MLB's Division Series: Dodgers prepare to defend titles, AL gets juicy division showdowns

Eight teams remain in the hunt for a World Series title.

The Atlanta Braves knocked off the Philadelphia Phillies for a 6-2 win in Game 3 of their best-of-three Wild Card Series on Thursday night, and they'll face the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-five Division Series that begins on Saturday.

The other NL matchup is the San Diego Padres vs. the Milwaukee Brewers, who won a franchise-record 103 games this season. The AL bracket features two series between division rivals, including the New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox vs. Cleveland Guardians.

Here's what to know as October baseball continues:

Four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani is widely regarded as the best two-way player of all time, but for this year's playoffs, it looks like he'll be limited to making an impact with his bat.

The 32-year-old Japanese superstar has had another excellent season at the plate, batting .275 with 30 homers despite missing a handful of games because of injuries. He was good on the mound this season when healthy, but left knee soreness and right biceps inflammation have limited his appearances.

The Braves have a deep lineup that includes Ronald Acuna Jr., Michael Harris II, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies, and the latter three players hit clutch homers to knock off the Phillies in Game 3.

The Yankees were without three-time MVP Aaron Judge — who is dealing with a right calf strain — for the Wild Card Series, but that didn't stop the Bronx Bombers from blitzing their rival Boston Red Sox in a two-game sweep.

Judge's status is still up in the air for the Division Series, but New York has proven it can be successful without him.

The small-market Rays continue to punch above their weight. The lineup is led by Junior Caminero, who hit 42 homers in the regular season.

The Brewers are more proof that cash isn't everything, dominating the regular season with a balanced offense and impressive pitching staff despite a modest payroll. Flamethrowing right-hander Jacob Misiorowski is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young while do-it-all Brice Turang anchors the lineup.

The Padres underachieved for much of the season but surged in September to make the playoffs. They have a deep, experienced lineup led by Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Ty France and Jackson Merrill.

The White Sox had arguably the worst season in MLB history just two years ago, losing 121 games to set a modern-day record.

Now they're very much in the hunt for the World Series.

Their versatile lineup includes Colson Montgomery, Munetaka Murakami, Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth, while the pitching staff isn't flashy but has been effective.

The Guardians have one of the game's best pitchers in Parker Messick while Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez lead the lineup.

There are 12 teams that qualify for MLB’s postseason, including six teams from both the AL and NL. Four teams have been eliminated now that the Wild Card Series if over.

The Division Series is a best-of-five Division Series, followed by the best-of-seven League Championship Series and a best-of-seven World Series between the winners of the AL and NL.

Division Series: Oct. 3-10 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

Championship Series: Oct. 11-20 (AL on TBS, NL on FOX/FS1)

World Series: Oct. 23-31 (FOX)

The Dodgers (+210) are the favorites to capture a third straight World Series title while the Brewers (+550), Rays (+800) and Yankees (+800) are viewed as the top contenders.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

San Diego Padres Gavin Sheets celebrates his two-run home run against the Chicago Cubs in the fourth inning of Game 2 of the National League Wild Card baseball playoff series Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Atlanta Braves' Michael Harris II celebrates after Game 3 of baseball's NL Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell (5) shakes hands with manager Pat Murphy, left, after a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Kayla Wolf)

The New York Yankees, including relief pitcher David Bednar, third from left, celebrate after winning baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the Boston Red Sox in Game 2, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter Shohei Ohtani runs to first base after hitting a single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are rising near their all-time high on Friday after the latest jobs report cooled worries that a potentially hot U.S economy could make inflation much worse.

The S&P 500 rose 0.7% and pulled within 1% of its record set in August. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 246 points, or 0.5%, as of 2:01 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.2% higher.

All of Wall Street got a jolt after the U.S. government said employers across the country added 29,000 jobs to their payrolls last month. That was fewer than economists expected and a slowdown from August’s hiring rate of 133,000.

More importantly for financial markets, it tamped down concerns that the U.S. economy could be so strong that it could fuel inflation even higher. Inflation has remained much worse than anyone would like, and the Federal Reserve recently raised its main interest rate for the first time in three years to try to rein in the painful increases for the cost of living.

Even though Americans are feeling more frustrated about inflation and their finances, the overall U.S. economy has been chugging along. Earlier this week, the U.S. government said the economy’s growth in the spring was better than earlier thought, driven by businesses building AI data centers and spending by consumers.

Friday’s softer-than-expected data on the economy pushed traders to pare bets the Fed will hike its main interest rate later this month at its next meeting. They now see a 22% probability of that, down from 64% a week ago, according to data from CME Group.

“This report strengthens the case for the Federal Reserve to remain patient,” according to Adam Schickling, senior economist at Vanguard. “The labor market has not deteriorated sharply, but there is also little evidence that it has meaningfully strengthened, giving policymakers reason to wait for additional data.”

The pullback in expectations for an October rate hike helped calm what's been a rattled bond market.

The centerpiece of the U.S. bond market, the 10-year Treasury, saw its yield briefly drop below 5.17% before it later pulled back to 5.28%. That's down from its peak near 5.35% on Thursday, when it and other longer-term yields neared their highest levels in two decades.

An easing of yields can help the economy by making it more affordable for everyone to borrow money. Higher yields, meanwhile, tend to undercut prices for stocks and other investments.

Oil prices spent most of the day falling before leveling out on Friday, and that also helped take pressure off bond markets worldwide. The price for a barrel of Brent crude was down nearly 4% at one point in the day, but was most recently up 0.1% to $102.38 a barrel. Prices have been swinging sharply on uncertainty about when the war with Iran will allow the global oil industry to return to normal.

Of course, a solid U.S. economy and worries about expensive oil and high inflation are only a few of the many drivers that have caused yields to jump in bond markets.

Concerns about big spending by governments, along with the mountains of debt they’re racking up, continue. In France, for example, yields have been particularly shaky as the government contends with its record debt and strained budget.

They don't seem to be going away anytime soon.

As Treasury yields pared their declines Friday from the morning, U.S. stocks also gave back some of their earlier gains. The S&P 500 had been up as much as 1.2% at one point in the morning.

Lower yields in the bond market help investors justify paying higher prices for stocks, even those that get criticized for being too expensive. That helped companies in the artificial-intelligence industry add to their already stellar gains.

Nvidia’s 1.6% rise was the single strongest force lifting the S&P 500.

Tesla rallied 5% after the electric-vehicle company said it delivered 486,532 vehicles to customers during the latest quarter, more than analysts expected.

Such gains more than made up for a 4.8% drop for Nike. The sneaker and athletic apparel company reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, but its revenue weakened by more than feared. Nike also gave a forecast for profit this fiscal year that fell short of analysts’ expectations.

In stock markets abroad, indexes bounced back in Europe from sharp losses taken a day earlier after bond yields swung sharply across the continent.

Asian indexes were mixed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropping 2.6% but South Korea’s Kospi adding 0.5%.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Michelle Chapman contributed to this report.

FILE - Signs mark the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway in New York's Financial District on Wednesday Dec.11, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)