Bryce Harper believes the Philadelphia Phillies have a team built for the postseason, but insisted their job is far from over after moving one win away from the World Series.

The Phillies took a 3-1 lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series by coming from 4-0 down to claim a 10-6 win in Game 4 on Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

Philadelphia will have the chance to finish the job on Sunday in Game 5, with Harper in position to realise the ambition he had when he left the Washington Nationals for the Phillies in a blockbuster move in 2019.

"Anywhere you sign, you want the opportunity to get into the postseason, play late into October," Harper said when asked what his expectations were upon his arrival in 2019.

"I said it in my first Spring Training. It's going to take us a couple years to get there, right? It's going to take us a couple years to build this thing. It's going to take a couple years to understand what our identity is and who we are and what we can do.

"I believe our team is built for October, I really do. I think we have three starters that are really, really good, and I think we have a great bullpen.

"Eighth and ninth inning, those two guys down there can go two innings plus for us. Just our lineup one through nine.

"I think our young guys have been really good for us this year. They stepped up, and our veterans as well."

"This is what we play for. This is what you work for each offseason and going into Spring Training, this is what you want to do."

What a win, boys pic.twitter.com/SeBAc7iMoP

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 23, 2022

The Phillies will face a tough test on Sunday against Padres ace Yu Darvish, who allowed only three hits over seven innings in Game 1, though the two homers he surrendered proved decisive in a 2-0 defeat for San Diego.

"I think we're all just excited for the opportunity. I know I keep saying kind of the same thing, but we're all just so grateful for the opportunity to be here," added Harper.

"I don't think any of us are in shock, but to stand here and say that we're grateful and understand that this opportunity is huge. We're one of the last teams playing right now, and it's really cool to see that.

"When you look at the scoreboard and you see two more, and you look at the scoreboard and nobody's playing that day, just you, you're grateful for the opportunity to be here.

"I think all of us, or myself, I wake up, and I'm just excited. I'm excited, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to come to the ballpark each day. I'm grateful for these fans, them showing out for us and how cool it is, how much fun it is.

"The job's not done. We have a lot ahead of us. We have a really tough matchup tomorrow with Yu. We're excited for that matchup. We're excited for the opportunity, and just ready to get back tomorrow ready to go."

The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from the World Series after tying a franchise record for their largest comeback in postseason history with a 10-6 Game 4 win over the San Diego Padres in the NLCS on Saturday.

The Padres raced ahead 4-0 in the first inning, but the Phillies responded to square the game by the fourth inning, before pulling away thanks to four home runs at Citizens Bank Park to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Rhys Hoskins played a key role in the comeback, blasting two two-run homers, the second tying the game up at 6-6 in the fifth inning, before a go-ahead single from Bryce Harper, who went two-for-four with two RBIs.

Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto both launched solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings to add insurance.

The Padres were two out in the first inning before Manny Machado led their early charge with a solo blast followed by Brandon Drury's two-run double and Kim Ha-seong's RBI.

Hoskins commenced an immediate response with his third home run of the postseason, before Harper's RBI cut the margin to one after the first inning.

Phillies shortstop Bryson Stott's base hit to left squared it up at 4-4 in the fourth inning before Juan Soto launched his first postseason homer, a two-run shot, to open up a 6-4 Padres' lead.

Hoskins blasted Sean Manaea over left-center field to tie it up, before Harper drove Realmuto home to take the lead.

The Phillies host the Padres again on Sunday, knowing only 14 of 91 teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit in a League Championship Series or a World Series to win.

Astros open up 3-0 lead with Yankees domination

The Houston Astros are also on the brink of clinching their fourth World Series berth in six seasons after a dominant 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

The Astros' pitching staff did the damage, with starter Cristian Javier allowing only one hit with five strikeouts across five-and-one-third innings. Javier had led the Astros' combined no-hitter at Yankee Stadium earlier this season in June.

The victory improved the Astros' postseason record to 6-0, having swept the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS, while it was their second shutout of the postseason too.

Chas McCormick blasted a two-run homer in the second inning after Harrison Bader and Aaron Judge's outfield mix-up allowed Christian Vazquez on base from a sky-high pop-out with two out.

