With three of the 4 Wild Card Sequence determined, listed here are three issues we’ll be watching round baseball right this moment:
1. Brewers pressure Sport 3:
After dropping Sport 1 of the Wild Card Sequence on Tuesday, the Brewers got here again to beat the Mets 5-3 on Wednesday, tying the best-of-three collection up at one recreation apiece. With the opposite three Wild Card Sequence already determined, the Brewers-Mets matchup would be the solely recreation on the docket right this moment, kicking off at 6:08pm CT.
Milwaukee will ship rookie Tobias Myers (3.00 ERA, 3.99 SIERA in 138 IP) to the mound, whereas New York is about to counter with the veteran Jose Quintana (3.75 ERA, 4.58 SIERA in 170 1/3 IP). Myers has loved the higher general season, however Quintana has been lights-out over his final six begins (0.74 ERA). The Mets even have a extra rested bullpen at their disposal; Mets relievers have thrown six innings up to now this collection, whereas the Brewers bullpen has been tasked with 10 1/3.
The winner of tonight’s contest will head to Philadelphia to face the Phillies within the NLDS.
2. Elbow tightness for Joe Musgrove:
Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove exited his Sport 2 begin on Wednesday with tightness in his pitching elbow. Whereas his teammates went on to win the sport and safe a matchup with the Dodgers within the NLDS, this may very well be a troublesome blow for San Diego.
Preliminary assessments got here again unfavorable, however the 31-year-old is about to bear additional testing right this moment (per Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). The extent of his damage can be unclear till then. For what it’s price, Musgrove didn’t attempt to underplay it after the sport: “Going out for that fourth inning,” he mentioned, “Nothing felt proper” (per AJ Cassavell of MLB.com). Musgrove missed about half of the 2024 season with elbow irritation associated to bone spurs. He has seemed wonderful since his return from the IL (2.15 ERA in 9 begins), however evidently, one other elbow damage is rarely a great signal – regardless that Musgrove believes this newest damage is “very totally different” from the difficulty that bothered him earlier this 12 months (per Sanders).
Fortunately for the Padres, they nonetheless have loads of beginning depth to depend on. Along with Michael King and Dylan Stop, Yu Darvish, Martín Pérez, and Matt Waldron can be found to start out within the NLDS.
3. Freddie Freeman making progress
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman is making progress as he rehabs from the sprained ankle that saved him out for the ultimate few video games of the common season. He’s anticipated to face dwell pitching both right this moment or tomorrow (per Invoice Plunkett of the Orange County Register). Supervisor Dave Roberts has maintained his optimism that the eight-time All-Star can be within the lineup towards the Padres on Saturday. Nonetheless, Roberts additionally admitted that Freeman received’t be at 100%, and it stays unclear how considerably his ankle will have an effect on his protection and baserunning through the NLDS.
In extra Dodgers information, shortstop Miguel Rojas can be anticipated to be within the lineup for Sport 1 of the NLDS (per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Instances). He has been nursing an adductor pressure. Like Freeman, Rojas won’t be at full power, however he appears to have made good progress in his restoration and can try and play by means of any discomfort.