Wild Card Do-or-Die: Guardians, Cubs, Reds, Red Sox

MLB’s Wild Card round resumed Wednesday with four do-or-die games — Guardians-Tigers, Padres-Cubs, Red Sox-Yankees and Reds-Dodgers — as eight teams fought to stay alive. In Cleveland, Brayan Rocchio hit a go-ahead eighth-inning homer off a 99.9 mph fastball, Steven Kwan and Daniel Schneemann added run-producing doubles and Bo Naylor’s three-run shot put the Guardians ahead while Cade Smith closed to force a decisive Game 3. At Wrigley Field the Cubs won Game 1, 3-1, on back-to-back homers by Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly and a bullpen that tossed 4 2/3 perfect innings, putting Chicago one win from advancing. The Cubs plan to use Andrew Kittredge as an opener in Game 2, and a victory would set up a matchup with the top-seeded Brewers. The Padres — who have scored one run in their last 33 postseason innings — will turn to Dylan Cease, whose electric stuff has been paired with an up-and-down 2025 season, to try to stave off elimination in the short Wild Card series.