Traditionally, baseball has been kind to the teams that win the first game of the Wild Card Round. That stayed true during the second day of the 2026 edition, as the White Sox & Yankees took care of business in their respective Game 2s to move on to the ALDS. The Padres, meanwhile, swept the Cubs.
Phillies win in extras to stay alive
The Phillies clawed back to win Game 2 against the Braves 4-3 in extras, tying the 2026 NL Wild Card Round matchup at one.
Atlanta broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh after Bryce Harper misplayed a fly ball hit off the bat of Drake Baldwin, one that was ultimately ruled a double. A Matt Olson sac fly brought in Ha-Seong Kim to make it 3-1.
But in the eighth, Kyle Schwarber belted a solo shot to make it a one-run game. Then, Bryce Harper atoned for his mistake with a solo shot off his own, which ultimately pushed the game to extras.
In the 10th inning, Alec Bohm hit a solo home run off Didier Fuentes to make it 4-3. Andrew Painter finished off a third scoreless inning afterwards to cement the win.
White Sox sweep Astros
Words Astros fans did not want to hear or read again. The Chicago White Sox swept the AL Wild Card series against the Astros, marking the club’s first postseason series win since the 2005 World Series against Houston.
Chicago pushed four in the first off Astros ace Hunter Brown. Houston chipped away with three solo shots, one each from Jeremy Pena, Cam Smith, and Jose Altuve, to make it a one-run game. But in the sixth, Chase Meidroth flipped it around with a three-run shot.
The White Sox’s bullpen didn’t allow any runs afterwards, keeping the score at 7-3 for the duration. Chicago will face division rival Cleveland in the ALDS.
Yankees blow through Red Sox
The Yankees won 9-2 to sweep the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Round, advancing to face the Rays starting this weekend.
Boston was down 2-1 entering the sixth when Willson Contreras hit a solo home run to cut the lead in half. But that is when it went south for the Sox.
Garrett Crochet, in his first outing since April, was charged with four runs and didn’t record an out. Garrett Whitlock tried to clean it up but ultimately conceded a three-run shot to Cody Bellinger, part of a six-run inning.
Padres/Cubs
The Padres received some revenge on the 30th, as San Diego won 4-1 to complete a two-game sweep of the Cubs. San Diego will face the Brewers in the NLDS.
San Diego put up two in the second courtesy of RBI singles from Xander Bogaerts & Ethan Salas. Chicago got one back in the fourth to make it 2-1. Later that inning, Gavin Sheets came off the bench and hit a two-run home run off a 101 MPH fastball from Daniel Palencia.
Nick Pivetta did not go four innings in this one. However, the bullpen didn’t allow a run, highlighted by a scoreless inning from Mason Miller.
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