The Division Series opened with four games Saturday, giving the White Sox, Dodgers, Rays, and Brewers 1-0 leads in their best-of-five series.
The American League takes Sunday off, leaving the National League with the stage to itself for two Game 2s.
White Sox Blank the Guardians
The White Sox still have not trailed this postseason.
Chicago beat Cleveland 3-0 at Progressive Field behind a two-run homer from Munetaka Murakami and another strong performance from its pitching staff.
Murakami broke a scoreless tie in the fourth, and Colson Montgomery added an RBI double in the seventh.
Chicago’s pitching staff combined to hold Cleveland to three hits. Grant Taylor handled the final four innings, striking out six without allowing a run to earn the save.
The Guardians had opportunities but could not push a run across.
The series resumes Monday in Cleveland at 4 p.m. CT on TBS/truTV/HBO Max.
Dodgers Power Past the Braves
Tarik Skubal gave the Dodgers six strong innings in their 5-3 victory over Atlanta.
Skubal allowed one run on two hits and struck out seven. Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker, and Max Muncy provided the power for Los Angeles, with all five Dodgers runs coming on home runs.
Hernández opened the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth. Sean Murphy answered with a solo shot for Atlanta in the sixth before Tucker hit a two-run homer and Muncy followed with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.
The Braves made things interesting in the ninth when Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer, but the rally ended there.
Blake Snell will start Game 2 for the Dodgers. Atlanta had not announced its starter as of Sunday morning.
Game 2: Sunday, 7 p.m. CT, FS1
Rasmussen Nearly Makes History Against the Yankees
The Yankees managed one hit Saturday night.
Drew Rasmussen carried a no-hitter until there were two outs in the eighth inning as Tampa Bay beat New York 1-0 at Tropicana Field.
Austin Wells broke up the no-hit bid with a two-out double in the eighth but was thrown out trying to advance to third. Jonathan Aranda supplied the game’s only run with a third-inning homer off Gerrit Cole.
Rasmussen completed eight innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out 10. Bryan Baker pitched the ninth for the save.
The series resumes Monday in Tampa Bay at 7 p.m. CT on TBS/truTV/HBO Max.
Brewers Rally Past the Padres
San Diego scored twice in the second inning against Jacob Misiorowski, but Milwaukee answered in the third.
Jackson Chourio tied the game with a two-run homer. Misiorowski completed four innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out six.
The score remained tied until the seventh, when William Contreras hit a solo homer off Adrian Morejon to give Milwaukee a 3-2 lead.
Then came a bizarre ninth inning.
With a runner on first and one out, Ty France hit a towering fly down the left-field line that struck a roof cable before settling into Chourio’s glove. The play was ruled an out. San Diego challenged the ruling that the ball had struck the cable over fair territory, but replay review upheld the call.
Jackson Merrill then lined out for the final out, and Milwaukee held on for a 3-2 win.
The Brewers lead the series 1-0.
Two Games Sunday
Michael King starts for San Diego against Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson in Sunday’s first game.
Game 2: Padres at Brewers, 3 p.m. CT, FS1
Atlanta and Los Angeles follow Sunday night. Blake Snell gets the ball for the Dodgers, while Atlanta’s starter remained unannounced as of Sunday morning.
Game 2: Braves at Dodgers, 7 p.m. CT, FS1
Milwaukee and Los Angeles can take 2-0 leads before their respective series move to San Diego and Atlanta. The Padres and Braves have a chance to head home with their series tied.
