<p>Wednesday's <a href="https://www.sportsbet.com.au/results/2025-09-29/sports/baseball-18/mlb-playoffs-31680">MLB playoff action</a> delivered exactly what October baseball should be: drama, heroics, and the kind of chaos that makes you remember why you love this sport.</p> <p>The Los Angeles Dodgers punched their ticket to the NLDS with an 8-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, but the real story? Three other series are heading to winner-take-all Game 3s on Thursday.</p> <p>The Yankees, Padres, and Guardians all kept their seasons alive, and now we're looking at a day of elimination baseball that's going to be absolutely electric.</p> <h2>Dodgers 8, Reds 4: Advancing With Style (and Bullpen Drama)</h2> <p>The Dodgers are moving on to face the Phillies in the NLDS, and they did it in almost the exact same way they won Game 1.</p> <p>Dominant starting pitching, an offense that pounded Cincinnati's staff into submission, and a bullpen that nearly made everyone watching extremely uncomfortable in the eighth inning.</p> <p>Mookie Betts was the star of the show, tying a Dodgers postseason record with three doubles. Three. The man was seeing the ball like it was the size of a beach ball.</p> <p>Yoshinobu Yamamoto was masterful on the mound, pitching into the seventh and looking sharp except for a first inning that saw two unearned runs score off a Teoscar Hernandez error. After that? Locked in.</p> <p>Then came the eighth inning, and the Dodgers' bullpen once again reminded everyone why they're the most talked-about (and not in a good way) bullpen in baseball. Emmet Sheehan and Alex Vesia combined to allow five baserunners before mercifully exiting the inning. It was the kind of performance that makes Dodgers fans reach for the antacids.</p> <p>The bright spot? Converted starter Roki Sasaki looked absolutely nasty in the ninth inning, making his MLB postseason debut after returning from a months-long IL stint. If he can keep that up, the Dodgers might have found something special.</p> <p>Bottom line: the Dodgers performed like a caricature of themselves. It worked against a Reds team with limited offense. We'll see how it plays against the Phillies.</p> <h2>Yankees 4, Red Sox 3: The Rivalry Delivers Again</h2> <p>A back-and-forth battle between baseball's most historic rivals ended with the Yankees winning 4-3 to force a Game 3 on Thursday. This is the kind of game that reminds you why Yankees-Red Sox will always be must-watch television.</p> <p>The matchup between Carlos Rodon and Brayan Bello ultimately came down to the bullpens. Austin Wells delivered a two-out single in the eighth, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. made a mad dash to home plate to score the winning run off former Yankee Garrett Whitlock. You can't script it better than that.</p> <p>Bello lasted just 2 1/3 innings, getting the quick hook the day after Garrett Crochet's eight-inning gem in Game 1. Talk about a contrast.</p> <p>Ben Rice got the scoring started by sending the first postseason pitch of his career into the right-field stands. He's the sixth player since 2000 to homer on the first pitch he's seen in the playoffs (what a way to announce yourself). Aaron Judge added another Yankees run with an RBI single in the fifth.</p> <p>For the Red Sox, Trevor Story knocked in all three runs with a bases-loaded single and a solo homer. He led Boston in RBI during the regular season, and he showed up when it mattered most. Just not quite enough.</p> <h2>Padres 3, Cubs 0: San Diego's Back Against the Wall</h2> <p>The Padres blanked the Cubs in Game 2 to force a deciding Game 3, and they did it with their backs completely against the wall. Down 1-0 in this three-game wild card series, San Diego answered the call in a big way.</p> <p>Dylan Cease set the tone early, going 3 2/3 innings while giving up just 3 hits and 0 runs with 5 strikeouts. Exactly what you need from your starter in an elimination scenario.</p> <p>The offense did its part too. Jackson Merrill brought home Fernando Tatis Jr. with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, then Manny Machado went deep in the fifth to make it 3-0. That was all she wrote for Chicago's offense, which managed just four hits on the day.</p> <p>But let's talk about Mason Miller for a second. The guy was brilliant in 1 2/3 relief innings, notching five straight strikeouts and throwing the fastest postseason pitch in pitch-tracking history. That's the kind of performance that gets people talking.</p> <p>Robert Suarez closed it out with a four-out save, giving up just one hit on 18 pitches. Professional stuff.</p> <h2>Guardians 6, Tigers 1: An Unknown Hero Emerges</h2> <p>This is what October baseball is all about. An unknown player stepping up and becoming a legend with one swing.</p> <p>Despite being the No. 9 hitter, Brayan Rocchio was the hero for the Guardians in Game 2. In what had been a game starved for offense, Rocchio crushed a 99.9 mph fastball from Troy Melton into the right-field bleachers for a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the eighth. Just like that, Cleveland had life.</p> <p>That hit sparked a rally. Steven Kwan doubled, Daniel Schneemann doubled to make it 3-1, and then Bo Naylor smacked a three-run homer to blow the game wide open. Cade Smith kept the Tigers off the board in the ninth to seal the 6-1 victory.</p> <p>Until that offensive explosion in the eighth, this was a tight, low-scoring pitcher's duel. Classic playoff baseball.</p> <h2>What's Next</h2> <p>Thursday brings three winner-take-all Game 3s. Yankees-Red Sox. Padres-Cubs. Guardians-Tigers. Three teams going home, three teams advancing. This is why we watch playoff baseball.</p>