The Astros loaded the bases in the fifth inning, leading to Gerrit Cole's removal despite seven K's, before Trey Mancini's sacrifice fly and Vazquez's two-run single from reliever Lou Trivino to capitalise.

Astros catcher Vazquez's brilliant game included a spectacular throw to second base to out Bader when trying to steal with the game poised at 2-0 at the top of the fifth inning.

Gerrit Cole was surprised by manager Aaron Boone's decision to pull him out of Game 3 in the sixth inning before the New York Yankees lost 5-0 to the Houston Astros to trail 3-0 in the best-of-seven ALCS.

The Astros maintained their unbeaten postseason record, moving within one victory of the World Series with Saturday's triumph at Yankee Stadium.

Cole, who has been outstanding all postseason and had seven strikeouts on Saturday, was abruptly retired from the game by Boone, who entered the field twice in the sixth inning, forcing the starting pitcher's removal under MLB rules.

The Yankees had held a mound visit after Cole walked Kyle Tucker, before Boone walked out again after Yuli Gurriel's subsequent single had put runners at every base.

Cole, who had given up a two-run homer to Chas McCormick in the second inning after a fielding error from Harrison Bader that should have closed that inning, had got the Yankees into the jam but did not look pleased with Boone's decision.

Reliever Lou Trivino could not rescue the situation either, giving up two hits and three runs in the inning with a Trey Mancini sacrifice fly followed by Christian Vazquez's two-run single which blew out the margin.

"I feel like as a pitcher like myself, I'm probably mostly surprised," Cole told reporters. "I always want to keep going. I was not ready to come out but to my knowledge, the second trip is what it is."

Boone admitted he felt Cole had pitched well when he moved to explain the early decision.

"Part of the deliberation was because I thought Gerrit threw the ball so well today, but I decided I wanted to go to Trivi," Boone said. "We were down a couple and can't really let any more. Just hoping for some weak contact or a ball on the ground."

The defeat leaves the Yankees staring down an ALCS sweep, with the Astros claiming their second shutout of the postseason, underlining their dominance.

The Yankees' offense struggled again, only managing one hit until two belated ninth-inning base hits from Matt Carpenter and Bader.

Across 27 innings in the ALCS, Boone's side have had 12 hits, four runs with only two earned and 41 strikeouts. Aaron Judge, who homered an AL record 62 times in the regular season, went none-for-four on Saturday.

"We need to get something from him, but that said, to win these games you need a little something from everyone," Boone said.

"They're really good. Obviously, it starts with their pitching. Their starters are able to run out there coupled with a couple of really good arms out of the bullpen. If you're not executing at a high level, these things can happen when you're up against a great pitching staff."

The 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only team in MLB history to come back and win a series from a 3-0 deficit.

Astros manager Dusty Baker added: "I don’t know if dominant is the word. All of them were close, except tonight… The Yankees are always dangerous, especially here in New York, so we've got an opportunity to close it out and win tomorrow, so we've got to take every opportunity to try and do that."

The Philadelphia Phillies rode an explosive start from slugger Kyle Schwarber to a 4-2 home victory in Game 3 of the NLCS on Friday, taking a 2-1 lead.

Only Aaron Judge (62) hit more home runs in the regular season than Schwarber (46), and he continued his spectacular season with his second of the postseason to snatch a 1-0 lead for the Phillies with a 405-foot bomb as their very first batter.

That lead would hold until the fourth inning, when Jake Cronenworth was able to bring Juan Soto home from third with a groundout to shortstop, but the Phillies wasted no time retaking the advantage.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jean Segura came through with a big two-run single to jump ahead 3-1, with Alec Bohm and Bryson Stott coming around to score.

Schwarber, Stott and Bohm were the three Phillies to collect multiple hits on the day, and Bohm's second was crucial, ripping a double to right-field in the sixth inning to again restore their buffer to 4-2, which their bullpen protected beautifully.

Zach Eflin and Jose Alvarado pitched the sixth and seventh inning, before Seranthony Dominguez saw out the final two frames, giving up just one baserunner while striking out three batters for a six-out save.

