The 2025 MLB season has come to a close, and it was capped off by a wild weekend.
While most of the playoff spots had been earned before the weekend, a lot happened over the season's final three days to get us to the final playoff picture. What follows is a chronological look at all the biggest moments from the weekend, starting on Friday.
Tatis Sinks the Snakes
The Diamondbacks somehow stayed in the NL wild-card race over the season's final two months after selling at the deadline. It was a valiant effort from Arizona that ended with a bang on Friday evening.
The Dbacks led the Padres 2–1 in the fourth inning with rotation stalwart Zac Gallen on the hill. The veteran righty loaded the bases, then tried to slip a 95 mph fastball past Fernando Tatis Jr. on a 3–2 count. He immediately regretted it. The ball left Tatis’s bat at 111.7 mph and landed in the second deck at Petco Park for a grand slam.
HE KNEW. WE ALL KNEW. pic.twitter.com/lxjlomSDCK
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 27, 2025
The Padres took a 5–2 lead en route to an eventual 7–4 win. The loss eliminated Arizona from playoff contention.
Red Sox Walk Off Into the Playoffs
Boston entered the bottom of the ninth of Friday's game against the Tigers locked in a 3–3 tie with their magic number down to one. A two-out single by Romy Gonzalez gave Ceddanne Rafaela the chance to be a hero. He delivered.
Rafaela blasted a 1–0 pitch from Tommy Kahnle off the center field wall. It kicked around in the outfield, and Gonzalez raced home with plenty of time to spare to send Boston to the postseason.
WALK-OFF CLINCH. pic.twitter.com/cJ49xCzKJs
— Red Sox (@RedSox) September 27, 2025
The Red Sox will travel to Yankee Stadium to face their bitter rivals in what should be a blockbuster wild-card series.
Busch Goes Deep Twice as Cubs Clinch
Michael Busch homered twice in the first five innings on Saturday against the Cardinals; the second gave the Cubs a 3–1 lead they never relinquished.
MICHAEL CAN'T BE STOPPED. pic.twitter.com/bXinLkeJFt
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) September 27, 2025
Busch hit a home run, double, and another home run to rack up 10 total bases in his first three at-bats. He ended the game 4-for-4, with two home runs, a double, and a triple, leaving him a single short of the cycle. More importantly, he launched the Cubs to a 7–3 win, which clinched the top wild-card spot and a home series against the Padres in the opening round of the playoffs.
Jahmai Jones Clutch Single Lifts Tigers to Playoffs
After a horrible September that saw them lose their massive lead in the AL Central, the Tigers were able to salvage a playoff spot thanks to a 2–1 win over the Red Sox on Saturday night.
Jahmi Jones had the big hit with a two-out, fifth-inning single that scored two runs and put Detroit in the lead for good.
Jahmai Jones DELIVERS pic.twitter.com/5OlwmQP9dC
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 27, 2025
They closed out the game to finally earn some good news by clinching a playoff spot.
Guardians Unconventional Walk-Off Clinches Spot
The Guardians joined the Tigers in the playoffs in one of the weirdest ways possible Saturday night. Cleveland's remarkable march back into the AL Central race overcame the longest of odds, and what happened in the ninth inning against the Rangers Saturday night only added to the surreal nature of their September surge.
After Rangers reliever Robert Garcia got the first two outs in a 2–2 game, Johnathan Rodriguez walked and Kyle Manzardo singled, sending pinch runner Petey Halpin to third. Texas intentionally walked Gabriel Arias, putting CJ Kayfus at the plate with two outs and the bases loaded.
After getting strike one, Garcia hit Kayfus, forcing in a run and sending the Guardians to the playoffs.
And here we go.#GuardsBall | #GuardiWins pic.twitter.com/QdibocPgy7
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) September 28, 2025
Incredible.
Red Sox Win Central for Cleveland
On Sunday, the Tigers entered Fenway Park on Sunday with a chance to win the AL Central. All they needed to do was beat the Red Sox and hope Cleveland lost. Neither of those things happened.
The Tigers took an early 3–1 lead, but in the bottom of the fourth, Chris Paddack gave up a two-run home run to light-hitting infielder David Hamilton, then back-to-back doubles to Nick Sogard and Jarren Duran.
Jarren Duran doubles off The Monster and puts the @RedSox ahead! pic.twitter.com/od9qBmVT7u
— MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2025
That gave Boston a 4–3 lead, leaving Detroit with five innings to get another run. The Tigers couldn't do it. They put two on base in the top of the ninth but couldn't bring anyone across and surrendered the division to the Guardians with the loss.
Cleveland's players found out it had won the AL Central during their game with Texas and celebrated.
The @CleGuardians finding out they clinched the AL Central 👏 pic.twitter.com/kOUQCkq1vo
— MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2025
To top it off, Brayan Rocchio launched a walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the 10th against the Rangers to enter the playoffs in style.
BRAYAN ROCCHIO
— MLB (@MLB) September 28, 2025
OFF THE FOUL POLE@CLEGUARDIANS WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/Z8I8O6ZPOG
Alejandro Kirk Leads Blue Jays Blowout For AL East Crown
Toronto's task was simple on Sunday: beat the Rays and clinch the American League East and the top seed in the AL. The Blue Jays did that. Emphatically.
Alejandro Kirk stepped to the plate in the bottom of the first inning with the game tied 1–1. It didn't stay that way for long. On a 2–2 pitch from Ian Seymour, Kirk sat on a changeup and annihilated it. He sent the ball 387 feet into the left-center field stands at the Rogers Centre, and sent Blue Jays fans into a frenzy.
CAPTAIN KIRK.
— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) September 28, 2025
FIRST CAREER SLAM.
NO BETTER TIME. pic.twitter.com/MR6zUxQPrf
The rout was on after that, and Toronto wound up taking a 13–4 win. That relegated the Yankees to the AL’s top wild-card slot, setting up a series against the Red Sox.
Mets Complete Collapse, Exit Postseason Picture
The Mets needed to win and get help on Sunday. One of those things happened, the other didn't. The Reds owned the head-to-head tiebreaker with New York, and the two teams entered the day deadlocked with identical 83–78 records. Cincinnati lost to the Brewers 4–2, which meant all New York had to do was beat the Miami Marlins. You can guess what happened.
Miami and its $67 million payroll team bested the franchise with a $323 million payroll by the score of 4–0, as the Mets went out with a whimper. They only mustered five hits off of Edward Cabrera and four relievers. The game and the team's season ended when Francisco Lindor grounded into a double play in the top of the ninth. New York's broadcasters lamented the team's epic collapse.
"And the Mets agonizing, three-and-a-half-month, slow-motion collapse, is complete."
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2025
Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez react as the Mets are eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Marlins on the final game of the season. pic.twitter.com/oYvnqhvCJp
The Mets had MLB's best record on June 12 at 45–24. They went 38–55 after that. A deserved, depressing ending to the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Most Significant Moments From MLB’s Wild Regular Season Finale.
