Brewers punch the first ticket

Milwaukee clinched a playoff spot on Friday at 92-56, their eighth October trip in nine years. The catch: two series wins and zero pennants in all that time.

Ohtani hits the IL

The Dodgers finally shelved Shohei Ohtani and admitted he likely won't reach 100% this season. They can only hope his postseason isn't too diminished.

Eight straight without him

Los Angeles has won eight in a row at 90-57, and Ohtani played in exactly one of those games. The climb to second happened without their best player.

Braves rally three times

Philadelphia nearly made the NL East interesting Friday. Atlanta came back from deficits in the ninth, 10th and 11th for a walk-off that restored a five-game lead.

Rays return to October

Tampa Bay clinched after a two-year absence, fittingly on a Junior Caminero walk-off homer. Caminero might be building a late MVP case of his own.

Judge is back

Aaron Judge rejoined the Yankees' active roster after a 99-day recovery, skipping a minor-league rehab assignment entirely. He's still finding his timing.

“The long wait is over.”

Cubs get a reality check

Chicago went to Milwaukee and got swept, dropping to 4-9 against the Brewers this year. That's their likely NLDS opponent.

Luzardo's shoulder scare

Jesus Luzardo was scratched Saturday with shoulder stiffness, right after a six-week run of seven starts, a 1.08 ERA and 64 strikeouts. The thin Phillies can't absorb it.

Red Sox headed to the Bronx

Boston looks locked into a wild-card trip to Yankee Stadium. The quiet worry is whether a middling stretch turns into running out of gas.

Padres and Dbacks, to the wire

San Diego won five straight to lead the NL wild card by a half-game. If it stays this tight, the two teams meet in the final series of the season.

“Thanks, schedule-makers.”

Burnes returns from Tommy John

Corbin Burnes threw three scoreless innings in his first outing back, arriving just in time to rescue a $210 million signing that had been a disappointment.

Astros keep refusing to die

An aging roster, a half-season of awful pitching and a GM change later, Houston leads the AL West by three games with Yordan Alvarez chasing a Triple Crown.

White Sox running out of steam

Chicago has lost four straight and seven of 10, shrinking their AL Central lead to a half-game. The Guardians, 14-7 in their last 21, are right there.

Cruel pushes and collapses

Pittsburgh won 7 of 10 to reach .500 while still 5½ back. Miami lost 12 straight after the All-Star break and got swept at home by the Mets.

The crooked hat protest

Umpire Doug Eddings told debutant Hancel Rincon to straighten his cap. The next night Cardinals players, and some Rockies, wore theirs tilted.

A record nobody wants

The Nationals blew several more late leads and now hold the MLB record with 38 blown saves in a season. At least it's memorable.

Eliminations pile up

The Giants and Athletics are out, six straight seasons for Oakland-Sacramento. The Angels extended the majors' longest drought to 12 years.

Crow-Armstrong has it wrapped

With 41 homers, a .948 OPS and a 10 to 6.8 WAR lead over Ohtani, the Cubs center fielder can now just pad his margin while Ohtani sits.

“It might be time to call it.”

The most disappointing runner-up

Ohtani posted 30 homers, a .902 OPS and a 1.79 ERA, and it still feels like a loss. His playoff availability and his future as a full-time two-way player are both open questions.

“Never before has a likely runner-up MVP season felt so disappointing.”