Top News:
Alden Gonzalez / ESPN:
Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw pulled after allowing 6 runs in 1st inning — LOS ANGELES — The ball sailed into the air and Clayton Kershaw rested his hands on his knees, head down, legs slightly bent, back toward home plate, a painful, all-too-familiar sight in this place, at this time of year.
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Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Diamondbacks chase all their demons out of Dodger Stadium, grab NLDS opener — LOS ANGELES — The demons of Dodger Stadium have haunted the Diamondbacks for decades, visiting upon them nightmares, terrors and all manners of atrocities so gruesome that no matter what unfolded, it never felt especially shocking.
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports
Bill Plunkett / Orange County Register:
Clayton Kershaw chased in 1st inning as Dodgers lose NLDS opener to Diamondbacks
Clayton Kershaw chased in 1st inning as Dodgers lose NLDS opener to Diamondbacks
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Torey Lovullo's aggressive managing for Diamondbacks an early October storyline
Torey Lovullo's aggressive managing for Diamondbacks an early October storyline
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Yahoo Sports
Nick Piecoro / Arizona Republic:
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno hoping to play in Game 1 vs. Dodgers: 'I'm ready'
Diamondbacks' Gabriel Moreno hoping to play in Game 1 vs. Dodgers: 'I'm ready'
Discussion:
USA Today and masslive.com
Jacob Calvin Meyer / Baltimore Sun:
Orioles on brink of elimination after falling to Rangers, 11-8, in Game 2 of ALDS: ‘There is no tomorrow’ — The last time the Orioles were this good, a team that appeared on track to make the World Series was swept in the league championship series. — The last time they made the playoffs …
Discussion:
USA Today, ESPN, FanGraphs Baseball, Boston Herald, South Side Sox, Pinstripe Alley, DraftKings Network, Camden Chat, BaltimoreBaseball.com and MLB.com
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Kennedi Landry / MLB.com:
Rangers slam way past O's, head home with 2-0 lead — Garver makes playoffs debut, hits second postseason grand slam in Texas' history — BALTIMORE — As the ball left Mitch Garver's bat, Leody Taveras — standing on third base after a leadoff walk — immediately threw his hands in the air.
Discussion:
The Athletic, Associated Press, Boston Herald and Lone Star Ball
Martin Frank / delawareonline:
How Phillies beat Braves behind manager's risky moves, Turner's unreal play in NLDS Game 1 — It seemed so unorthodox, and yet, it worked so magnificently. — That's because Phillies manager Rob Thomson made all the right moves Saturday in Game 1 of the NLDS, and the Phillies beat the heavily favored Atlanta Braves 3-0.
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
A pitching pothole KO'd the Cardinals. Can they get up and back into ‘fight for titles’? — With his teammates all around him emptying their lockers and filling bags and boxes with gear this past Sunday — literally zipping and taping shut the baggage they'll carry from a failed season …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, Red Reporter and Battery Power
Alex Speier / The Boston Globe:
Red Sox fire pitching coach Dave Bush and infield coach Carlos Febles — The Red Sox have fired pitching coach Dave Bush and third base coach/infield instructor Carlos Febles. — Bush had been the pitching coach since the 2020 season, following three years as a Red Sox minor league pitching coordinator.
Discussion:
Boston Herald, Yahoo Sports and MLB Trade Rumors
Chandler Rome / The Athletic:
Astros part ways with assistant GM Bill Firkus, farm director Sara Goodrum — HOUSTON — The Astros have parted ways with assistant general manager Bill Firkus and farm director Sara Goodrum, The Athletic has learned, representing the first major front-office shakeup under first-year general manager Dana Brown.
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation, MLB Trade Rumors and Lone Star Ball
Ken Rosenthal / The Athletic:
Does MLB's playoff format already need changes as higher seeds lose advantage? — The five-day layoff between the end of the regular season and start of the Division Series is not the reason the Baltimore Orioles trail the Texas Rangers, two games to none. It is not the reason …
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball and The Good Phight
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
‘Just an embarrassment:’ Major League Baseball managers are grossly underpaid — LOS ANGELES − They are the face of the franchise. — They're the voice of the team, the representative of the organizational brand, the messenger to their fanbase, the ones who ultimately are responsible …
Discussion:
Bleacher Nation, MLB Trade Rumors and The Good Phight
Tim Keown / ESPN:
The radical calm of Bruce Bochy — BRUCE BOCHY SPEAKS in a low rumble, walks like his shoes are three sizes too small and prefers to talk about anything but himself. He manages a baseball game as if there are actual human beings on the field and not just a collection of numbers designed to dictate all outcomes, big and small.
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News
Lillian Boyd / Arizona Republic:
Arizona Diamondbacks face criticism for LA hotel stay amid ongoing labor dispute — A union of more than 32,000 hospitality workers criticized the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday for choosing to stay at a hotel facing a labor dispute and boycott. — UNITE HERE Local 11 is a union …
Discussion:
Yahoo Sports
Anthony Franco / MLB Trade Rumors:
Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2024 — Matt Swartz has created a model to project salaries for arbitration eligible players, which we've been publishing at MLB Trade Rumors for 13 years. — In the baseball industry, teams and agents determine arbitration salaries by identifying comparable players.
Discussion:
San Diego Union-Tribune, Yahoo Sports, Redleg Nation, Bleed Cubbie Blue, Lone Star Ball, The Royals Reporter, Bless You Boys, Covering the Corner, Pinstripe Alley, Brew Crew Ball, New York Daily News, Bleacher Nation, Greensburg Tribune-Review, New Jersey Online, McCovey Chronicles and Royals Review
Alden Gonzalez / ESPN:
D-backs' Gabriel Moreno expected to start in Game 1 vs. Dodgers — LOS ANGELES — Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno, hit in the head by a backswing earlier this week, has not entered concussion protocol and is expected to play in the team's National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.