October baseball has arrived, and with postseason play comes the league’s top players delivering clutch hits and big pitches on the league's biggest stage. The red, white, and blue is well represented this year, with Team USA alumni being featured on and playing a crucial role for each Wild Card team. See who helped their team live another day and punch a ticket to the divisional round!

YANKEES VS. RED SOX

The Yankees advanced past the Red Sox in a tight three-game series, getting production in the lineup and on the mound from a handful of Team USA alums. Four-time alum Anthony Volpe played every inning at shortstop for New York, going 4-for-11 with a homer. Volpe had at least one hit in all three games, accounting for the team’s only run with a solo blast in Game 1 before driving in a crucial run in Game 3. 2014 18U National Team alum Trent Grisham started all three games in center field and had two hits, including a double, in a Game 2 win. Former World Baseball classic teammates Paul Goldschmidt and Giancarlo Stanton also chipped in offensively; Goldschmidt went 3-for-5 and Stanton started all three games at DH, hitting a double and scoring in the series finale. On the mound, two-time CNT alum Carlos Rodón turned in a quality start in Game 2, striking out six and allowing three runs in six innings. David Bednar (2023 WBC) pitched all three games in relief, notching the save in Game 2 and getting the final three outs in Game 3. His WBC teammate Devin Williams came out of the bullpen in the first two games, notching the win in Game 2 with a scoreless eighth.

For Boston, five-time Team USA alum Alex Bregman stood out among the Red Sox three USA Baseball alums. Bregman played all three games at third base and went 3-for-10; his best game came in the series opener, as he tallied two hits and an RBI. Bregman also drew a walk in all three games of the series. Jarren Duran (2021 Pro) started all three contests in left field and had a hit and run scored in Game 2. 2007 16U National Team alum Rob Refsnyder started the first two games for Boston.

GUARDIANS VS. TIGERS

The Guardians and Tigers played to a pivotal Game 3 in an AL Central matchup, with Detroit and its seven Team USA alumni advancing to the ALDS. Riley Greene (2018 18U) had a big series in the middle of the Tigers’ lineup, going 4-for-11 with a hit in each game. The gold medalist notched doubles in each of the first two games a drove in a run in a Game 3 victory. Two-time CNT alum Spencer Torkelson had a pair of key hits himself, driving in runs in both Detroit victories in Game 1 and Game 3. A trio of Team USA alumni took the mound for the Tigers, including Games 2 and 3 starters Casey Mize (2017 CNT) and Jack Flaherty (2013 18U). Mize pitched three innings and allowed just one run in his start, and Flaherty turned in 4.2 innings of one-run ball en route to Detroit’s win. Tyler Holton (2017 CNT) pitched twice out of the bullpen and allowed no runs, accumulating 3.1 innings.

2017 CNT alum Hunter Gaddis pitched in all three games out of Cleveland’s bullpen and posted two scoreless innings, highlighted by a three-strikeout performance in a 1.2-inning outing in the series opener. Petey Halpin (2017 15U) appeared in two games off the Guardians’ bench, pinch running in Game 1 and entering as a defensive replacement in Game 2.

REDS VS. DODGERS

The Dodgers posted 18 runs over two games en route to a two-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, as Team USA alums Mookie Betts (2023 WBC) and Freddie Freeman (2005 16U, 2006 18U) helped power Los Angeles to the divisional series for the 13th consecutive year. Betts started every game at short and produced six hits across just two games. In Game 1, both Betts and Freeman contributed a pair of base knocks in the Dodgers’ 10-5 win. Meanwhile, Betts stole the show in Los Angeles’ Game 2 win, going 4-for-5 including three doubles at the dish while driving in three of the team’s eight runs.

For the Reds, Hunter Greene (2014 15U, 2015 & 2016 18U) got the nod in the opening contest and fanned four in three innings before being relieved. Ke’Bryan Hayes (2014 18U) started at the hot corner in both games while Reds leadoff man TJ Friedl (2016 Collegiate) earned a starting spot both games in center and picked up a base knock off of Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the sixth inning of the second game. Team USA alum Nick Martinez (2021 Olympic, 2023 WBC) also made an appearance on the bump for Cincinnati in Game 2.

CUBS VS. PADRES

The Cubs clinched a spot in the National League Division Series for the first time since 2017 thanks to a 2-1 series win over the Padres at Wrigley Field. After a 3-1 victory for the Cubs on September 30 in Game 1, the Padres evened the series on October 1 with a 3-0 win, but ultimately the Cubs came out on top in the rubber game with another 3-1 result to move on in the playoffs.

In the series opener after facing a 1-0 deficit heading into the fifth inning, 2011 18U alum Carson Kelly delivered the go-ahead run with a home run to left center. The homer came just after teammate Seiya Suzuki went yard in the at-bat prior. Two-time alum Nico Hoerner (2011 14U, 2012 15U) provided insurance in the eighth inning when he drove in 2014 CNT alum Dansby Swanson, who led off the inning with an outfield single, with a sacrifice fly to center field. In Game 2, 2009 18U member Manny Machado hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his 27th of the year, to help the Padres shut out the Cubs 3-0 and even the series at one apiece. In the series finale, four-time alum Pete Crow-Armstrong (2014 12U, 2017 15U, 2018 & 2019 18U) and Swanson got the Cubs on the board early when Armstrong hit an RBI single and Swanson drew a bases-loaded walk. Their offensive efforts were backed up by strong pitching, as Drew Pomeranz (2009 CNT), Jameson Tallion (2009 18U), and Caleb Theilbar (2019 Pro) all contributed on the mound in the must-win game. Tallion got the start and went four scoreless innings with four strikeouts, while Thielbar contributed two-thirds of an inning in the fifth Pomeranz threw a hitless inning in the seventh.

Pomeranz and Theilbar made two appearances each in the series and did not surrender a run in a combine 3.1 innings in relief. Offensively, Hoerner started all three games at second base and had a hit in every game as he went 4-for-11 in the series. In Game 3, Crow-Armstrong, Kelly, and Kyle Tucker (2012 15U, 2023 WBC) all turned in multi-hit performances as they combined for seven of the team’s 13 hits in the contest.