AL: Tigers vs. guardians

(best of 5)

Saturday: Detroit (Holton 7-2) at Cleveland (Bibee 12-8), 1:08 p.m. EDT (TBS, Max)

Monday: Detroit (Skubal 18-4) at Cleveland, 4:08 p.m. (TBS, truTV, Max)

Wednesday: Cleveland at Detroit, TBD

x-Thursday: Cleveland at Detroit, TBD

x-Oct. 12: Detroit at Cleveland, TBD

x-if necessary

Midwest neighbors and mostly friendly division rivals, Detroit and Cleveland have played 2,326 times since their first game on May 3, 1901.

Never once have they met in the postseason in 123 years. That changes Saturday. It’s finally happening.

“This will be the best commute in my playoff history,” joked Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, noting the short flight over Lake Erie. “Two proud cities in a great part of the country, more so in the summer than the winter. You’re going to see packed stadiums on both sides. It’s good for baseball.”

Welcome to the Surprise Series.

Two of three AL Central teams still alive — along with the big-bankroll New York Yankees — in these playoffs, the Tigers and Guardians, both of whom entered 2024 with modest expectations, will meet in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Progressive Field in a matchup that didn’t seem possible just weeks ago.

Cleveland will start Tanner Bibee in the opener while Hinch counters with Tyler Holton before turning it over to his bullpen and triggering “pitching chaos” as he calls the strategy that turned Detroit’s season around.

When they last visited Progressive Field for a series in late July, the Tigers were five games under .500, 14 back of first-place Cleveland in the division and on the verge of making several trades that seemed to signal surrender.

From the outside, the outlook was gloomy.

But the Tigers had confidence in their roster, and energized by some minor leaguers and getting some key players healthy, they’ve become baseball’s hottest — and most dangerous — team.

Detroit went 31-13 down the stretch to earn a wild-card spot before sweeping AL West champion Houston on its home field to advance.

Hinch smiled when asked if he could have imagined in July returning to Cleveland in October to play for a spot in the ALCS. He knew there was potential in his group, he just needed to find a way to tap into it.

“We believed in our talent. We believed in our young players,” he said. “We felt like we were getting better. A couple big wins here creates a little more belief, and then you win a tough series against playoff-caliber teams, and that creates even more belief.

“And you look up, and we were right in the thick of things as we got into the middle of September. Still, I thought a lot of people were wondering when was it going to fade, when was it going to fall off, when was it going to be a nice story but maybe not our time. But that was all outside our building.

“So we just kept at it and found ourselves in a really good position to make it to October and get to the first playoff series in a while.”

And now that they’ve made it this far, the Tigers don’t want to stop.

Same goes for the Guardians, who have spent the past week resting up after clinching an unexpected No. 2 seed.

While the rest of baseball has been shocked by Detroit’s late-season run, Cleveland’s players could see the Tigers had something going. The Guardians won the season series 7-6, but were outscored.

“They played us tough all year and we were saying how good that team was,” said catcher Austin Hedged. “To go 7-6 against them, especially at a time of the year when we were rolling through everybody. They were playing some of the toughest baseball against us. We knew how good they were. They just weren’t finishing some games and then once they did, it showed.

“That’s a real team.”

Opening jitters

Bibee faced the Tigers four times during the regular season. October is a whole new ballgame.

The right-hander will be making his postseason debut, and didn’t hide that his stomach has been churning for days. Bibee said the anticipation and adrenaline didn’t really kick in until the Tigers stunned the Astros.

“Once Detroit won that series, it was like, ‘oh, this is getting real,’ ” said Bibee, who went 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA against Detroit. “I’ve had butterflies ever since, and it’s really exciting. I’m excited to see the fans come, pack it out. I’m excited to feel the energy.”

Looking ahead

With a day off between Games 1 and 2, Guardians manager Stephen Vogt could change pitching plans depending on how things go in the opener.

Cleveland had baseball’s best bullpen all season, and like Hinch, Vogt could use his relievers from start to finish. At this point, former Tigers left-hander Matthew Boyd is penciled in to start Game 2 on Monday.

Detroit’s starter is a no-brainer: Tarik Skubal, who led the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts and could be a unanimous Cy Young winner.

