Imagine the thrill of a playoff series hanging by a thread—could these LCS matchups really be slipping away from sweeps into epic battles? You probably figured the ALCS and NLCS would wrap up quickly after those dominant first two games in each, right? But hold on, because Game 3 of the ALCS on Wednesday night flipped the script in dramatic fashion. The Mariners grabbed an early advantage over the Blue Jays with a massive two-run homer from Julio Rodríguez in the first inning, igniting the Seattle fans into a roaring celebration. At that moment, it felt like we might already have our World Series preview locked in.
But nope, that excitement was short-lived. The Blue Jays responded with a staggering 12 unanswered runs, proving their hitters were finally firing on all cylinders. Suddenly, the ALCS feels like a genuine showdown, full of twists. And now, with the NLCS shifting back to Los Angeles for Game 3, we're left wondering if it'll heat up just as intensely. Stay tuned—we're about to find out.
As the postseason rolls on, I'll be breaking down the upcoming games day by day, highlighting key narratives for each squad. Let's dive into the intriguing storylines for Thursday's doubleheader of LCS action.
- NLCS Game 3, presented by loanDepot: Thursday at 6 p.m. ET/5 CT/3 PT on TBS, truTV, HBO Max (https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule)
Brewers: Can they pull off a stunning reversal?
After a tough 5-1 defeat in Game 2 that left them deflated, Brewers manager Pat Murphy tried to rally the troops: 'I don't think it's over,' he insisted, though he admitted, 'I don’t know why.' That's not exactly the rallying cry of a team bursting with self-assurance, and honestly, it's hard to blame them for feeling shaky. For beginners, a 'sweep' means one team wins all the games in a series without the other side taking even one, so being down 0-2 is a precarious spot. Apart from a rare ninth-inning wobble from Dodgers' pitcher Roki Sasaki in Game 1, the Dodgers' staff has been lights-out, holding the Brewers to a dismal .086 batting average collectively—that's like the hitters are swinging at shadows.
The silver lining? This Brewers squad racked up 97 victories during the regular season, powered largely by their potent lineup. They topped the National League in batting average at .258 (tied with the Phillies) and on-base percentage (OBP, which measures how often players get on base via hits, walks, or hit-by-pitches) at .332. In simple terms, they excel at wearing down pitchers through long, patient at-bats, much like a marathon runner pacing themselves for the endgame. They haven't shown that grit in the first two NLCS games, but it's a skill they've honed all year. Facing Dodgers' ace Tyler Glasnow in Game 3 isn't a walk in the park—he's on a hot streak with 14 2/3 scoreless innings since his second-to-last regular-season outing. Still, he's not the same caliber as Blake Snell or Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who dominated earlier, so that's a small break for Milwaukee.
But here's where it gets controversial: Is this Brewers team truly the greatest in franchise history, or are they overrated given their current slump? As grim as the outlook seems, they just need to snag two wins out of the next three at Dodger Stadium to swing the series back home to Milwaukee, where their passionate fans would be over the moon. This could be their defining moment—time to channel that regular-season magic and fight like champions.
Dodgers: Are they peaking at the perfect time, better than ever?
Heading into the season, there was buzz about whether the Dodgers could shatter the all-time single-season wins record. Spoiler: They fell short, just as some experts predicted from the start (https://www.mlb.com/news/can-dodgers-break-single-season-wins-record). But and this is the part most people miss—they seem to have been biding their time strategically all along. For over a decade, the Dodgers have been perennial regular-season powerhouses, though translating that dominance into October glory hasn't always clicked. Think of it like building a dream house: You lay a strong foundation, but the real test is surviving the storms.
This year, fresh off a World Series championship, they zeroed in on playoff preparation from day one. They gave star pitchers like Game 3's Tyler Glasnow ample recovery time from injuries, didn't panic over underwhelming stretches from veterans such as Mookie Betts (who might have been conserving energy), and stayed laser-focused on postseason success. They've learned through tough lessons that regular-season accolades mean little without a deep run in October. The payoff? In the playoffs, the Dodgers are performing like a well-oiled machine that, if assembled this way all season, might have chased that wins record after all.