Phillies starter Ranger Suarez did enough to earn the win on the mound, getting through five innings for two earned runs in 68 pitches while only giving up two hits and no walks.

Game 4 and Game 5 will remain in Philadelphia, before the best-of-seven series heads back to San Diego for Game 6 and Game 7 if necessary.

The Texas Rangers have lured former San Francisco Giants skipper Bruce Bochy out of a brief retirement to take over as manager.

Bochy stepped away from managing after the 2019 season following a successful 13-year run in San Francisco in which he guided the Giants to three World Series titles between 2010 and 2014.

The 67-year-old previously spent 12 seasons as the San Diego Padres' manager from 1995-2006, a period that saw them make four postseason appearances and reached the World Series in 1998.

One of 12 managers to achieve 2,000 victories, Bochy sports an overall record of 2,003-2,029 in regular-season play and 44-33 in postseason games.

The 1996 National League Manager of the Year also has ties to Rangers general manager Chris Young, who pitched for the Padres during Bochy's final season there in 2006.

"In his 25 years with San Diego and San Francisco, Bruce was one of the most successful and respected managers in Major League Baseball," Young said in a statement.

"With a calm and steady presence, he has a remarkable ability to connect and communicate with players, coaches and staff, and his teams have always played with maximum effort. His knowledge of the game, as well as his integrity, is unmatched.

"As we went through the interview process, Bruce's passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident. It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington."

Bochy takes over a Texas team that has been mired in six straight losing seasons and failed to meet heightened expectations in 2022.

The Rangers were big spenders in free agency this past offseason, handing out big contracts to land ex-Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager and former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien, but finished second-last in the American League West at 68-94.

The Rangers fired manager Chris Woodward in August and went just 17-31 after third base coach Tony Beasley was promoted to interim manager.

 

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone claims the roof being open at Minute Maid Park cost his side in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the ALCS.

Aaron Judge missed out marginally on a go-ahead home run when his right-field shot was caught on the fence by a leaping Kyle Tucker in the eighth inning.

Statcast showed that shot would have landed in the stands at Yankee Stadium, but Boone said the wind from the open air at Minute Maid Park hindered Judge's chances.

"I think the roof open kind of killed us," Boone later reporters. "I think it's a 390 [foot] ball. I think it was like 106 [exit velocity] or whatever.

"I think Judge is a homer all the time. The wind was blowing across like that. I didn't think like he smoked it like no-doubter, but it felt like his homers to right."

The Yankees only managed four hits for the game and had 13 batters strike out with the Astros victory giving them a 2-0 series lead.

Boone, who is under some pressure, remained bullish his side could get back into the ALCS ahead of three home games, as they bid to make the World Series for the first time since 2009.

"We've just got to go home and get one," he said. "It starts with that."

The Yankees, who lost 4-2 in Game 1 in Houston, have managed only nine hits across the two games, while having 30 batters struck out.

"Both these games we were in," Boone said. "We've just got to find a way to do a little bit more offensively.

"We feel we can go out there and limit them enough, a very good offense and give us a chance.

"Certainly feel there's no one better than Gerrit [Cole] to hand the ball to, to get us right back in this."

The Astros, who are aiming to reach the World Series for the fourth time in six seasons, have a 5-0 postseason record after sweeping the Seattle Mariners. Three of the Astros' postseason wins have been by one run, while the other two have been by two runs.

Alex Bregman and Framber Valdez played the lead roles as the Houston Astros opened up a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS with a 3-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Thursday.

Bregman's three-run homer over left field opened up a 3-0 third-inning lead, with the Astros pitchers putting on a show to keep the Yankees at bay.

Valdez pitched across seven innings, with nine strikeouts, allowing only four hits, although his fielding error led to both of the Yankees' runs in the fourth inning.

Bryan Abreu ended the eighth inning with back-to-back 99mph fastballs to strike out Giancarlo Stanton after a 3-1 count.

Ryan Pressly got the save in the ninth, his third of this postseason, despite walking Josh Donaldson, striking out three batters including Matt Carpenter for the win as he tried to check his swing.

