams are more energized to have simply made the playoffs? 🤷‍♂️

[Money- Don]

I don't think it's right that we get the winner of Cubs-Padres.  While Philly could possibly play the number 6 seed, Cincinnati.

[Brock Beauchamp]

2 minutes ago, Money- Don said:

I don't think it's right that we get the winner of Cubs-Padres.  While Philly could possibly play the number 6 seed, Cincinnati.

MLB doesn't re-seed, so the 4-5 seed will face the 1 seed while the 3-6 seed will face the 2 seed.

And welcome to the site!

[Brock Beauchamp]

Here is the schedule for the first day of the DS:

https://www.mlb.com/scores/2025-10-04

[owbc]

33 minutes ago, Frisbee Slider said:

Home teams could be bummed they didn’t get a bye and the road teams are more energized to have simply made the playoffs? 🤷‍♂️

I think some of it comes down to how they seed. The 3 seed is the weakest division winner so the 3/6 is often closer than the seeding would suggest.

4/5 should be a tossup though. But for whatever reason teams seem to have trouble at home when the playoffs start. The Brewers looked terrible in WC game 1 last year. 

[bm1090]

10 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Here is the schedule for the first day of the DS:

https://www.mlb.com/scores/2025-10-04

Define schedule 

[owbc]

3 hours ago, bm1090 said:

Define schedule 

The Brewers are surely going to get the earliest timeslot -- noon central. 

[Fear The Chorizo]

We almost forgot to factor in the Cubs owning the tiebreaker against the Brewers...that means the Brewers play tomorrow instead, right?

[jay87shot]

I would much rather face the cubs from a roster standpoint, but agree that the Pads likely have the better chance of of winning the WC. The Pads pitching staff is just way more scary and I don't really worry about the Cubs offense like earlier in the year. I would worry a bit about losing some of the home field advantage if we play the Cubs but do think that would be an epic matchup.

[MudcatsfaninBrunsCO]

I want San Diego due to not having to play a rival but it's prob best we do so we don't have to fly out to Cali for 1 game 

[Brian]

20 minutes ago, MudcatsfaninBrunsCO said:

I want San Diego due to not having to play a rival but it's prob best we do so we don't have to fly out to Cali for 1 game 

Game 1 will be in Milwaukee regardless of who we play. 

[kestrel79]

I'm excited to give my Brewers Playoff anxiety a little break here and watch some other teams duke it out for a couple days.

For me I'm always rooting for the underdog teams like us. Jays, Det, Cle, Sea if any of those teams go far count me in.

SD and Cubs have both played us well this year so either way it's gonna be a dogfight. 

[Underachiever]

58 minutes ago, Brian said:

Game 1 will be in Milwaukee regardless of who we play. 

He typed "1 game", not "game 1". I think he was referring to Game 3, when the Brewers would have to fly to San Diego for one game and complete the sweep.

[Frisbee Slider]

[Outlander]

Will be good to see 4 teams eliminated. Would be crazy if 3 out of the final 4 NL teams were from the NL Central.

[owbc]

I don't know that I could handle a Brewers/Cubs playoff series. I don't even know that I could watch the games. Just too stressful. Hearing 1/4 of the crowd cheering when bad things happen to us in a playoff game at home, especially when I'm still not over Alonso knocking us out? Can't take it. I hope the Padres knock them out. 
 

[Frisbee Slider]

10 minutes ago, owbc said:

I don't know that I could handle a Brewers/Cubs playoff series.

Plus, it is normal to wish for an early playoff exit for your rival. Let’s not allow Cubs fans or the organization any momentum into the offseason.

[formerlybis]

15 minutes ago, owbc said:

I don't know that I could handle a Brewers/Cubs playoff series. I don't even know that I could watch the games. Just too stressful. Hearing 1/4 of the crowd cheering when bad things happen to us in a playoff game at home, especially when I'm still not over Alonso knocking us out? Can't take it. I hope the Padres knock them out. 
 

Since the end of the game on Sunday, I've been mentally preparing myself for the Cubs. I. like probably everyone, have been dreading all those FIBs in the stands for weeks now. But ... serenity now. Bring it on, whoever's next.

[Brian]

3 hours ago, Underachiever said:

He typed "1 game", not "game 1". I think he was referring to Game 3, when the Brewers would have to fly to San Diego for one game and complete the sweep.

OK thanks but I have dyslexia. 

[owbc]

They really need to do away with these weekday 1 PM wild card games, I don't care what the implications are for TV. There are thousands of empty seats in Cleveland and it's not because of lack of interest in the team, it's because they had less than 48 hours to sell tickets to a playoff game in the middle of the day on a Tuesday. 

(I say this as I watch the game and contribute to the problem by boosting the ratings)