2025 Wild Card Recap

By Elias Meredith 10/3/25 Sportz Nation

(3) Guardians vs (6) Tigers

(Tigers Win the Series 2-1)

The first games of the 2025 playoff slate started at 1pm at Progressive Field. The Detroit Tigers traveled 170 miles southeast to face off against their division rivals, Cleveland Guardians, in a best-of-three Wild Card series with a trip to the ALDS on the line.

These teams faced off in last year’s ALDS, with the Guardians taking the series 3-2. Detroit seems motivated by last year’s abrupt end to their season, and looked not to repeat that this year.

Detroit looked to turn the page after a near collapse to end the season. By the all-star break, Detroit tied a franchise record by winning 59 games, and competing for the best record in the MLB at the time. By the end of the season, Detroit was competing for the final Wild Card spot in the American League. They snuck into the playoffs, thanks to winning the season series against the Houston Astros.

Coming into the series as underdogs, Detroit moved on from their poor second half performance. They entered the postseason on a new page, and that was apparent in Game One, where Tigers ace Tarik Skubal struck out a career-high 14 in a 2-1 pitcher’s duel.

After dropping Game Two, the Tigers came into Game Three focused. Detroit came into the seventh inning with a narrow 2-1 lead. In the seventh, they exploded for a four-run inning, which is all the Tigers needed to win their second straight Wild Card Series. 

The Tigers will now travel west to take on the AL West champion, Seattle Mariners, in the ALDS.

Series MVP: Tarik Skubal

(Series Stats: 7.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 14 K)

(4) Cubs vs (5) Padres

(Cubs Win the Series 2-1)

A word to describe the 2025 Chicago Cubs is consistent. The Cubbies sit in the top ten in multiple team statistic categories for the regular season, including sixth in home runs (223), sixth in total bases (2,365), seventh in OPS (.750), and ninth in ERA (3.79). 

The players that model consistency on the team are Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Busch played well in his first taste of the postseason, and Crow-Armstrong played like the cornerstone of the historic Cub franchise that the front office expects him to be. 

Both of these players collected three hits to help lead the Cubs to their first postseason series win since 2017. 

The Cubs will face off against their divisional rival, Milwaukee Brewers, in the ALDS on October 4.

Series MVP: Michael Busch

(Series Stats: .400 AVG, 1.200 OPS, 1 HR)

(4) Yankees vs (5) Red Sox

(Yankees Win the Series 2-1)

Last night, Game Three was historic. Rookie starting pitcher Cam Schittler said that he was ready for the moment, and he did not disappoint. Schittler pitched a career-high eight innings and struck twelve with no walks in a 4-0 shutout over the Red Sox. He is the first player in MLB history to record twelve strikeouts in a postseason debut.

The Yankees will travel north of the border to face off against the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS, as they continue the road back to the Fall Classic.

Series MVP: Cam Schittler

(Series Stats: 8.0 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 12 K)

(3) Dodgers vs (6) Reds

(Dodgers Win the Series 2-0)

The Cincinnati Reds traveled across the country to face the Los Angeles Dodgers to play in the postseason for the first time since 2020. It was a tough task to play against a club in which the Dodgers would have not missed the playoffs since 2012.

The Dodgers offense was all over Reds pitching, averaging nine runs per game in the sweep. The National League front runner for MVP, Shohei Ohtani, led the offense in the offensive avalanche. The Dodgers hit five home runs in two games, with two of them coming in Game Two by Shohei Ohtani. One of them went 454 feet, nearly out of Dodger Stadium.

Even though Ohtani was the star of the show in Game Two, Dodger starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched, struck out nine and allowed no runs in 6.2 pitches in the victory.

The Dodgers now head to the east coast to battle the second seed Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS. This will be the first time these teams faced off in the postseason since 2009. 

Series MVP: Shohei Ohtani

(Series Stats: .333 AVG, 1.400 OPS, 2 HR)

Thank you for reading!

Elias Meredith (@EAM_55)