{"id":194826,"date":"2025-10-01T13:58:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:58:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/194826\/"},"modified":"2025-10-01T13:58:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T13:58:08","slug":"aces-mostly-rule-wild-card-series-game-1s-plus-david-ross-eager-to-manage-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/194826\/","title":{"rendered":"Aces (mostly) rule Wild Card Series Game 1s. Plus: David Ross eager to manage again"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Windup Newsletter \u26be | This is The Athletic\u2019s MLB<\/a> newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Windup directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

The first day of playoff action was dominated by aces \u2014 until it wasn\u2019t. Plus: More manager news, as Ron Washington is out in Anaheim, and Ken spoke with David Ross about his desire to return to the bench. I\u2019m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!<\/p>\n

AL Wild Card: Tigers, Red Sox take 1-0 leads<\/p>\n

There was a definite theme in the AL wild-card games yesterday: Aces get paid for a reason.<\/p>\n

Tigers 2, Guardians 1<\/a>: The Tigers out-Guards-ball\u2019d the Guardians. Zack McKinstry scored Riley Greene on a sacrifice bunt to take the lead, and Detroit took a big step toward overcoming its historic regular-season collapse.<\/p>\n

Tarik Skubal was brilliant<\/a>\u00a0for the Tigers, bouncing back\u00a0from his recent disaster<\/a>\u00a0in Cleveland, going 7 2\/3 innings of one-run ball and striking out a career-high 14 hitters. (The postseason record, by the way, is 17 by Bob Gibson in 1968.)<\/p>\n

Gavin Williams only allowed two runs in six innings for Cleveland, but he wasn\u2019t the problem. The September Cinderellas\u00a0looked flat at the plate<\/a>\u00a0and in the field, and now Detroit can advance with a win this afternoon. It\u2019ll be Casey Mize vs. Tanner Bibee at 1:08 p.m. ET on ESPN (stream the playoffs on Fubo \u2014\u00a0try it for free<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Red Sox 3, Yankees 1<\/a>: Max Fried vs. Garrett Crochet was absolutely as good as advertised. Fried went 6 1\/3 scoreless, while Crochet allowed just one run in 7 2\/3 innings, walking nobody. His final pitch was 100 mph for his 11th strikeout.<\/p>\n

But in the seventh inning, with the Yankees leading 1-0 and Fried at 102 pitches,\u00a0Aaron Boone called on Luke Weaver<\/a>, who immediately walked Ceddanne Rafaela. Nick Sogard \u2014 he of just 96 regular-season at-bats this year \u2014\u00a0hit a hustle double, testing Aaron Judge\u2019s arm and winning.<\/p>\n

Masataka Yoshida dealt the fatal blow, singling both home.<\/p>\n

The Yankees threatened in the ninth, loading the bases with three consecutive singles against Boston closer Aroldis Chapman. But the southpaw slammed the door with two strikeouts, bookended around a shallow fly ball to right field by Jazz Chisholm Jr. (who\u00a0was not happy<\/a>\u00a0about not starting the game).<\/p>\n

Boston was the lone road team to win yesterday, and it could advance with another win tonight. It\u2019ll be Carlos Rod\u00f3n vs. Bryan Bello at 6:08 p.m. ET on ESPN.<\/p>\n

Ken\u2019s Notebook: David Ross wants another shot at managing<\/p>\n

From\u00a0my latest story<\/a>:<\/p>\n

David Ross fell asleep by 8 p.m. the night before Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer showed up at his door to fire him. Ross hardly ever goes to bed that early, but his Sunday had been full. He also had no reason to believe he was about to lose his job as Cubs manager.<\/p>\n

When Ross awakened at his home in Tallahassee, Fla., he noticed a bunch of missed calls from Hoyer. He had\u00a0scheduled a Zoom meeting with his coaches<\/a>\u00a0for that day, Nov. 6, 2023. He was also in the process of hiring a catching coordinator.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was busy working,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI was in the middle of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called back Hoyer, who asked him, \u201cAre you home?\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross said he replied yes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I\u2019m at your front door,\u201d Hoyer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was like, \u2018I\u2019m fired,\u2019\u201d Ross recalled.<\/p>\n

The Cubs\u2019 dismissal of Ross, coinciding with their signing of Craig Counsell to a record five-year, $40 million contract, was a shocking, humiliating turn for the club\u2019s former backup catcher, who was carried off the field by his teammates after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series.<\/p>\n

But two years later, Ross wants to hop right back on the managerial merry-go-round.<\/p>\n

\u201cBadly,\u201d he said in a telephone interview Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s an itch that hasn\u2019t gone away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ross, 48, said he was not called to interview for one of the managerial openings last offseason, when the Cincinnati Reds, Miami Marlins and Chicago White Sox made changes. This offseason, four jobs (Texas, Minnesota, San Francisco, Los Angeles Angels) are already open. Three more (Baltimore, Washington, Colorado) could become available if those teams decline to retain their interims. At least two others (Atlanta, Houston) also might be in play.<\/p>\n

More on Ross here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

More former managers: Bryan Price, who managed the Reds from 2014-2018,\u00a0wrote an article<\/a>\u00a0about his time at the helm of a big-league club.<\/p>\n

