A Japanese rookie hit his first postseason home run; a reliever scripted history; a base-running blunder and a rare rule came into play. All these happened in one place: The MLB Division Series. As the postseason round got underway with four games on Saturday, the opening day of the best-of-five series delivered everything October baseball promises.

The Chicago White Sox blanked the Cleveland Guardians 3-0, while the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 5-3. The Tampa Bay Rays edged the New York Yankees 1-0, and the Milwaukee Brewers survived the San Diego Padres 3-2. Ahead of the next games of the series, here is a look at the biggest stories around the league.

Rare ground rule robs Padres of game-winning home run

Oh, the drama the San Diego Padres delivered in the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers!

San Diego had a chance to potentially take the lead in the ninth inning when Ty France launched a towering fly ball with one out and a runner on base. Entering the ninth inning 3-2, the Padres could have taken the lead with Ty France’s moon-shot if it had landed in the stands.

However, instead of clearing the field, the ball struck the roof structure of American Family Field and came down only to fall into the glove of Brewers outfielder Jackson Chourio.

According to MLB’s ground rules, any batted ball that strikes the roof, roof truss, or roof cable over fair territory remains in play. If it is caught by a fielder, the batter is out.

The rule ended the Padres’ comeback hopes. After Ty France, Jackson Merrill lined out to right field as the Brewers won 3-2.

On Sunday, the Padres held the initial lead before the Brewers rallied past. In the third inning, Churio hit a two-run shot to tie the game. William Contreras’ 406-foot home run put the Brewers in the lead.

Austin Wells’ base-running decision cost the Yankees

Austin Wells’ base-running decision in the eighth inning cost the Yankees a chance at a comeback in the one-run game.

The Yankees managed only one hit in a 1-0 loss to the Rays. Pitching for the Rays, Drew Rasmussen silenced the Yankees’ lineup through 7 scoreless, hitless innings until Austin Wells stepped up to the plate in the eighth inning. Trailing 1-0 with two outs in the eighth, Wells’ line drive down the right-field line recorded the Yankees’ first hit in the 2026 AL Division Series.

But the Yankees’ catcher got overaggressive and ultimately paid for it. Wells tried to turn the double into a triple and continued running even after reaching second base. Instead of stopping at second base, Wells attempted to stretch the hit into a triple despite third-base coach Luis Rojas signaling for him to stop.

He was easily thrown out at third and ended the inning. Aaron Boone called the decision a mistake postgame.

The situation was particularly costly because Giancarlo Stanton was lined up to pinch-hit next. A single from Stanton could have easily scored Wells, tying the game.

But the Rays escaped the jam and closed out the one-run victory. On Fox Sports, David Ortiz announced the Yankees’ loss by singing.

“DAAAAA Yankees lose,” said the Red Sox legend, who played 14 seasons for Boston.

Munetaka Murakami goes big

The Chicago White Sox closed out their first game of the division series without much hassle, as Munetaka Murakami lifted them to a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians.

In the fourth inning, the Japanese rookie crushed a 93 mph sinker from Guardians’ starter Parker Messick for his first career postseason home run. The 440-foot blast into the right-field seats brought Miguel Vargas home, giving White Sox a 2-0 lead.

Murakami finished the regular season with 35 homers, while batting .207. After going 1-for-8 in the Wild Card Series against the Houston Astros, Murakami found his power bat again in Cleveland.

“That’s what playoff baseball is about: your big dogs going out there and making big plays,” manager Will Venable said. “Mune is the guy in the middle of the lineup that’s been doing it all year for us. Long ball is part of our game, specifically with Mune.

“Obviously, a huge swing right there, especially after we had just gotten out of a tough jam there. So really well-timed homer. We needed it.”

Colson Montgomery’s RBI double cemented the score at 3-0. The White Sox relief pitching staff took care of the rest. Five relievers worked together to shut the Guardians out and limit them to only three hits. Grant Taylor’s 6K, 4-inning scoreless outing became a part of MLB history. Sarah Langs of MLB.com noted that Taylor became the sixth pitcher in MLB history to record a save of at least four in the playoffs since saves became an official stat in 1969.

Dodgers win NLDS Game 1

The Braves may have won the season series 5-1 against the Dodgers. But the postseason is a different ballgame, and no one knows it better than the defending World Series champions.

With Tarik Skubal on the mound, the Dodgers clinched Game 1 of the NLDS with a 5-3 victory over the Braves. Skubal allowed only two hits and one run across six innings while striking out seven.

Los Angeles eventually broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth with Teoscar Hernández’s two-run home run. In the sixth inning, Kyle Tucker also added a two-run homer of his own, bringing Hernández home. One at-bat later, Max Muncy extended the lead to 5-1 with a solo homer.

Sean Murphy opened the scoreboard for the Braves. While the Dodgers dominated, Atlanta refused to go quietly; Ronald Acuna Jr. singled to left, and Ozzie Albies brought him home with a two-run homer.

The NLDS not only challenged the players, but it also brought as much challenge for the attending fans.

Fans brave 100-degree heat in Los Angeles

Much to the frustration of fans in Los Angeles, the Dodgers got the afternoon slot for Game 1 of the NLDS. The Los Angeles heat wave put a damper on the enthusiasm of Dodger fans. Even keeping ticket prices as low as $56 did not result in a sold-out crowd. However, 50,194 fans did turn up to cheer for the home team.

With the first pitch scheduled for 2:44 PM, the temperature at Dodger Stadium reached 100 degrees. This marked the second-hottest first-pitch temperature since the temperature in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series peaked at 103 degrees.

On Saturday afternoon, the temperature peaked at 103 degrees by the third inning. The Dodgers’ minority owner, Magic Johnson, thanked fans for their attendance.

“Cookie and I are very happy with Game 1 of the MLB NLDS against the Atlanta Braves – our Dodgers won 5-3 today!” Johnson wrote on X. “A big thank you to all the Dodgers fans for coming out to Dodger Stadium, where it was over 100 degrees. We appreciate you supporting our Dodgers in extremely hot conditions!”

The Dodgers provided water bottles to every fan to help them overcome the heat.

While all four winners will gear up to strengthen their lead in Game 2, the pressure shifts to the losing teams as they will fight to keep their World Series hopes alive in the following clashes.