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The Cleveland Indians earned home-field advantage for the 2016 World Series by virtue of the American League’s All-Star Game triumph over the National League, which means we can officially take a look at how the schedule for this year’s Fall Classic will shape up.

The best-of-seven championship series will pit the Indians against either the Chicago Cubs or Los Angeles Dodgers, and odds favor the Cubs even though they’ve historically failed to break through when presented with the opportunity.

Chicago is 0-6 in its last six National League Championship Series games with a trip to the World Series on the line, per ESPN Stats & Info, but data from WhoWins.com suggests the Cubs are in a spot to exorcise those demons.

Specifically, teams holding 3-2 leads in a best-of-seven format have gone on to win the series 70.4 percent of the time in a 98-series sample.

So before taking a peek at how the Indians will try to quell their eventual National League competition, here’s a rundown of when and where you can catch this year’s World Series:

While it’s impossible to make a firm prediction for the World Series without knowing who the Indians will square off against, we can examine how they would fare against their prospective competition after they didn’t play a single game against the Cubs or Dodgers in the regular season.

From a pitching standpoint, Cleveland has been head and shoulders above the rest of its postseason peers.

The Indians boast a 1.77 ERA through eight playoff games, which compares favorably to the Cubs’ mark of 3.25 and the Dodgers’ tally of 4.60. Cleveland has also posted three shutouts—one less than all other playoff qualifiers combined.

Perhaps more frightening is the way Cleveland’s bullpen has performed.

To date, Indians relievers have posted a 1.67 ERA, 41 strikeouts and seven walks while holding opponents to a .212 average through 32.1 innings.

Conversely, the Cubs and Dodgers have bullpen ERAs of 3.71 and 4.29, respectively, in the playoffs, with opponents batting better than .240 against both units.

The good news for the NL contenders comes at the plate.

While none of the three remaining teams have bashed the ball to a stellar degree under the postseason lights, the Dodgers lead the pack with a .228 average and .322 on-base percentage.

That said, the Cubs lead the Dodgers in terms of total bases (119-115), doubles (18-9) and slugging percentage (.381-.355). The Indians are hanging steady with a .380 slugging percentage buoyed by 11 home runs.

Predicting a winner based on those comparisons alone would be foolish, but the Indians have to feel good about their chances considering the way their pitching staff has dominated in conjunction with a solid offense that has found ways to generate power and produce runs to create sufficient cushions.

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The 2016 World Series has yet to be set, but we’re close to having clarity following the Chicago Cubs’ 8-4 Game 5 National League Championship Series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday night. 

The Cleveland Indians punched their ticket Wednesday night by virtue of a 3-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays to clinch their first trip to the Fall Classic since 1997, and they figure to pose a stiff test for either squad when things get underway next Tuesday.

So with just a few days between now and the final series of the 2016 MLB season, here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about the upcoming championship clash. 

World Series Schedule

World Series Odds

Ticket Info

Tickets have yet to be listed since the NLCS is ongoing, but monitor ScoreBig.com for the latest World Series offers. 

Predictions

Since we can’t make any definitive predictions with the NLCS still in progress, World Series projections will stay general for the time being.

But if we can count on one thing, it’s Indians reliever Andrew Miller remaining an ace of the highest caliber.

Through six postseason appearances to date, he has scattered five hits, struck out 21 and walked just two over 11.2 innings. In the American League Championship Series alone, Miller pitched 7.2 innings, struck out 14 and didn’t allow a run or a walk. 

With that performance behind him, Miller sounds ready to go when the Fall Classic rolls around. 

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said, according to Cleveland.com’s Paul Hoynes. “Cleveland is going to be rocking. The AL won the All-Star Game so we’ve got our chance to play in front of our fans. And Corey Kluber was the winning pitcher in the All-Star Game, so that’s even better.”

Buoyed by Miller in the bullpen and a starting staff that features Kluber, Josh Tomlin, Trevor Bauer and Game 5 hero Ryan Merritt, there’s plenty of reason to believe the Indians could continue to retire batters at postseason-best rates. 

Thus far, the Indians have posted a collective team ERA of 1.77 to go with 81 strikeouts and just 19 walks. Those stellar numbers have allowed Cleveland to survive with a cumulative batting average of .208

The Dodgers and Cubs both have hitters who can make opposing pitching staffs pay, but it will take a disciplined effort from the eventual NL champion to thrust the Indians bullpen into action earlier than usual. 