The Astros were great on defense, with third baseman Bregman knocking down a Gleyber Torres grounder straight to shortstop Jeremy Pena, who threw to first base to close the sixth inning.

In the eighth, outfielder Kyle Tucker plucked a great catch on the wall from Aaron Judge's right-field shot which fell inches short of a go-ahead home run with a runner on first.

Judge and Stanton had plated in the fourth, after Valdez fumbled the latter's grounder back to the mound before throwing wildly to first base, allowing both to third and second base respectively. Anthony Rizzo and Torres got the RBIs.

The third-inning blast from Bregman, who went two-for-four, means he has the most postseason home runs for a third baseman ever in the majors.

The San Diego Padres produced a stunning comeback on the road to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in Game 2 of the NLCS on Wednesday.

San Diego were staring down the barrel of a two-game deficit when Alec Bohm, Matt Vierling, Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber drove home a run each to jump ahead 4-0 in the second inning.

The Padres would get two runs back in the bottom of the second, courtesy of solo home runs to Brandon Drury and Josh Bell, and to manager Bob Melvin's credit, he stuck with starting pitcher Blake Snell despite his rough start, and he was able to pitch three scoreless innings to set up the comeback.

Trailing 4-2 in the fifth inning, the Padres rattled off five runs, with Bell and Drury again delivering, as well as young star Juan Soto and catcher Austin Nola, who got his hit off his brother, Aaron Nola, who started on the mound for the Phillies.

Manny Machado put on the finishing touches with a 424-foot bomb in the seventh inning, before closer Josh Hader came in to put the Phillies away.

By striking out all three batters he faced – after doing the same in his last outing, and striking out his last two batters the time before that – he became the first pitcher in MLB history to strike out eight consecutive batters in the postseason.

Game 3 and Game 4 will both be played in San Diego, before heading back to Philadelphia for Game 5 in the best-of-seven series.

Verlander dices up the Yankees in Game 1

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander showed why he is the heavy favourite to take home the American League Cy Young Award, pitching six dominant innings in his side's 4-2 win against the New York Yankees in Game 1.

Verlander struck out 11 batters while only allowing one run from three hits and a walk, with that one run coming from a Harrison Bader solo homer in the second inning to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. Bader did not hit a home run for the Yankees in the regular season after being acquired at the deadline, but now has four in his past six playoff games.

Their lead was short-lived as Martin Maldonado tied things up with an RBI double later in the second inning, before the Astros hit three solo home runs to jump out to a commanding lead.

Lourdes Gurriel and Chas McCormick went deep in the sixth inning, before rookie Jeremy Pena hit his fourth homer of the postseason to extend the lead to 4-1 in the seventh.

Anthony Rizzo would connect on a consolation home run in the eight inning, but Astros closer Ryan Pressly was up for the task, coming in to collect a four-out save with three strikeouts.

Game 2 will remain in Houston, before the series heads to New York for Game 3 and Game 4.

The New York Yankees are moving on to the American League Championship Series, but the 2022 season is over for outfielder Aaron Hicks.  

Playing left field, Hicks collided with shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera in the third inning of the Yankees’ victory in Game 5 of the League Division Series on Tuesday.  

Hicks exited the game with a left knee injury and told reporters afterward that MRI results showed a significant enough injury to end his season.  

"Extremely disappointing," Hicks told reporters. "[This season] is obviously something special and I want to be a part of it. And now I'm no longer going to be able to play on the field to help this team win, help this team win a World Series and now I just gotta watch on the sidelines."

Powered by home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, the Yankees beat the Guardians in Tuesday’s decisive Game 5 and advance to a showdown against the Houston Astros in the ALCS.  

The Yankees have not said who will take Hicks’ place on the ALCS roster but hope that versatile infielder D.J. LeMahieu has recovered enough from his right foot injury to return.  

Hicks was replaced in left field Tuesday by utility Marwin Gonzalez, while Matt Carpenter made a pinch-hit appearance, taking his first swings since missing the end of the regular season with a fractured foot.  

Tim Locastro played 26 games in the Yankees' outfield this season but projects more as a defensive replacement and pinch runner after hitting .186 this season.  