— Tom Withers, Associated Press

AL: Royals vs. Yankees

(best of 5)

Saturday: Kansas City (Wacha 13-8) at New York (Cole 8-5), 6:38 p.m. (TBS, Max)

Monday: Kansas City (Ragans 11-9) at New York (Rodón 16-9), 7:38 p.m. (TBS, truTV, Max)

Wednesday: New York at Kansas City , TBD

x-Thursday: New York at Kansas City , TBD

x-Oct. 12: Kansas City at New York, TBD

x-if necessary

Happy to be on track for an AL Division Series matchup against the Yankees, Bobby Witt Jr. streamed YouTube on the train ride from Baltimore to New York to watch some Derek Jeter highlights of postseasons past.

“Just being able to see it,” Witt recalled Friday, “just because of just how the stadium is, how the fans at, just wanted to kind of just take it all in.”

A year removed from a 106-loss season, the wild-card Royals face the AL-best Yankees in a best-of-five series starting Saturday night, a renewal of passion-filled playoffs of 1976-78 and ‘80.

“This isn’t a series, this is war,” said Hall of Famer George Brett, a Royals star of those memorable matchups, tossing in a profanity for emphasis.

Kansas City won its only championships in 1985 and 2015. Witt remembered as 14-year-old watching the Royals — and current teammate Salvador Perez, reach the World Series only to lose to San Francisco in seven games.

“Just to see what that team did and kind of like the underdog story in ways,” he said.

Witt drove in both go-ahead runs in the first-round sweep at Baltimore as the Royals outscored the Orioles 3-1.

New York had a first-round bye. With Aaron Judge and free-agent-to-be Juan Soto together for perhaps their only season, the Yankees play before demanding fans insisting on the team’s first title since No. 27 in 2009.

“Thankfully we’re not playing against their tradition,” Royals manager Matt Quartraro said. “We’re playing against the team that we’re facing off against this week.”

Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole (8-5) starts for the Yankees and Michael Wacha (13-8) for the Royals.

“The passion comes through in the noise and then the pageantry of the Stadium. It’s hard not to think about all the great moments of the franchise,” Cole said. “It’s cold. The sound like fills you from the feet up. It’s just a different sound. It’s wonderful.”

Judge and Witt are the marquee stars. Judge led the major leagues with 58 homers and 144 RBIs while hitting .322, and Witt topped the major leagues with a .332 average along with 32 homers, 109 RBIs and 31 stolen bases.

Witt’s father, Bobby, pitched a hitless eighth inning for Arizona in Game 6 of the 2001 World Series. The Diamondbacks won the first two games at home, lose three straight in the Bronx, then rallied in the desert to win the title.

“Hearing that and seeing his World Series ring was really cool,” Witt Jr. said, “so that’s just motivation for me to kind of do what he did.”

Yankees vs. Wacha

Judge is 1 for 18 against Wacha, a 33-year-old right-hander whose 30.9% changeup use was fourth-highest among pitchers with 150 or more plate appearances. Wacha’s four-seam fastball averaged 93.6 mph, part of a six-pitch mix that also includes cutters, sliders, sinkers and curves.

Soto is 2 for 5 against Wacha and Giancarlo Stanton 2 for 17 with a homer.

Rizzo

Anthony Rizzo did not take grounders at first base during Friday’s workout. He fractured the fourth and fifth fingers when hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Ryan Borucki on Sept. 28.

“Still feel like it’s a longshot,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Cousins

Yankees reliever Jake Cousins, who hasn’t pitched since Sept. 19 because of a strained right pec muscle, could be activated Saturday.

“He threw in the sim game,” Boone said before Friday’s workout. “Stuff was really good.”

Numbers game

Witt wears No. 7 with the Royals, he had a No. 17 jersey at Colleyville Heritage High School in Texas as a tribute to Jeter (No. 2) and Boston’s Dustin Pedroia (No. 15).

“Got those two jerseys hanging up on my wall still back in my room at my parents’ house,” Witt said. “Just how they played the game hard and just how they just would always rise up to the occasion when needed.”