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The Chicago Cubs appeared to be in trouble after they dropped Game 3 of the NLCS, but they’re now one win away from their first World Series appearance since 1945 thanks to an 8-4 road win over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 on Thursday night.  

Although both teams failed to generate loads of offense, the Cubs broke through in the sixth inning when shortstop Addison Russell snapped a 1-1 tie with a go-ahead two-run homer to center: 

Chicago used a five-run eighth inning to seize control of the proceedings, and the sizable margin allowed the NL Central champions to breathe easy and take a commanding 3-2 series lead. 

Cubs starter Jon Lester wasn’t his sharpest, but he powered his way to a win by striking out six and scattering five hits over seven innings.  

USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale took note of Lester’s dominance against the Dodgers after he was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth inning: 

Fresh off a 10-2 drubbing of the Dodgers in Game 4, the Cubs came out and made Kenta Maeda work during a first inning in which he threw 26 pitches. 

After Dexter Fowler led off with a single up the middle, Anthony Rizzo lined a double to right field that scored the center fielder and gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead. 

Maeda struggled to find the plate as the first inning progressed—only 14 of his 26 pitches went for strikes—and Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller took note of the 28-year-old’s discouraging demeanor on the mound: 

Lester similarly struggled with command in the first inning.

The 19-game winner threw nine strikes on 18 pitches in the opening frame and allowed one hit and a walk during that span. As a point of reference, Lester allowed four hits and one walk total over six innings in his Game 1 start against the Dodgers. 

But for all of his command issues, Lester escaped the first inning without allowing a run. 

Maeda, meanwhile, hit 57 pitches by the time the third inning was over. That said, he didn’t let any additional runners cross the plate as the Cubs’ bats fell silent following an encouraging opening statement. 

Chicago threatened in the top of the fourth after Javier Baez smacked a leadoff double, and the Cubs ultimately chased Maeda before the top half of the stanza came to a close, as the New York Post‘s Joel Sherman noted: 

Josh Fields entered and retired Lester to escape with the Dodgers down just one, and L.A. capitalized in the bottom half when Howie Kendrick doubled and stole third before Rizzo bobbled a one-out dribbler to first that allowed Kendrick to score. 

However, the Cubs struck back in style in the top of the sixth. 

Russell—who hit his first postseason home run in Game 4—slammed a two-run bomb to center off Joe Blanton to give Chicago a 3-1 lead. 

As ESPN’s Karl Ravech noted, Blanton was playing with fire when he delivered the fateful pitch to Russell:  

Fox Sports 1 analyst Dontrelle Willis explained that Maeda’s inability to put forth a quality start hampered L.A.’s ability to hang with the Cubs:  

At that point, the Cubs leaned on their stable of strong arms to seal the deal after tacking on five insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning. 

Lester powered through seven strong while throwing 108 pitches, and Pedro Strop entered in the bottom half of the eighth to serve as a bridge to Aroldis Chapman. 

With the Cubs’ stay in Hollywood a thing of the past, the scene will shift back to the Windy City for a decisive Game 6. 

Taking the mound for the Dodgers will be Clayton Kershaw, who most recently captured a win in Game 2 thanks to a performance that saw him strike out six and allow two hits over seven innings. 

Countering Kershaw will be Cubs ace Kyle Hendricks. The 26-year-old squared off against L.A.’s dynamite southpaw in Game 2 and was effective to the tune of five strikeouts and one earned run allowed over 5.1 innings, but he did give up four walks in the loss. 

This time around, Hendricks will seek redemption with a trip to the Fall Classic on the line. 

Based on historical outcomes, the Cubs should be feeling confident even though they’re at a disadvantage on the bump. 

Teams holding 3-2 leads in a best-of-seven format have gone on to win the series 70.4 percent of the time, per WhoWins.com, which puts the Cubs firmly in the driver’s seat as they seek to snap their pennant-less drought on Saturday night at Wrigley Field.  

Postgame Reaction

“Our guys will be ready for the moment,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said of Game 6, per ESPN.com’s Arash Markazi. “I’m sure Chicago is buzzing.”

On the flip side, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts expressed optimism that his team would turn things around, according to MLB Network: 

Adrian Gonzalez shared the same state of mind, per the Orange County Register‘s Bill Plunkett: 

As for Thursday’s win, Lester told reporters he won’t apologize for his intense on-field demeanor.

“I play this game with emotion and if it rubs people the wrong way, oh well,” he said, per Markazi. 

Speaking of Russell’s go-ahead jack, Baez noted the Cubs are unique in that they have a squad full of potential game-changers. 

