Brewers cruise past Cubs to open NLDS

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jackson Chourio went 3 for 3 and drove in three runs in the first two innings before departing with a hamstring injury as the Milwaukee Brewers trounced the Chicago Cubs 9-3 in their NL Division Series opener Saturday.

Chourio became the first player to have three hits in the first two innings of a playoff game. But his availability for Monday’s Game 2 in the best-of-five series is unclear.

Chourio, who missed a month of the regular season with a strained right hamstring, left with tightness in that hamstring after beating out a bases-loaded infield single.

Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta worked 5 2/3 innings, and the only runs he allowed came on homers from Michael Busch and Ian Happ. Nico Hoerner added a solo shot off Jared Koenig in the eighth inning.

Peralta’s nine strikeouts tied Don Sutton, Yovani Gallardo and Brandon Woodruff for the Brewers’ single-game playoff record.

After Busch opened the game with a 389-foot drive over the wall in right-center, Chourio, Brice Turang and William Contreras started the bottom half of the first with consecutive doubles.

Contreras scored from second when Hoerner mishandled a slow grounder from Sal Frelick. Blake Perkins capped an 11-pitch at bat with a two-out RBI single to center.

Michael Soroka walked Joey Ortiz to load the bases and allowed a two-run single to Chourio.

Boyd had only three days of rest after throwing 58 pitches in the Cubs’ 3-1 Wild Card Series Game 1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.

Milwaukee added three more runs in the second. Caleb Durbin delivered a two-run single before Chourio’s infield hit made it 9-1.

Chicago’s Aaron Civale, who started the season with Milwaukee, and Ben Brown combined for 6 1/3 innings of shutout relief.

BLUE JAYS 10, YANKEES 1

TORONTO (AP) — Alejandro Kirk hit two solo home runs, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. also connected and Toronto won a postseason game for the first time since 2016 by thumping New York in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Saturday.

Nathan Lukes had two hits, three RBIs and a diving catch, and Andrés Giménez added two hits and drove in a pair as the AL East champion Blue Jays used 14 hits to snap a seven-game playoff losing streak.

Toronto’s previous postseason win came in Game 4 of the 2016 American League Championship Series against Cleveland. The Blue Jays lost that series in five games.

Toronto was swept out of the wild-card round at Tampa Bay in 2020, at home against Seattle in 2022 and at Minnesota in 2023.

Kevin Gausman (1-0) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the win. He walked two and struck out three.

Guerrero went 3 for 4 with two RBIs. He opened the scoring with a two-out drive in the first inning, the first postseason homer of his career, and added a sacrifice fly in Toronto’s four-run seventh.

Guerrero entered with three hits and one RBI in six previous playoff games.

Kirk hit a first-pitch homer in the second, his first in the postseason, then added a second shot off Paul Blackburn to begin a four-run eighth.

Toronto has won seven of eight home meetings with New York this season. The Blue Jays went an AL-best 54-27 at home in the regular season.

DODGERS 5, PHILLIES 3

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Teoscar Hernández rallied the Dodgers with a three-run homer in the seventh inning that bailed out Shohei Ohtani, both on the mound and at the plate, and led Los Angeles to a win over Philadelphia in Game 1 of their NL Division Series.

Ohtani struck out four straight times at the plate, the final time in the seventh with no outs and two runners on against Matt Strahm.

Following a Mookie Betts popout, Hernández silenced a roaring Phillies crowd with an opposite-field drive to right off Strahm for a 5-3 lead. The veteran slugger gestured in wild celebration in his trot around the bases.

A three-time MVP, Ohtani recovered from a three-run second in his first career playoff pitching start to shut down the Phillies and finish with nine strikeouts over six innings.

Alex Vesia retired pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa with the bases loaded in the eighth to preserve the lead. Roki Sasaki worked the ninth for his first career save.

DETROIT 3, SEATTLE 2, 11 INNINGS

SEATTLE (AP) — Zach McKinstry singled home the tiebreaking run with two outs in the 11th inning and Detroit outlasted Seattle for a victory in Game 1 of their AL Division Series.

Kerry Carpenter hit a two-run homer in the fifth for the resurgent Tigers, who squandered a huge lead in the AL Central and nearly collapsed entirely down the stretch before squeezing into the playoffs.

After winning their Wild Card Series at division champion Cleveland in a deciding Game 3, they can take a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-five matchup against AL West champion Seattle with dominant ace Tarik Skubal on the mound Sunday.

In the first extra-inning game of this postseason, McKinstry pounced on the first pitch he saw from reliever Carlos Vargas, a 99.6 mph sinker, and grounded it up the middle to score Spencer Torkelson from second base.

Torkelson, who walked leading off the 11th, advanced to second on a wild pitch by Vargas earlier in the inning.