Division Series Game 1s: Brewers Escape Padres in 9th, Rays Blank Yankees 1-0

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3, 2026 — The Division Series opened with a four-game Saturday slate, and October wasted no time delivering. The Milwaukee Brewers escaped the San Diego Padres 3-2 in a Game 1 that ended on a wild ninth-inning play at American Family Field. The Tampa Bay Rays blanked the New York Yankees 1-0 behind one swing in a classic pitchers’ duel at Tropicana Field. The Los Angeles Dodgers outslugged the Atlanta Braves 5-3, and the Chicago White Sox shut out the Cleveland Guardians 3-0. Four series, four Game 1 winners — and nobody has room to breathe.

Here is how each Game 1 played out — and what it means for the rest of the series.

NL Division Series · Game 1Brewers 3, Padres 2 — Milwaukee escapes in the ninth

The nightcap was the night’s wildest finish. San Diego struck first in the second, manufacturing a pair of runs — Luis Campusano singled home Xander Bogaerts, and Jake Cronenworth’s fielder’s choice brought Ethan Salas across — and the Padres looked ready to steal home-field advantage. Milwaukee answered immediately: Jackson Chourio crushed a 420-foot two-run homer in the third, scoring Garrett Mitchell, and the game was tied.

It stayed that way until the seventh, when William Contreras went 406 feet to center for the solo shot that proved to be the difference. The ninth brought the drama — San Diego threatened late, and the game ended on a wild, roof-aided out that finally let Milwaukee exhale. A 3-2 Game 1 win, sealed in the strangest way October knows how.

The Brewers take a 1-0 series lead into Game 2 at home. Follow both clubs on their Brewers and Padres team pages.

AL Division Series · Game 1Rays 1, Yankees 0 — One swing decides a pitchers’ duel

Gerrit Cole against Drew Rasmussen was billed as the heavyweight pitching matchup of the opening weekend, and it delivered: one run, in the entire game. Jonathan Aranda’s 417-foot solo homer to right-center in the third inning was the only scoring of the night, and Tampa Bay’s staff made it stand up.

For the Yankees, it was a jarring comedown — one game after sweeping the Boston Red Sox out of the Wild Card round, New York’s bats went silent against the team built to win exactly this kind of game. The Rays, rested and dealing at home, needed just the one swing. Tampa Bay leads the series 1-0. Rays · Yankees team pages.

NL Division Series · Game 1Dodgers 5, Braves 3 — Back-to-back homers break it open

Fresh off their winner-take-all Game 3 triumph over Philadelphia, the Braves walked into Dodger Stadium and into a slugfest. Teoscar Hernández gave Los Angeles the early lead with a 431-foot two-run homer in the fourth, scoring Freddie Freeman; Sean Murphy answered with a solo shot in the sixth to keep Atlanta close.

Then came the sixth-inning eruption that decided it: Kyle Tucker followed with a 408-foot two-run homer — Hernández scoring ahead of him — and Max Muncy went back-to-back with a 354-foot solo shot. Ozzie Albies made it interesting in the ninth, launching a 432-foot two-run homer with Ronald Acuña Jr. aboard, but Los Angeles held on for the 5-3 win. Our Game 3 story has more on Atlanta’s drought-breaking win over the Phillies.

The Dodgers lead 1-0. Dodgers · Braves team pages.

AL Division Series · Game 1White Sox 3, Guardians 0 — Shutout in Cleveland

The early game belonged to Chicago’s arms and one enormous swing. Munetaka Murakami launched a 440-foot two-run homer in the fourth, scoring Miguel Vargas, and Colson Montgomery’s RBI double in the seventh brought Kyle Teel home for the insurance run. The White Sox staff did the rest, blanking Cleveland over nine innings at Progressive Field.

Chicago keeps rolling: the sweep of Houston in the Wild Card round is now a Game 1 shutout on the road, and the White Sox lead the series 1-0 against a Guardians club that had its rotation lined up exactly how it wanted. White Sox · Guardians team pages.

What’s nextGame 2s on Sunday

All four series resume Sunday, October 4, with Game 2: the White Sox and Guardians back at it in Cleveland, the Braves and Dodgers under the lights in Los Angeles, the Yankees looking to answer in Tampa Bay, and the Padres trying to even things in Milwaukee. First to three wins takes the series and a trip to the League Championship Series.

The best-of-five format punishes slow starts — and Sunday is every Game 1 loser’s first chance to change the math. Keep it locked on our MLB hub and the Previously Newsroom for full coverage as each series unfolds.