One star for each Division Series team who can't afford to repeat Game 1 dud

The Divisional Series kicked off on Saturday afternoon and day one did not disappoint. MLB fans were treated to a wide range of emotions and outcomes, from blowouts in Milwaukee and Toronto, to nail-biters in Philadelphia and Seattle. In fact, the Mariners-Tigers game went 11 innings, and now both clubs face off on a short turnaround Sunday night. Postseason baseball, baby!

The Brewers, Dodgers, Blue Jays and Brewers are all up 1-0. A lot of folks were predicting opposite outcomes in these series, and while one game is one game, it's hard to overstate the value of playing from ahead in October. Especially when you can steal home field advantage on the road, as Los Angeles and Detroit did.

I'll be completely honest with you: my predicted winners coming into the NLDS and ALDS were Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and New York. I can't say I feel great about, like, three of those picks. The Cubs just don't have the pitching to stifle Milwaukee's contact machine. Seattle lost a Tigers bullpen game and now faces Tarik Skubal while staring down the barrel of an 0-2 deficit. New York has better pitching matchups ahead, but man, their offensive execution on Saturday was abysmal. Especially from Aaron Judge, at least when it counted most.

Still, anything can happen. None of these series are settled and it's statistically improbable that all Game 1 winners will take three out of five. So buckle in. As we get deeper into the Divisional Series, these stars will be under the microscope as they attempt to avenge Game 1 stinkers.

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Milwaukee Brewers: OF Sal Frelick

Sal Frelick went 1-for-5 with a single in the fourth inning and later reached on a fielding error. The only Milwaukee Brewers starter without a hit was Joey Ortiz, who walked twice. In fact, Frelick was the only Brewers starter with an OBP under .250 in Game 1. So it's hard to sit here and earnestly claim that any Milwaukee player "struggled." Frelick came out of his shoes with a chance to clear the bases loaded in the second inning, but the Brewers just knocked in a couple runs with the next batter. He will be fine. But we need someone for the Brewers, so... here ya go.

Chicago Cubs: OF Kyle Tucker

Kyle Tucker went 0-for-3 with a walk in the Chicago Cubs' Game 1 meltdown. But man did he make the most of his walk with sick bat flip (read: sarcasm).

Tucker missed a solid chunk of September with a calf injury. That means it has been more than a month (Sept. 2) since his last extra-base hit. The All-Star outfield was able to spray a few singles against the Padres in the Wild Card, but Tucker has not hit consistently hit for power in months. We know he's talented — we know he's capable of reaching extraordinary heights — but the second half of the campaign has been a real stress test for Tucker.

He's still about to make $300 million-plus as a free agent, so I doubt he's complaining. But the Cubs could really use a vintage Tucker performance the rest of the way, especially since this might be their only postseason run with him on the roster.

Seattle Mariners: 3B Eugenio Suárez

The Seattle Mariners made the biggest swing of the deadline, with the possible exception of San Diego's Mason Miller gambit. Many viewed Eugenio Suárez as the best available deadline target. He was on track for 50-plus home runs at the time, a bonafide All-Star with game-changing power.

That is still more or less the case, as Suárez can change the complexion of a game with a single swing. But he's just not doing it often enough since the trade. Suárez hit .189 with a .682 OPS in 53 regular season appearances for the M's. In his postseason debut, Suárez was held 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. And that's the rub with Suárez. When he's not crushing 400-foot moonshots, he's typically slicing air.

Seattle sure would appreciate if the guy they traded for shows up. Maybe introduce him to Tarik Skubal.

Detroit Tigers: SS Javier Báez

Javy Báez was productive in the Detroit Tigers' Wild Card victory over Cleveland. In fact, this has been a revelatory season for the All-Star shortstop, who learned centerfield and turned back the clock with his best offensive campaign since 2021, before he inked that fateful long-term contract in Detroit.

Unfortunately, he was held silent in Game 1 of the ALDS, going 0-for-5 on popouts and groundouts. He didn't strike out, which is a positive, and Detroit's lineup overall put together a successful evening, despite only managing three runs in 11 innings. A win's a win.

