J.D. Martinez opened the scoring for Red Sox and snapped Justin Verlander’s scoreless streak in elimination games with a home run. Facing Justin Verlander in an elimination game isn’t easy, but the Boston Red Sox found a way to topple the Houston Astros ace in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. J.D. Martinez set the tone is Boston’s 4-1 victory, which punched their ticket to the World Series for the first time since 2013.

With the Dodgers trying to make it back to the World Series for the second year in a row — and trying to win it for the first time in 30 years — it’s worth looking back at the last time they won it. More specifically, it’s worth looking back at the signature moment from the last time they won it. Yep, I’m talking about Kirk Gibson’s famous game-winning home run off of Dennis Eckersley of the Oakland Athletics in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, which happened 30 years ago tonight.

The White Sox have a hole or two to plug in their starting rotation. Could Sonny Gray be an answer? New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Friday that he's looking to trade Gray away from the Bronx this winter.

The Chicago Cubs have fired hitting coach Chili Davis after one season, according to several media reports, after the team's offensive production faltered in the second half of the season. Davis, 58, was hired in October 2017 after spending the previous six seasons as a hitting coach with the Boston Red Sox (2015-17) and Oakland Athletics (2012-14). Chicago won 95 games and set a franchise record with a fourth consecutive playoff appearance in 2018.

The best off-the-field story in the MLB postseason has been, without a doubt, the tale of the Oakland Athletics fan who had beer thrown on him during his favorite team’s AL wild-card loss at Yankee Stadium. The saga took another heart-warming turn Tuesday night went the two guys went to Game 4 of the American League Division Series together at Yankee Stadium. John Spencer, the A’s fan, tweeted Monday that Chris, the Yankees fan, had invited him to Game 4.

On Wednesday as the outs accumulated in the wild-card game against the Oakland Athletics, a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium began chanting "We Want Boston" repeatedly. "I think you know it's a series that's capable of going the distance," Boston star right fielder Mookie Betts said. The Red Sox opened the series by taking a five-run lead through three innings Friday before holding on for a 5-4 win.

Two days ago, John Spencer was just an Oakland Athletics fan trying to enjoy his team’s presence in the American League wild card game at Yankee Stadium. Now, thanks to the power of Twitter, he’s quickly becoming a folk hero. After the game, a video surfaced of a Yankees fan dousing a sad A’s fan with a (probably) really expensive beer.

Yesterday we posted about the Oakland Athletics fan who went to the Wild Card game in Yankees stadium only to get doused with a beer by a jackwagon Yankees fan. The story seemed to end happily when the Oakland A’s took it upon themselves to reach out

TBS is touting a ratings victory from its broadcast of the AL wild-card game, though some viewers on its digital app complained of technical issues leading to accidental blackouts. The telecast of the New York Yankees' 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics was the most-watched program on cable Wednesday night, based on overnight delivery. It reached a peak of 7.5 million viewers, the best for an AL wild-card game ever on TBS.

TBS is touting a ratings victory from its broadcast of the AL wild-card game, though some viewers on its digital app complained of technical issues leading to accidental blackouts. The telecast of the New York Yankees' 7-2 win over the Oakland Athletics was the most-watched program on cable Wednesday night, based on overnight delivery. It reached a peak of 7.5 million viewers, the best for an AL wild-card game ever on TBS.

The New York Yankees will counter ace left-hander Chris Sale with a southpaw of their own, sending J.A. Happ to the mound against the Red Sox for Game 1 of the teams' American League Division Series on Friday night at Fenway Park in Boston. Happ hasn't lost since joining the Yankees via trade from the Toronto Blue Jays in July. More important, Happ went 1-1 with a 1.99 ERA in four starts against the Red Sox between the Yankees and Blue Jays during the regular season.

The Oakland Athletics surprised most everyone but themselves. After a 97-65 regular season, Oakland lost the wild-card game 7-2 to New York on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium. ''Unless you play the last game, it's disappointing,'' manager Bob Melvin said.

gfoster (Geoff Foster, sports editor): Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s postseason MLB chat. We are done with the one-game wild-card playoffs. We are done with the one-game playoffs to figure out who would play in the one-game playoffs. And the Oakland Athletics

An A's fan went viral from a video he wishes never happened. In the A's AL Wild Card Game loss to the Yankees, a Yankees fan poured beer all over an A's fan and laughed at the gross act. This guy has patience as the A's fan didn't retaliate. Once the

Aaron Judge got the party started with a two-run homer nine pitches in . "We want Boston!" they chanted. ''It's going to be intense,'' CC Sabathia predicted after the Yankees pounded the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Wednesday night to win their second straight AL wild-card game.

Aaron Judge got the party started with a two-run homer nine pitches in . "We want Boston!" they chanted. ''It's going to be intense,'' CC Sabathia predicted after the Yankees pounded the Oakland Athletics 7-2 on Wednesday night to win their second straight AL wild-card game.

I want to start this all off by saying that Liam Hendriks did not cost the Oakland Athletics the game last night. Nor, for that matter, did their use of an “opener” cost them the game. They lost the game because the Yankees shut down the A’s bats until

Other than opening with a reliever on the mound, nothing was any different about this October for the Oakland Athletics. Liam Hendriks gave up a two-run homer to Aaron Judge on his ninth pitch and the A's never recovered, making another early playoff exit with a 7-2 loss to the New York Yankees in the American League wild-card game Wednesday night. Oakland's dangerous bats were mostly silenced by Luis Severino and a nasty New York bullpen, sending the A's right back across the country and home for the winter - an abrupt ending to their surprisingly successful 97-win season.

Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton blasted a pair of 400-foot home runs as the New York Yankees routed the Oakland A's 7-2 to book a date with their rivals the Boston Red Sox. Judge got the scoring started on Wednesday with a two-run homer in the first inning and Stanton, who was making his playoff debut, put the finishing touches on the wild-card game blowout with a towering blast in the eighth. Pitcher Luis Severino started his second straight wild-card game for the Yankees, who also beat the Minnesota Twins 8-4 last year.

Despite a relentless squad that challenged for an AL West title and won 97 games during the regular season, the A’s losing streak in winner-take-all postseason games extended to an MLB record eight with Wednesday’s 7-2 AL wild-card loss to the New York Yankees. Especially in the MLB postseason, where home-field advantage and regular season dominance means very little. Yet no matter if the A’s were considered favorites or underdogs, as was the case Wednesday against the Yankees, they’ve found a way to lose what amounts to eight straight coin flips. Oakland previously shared the record with the Cleveland Indians.