New York face a quick turnaround, with Game 1 of the ALCS scheduled for Wednesday night in Houston.  

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Zack Wheeler was at his dominant best as he held the San Diego Padres scoreless through the first seven innings to set up a 2-0 road win in Game 1 of the NLCS.

With a trip to the World Series on the line, the Phillies got off to the perfect start thanks to starring performances from their marquee players.

Wheeler allowed only one hit and one walk in his seven innings, striking out eight batters, after a season where he posted the sixth-best ERA (2.82) in the National League.

His opposing number starting on the mound for the Padres, Yu Darvish, was not much worse, also pitching seven full innings, and while he only allowed three hits, two of them traveled over the fence to decide the game.

Two-time MVP Bryce Harper broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning, connecting on a 368-foot home run to left-field, and teammate Kyle Schwarber dwarfed that distance with his home run in the sixth.

Schwarber – who finished the season second in the majors with 46 home runs – blasted his longest of the year with a 488-foot nuke into the upper deck at right-field.

In a pitching masterclass, there were only four combined hits in the game, and with his performance, Wheeler became only the second player to ever have a playoff game with seven shutout innings, at least seven strikeouts and no more than one hit in less than 100 pitches. The only other instance was Don Larsen's perfect game for the New York Yankees back in 1956.

The New York Yankees are through to the ALCS for the third time in the past six seasons after defeating the Cleveland Guardians 5-1 in the win-or-go-home Game 5 of the ALDS on Tuesday.

New York's Jameson Taillon and Cleveland's Aaron Civale were the scheduled starters on Monday, but with the game being rained out, the extra day of rest allowed the Yankees to hand Nestor Cortes the start, while the Guardians stuck with Civale.

Civale was only able to get one out before his night was over, after a walk and a hit-by-pitch set up Giancarlo Stanton for a three-run home run in the first inning.

An inning later, likely AL MVP Aaron Judge also blasted a home run to extend the Yankees' lead to 4-0.

Cortes ended up pitching beautifully on short rest, making his way through five innings in 61 pitches, conceding one run from three hits and one walk.

Jonathan Loaisiga, Clay Holmes and Wandy Peralta combined out of the Yankees' bullpen to hold the Guardians scoreless for the last four frames, with Anthony Rizzo driving home one more insurance run in the fifth inning.

Judge finished the game two-for-four as the only Yankee with multiple hits, and for Stanton, his big home run salvaged a series where he had only one hit from his other 15 plate appearances.

The Yankees will meet the Houston Astros in the ALCS, which kicks off on Wednesday. The Astros were the Yankees' opponents in both of their other ALCS appearances in the past six years, with the Astros winning both times.

Game 5 of the ALDS series between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians has been pushed back to Tuesday after the scheduled fixture on Monday was rained out.

The teams are tied at 2-2 through four games after Gerrit Cole pitched seven innings with eight strikeouts to help the Yankees extend the series with a 4-2 win in Sunday's Game 4.

For the Yankees, Jameson Taillon was scheduled to start in the series decider, while Aaron Civale was set to take the hill for the Guardians. It is not yet known if the extra day of rest will impact the decision on the game's starters.

The winner of Game 5 will play the Houston Astros in the ALCS, with Game 1 scheduled for Wednesday.

The New York Yankees held their nerve in the ninth inning this time after Gerrit Cole set up a 4-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians to force an ALDS-deciding Game 5.

Yankees starting pitcher Cole had eight punchouts across seven innings where he allowed only two runs at Progressive Field as the visitors squared up the series at 2-2 on Sunday.

The Guardians had rallied back from a 5-3 deficit to win Game 3 on Saturday, but Wandy Peralta closed it out comfortably this time, needing only seven pitches to claim the outs of Josh Naylor, Oscar Gonzalez and Andres Gimenez.

Facing elimination, the Yankees opted to shake up their lineup with rookie Oswaldo Cabrera replacing Isiah Kiner-Falefa at shortstop and Aaron Hicks shuffling into Cabrera's spot in left field.

Anthony Rizzo, who went two-for-four, drove in Gleyber Torres for the opening run of the game in the first inning, before the Yankees added two more in the second from a Harrison Bader two-run blast over deep left-center field from Cal Quantrill. Bader's blast was his third home run of the ALDS.

