Yankees, Padres, White Sox advance in MLB Wild Card Series Game 2s as Phillies force Game 3 vs Braves

The 2026 Major League Baseball postseason continued on Wednesday with a quartet of Wild Card Series Game 2s. Since the opening round of the playoffs is a best-of-three affair, all four games were elimination games for the teams that lost Tuesday's Game 1s. The White Sox swept the Astros to advance to the ALDS, while the Yankees took down the Red Sox to advance, as did the Padres over the Cubs. Only the Phillies survived and will play a win-or-go-home Game 3 against the Braves on Thursday.

Here are the final scores and schedule for Wednesday's wall-to-wall playoff action:

Phillies 4, Braves 3, 10 innings (box score); series tied 1-1

White Sox 7, Astros 3 (box score); Chicago wins series 2-0

Yankees 9, Red Sox 2 (box score); New York wins series 2-0

Padres 4, Cubs 1 (box score); San Diego wins series 2-0

To sum up all the Wild Card Series Game 2 action, we're here to declare a winner and loser from each of the four games. You can find those authoritative and inarguable declarations just below.

2026 MLB playoff bracket: Scores, schedule, where to watch as Yankees, Padres and White Sox advance

Kate Feldman

Winner: The Yankees' clinic

The Yankees hit better, they pitched better, they did it all better

The Yankees outscored the Red Sox 18-2 in a two-game sweep. The offense played situational baseball with some good bunts, they hit for power, they had traffic on the bases, the works. Everything was working. The pitching completely stifled the Red Sox offense, too. Not only that, but you have to give the managerial advantage to Aaron Boone here as well. He loaded the lineup with righties in Game 1 and then went to his best defense once they had a solid lead. For Game 2, he loaded up with lefties against Sonny Gray. He got all he could out of starter Cam Schlittler in Game 1 and used Max Fried for the perfect length in Game 2.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox tried to use ace Garrett Crochet in relief when down only 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth. He hadn't pitched in game action since April 25. No, not even a minor-league rehab assignment. He struck out the first batter he faced, Spencer Jones, but the pitch got away and Jones reached first. And then the proverbial floodgates opened. Crochet ended up being charged with four earned runs without recording an official out. By the end of the sixth inning, for all intents and purposes, the series was over.

In all, the Yankees outscored the Red Sox, again, 18-2. They outhit them 26-7. Their starting pitchers worked 12 ⅓ innings with 16 strikeouts and only one run allowed. Their bullpen didn't give up anything of note, even when they could have dialed it back a bit with a blowout lead in the late innings each game.

The Yankees had a lead for 14 of the 18 innings in the series. The other four innings were when the games were tied, 0-0 (first inning in Game 1; 1-3 innings in Game 2).

Sometimes these Wild Card Series seem like they could stand to go a few more games. We know a three-game series doesn't always necessarily determine the better team, after all. Small samples and all.

The Yankees left no doubt here. It was total destruction.

Loser: Red Sox offense

The Boston lineup was listless at best in a tidy two-game sweep

The Red Sox were thoroughly defeated in every facet of the game in their two-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, but the offense just never really gave the team a chance. They were shut out in Game 1 of the series and Gray gave them a chance to grab an early lead and put a little pressure on the Yankees by tossing three scoreless innings to start Game 2. Instead, the Red Sox only had two baserunners in four scoreless innings against Fried before the Yankees got on the board. Then the Red Sox were playing catch-up.

In 18 innings, the Red Sox scored two runs on seven hits.

They got one meaningful hit in the series. One! And they were still losing. Willson Contreras homered to cut the Yankees' lead to 2-1 in the top of the sixth in Game 2. The other run was a solo shot and cut the Yankees' lead to 8-2.

The close to the season from this bunch was brutal. The Red Sox averaged 2.96 runs per game in September (regular season), along with a .219 batting average and .651 OPS. Sure, there were a few injuries, but there were returns (Roman Anthony, Trevor Story), too. Anthony struck out twice in Game 1 before being removed with a hand injury re-aggravation. Otherwise, they were at full strength, offensively, for this series and just didn't hit at all.

Winner: Padres pitching

Craig Stammen pulls all the right levels with his pitchers

Thanks to big power on offense and Michael King's amazing start, the Padres blew the Cubs out and didn't need to use any of their top relievers from the best back-end bullpen in baseball in Game 1. That meant that Nick Pivetta was able to give the Padres all they needed in this one, and with an early lead, Padres manager Craig Stammen was able to unleash the beast that is the four-headed monster of bullpen studs in Game 2.

Pivetta allowed one run in just 3 ⅓ innings, but that's really all the Padres needed from him. Then it was:

Five outs from Bradgley Rodriguez. He walked a batter as his only baserunner.

Three outs from Jason Adam in three batters faced.

Six outs from Adrián Morejón, covering the seventh and eighth innings. He gave up a single and otherwise retired everyone else.

Mason Miller closed things down, fittingly, with a scoreless ninth.

In all, the Padres' pitchers completely stifled the Cubs offense -- which led the majors in runs scored and OPS in the regular season -- for two games. The four top bullpen arms working 5 ⅔ scoreless innings, only giving up one hit and one walk, was a nice illustration of why this team can be very dangerous in the postseason.

Bear in mind, the Padres won 17 of their last 20 regular-season games and now are 2-0 in the playoffs. The offense is humming and Game 2 on Wednesday showed that they stand a chance even if the bats quiet down.

Loser: The Cubs' stars

Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman combined to go 0 for 15 in the two-game sweep

The entire Cubs offense needed to be better in this series, but you must tip your cap to the Padres' pitching staff and how well they threw the ball in these two games.