Spencer Torkelson (two walks) and Dillon Dingler (one walk) were the only other Tigs held without a hit on Saturday, so Báez lands here by default. He has supplied a genuine spark toward the back end of Detroit's lineup all season and those at-bats will become more important as the series stretches on. Seattle's offense won't remain comatose for an entire series. The Tigers need Postseason Javy to keep showing up, as he at least did defensively in Game 1.

Philadelphia Phillies: DH Kyle Schwarber

On the whole, the Philadelphia Phillies' offensive process was much better on Saturday night than it was last October, despite only managing five hits in their 5-3 loss. The Phillies weren't chasing pitches out of the zone. Alec Bohm picked up a walk. The bottom of the lineup came through, especially in the second inning, when Philly stacked its three runs against Shohei Ohtani.

The only exception to this improved process at the plate was the top of the lineup. Trea Turner settled in as the game progressed and he deserves a pass since he only just returned from a month-long absence. But Bryce Harper was hacking at every damn pitch, determined to ambush the Dodgers' pitchers. He picked up a single but really was not impressive. And then there's Kyle Schwarber, the projected NL MVP runner-up, who finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

Schwarber just was not taking competitive swings. The Dodgers' pitchers mixed up speed and location fairly well and the All-Star, responsible for 56 home runs and 132 RBI in the regular season, was out of whack, taking huge swings at nothing. We've seen Schwarber fall into bad habits in October before. The Phillies can not afford a bad series from Schwarber. He left multiple runners on base in Game 1, which pretty much sealed the deal for L.A.

Los Angeles Dodgers: DH Shohei Ohtani

The Los Angeles Dodgers survived five spectacular innings from Cristopher Sánchez and completed their Game 1 comeback with a three-run bomb off the bat of Teoscar Hernández in the seventh. But lost in all the excitement was an uncharacteristic outing from Shohei Ohtani, who 0-for-4 with four strikeouts and a walk in the leadoff spot. Three of those strikeouts were backward-K's on fastballs down the gullet.

Perhaps this was merely a symptom of Ohtani pitching with intense focus and batting leadoff, which is a lot to juggle, especially in an environment like Citizens Bank Park. It's not often that the soon to be four-time MVP looks so disjointed and off-beat at the plate. But the Dodgers cannot afford for this to become a trend. Ohtani has historically struggled in Philly, at least relative to other ballparks, and the Dodgers' offense only came alive briefly in Game 1 against a 40-year-old David Robertson and a pitch-tipping Matt Strahm.

New York Yankees: OF Aaron Judge

Aaron Judge went 2-for-4 with a single and a double in the New York Yankees' Game 1 loss. On the surface, that is a perfectly respectable outing at the plate. But for Judge, Saturday afternoon only concretized the narrative around his postseason struggles. Why? Because in the only at-bat where Judge had a chance to swing the outcome in New York's favor, he did this.

Judge hit a garbage-time double that meant absolutely nothing, but with the bases loaded and zero outs, trailing only 2-0, Judge went fishing for a pitch multiple feet outside the zone and in the dirt. It's baffling. Judge is a .331 hitter! He has improved his plate discipline so much over the years, but when faced with a high-pressure situation, with a chance to steal a game in Toronto with the Yankees at a pitching disadvantage, he folded like a wet paper towel.

The Yankees need Judge to start hitting in the clutch. He's one of the best to ever do it, but these October blooper reels aren't doing anything positive for his legacy.

Toronto Blue Jays: OF George Springer

George Springer went 0-for-4 with a walk and a run scored in the Toronto Blue Jays' blowout victory over New York. It's hard to express genuine concern about the Blue Jays' lineup after that performance, but Springer has been arguably Toronto's best player this season. He is also their most experienced when it comes to performing in October, having won a World Series in Houston.

Rougher seas are on the horizon as the Yankees line up Max Fried and Carlos Rodón. Toronto will be at a pitching disadvantage for the next few games. The offense will need to step back up to the plate, literally and metaphorically. We know Vladimir Guerrero Jr. takes special pleasure in torching the Yankees. Alejandro Kirk, Nathan Lukes and Daulton Varsho all had their moments on Saturday. But, in an ideal world, Springer comes back with a strong Game 2, because Toronto will need him sooner than later.