Through two days of the MLB Wild Card Round in the 2025 playoffs, only one team has clinched a spot in the next phase, and that's the Los Angeles Dodgers, who took care of business against the Cincinnati Reds. While the Dodgers are already on their way to a date in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, six other teams will be fighting for survival in winner-take-all games this Thursday.
It will just be the second time in the history of the big leagues that there will be not just one, not two, but three deciding MLB playoff games on the same day, as pointed out by Jeff Passan of ESPN.
The action starts at 3 p.m. EST, with the Detroit Tigers and the Cleveland Guardians going at it at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The Tiges will have Jack Flaherty on the mound, while the Guardians will send Slade Cecconi to the bump. Detroit took Game 1 of the series, 2-1, before Cleveland leveled things up with a 6-1 victory on Wednesday.
At 5 p.m. EST, the San Diego Padres and the Chicago Cubs will start the third game of their series, which has been very competitive. Chicago got the win in Game 1, 3-1, but San Diego answered right back under duress in Game 2 on Wednesday with a 3-0 victory. This Game 3 at Wrigley Field will have a starting pitching matchup featuring Jameson Taillon of the Cubs and Yu Darvish, who is a former Cub ace, of the Padres.
The last matchup for Thursday features fierce rivals Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The Yankees lived to fight another day after coming away with a 4-3 victory in Game 2 on Wednesday. The Red Sox took the series opener on Tuesday, 3-1. Adding flavor to this rivalry matchup is the two young starting pitchers slated to take the mound. The Red Sox will give the ball to 23-year-old rookie Connelly Early, while the Yankees will have another rookie, Cam Schlittler, toeing the rubber.
At the end of Thursday, the cast of teams in the divisional round, where the Dodgers, Phillies, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers are ready to go, will be complete,