NL Wild Card: Cubs, Dodgers win Game 1s<\/p>\n

While all four AL starters performed like aces, the NL had just one truly dominant start.<\/p>\n

Cubs 3, Padres 1<\/a>: Matthew Boyd was good enough, allowing just one run over 4 1\/3 innings, but the Cubs bullpen \u2014\u00a0led by Daniel Palencia<\/a> \u2014 combined to go 4 2\/3 no-hit innings. Back-to-back home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly flipped a 1-0 Padres lead to 2-1 Cubs in the fifth inning.<\/p>\n

Up to that point, Nick Pivetta had looked great for San Diego, allowing just one base runner through the first four innings. He struck out nine (and walked none), but the Cubs got their\u00a0first playoff win since 2017<\/a>, and now the\u00a0Padres are facing elimination<\/a>\u00a0this afternoon.<\/p>\n

Chicago will use opener Andrew Kittredge (who pitched an inning yesterday) in Game 2 against Dylan Cease, starting at 3:08 p.m. ET on ABC.<\/p>\n

Dodgers 10, Reds 5<\/a>: After three pitching-dominant games, Hunter Greene vs. Blake Snell seemed destined to stay on theme. But Greene allowed five runs, exiting after just three innings.<\/p>\n

Snell, on the other hand, kept the Day of Aces rolling. Finally given a chance to work deep into a playoff game, he came up huge: seven innings, four hits, two runs, one walk and nine strikeouts. Meanwhile, the Dodgers hit five home runs, including two each from Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez\u00a0and Shohei Ohtani<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For a minute, it appeared the Dodgers would need all of that to stave off another bullpen collapse. In the eighth inning, the Reds scored three runs, and the bases were loaded when Ke\u2019Bryan Hayes popped out \u2014 on the 53rd Dodgers pitch of the half-inning.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers can move on to face the Phillies with a win tonight. It\u2019ll be Zack Littell vs. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, starting at 9:08 p.m. ET on ESPN.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc14\ud83d\udca9: Washington (and Montgomery) out in Anaheim<\/p>\n

Yesterday, we told you about three teams that were moving on from their managers. We\u2019re up to four now:\u00a0Ron Washington is leaving<\/a>\u00a0the Angels.<\/p>\n

The Angels were 36-38 this year before Washington missed more than three months, undergoing quadruple bypass surgery. While he was out, Ray Montgomery took over and went 36-52 over the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

Neither will return as manager. The 73-year-old made it clear in his\u00a0interview with Sam Blum<\/a>\u00a0that it was not a decision based on his health, but on the team\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n

That story also features the most Ron Washington quote ever:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, when you\u2019re a competitor, and you\u2019re in charge, none of that (roster construction) stuff comes into play. Sometimes you\u2019ve got to make chicken salad out of chicken s\u2014.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things are just not great in Anaheim right now. They\u2019re embroiled in an embarrassing civil suit over the death of Tyler Skaggs, Mike Trout is in decline, Anthony Rendon still has a year (and over $38 million) left on his contract and they haven\u2019t won a playoff game since 2009.<\/p>\n

And look, it\u2019s not the most egregious thing the Angels organization has done over the last *choose your own timeframe,* but did they really need to\u00a0make it appear on social media that Wash\u00a0died<\/a>?!<\/p>\n

Even more managers (and executives):<\/p>\n

Handshakes and High Fives<\/p>\n

Jayson Stark watched 11 hours and eight minutes of wild-card baseball yesterday to deliver you\u00a0his favorite weird and wild moments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s 52. He\u2019s a Hall of Famer. And Ichiro Suzuki still maintains his workout routine. Why? Partially so his participation in a national girls\u2019 baseball showcase in Japan\u00a0can be an on-field role<\/a>, rather than just coaching.<\/p>\n

Rough year for Ken Griffey Jr. After Cal Raleigh broke Junior\u2019s Mariners single-season home run record, Shohei Ohtani is coming for another mark: the player with\u00a0the most PSA-graded cards<\/a>\u00a0in the world.<\/p>\n

Will Sammon says the Mets will have to rethink\u00a0their approach to pitching<\/a>\u00a0if they want to avoid a repeat performance of this year\u2019s monumental collapse.<\/p>\n

Pop quiz answer:\u00a0You probably Googled it, but the NL leader in stolen bases this year \u2014\u00a0well, it was a tie. Oneil Cruz stealing 38 bases is not really quiz-worthy. Tied with him atop the leaderboard? Juan Soto! Juan Soto (co-)led the NL in stolen bases! What a world.<\/p>\n

On the pods: On \u201cRates & Barrels,\u201d the crew has\u00a0the rest of their predictions<\/a>\u00a0for the postseason.<\/p>\n

Most-clicked yesterday: Our\u00a0Wild Card Series predictions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb Love The Windup? Check out\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Photo: David Dermer \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Windup Newsletter \u26be | This is The Athletic\u2019s MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":194827,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-194826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194826","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=194826"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/194826\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/194827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=194826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=194826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=194826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}