Not only are they crushing it offensively and defensively right now, but they're incredibly fresh too. Starters Snell (https://www.mlb.com/news/blake-snell-throws-8-scoreless-innings-vs-brewers-in-nlcs-game-1) and Yamamoto (https://www.mlb.com/news/yoshinobu-yamamoto-throws-complete-game-in-nlcs-game-2-2025) handled 17 of the 18 innings in the first two games, leaving Glasnow with a full six days of rest and the bullpen pitchers with at least two days off (many more for key relievers). At this precise juncture, the Dodgers appear sharper and more synced than ever before—a terrifying prospect for their opponents. And this raises a bold question: Does prioritizing playoffs over regular-season perfection make them cheaters in the eyes of purists, or smart innovators?
- ALCS Game 4, presented by loanDepot: Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 PT on FS1 (https://www.mlb.com/news/2025-mlb-playoff-and-world-series-schedule)
Blue Jays: What kind of magic can Scherzer deliver?
Picture this: The camera zooms in tight on Max Scherzer taking the mound for Game 4 (https://www.mlb.com/bluejays/news/max-scherzer-game-4-alcs-start-for-blue-jays), capturing those intense flared nostrils, piercing gaze, and mismatched eyes—one blue, one brown—that scream legend. In the high-stakes drama of October baseball, where every pitch could swing the game, Scherzer's unyielding competitiveness feels tailor-made for the spotlight. It's the eternal duel between pitcher and batter, with careers on the line, and he's thrived in moments like these.
Over his surefire Hall of Fame journey, Scherzer has appeared in 30 postseason games (25 starts), logging 143 innings across five teams—the Blue Jays mark his sixth (https://www.mlb.com/news/mlb-players-who-played-in-the-postseason-with-the-most-teams). He's got two World Series rings and this is his seventh LCS appearance. To put it plainly, he's no rookie in the playoffs; he's the grizzled veteran who's seen it all.
That said, this will be his first outing in almost a month, and there's a backstory: Scherzer endured a rough September, posting an 0-3 record and a sky-high 10.20 ERA (earned run average, basically how many runs a pitcher allows per nine innings) over four starts. That slump sidelined him from the postseason rotation and even the ALDS roster. Now, he's back, tasked with preventing the Blue Jays from facing elimination. Manager John Schneider notes that Scherzer's body is in far better shape than a month ago, and at age 41, that extra downtime can be a game-changer for recovery. Could this be his final big-league start, capping a career full of iconic performances? We're all hoping he channels that legendary fire one more time.
Mariners: Will Castillo silence the Jays' roaring bats?
The Blue Jays' game plan in this series, especially shining through in Game 3, has been to attack pitches aggressively from the outset—like pouncing on a fastball before the pitcher settles in. On Wednesday, it exploded into success. Entering the game with a meager .131 batting average and just one hit beyond the second inning in their prior losses, Toronto's offense erupted (https://www.mlb.com/news/blue-jays-win-alcs-game-3-2025), peppering line drives across the field and smashing homers against a shell-shocked George Kirby and an overmatched Mariners bullpen.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s homer might have been the most heartwarming, as he'd gone 0-for-7 in the first two games, mirroring the team's early woes. It was a wake-up call: These Jays can absolutely rake when they're on.
- Teams that staged comebacks after dropping the first two games (https://www.mlb.com/news/2-to-0-deficit-baseball-playoff-rallies-c297376582)
For context, history shows plenty of teams have rallied from 0-2 deficits—think the 2004 Red Sox or 2016 Indians turning the tide in unforgettable fashion. But in Game 4, the Jays won't see Kirby; instead, they'll tangle with Luis Castillo, who's been rock-solid in the ALDS. He delivered 4 2/3 quality innings in the Game 2 victory against Tarik Skubal and then 1 1/3 scoreless frames in relief during the Game 5 thriller, earning the win. You could imagine him holding the line even if that game dragged into extra-extra innings. The Mariners' dreams of gliding into their first World Series at home took a hit Wednesday, but Seattle fans know nothing comes easy here—it's all about resilience. Castillo could deliver the shutdown performance to tighten Seattle's grip on the series.
So, what do you think—can underdogs like the Brewers and Mariners defy the odds, or are the Dodgers and Blue Jays too stacked? Drop your hot takes in the comments: Who's advancing, and why? Let's debate!
