The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic’s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.
Are we getting two NLDS sweeps? Plus: Ken has notes on the Yankees/Blue Jays, and I look at a few select league leaders. I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!
Inevitable?: Dodgers take 2-0 lead over Phillies
For the first three games and eight innings this postseason, it appeared the Dodgers had shaken off the complacency of the post-championship regular season, ascending into their final unstoppable form.
Blake Snell was dominant (again) in Game 2: six innings, one hit, nine strikeouts (albeit with four walks). And after Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo had looked unhittable for six innings, L.A.’s offense broke out for a big four-run seventh, breaking the scoreless tie.
All that was left was for Dave Roberts — after surfing the rogue wave of a Dodgers bullpen for the last month — to choose from his new selection of starters-turned-relievers. Emmet Sheehan pitched the seventh and eighth, and Roki Sasaki was ready to— hang on, what?
Blake Treinen? The guy with the 9.64 September ERA? OK sure, one more for old times’ sake. Three hits and two runs later, the Dodgers’ 4-1 lead was down to 4-3, and Nick Castellanos was on second base with no outs. Roberts came to his senses and brought in Sasak— hang on, no, sorry. It was Alex Vesia.
Fortunately for Dodgers fans, Roberts was not the only manager making head-scratching decisions in this moment. It was Rob Thomson’s turn.
Bryson Stott attempted a sacrifice bunt to move the tying run to third. Credit to the Dodgers infield for a game-saving wheel play, but still: It was a total backfire, with Castellanos thrown out at third. So when pinch-hitter Harrison Bader singled, it did put runners at first and second, but it didn’t tie the game.
Vesia followed by getting Max Kepler to ground into a fielder’s choice, and with runners at first and third, two outs and the Phillies still trailing by a run …
… well, then it was time for Sasaki. He got Trea Turner to ground out.
Even when the Dodgers falter, it seems, they’re still on track for a relatively easy second round.
Ken’s Notebook: Notes from Blue Jays-Yankees
Nathan Lukes’ journey: Spent 10 years in the minors and considered retiring after the 2021 season. Lukes’ wife, Taylor, had just given birth to their first child, a daughter named Remy. He told Taylor he would see how minor-league free agency went, then decide whether he wanted to keep playing. He ended up with the Jays, and the following winter, general manager Ross Atkins called him with the news he had made the team’s 40-man roster. “That’s the golden ticket,” the 31-year-old outfielder said. He hasn’t considered retiring since.
Ben Rice’s breakout year: Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said Rice’s regular season was even more impressive than it looked on the surface. Rice at times has hit into poor luck, and his expected numbers reflected just how much he crushed the ball. His average exit velocity was in the top 5 percent of the league. His expected slugging percentage was in the top 3 percent. Rice is not simply going off natural ability. Rowson raved about Rice’s preparation, saying, “For such a young hitter, he’s light years ahead of where most guys with his time would be.”
Blue Jays hitting coaches: Daulton Varsho is one of many Jays who credits the team’s first-year hitting coaches, led by David Popkins, with helping him break through this season. Varsho said the Jays’ hitting group excels at helping players refine their approaches, offering each hitter individualized attack plans for each pitcher. The coaches are also adept at identifying and correcting small mechanical flaws quickly. “It doesn’t take them two weeks or a month,” Varsho said. “It takes them two days.”
José Caballero’s bizarre trade deadline: When the Rays lost three position players to injuries at Yankee Stadium the day of the deadline, Yankees GM Brian Cashman feared they might resist trading Caballero. But the Rays had two other shortstops, Ha-Seong Kim and Taylor Walls, making Caballero expendable. They scratched him from their lineup, telling him he was about to be traded. He then had to enter the game as an injury replacement in the fifth, but was removed in the seventh, after which he could be seen hugging his Rays teammates in the dugout. To add to the strangeness: He was traded to the team the Rays were playing — the Yankees.
Ernie Clement’s vindication: The A’s released him in March 2023, seeing Clement as most other teams did — as a good-glove, light-bat utility guy who was not necessarily irreplaceable. Clement proved them wrong. He finished second on the Jays this season with 35 doubles and emerged as a candidate to win a Gold Glove as a utility player. He also torched the A’s for the second straight year. Since getting released, he has batted .391 against them with a 1.070 OPS.