— Ronald Blum, Associated Press

NL: mets vs. phillies

(best of 5)

Saturday: New York (Senga 1-0) at Philadelphia (Wheeler 16-7), 4:08 p.m. (Fox)

Sunday: New York (Severino 11-7) at Philadelphia (Sanchez 11-9), 4:08 p.m. (FS1)

Tuesday: Philadelphia at New York, TBD

x-Wednesday: Philadelphia at New York, TBD

x-Friday: New York at Philadelphia, TBD

x-if necessary

Take a look at the great moments in the Mets-Phillies rivalry — from Jim Bunning’s Father’s Day perfect game to New York’s epic collapse in the 2007 NL East race, to each team scoring 20-plus runs against the other and all the way to a London series this season — and one thing is missing.

The Mets and Phillies have never faced each other in the playoffs

The 1,081 all-time meetings between the Mets and Phillies since New York’s inception into the National League in 1962 have yielded all kinds of moments for the highlight reel.

None bigger than the start of the best-of-five NL Division Series on Saturday in Philadelphia.

“It’s a tricky lineup and they’re hot right now,” Philadelphia Game 1 starter Zack Wheeler said. “They’re playing good baseball.”

Pete Alonso used a dose of pumpkin power to hit a three-run homer off Milwaukee closer Devin Williams in the ninth inning to put the Mets up for good in a 4-2 victory over the Brewers on Thursday in the decisive third game of their NL Wild Card Series.

The ninth-inning rally continued New York’s — well, since the Mets are talking pumpkins — Cinderella season. The Mets were 22-33 in late May, but had the best record in baseball the rest of the regular season.

New York is the first team to clinch a postseason spot and a playoff series by winning both games after trailing in the ninth inning or later.

The NL East champion Phillies went 7-6 against the Mets this season, with one notable asterisk. The Phillies lost three of those games when Taijuan Walker started. The beleaguered starter has largely pitched himself out of postseason role, if the former Met even makes the roster.

Unlike Walker, Wheeler has aced his transition from New York to Philadelphia. Wheeler went 44-38 with a 3.77 ERA in 126 starts with the Mets, but missed the 2015 and 2016 seasons following Tommy John surgery. He’s blossomed into a Cy Young Award candidate with the Phillies, winning 55 games over the last four seasons. He went 16-7 with a 2.57 ERA this season.

“I’ve been over here for a while now and there’s no hard feelings, everything has kind of changed over there personnel-wise,” Wheeler said Friday. “There’s no hard feelings, it’s just baseball at this point. But at the end of the day I want to win. ”

Wheeler is 5-5 with a 3.56 ERA in 15 starts against the Mets.

Playoff starters

Kodai Senga, who has thrown just 5 1/3 major league innings all year, is the surprise Game 1 starter for the Mets

The 31-year-old Japanese pitcher made just one start this season as he dealt with injuries that included tightness in his right triceps. The team’s projected No. 1 starter this year, Senga also was sidelined by a strained left calf.

The Phillies named Cristopher Sánchez (11-9, 3.32 ERA) their Game 2 starter.

One reason to give the nod for a home start to Sánchez is this: He has a 2.21 ERA in Philly this season, compared to a whopping 5.02 ERA on the road.

“It’s really amazing the steps that he’s taken, the growth that he’s had, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “This guy started the year at 92, 93 miles an hour, really commanding the baseball, and now he’s 95, 96, touching 97 and maintaining his command.”

Aaron Nola starts Game 3 for the Phillies. Luis Severino starts for the Mets in Game 2. Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana are the likely starters in New York in Games 3 and 4.

Rest is best

Thomson believed the Phillies made the most of their five days off headed into Game 1. The Phillies held an intrasquad scrimmage, took batting practice, had infield drills and pitchers fielding drills as they tried to keep a routine as close to normal as it gets during the regular season.

The Phillies rode late-season hot streaks into the playoffs each of the last two seasons as a wild card team and reached the World Series in 2022 and the NL Championship Series in 2023.

“I was real happy with the focus of the guys coming in,’ Thomson said. ”Tuesday was a full workout with a lot of high-velocity machine work in the cages for our hitters. You’re a little bit more concerned about the hitting and the timing of the hitters as opposed to the pitching side. But we had a lot of high-velocity work on Tuesday.”

