October baseball is officially here, and the Division Series kicked off with some absolute nail-biters and standout performances. Down in Milwaukee, the Brewers outlasted the Padres in a wild 3-2 contest that featured a walk-off homer and a bizarre roof-scraping out, setting the tone for what’s sure to be an epic playoff run.
Contreras Delivers Wild Win for Milwaukee
The Brewers versus Padres game was pure playoff chaos, and William Contreras picked the perfect moment to bust out of his slump. With the score knotted up at 2-2 and two outs in the seventh inning of NLDS Game 1, the Brewers catcher absolutely laced a solo homer to the opposite field off Padres left-hander Adrián Morejón. That shot gave Milwaukee a 3-2 lead, and that ended up being the difference maker. Get this: the Brewers, who hit the fewest homers in the entire NL, needed two to take down San Diego. Earlier, Chourio had tied the game with a two-run bomb off Robbie Ray in the third inning, his fifth career postseason homer and a franchise record, by the way.
Then came what might be the wildest play of the postseason so far, hands down. One out in the ninth, Dustin Harris on first, and Ty France absolutely mashed a ball to left field that looked like it was destined for the seats. But nope, it scraped a beam on the retractable roof at American Family Field, dropped straight down for an out on the warning track, and Chourio was there to catch it. The umpires confirmed it, the Padres challenged whether it was fair or foul, but the call stood. Contreras’s heroics put Milwaukee one step away from a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 2 tomorrow. Oh, and shoutout to Munetaka Murakami, who hit his first career postseason homer, a two-run shot, to lead the White Sox over the Guardians 3-0 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series. That’s how you make a postseason debut!
From Benches to Bombs: Kyle Tucker’s Postseason Flip
Talk about a turnaround! Kyle Tucker’s first season with the Dodgers had been, let’s just say, a disappointment. But in Game 1 of the NLDS, he looked like a total star again. Tucker went 2 for 3, swiped a base, and crushed a two-run homer, his 10th career postseason bomb. After singling in the fourth inning and stealing second, Tucker unloaded a two-run shot into the visitors’ bullpen off AJ Smith-Shawver in the sixth inning to make it 4-1.
It’s wild to think about where he was. The last time Tucker homered at Dodger Stadium before Saturday was way back on September 4, a solo shot against the Nationals. In mid-August, manager Dave Roberts had to bench Tucker after he went 0 for 19 on a seven-game homestand. The home crowd was even booing him. He was hitting a dismal .189 at home with just two home runs, compared to a solid .275 with nine homers on the road. By early September, Tucker was batting eighth in the lineup, the lowest he’d hit since 2020. But now that the calendar has flipped to October, Tucker is absolutely making a difference in the postseason. That’s the clutch performance you live for.
Rasmussen’s Near-Historic Gem
And finally, we almost saw history go down in the ALDS. Drew Rasmussen of the Rays was just four outs away from the first postseason no-hitter since 2022 in Game 1 against the Yankees. The Rays right-hander was locked in, retiring 15 straight Yankees batters. He didn’t allow a single hit until Austin Wells doubled with two outs in the eighth inning. What a masterful performance, even if it didn’t end with a no-no.
So, Game 2 is coming up fast for these teams. The Brewers have a chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, while the Padres are looking to even things up. Can Tucker keep up this insane postseason redemption tour for the Dodgers? You know we’ll be glued to the screen.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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