The Japan Times - Blue Jays pummel Yankees 10-1 in MLB playoff series opener

The Blue Jays, who benefitted from a bye as the Yankees battled past the Red Sox in the wild card round, came out slugging in the first game of the best-of-five American League division series.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. homered in the first inning and Kirk doubled the advantage with a solo homer in the second.

The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth inning but managed just one run when Anthony Volpe scored on a walk issued to Cody Bellinger.

That pulled them within 2-1, but the Blue Jays put up four runs in the seventh and Kirk added his second home run in a four-run eighth as the Blue Jays turned it into a blowout for their first playoff win since 2016.

The winner of the series will face either the Seattle Mariners or Detroit Tigers in the American League Championship series.

Shohei Ohtani and the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers headlined the opening day of division series action as they launched a blockbuster National League showdown with the Phillies in Philadelphia.

Japanese superstar Ohtani will make his long anticipated MLB postseason pitching debut against a Phillies lineup that includes Kyle Schwarber -- whose 56 regular-season home runs led the NL -- just one ahead of Ohtani's career-high 55.

The winner of the series will face either the top-seeded Milwaukee Brewers or Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.

The Brewers dominated the Cubs 9-3, matching the biggest inning in the franchise's postseason history with six runs in the bottom of the first.

Michael Busch's solo homer off the third pitch of the game had staked the Cubs to a 1-0 lead.

But Milwaukee responded with a vengeance against Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd, belting three consecutive doubles on the way to their record-equalling opening frame.

The Brewers added three more runs in the second inning as Jackson Chourio became the first player to have three hits in the first two innings of a playoff game.

Chourio went three-for-three and drove in three runs before departing early with hamstring tightness. That was the only downside to Milwaukee's day, and Chourio said after the game it was a precautionary move after he dealt with a hamstring injury earlier this season.

H.Takahashi--JT