SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 26: Mason Miller #22 of the San Diego Padres prepares to pitch during the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park on September 26, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) | Getty Images The first day of playoff baseball was fun. We saw a couple close games and a couple blowouts. Now four teams are one win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. Conversely, four squads are one more loss away from beginning their offseason earlier than expected. Teams that win the first game of the series in the Wild Card round are 15-1 so everyone should be in desperation mode at this point. That just means better baseball for us.Phillies at Braves (2:00 PM EDT)Atlanta took the first game yesterday thanks to a late three-run home run from third baseman Austin Riley. Former Athletic Jesus Luzardo pitched well for the Phillies while former A’s All-Star Matt Olson went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Atlanta won the NL East and showed why yesterday with a well-rounded win against their division rivals.Now Philadelphia has their backs up against the wall and need a win to keep their season alive for at least one more day. They’ll ask left-hander Cristopher Sanchez (18-7, 2.91 ERA) to help keep their season alive for one more day. He’s arguably their best pitcher and as good as any option for them to turn to, The Braves meanwhile have mid-season acquisition Tyler Mahle (4-1, 1.99 ERA)* taking the ball for them today. Since his trade from San Francisco at the deadline Mahle has looked like a completely different pitcher, providing the Braves with ace-like production. Does that run out today in the playoffs against a tough opponent?*with Atlanta, not counting his stats with the Giants.Here’s how Atlanta stacks up:Game 2.#LetItFlypic.twitter.com/eFJ2VqmUbP— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 30, 2026And the Philles’ starting nine:Updated lineup:SS: Turner DH: Schwarber RF: Harper1B: Bohm 2B: Stott LF: Marsh 3B: Sosa CF: Crawford C: Realmuto Sanchez LHP https://t.co/VZdsYFFJnM— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 30, 2026White Sox at Astros (5:00 PM EDT)The bullpen game did not work out great for the Astros, predictably. Now they’re down in the series to the young and upstart White Sox who just won their first playoff game in five years. Houston will now turn back to their starting rotation and send their ace in right-hander Hunter Brown (6-4, 3.19 ERA) out there. Brown missed some time earlier in the year but he’s healthy now and looking strong. In fact, his last start was against the A’s in the final series of the season. He pitched into the sixth, allowing just one run on two hits and four walks. He’ll need to be sharper than that if Houston lives to see Thursday.Chicago meanwhile has one of their top young arms going for them with a chance to send them to the next round. Right-hander Sean Burke (11-7, 3.34 ERA) is getting the ball this aftern