The Guardians rallied with runs in each of the third and fourth innings, firstly from Jose Ramirez's RBI bloop single into shallow left field followed by Naylor's solo homer.

Aaron Judge went one-for-four and tagged in the sixth inning from Giancarlo Stanton's sacrifice fly to pad the lead before Cole was retired after the seventh, with the Yankees bullpen finishing the job.

The win means the Yankees will host the series-deciding Game 5 on Monday for a spot in the ALCS against the Houston Astros.

The Yankees boast a 15-15 record in winner-take-all postseason games compared to Cleveland's 1-7.

Aaron Boone expects the New York Yankees to hit back after a "gut-wrenching" Game 3 defeat to the Cleveland Guardians as they battle to keep the American League Division Series alive.

The Guardians lead the best-of-five series 2-1 after a dramatic 6-5 victory at Progressive Field on Saturday.

Cleveland went into the ninth inning trailing 5-3, but Oscar Gonzalez came up with a two-out, two-strike single with the bases loaded to consign the Yankees to a walk-off loss.

Yankees manager Boone expects a response in a do-or-die Game 4 in Cleveland on Sunday.

He said: "It was a gut-wrenching ending, but we've got to get over it. Now we’re obviously up against it, but I still love our chances.

"We've got Gerrit [Cole] going tomorrow. We've got to take care of business and try and get back to New York."

Boone called for rookie pitcher Clarke Schmidt to close it out rather than Clay Holmes as the Yankees tried to cling onto their advantage in Game 3.

He defended that decision, stating Holmes would not pitch back-to-back days due to shoulder soreness.

"Part of the thing with him [Holmes] being available for this series, [he] was not really in a back-to-back situation yet," Boone explained. "He just hadn't thrown any live or anything.

"So while he was pretty good today and I fully expect him available tomorrow [Sunday], it just felt like we needed to stay away there."

Holmes felt ready to step up if called upon.

"I prepared today to do my job," Holmes said. “Sometimes those decisions aren't mine. I felt like I was available to pitch.

"Whenever my name is called, I'm ready to go out there and give it everything I've got. They asked, and I said I was good to go if needed. That’s how the conversation was. Those decisions aren't mine, but I was prepared to pitch."

Joe Musgrove was born in San Diego and has watched the Padres lose, lose and lose again against the Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire life.

When Musgrove was born in December 1992, the Dodgers had a 227-198 all-time lead in a regular season series in which they have never trailed. That gap has since increased to 509-418.

After returning to San Diego with the Padres in 2021, the pitcher has three losses and no wins in this matchup.

"Since I was a little kid, we've been getting beat up by the Dodgers," Musgrove said.

But on Saturday, that all changed, with Musgrove the starter as the Padres eliminated the best regular season Dodgers team of all from the NLDS.

San Diego had recovered from losing the first game of the series to the record-breaking 111-win Dodgers, leading 2-1 ahead of Game 4 at Petco Park.

However, through six and a half innings, it appeared LA would be recovering their hold over the Padres, ahead 3-0 in the middle of the seventh.

Then five hits and five runs in the bottom of that inning turned the tide, with Jake Cronenworth's go-ahead two-run single ultimately enough for a remarkable 5-3 win.

The Padres are going back to the NLCS for the first time since 1998 and are doing so having beaten a team who had swept their only previous postseason series in 2020 and dominated them 14-5 this year.

"These guys dominated us all year long, but we got hot at the right time," Musgrove added.

"And you see the unity in this group, this fan base.... we wanted to give it to these people so bad. It's a good feeling."

The Dodgers had been bidding to fulfil manager Dave Roberts' prediction of a World Series all year long, but they fell at the first hurdle in the playoffs.

"Shock factor, very high. Disappointment, very high. It's crushing," Roberts said afterwards.

"Each guy gave everything they had all year long, and [it was] a tremendous season. The great thing about baseball is the unpredictability, and the tough thing about it is the same thing.

"Nothing I can say is going to make it feel any better. Obviously we didn't expect to be in this position."

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