— Dan Gelston, Associated Press

NL: padres vs. Dodgers

(best of 5)

Saturday: San Diego (Cease 14-11) at Los Angeles (Yamamoto 7-2), 8:38 p.m. (FS1)

Sunday: San Diego (Darvish 7-3) at Los Angeles (Flaherty 13-7), 8:03 p.m. (FS1)

Tuesday: Los Angeles at San Diego, TBD

x-Wednesday: Los Angeles at San Diego, TBD

x-Friday: San Diego at Los Angeles, TBD

x-if necessary

Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto have been friends going back to their days playing in Japan’s top baseball league. Now, they’re making their Major League Baseball playoff debuts together for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

They teamed to win a gold medal for Japan in last year’s World Baseball Classic. Their next goal? Win a World Series championship together.

“The experience back in Japan, Japan Series and the World Baseball Classic, other big games will definitely help,” Yamamoto said Friday through an interpreter. “And I’d like to utilize it.”

Yamamoto will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday against Dylan Cease and the rival San Diego Padres. The Dodgers outlasted the Padres to win the NL West title for the 11th time in 12 years over the closing days of the regular season after San Diego took eight of 12 games from the Dodgers.

“I’m sure there’s bigger hype and excitement playing against a division rival,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.

Japan has a major imprint on this best-of-five series that features San Diego’s Yu Darvish going against his old team in Game 2 on Sunday. Darvish was Ohtani’s childhood hero.

“My personal hope was that Darvish would have faced against Yoshinobu,” Ohtani said. “Obviously that’s not going to happen this time around, but I’m very honored and excited to be able to face him.”

Yamamoto was originally slated to pitch Game 2, but the Dodgers flipped him and Jack Flaherty in the order. Flaherty will start Sunday.

Ohtani signed a record $700 million, 10-year deal with the Dodgers last December, coming over from the Los Angeles Angels, where he spent six losing seasons. He was a major factor in luring Yamamoto to the Dodgers. The right-hander signed a $325 million, 12-year deal a few weeks after Ohtani switched teams.

Joe can’t go

The Padres were already driven to achieve this postseason as a way to honor beloved late owner Peter Seidler, whose initials adorn their jerseys.

He died last November at age 63.

Now, they want to win for teammate Joe Musgrove. San Diego’s $100 million pitcher needs Tommy John surgery and is done for the season. The stunning bit of news came out barely 24 hours before Game 1 of the NLDS.

“I’m devastated about not being able to finish what we started,” an emotional Musgrove said.

The right-hander from El Cajon was acquired by his hometown Padres in 2021 and soon after pitched the first no-hitter in franchise history.

“He’s a big part of our clubhouse and a leader,” Cease said. “He’ll be with us in other ways. We’re going to pick up the slack and we’re just going to keep moving forward.”

Attacking Ohtani

The Dodgers have a potent trio of hitters at the top of their lineup. Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts are all former MVPs.

As if trying to contain Ohtani — the first player in MLB history to have 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in a season — isn’t enough of a challenge, Freeman and Betts are disciplined hitters who can swing for the fences or draw walks.

“You want to take Shohei out of the equation, but just like when you bunt somebody, who are you bunting him over for? Are they going to be able to get him in?” Padres manager Mike Shildt said.

“You usually put somebody on because you like the match-ups better behind them and you’ve got two MVP-caliber guys right behind him. And Mookie is a pretty neutral guy, hits righties, hits lefties, so there’s not a real handiness advantage there.”

Ohtani is 4 for 15 with two home runs and four RBIs in 17 plate appearances against Cease. Their match-ups go back to when Cease was with the Chicago White Sox and Ohtani played for the Angels in the American League.

“I’m going to go in with a high level of focus and just attack,” Cease said. “If you pitch timidly and you walk guys or you fall behind, you’re really just setting yourself up for failure.”

Freeman’s ankle

Freeman may be limited by a sprained right ankle he sustained last week, although manager Dave Roberts expects him to be in the lineup Saturday.

The All-Star first baseman hit grounders and ran the bases Friday after working in the batting cage and playing in a simulated game the day before.

Freeman said he was told a sprained ankle typically results in four to six weeks on the injured list.

“And I’m going to try to do this in a week and play,” he said. “I’ve never sprained an ankle before, so that was the hardest thing. And they say your first sprained ankle is the worst.”

— Beth Harris, Associated Press