Wild Card Game 1 board: Sox, Yanks, Braves, Padres all take openers
All four major league Wild Card openers are final across both leagues tonight. The White Sox, Yankees, Braves, and Padres each lead their best of three series by one game into Wednesday.
All four Major League Baseball Wild Card Series openers finished Tuesday into early Wednesday with the higher seeds or home favorites taking Game 1. ESPN’s September 29 scoreboard and multi-outlet recaps confirm: White Sox 6–3 Astros in Houston, Yankees 9–0 Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, Braves 5–3 Phillies in Atlanta, and Padres 8–0 Cubs at Petco Park. Each series is best-of-three; Game 2s are Wednesday with elimination pressure already on the road clubs that dropped openers.
In the American League, Chicago’s pitching staff and Colson Montgomery’s solo homer backed a 6–3 win over Houston — the White Sox’ first playoff victory in five years, per ESPN. In the Bronx, Cam Schlittler threw 6⅓ scoreless with 10 strikeouts and Ben Rice piled up six RBIs, including a late grand slam, in a 9–0 rout; Aaron Judge remained off the AL Wild Card roster from the midday sticky. In the National League, Austin Riley’s go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth lifted Atlanta 5–3 over Philadelphia after a back-and-forth night, while San Diego jumped on Matthew Boyd early — Fernando Tatis Jr.’s leadoff homer on the first pitch, Manny Machado’s first-inning shot, and Michael King’s no-hit bid into the seventh — in an 8–0 shutout that finished after midnight Eastern.
Why it matters Wednesday: historically in this Wild Card format, Game 1 winners advance at a high rate, but none of these series are clinched. Watch Hunter Brown for Houston, the Yankees’ Game 2 starter versus Boston, Cristopher Sánchez for the Phillies, and whether the Cubs can answer at Petco. Scoreboards and box scores live on ESPN, MLB.com, and CBS Sports gametrackers. The overnight rebuild treats all four FINALs as multi-outlet confirmed — updating the late-night Sep 29 sticky that still listed BOS@NYY and CHC@SD as unfinished.
Where outlets agree ESPN, CBS Sports, and AP-syndicated desks agree all four Wild Card Game 1s finished with White Sox, Yankees, Braves, and Padres leading 1-0.
Where they differ Whether any trailing club can force a Game 3 — and how Judge’s absence shapes New York’s next starter plan — remains Wednesday’s live series story, not a settled clinch.