More Yankees/Jays:
Dingers: Brewers go up 2-0 on Cubs
It has been asked for months now: Can the Milwaukee Brewers’ style succeed in the postseason? They just don’t hit very many home runs, you know?
But after winning Game 1 by a 9-3 score despite being out-homered 3-0, the Brewers tried a different tactic in Game 2: “What if we just … hit a bunch of home runs? Just to try it out.”
The first was by Andrew Vaughn, who matched Seiya Suzuki’s first-inning three-run homer with one of his own. Then William Contreras hit a solo shot in the third, giving Milwaukee a lead. And for good measure, Jackson Chourio — in the lineup after all — hit a three-run blast.
If you’re keeping track, you’ll have noted by now: All seven of the Brewers’ runs scored on home runs.
Meanwhile, Jacob Misiorowski, playoff reliever, was something to behold. After posting a pedestrian 5.36 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) in the second half, he came out hot last night. In his first inning of work, all 13 of his fastballs were over 100 (topping out at 104.3) while his slider hit 98 mph, and his curveball — curveball! — was 89.6 mph.
He finished with three scoreless innings, striking out four while allowing one hit and two walks. And the rest of the Brewers bullpen was equally up to the task, allowing zero hits over the last four innings.
The series now goes to Chicago, with the Brewers holding a commanding 2-0 lead.
I Looked It Up: Guess these league leaders
You know the big ones: Cal Raleigh (60) and Kyle Schwarber (56) had the most home runs, Trea Turner (.304) and Aaron Judge (.331) were batting champs, and Paul Skenes (1.97) and Tarik Skubal (2.21) led their leagues in ERA.
But after every season, I like to look at a few other stats just to see if there’s anything interesting. Try to guess these players before reading any further.
bWAR:
AL: Aaron Judge (9.7)
NL: Cristopher Sánchez (8.0)
Yeah, I also would have guessed Shohei Ohtani (7.7). But Sánchez went 13-5 with a 2.50 ERA, striking out 212 batters in 202 innings. (FWIW, FanGraphs’ version of the stat has Ohtani leading the NL at 7.5.)
Triples:
AL: Jarren Duran (13)
NL: Corbin Carroll (17)
Carroll’s 17 are the most triples anyone has hit since José Reyes in 2008 (19). Since then, there have been quite a few years when the league leader only had single-digit triples.
Stolen Bases:
AL: José Caballero (49)
NL: Oneil Cruz/Juan Soto (tie, 38)
I know. We did a quiz on this already. But it’s just so wild to me that Soto — whose previous high was 12 — led the league in stolen bases before he ever led the league in home runs.
Pitcher win/loss percentage:
AL: Max Fried (.792 — 19-5)
NL: Quinn Priester (.813 — 13-3)
Not Skenes, not Sánchez, but Priester! Fun fact: Since 1937, when Johnny Allen went 15-1 (.938 winning percentage), only two pitchers have crossed the .900 mark, and they both did it in the same year! That was 1995, when Greg Maddux (19-2, .905) and Randy Johnson (18-2, .900) did it.
Shutouts:
Thirteen guys tied at one. (Hint: Welcome to 2025!)
Handshakes and High Fives
Today’s games:
Mariners at Tigers — series tied 1-1
Logan Gilbert vs. Jack Flaherty, 4:08 p.m. ET, FS1 (you can stream on Fubo — try for free)
Blue Jays at Yankees — Toronto leads 2-0
Shane Bieber vs. Carlos Rodón, 8:08 p.m. ET, FS1
Britt Ghiroli has the rundown on where the manager carousel stands, including a few front-runners for some of the jobs.
Steve Buckley says this was the most entertaining Red Sox team in recent years, while Jen McCaffrey focuses on what the team hopes to address this offseason.
Tim Britton examines the possibilities for the Mets at different budget levels, while Aaron Gleeman does a similar-but-more-depressing exercise for Minnesota.
Our collectibles crew ranks the coolest cards of 2025, so far.
On the pods: The “Rates & Barrels” crew looks back at the huge weekend for the Blue Jays, and the other DS matchups.
Most-clicked yesterday: Ken’s column on the Yankees’ waning chances to maximize Aaron Judge’s peak.
📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters.