MLB playoff takeaways: Skubal pitches gem; Yankees failed by unexpected source

The 2025 Major League Baseball postseason kicked off on Tuesday with four wild-card round games, and some of the biggest stars in the league shined on the brightest stage. Here are some big takeaways from Tuesday's action.

Tarik Skubal still makes the Tigers scary

Even though they backed into the playoffs and nearly blew it, you still have to fear the Detroit Tigers in a short series, and it's because of the presence of Tarik Skubal. He showed why on Tuesday.

Skubal threw one of the games of his life when he went 7.2 innings in the Tigers' 2-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians, allowing just one earned run on three hits and striking out 14 batters. 

He helped steal Game 1 of the series, and now the Tigers just need to simply win one of the next two games to advance to the ALDS. Assuming they can get there, the possibility of being able to throw Skubal twice in a five-game series would still give them a chance to beat anybody. Bet against him — and them — at your own risk. 

Cubs bullpen shined

The San Diego Padres are supposed to have one of baseball's best bullpens. And they do. But it was the Chicago Cubs bullpen that shined in Game 1, slamming the door shut in a 3-1 win that was also highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly in the bottom of the fifth inning.

From that point on, it was the Cubs bullpen doing the job as they threw 4.2 perfect innings in relief of Matthew Boyd. 

Yankees bats, not the bullpen, let them down in Game 1

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone is going to be under a microscope again for his pitching decisions, and the bullpen is going to take its fair share of heat for giving up three runs, but all of those talking points are just noise for the Yankees' biggest issue in their 3-1 Game 1 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Their bats failed them. 

That's the story. 

That's the only takeaway that should be happening in New York going into Game 2 on Wednesday. Maybe Boone could have left in Max Fried longer. Maybe Luke Weaver needed to pitch better and not allow two runs. But even if you accept all those arguments as factual, the bottom line is the Yankees still only scored one run, off an Anthony Volpe home run in the second inning. They were completely shut down after that. 

They missed a huge first-inning opportunity when Giancarlo Stanton hit into an inning-ending double play. They loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth inning with nobody out and did not score a single run. They went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Their only extra-base hit was Volpe's home run. 

New York can yell about Boone and the bullpen all it wants, but that's not why the Yankees are down in the series. 

One run is not enough to win games. The bats need to do more. 

Shohei Ohtani shows why he's the best

The Los Angeles Dodgers are massive favorites over the Cincinnati Reds, not only because of their huge payroll advantage, but also because they have far more star power and impact players.

At the top of that list is Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani delivered in Tuesday's 10-5 win by hitting two home runs, including an absolutely massive 454-foot blast on what was actually a really good pitch.