Two MLB heavyweights could go home today, plus more TV rights news

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The Padres and Mets are just one win away from advancing, and three other teams have transferred their transfers to the mothership. We have four games today: Buckle up Levi Weaverhere with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup!

On the Ropes, Part I: This series continues to deliver

Ken's notebook: Tatis meets the moment

From my latest column:

David Ortiz. This was Xander Bogaerts' competition for Fernando Tatis Jr.

For Bogaerts, it was a legitimate frame of reference. His rookie season with the Boston Red Sox was 2013, the year Ortiz won the World Series MVP.

In 85 postseason games, Ortiz was a career .289 hitter with an OPS of .947. The 25-year-old Tatis clearly has a long way to go to keep up with Big Papi. But his performance in his first postseason in front of fans was nothing short of electric, a vivid reminder of the player Tatis was when he first arrived in the majors and can be expected for most, if not all, of his run 2034 current contract applies.

“David has come a long way,” Bogaerts said Tuesday night after the San Diego Padres moved to within one game of the National League Championship Series with a 6-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. “But as young as (Tatis) is, you don’t see a lot of people doing what he’s doing right now. He's really giving us trouble at the moment. It’s something special to see.”

Tatis' only previous postseason appearance was in 2020, when fans were not allowed into ballparks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was great in the wild card round but largely ineffective in the Padres' Division Series loss to the Dodgers. But no one wants to remember this October.

This October, playing in packed stadiums both home and away, Tatis is elevating his game beyond what it could even during his resurgent regular season. More than most players, he thrives in these moments. And you notice that. Man, can you see that?

In five games this postseason, Tatis is 10 of 18 with four home runs, including his two-run blast that capped the Padres' six-run second inning on Tuesday night. In the first three innings alone, he was an astonishing 7-for-8 with three home runs. The Division Series games in particular resemble heavyweight fights. And Tatis delivers early knockout punches. Shohei Ohtani struck out six times, Tatis none.

Tatis has been waiting for this for a long time. Injuries cost him time in four of his last five full seasons. His 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs spanned 2022, when the Padres advanced to the NLCS, and 23. It's hard to say Tatis has pent-up energy when he's always brimming with energy. But now he plays like he's on a pogo stick, jumping from one success to the next.

“It’s just beautiful,” Tatis said. “Definitely an asset to everything I've been through, to what we've been through as a group. Building together to get here is really, really hard work from the front office, from the players who are committed and put their heart and soul into it.

“And, man, when you play baseball like that in the postseason, all those memories come back. You are simply grateful where you are. And just enjoy every single moment and definitely not take it for granted.”

More here.

On the Ropes, Part II: An unusually normal victory

Mets 7, Phillies 2: Speaking of unpredictable, just as we figured out the Mets' MO – plays designed in a lab to extract maximum adrenaline – they won Game 3 by leading it from the start.

Pete Alonso continued his October resurgence with another home run, then the Mets kept going throughout the game. The Phillies gained some momentum in the late innings, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth, but it was far too little, far too late.

But the big story of Game 3 was Sean Manaea:

• Hours after learning of his aunt's death, Manaea allowed just one run (one earned after leaving in the eighth inning) on ​​three hits in seven-plus innings, while striking out six and walking two.
• Equipped with a new cross-body (he credits Chris Sale for watching him), the 32-year-old Manaea had his best season in the big leagues this year, after six years with the A's and one each with the Padres and Giants. Now the Mets are one win away from the NLCS.

The Phillies now have their backs against the wall, and after a big, emotional walk-off in Game 2, they looked extremely beatable yesterday. They need a win today to avoid another disappointment in October and bring the series back to Philadelphia. They will send Ranger Suárez to the mound in Queens to face Jose Quintana. (5:08 p.m. ET, FS1)

More Mets: If the series lasts five games, Kodai Senga will have the season at stake. Eno Sarris talks about what awaits us.

Measuring, continued: MLB takes over three TV rights

Ahead of today's hearing in the Diamond Sports/Bally bankruptcy saga, it was announced yesterday that MLB will take over TV broadcasts for three additional teams: the Brewers, Guardians and Twins. Additionally, Rangers are not returning to Bally either (the team is still considering its options).

With the addition of these three new teams, MLB has broadcast rights to six teams, including the Diamondbacks, Padres and Rockies.

A few important notes:

• Goodbye blackouts. Fans of these six teams will Finally be free from local power outages. Local streaming was previously available in five of Bally's 12 markets, but for the other seven, a cable TV subscription was the only option.
• The games will still be shown on television. MLB negotiates with cable providers the same way Bally and other RSNs do.
• The start of something bigger? Commissioner Rob Manfred has previously indicated he would like to launch a nationwide, blackout-free streaming service, but felt 14 teams would be the minimum. MLB currently only has six, but…
• The rights of eight other teams are currently unclear. The Tigers and Rays have already been dropped by Bally (but could renegotiate with them), and as Evan Drellich reports: “Diamond also indicated in court that if the Los Angeles Angels, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins do not accept the renegotiated contracts, Diamond will eventually resign from them as well.”

We will almost certainly hear more about this tomorrow after the hearing.

Handshakes and high fives

(Top photo: Denis Poroy / Imagn Images)