Still, Pete Crow-Armstrong was one of the biggest offensive forces in baseball this season, particularly after a slow start. In his last 129 games, he hit .290/.388/.624 with 28 homers, seven triples, 42 homers, 94 RBI, 99 runs and 35 steals. He was a 40-40 man overall and will win National League MVP, probably unanimously.

And then there's Alex Bregman. He had a rough first half, but in the second half hit .303/.384/.626 with 19 homers and 52 RBI in 61 games.

The lackluster Cubs offense in this series needed their stars to be the tone-setters. Crow-Armstrong and Bregman both struck out in the first inning to start both games. In Game 1, they combined to go 0 for 7 with six strikeouts (PCA did draw a walk and steal second, but they lost 8-0). In Game 2, they went 0 for 8.

That means that, in the two-game series, PCA and Bregman combined to go 0 for 15 with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Game 2 featured a big moment where that duo really could've put the Cubs on their backs, too. In the top of the third inning, the Cubs were trailing, but it was only a 2-0 Padres lead. PCA came to bat with two runners on and one out. He popped out in the infield. Bregman then softly flew out to center and the Cubs left two on.

That was a point in the game that could have been series-altering in the Cubs' favor with their two big guns coming to the plate. It pretty well summed up how this series went.

Winner: Alec Bohm, Phillies

Extra-innings go-ahead home run keeps Phillies alive

There's a lot to choose from when it comes to winners in this white-knuckled affair. There's Cristopher Sánchez and his yeomanlike start, there's Bryce Harper's redemption act, there's Kyle Schwarber's comeback-launching homer, and there's Andrew Painter's three innings of scoreless relief in his postseason debut. In the end, though, we must go with Bohm.

Earlier in the game, Bohm helped turn a couple of crucial double plays, including this one in the sixth that turned out to be essential to the Phillies' survival:

Bohm also made a couple of nice scoops, as he continues to adapt quite well to first base duty. All of that, though, was prelude to Bohm's big moment in the top of the 10th.

With two outs and the game tied 3-3, Bohm stepped in against dominating rookie reliever Didier Fuentes. With the count 1-1, Fuentes confronted Bohm with a 99.4 mph fastball at the top of the zone and on the inner half. Let's roll tape:

That's a go-ahead opposite-field home run on a pitch that doesn't really lend itself to driving it oppo. It's also the first home run that Fuentes has allowed to a right-handed batter all year.

That turned out to be the winning run and, thanks to Bohm and so many others, the Phillies forced a decisive Game 3.

Loser: Braves bullpen

After dominant Tyler Mahle start, relievers can't hang on

Braves starter and deadline addition Tyler Mahle rebounded from a 23-pitch first inning to twirl a gem. After seven strong innings, he handed the bullpen a 3-1 lead and an 86.5% chance of closing out the series and advancing to the NLDS to face the Dodgers. Instead, the bullpen couldn't protect the lead.

Lefty Dylan Lee, who didn't allow a home run to a left-handed batter during the regular season, permitted back-to-back homers to Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the eighth. Harper's blast tied the game. He recorded just two outs. Raisel Iglesias did his job, but then in the 10th, Didier Fuentes allowed that unlikely home run to Bohm. In all, Braves relievers in Game 2 allowed three runs on five hits in three innings of work. That's not good enough, especially when the Braves got such a stellar start from someone not named Chris Sale.

Winner: The Garrett Crochet trade

Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth helped send the White Sox to a series sweep

Thanks to the players acquired in the Garrett Crochet trade, the White Sox have reached the ALDS before Crochet did with the Red Sox. Catcher Kyle Teel and second baseman Chase Meidroth, two players involved in that trade, drove in four of Chicago's seven runs in their Game 2 win. They went 4 for 8 with a homer. (A third member of that trade, Braden Montgomery, went 0 for 4.)

Teel opened the scoring with an RBI single as the game's second batter. Then, in the top of the sixth, Meidroth gave the ChiSox some much-needed breathing room with a long and loud three-run homer. Bryan Abreu hanged it and Meidroth banged it.

The three key players the White Sox received in the Crochet trade -- Meidroth, Montgomery, Teel -- went a combined 9 for 21 with 6 RBI in the Wild Card Series. It is not the transformative haul that, say, the Nationals received for Juan Soto, but the White Sox did very well for themselves in the Crochet deal. They landed three regulars who are already making an impact in October.

Chicago's Game 2 win sets up an AL Central grudge match with the Guardians in the ALDS. This is the first time the White Sox have won a postseason round since their 2005 World Series win. The franchise's last two series-clinchers were played in Houston.

Loser: Hunter Brown

Would-be ace couldn't make it out of the first

We have plenty of options here. The entire Astros team for complaining about the crowd. Possible American League MVP Yordan Alvarez for his Wild Card Series no-show (1 for 8). Yainer Diaz, Isaac Paredes, and Christian Walker for their disappearing acts. Everything about the Game 1 bullpen game. There are plenty of losers in Houston and plenty of blame to go around for their quick postseason exit.

The biggest loser, though? Hunter Brown, the supposed Astros ace who failed to get out of the first inning with his team's season on the line in Game 2. Brown faced nine batters and went double, single, error, strikeout, single, single, single, strikeout, wild pitch, walk, showers. He was charged with four runs and needed 36 pitches to get two outs. Yuck.

The Astros simply did not have enough pitching going into the postseason. Their Game 1 bullpen game was out of necessity, not strategy. Brown is supposed to be Houston's rock. His starts needed to be Win Day. Instead, he turned in not necessarily his worst start as a big leaguer (April 11, 2024, was pretty bad), but his most consequential. A letdown all the way around.