“Anybody in our lineup can turn the game our way,” he said, according to 670 The Score on Twitter. 

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New York Mets outfielder Tim Tebow was signing autographs on Tuesday after an instructional league game in Scottsdale, Arizona, when a nearby fan suffered a seizure. The former Heisman Trophy winner told reporters on Wednesday that it was an easy decision to comfort the man during the scary situation. 

According to ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin, Tebow put the situation in perspective after he stood beside and prayed for Brandon Berry: 

Let me ask you a question: What would be more important, that I go to the locker room and I get on the bus and we get back a little bit quicker? In my opinion, it’s not even a choice. It’s the right thing to do. It’s what you’re supposed to do, in my opinion.

You just try to, in those moments, be there for people to help people. Because there is not a bigger, better, greater thing you can do in life than to be there for people in a time of need to help them.

Christian Byrnes on Twitter relayed a photo of Tebow and Berry as the events unfolded: 

“The guy that I was signing for, he turned to his right, and I could see on his face something happened,” Tebow said, per Rubin. “So then I looked over. I saw Brandon, right as he was getting to the ground and going into a seizure. I just wanted to be there and pray for him.”

Berry later told the Associated Press’ Jake Seiner he was OK after he returned home following a brief stint in the hospital.  

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The Los Angeles Dodgers faced elimination Tuesday afternoon at home, but they forced a decisive Game 5 against the Washington Nationals with a 6-5 win thanks to a game-winning RBI single from Chase Utley in the eighth inning.  

Joe Blanton notched the win after he pitched 1.1 no-hit innings on the heels of a tumultuous seventh-inning sequence. Starter Clayton Kershaw (11 strikeouts, two walks, seven hits in 6.2 IP) was superb on short rest even though he struggled with his command early. 

Trea Turner and Bryce Harper led off the top of the first by reaching base, and Daniel Murphy rolled a single into right field with one out to score Turner to put the Dodgers in a rare early hole with Kershaw starting, according to Inside Edge on Twitter: 

By the time the top half of the opening frame came to a close, Kershaw had tossed 27 pitches. As ESPN.com’s Eddie Matz explained, those inefficiencies didn’t bode well for the Dodgers: 

With L.A. in need of a spark following Kershaw’s sluggish start, Adrian Gonzalez delivered. 

After Justin Turner was hit by a pitch, Gonzalez stepped up and crushed a two-run home run to right field when starter Joe Ross let a fastball cut back over the plate up in the zone: 

The Nationals proceeded to tie things in the third on a Murphy sac fly that scored Turner, but things didn’t remain deadlocked for long. 

Ross gave up two hits, two runs and two walks in the third inning, and manager Dusty Baker pulled the 23-year-old after he drilled Joc Pederson with the bases load to give the Dodgers a 4-2 lead. 

All told, Ross managed three strikeouts and two walks while allowing three hits and four earned runs in 2.2 innings. 

Conversely, Kershaw was able to settle down. 

The three-time Cy Young Award winner retired the side in order in the fourth and fifth innings, and in doing so he was able to stabilize his pitch count, according to the Southern California News Group’s J.P. Hoornstra: 

And as the ace found his groove, the Dodgers offense continued to churn out runs. 

Pederson smacked a double to left field that scored Josh Reddick from first, and the RBI that gave Los Angeles a 5-2 lead represented a breakthrough for the Dodgers, according to MASN’s Mark Zuckerman: 

While the Nationals searched for answers, Kershaw looked sharp. 

The southpaw—who entered Tuesday with a 1.89 ERA in three starts on short rest, per MLB.com—notched 10 strikeouts by the time the sixth inning was over, which marked the fourth time in Kershaw’s postseason career that he tallied double-digit K’s, according to Jon Weisman of the team’s official blog and magazine. 

Those numbers were stellar considering Kershaw was on the mound just four days earlier, but things unraveled some in the seventh inning. 

Kershaw was pulled with two outs in the seventh after he loaded the bases, and the bullpen couldn’t work out of the jam. Pedro Baez plunked Werth to make it a 5-3 game, and Murphy tied things up with a two-run single off Luis Avilan.

Yahoo Sports’ Big League Stew noted Murphy has been a virtuoso at the plate in big spots: 

The Dodgers could have folded at that point, but they stood tall and delivered in the eighth inning.

After Andrew Toles was hit by a pitch and Andre Either notched a pinch-hit single, Utley stepped to the plate and drove in the go-ahead run to propel the Dodgers to within a game of the NLCS.

The Dodgers will now travel back to the nation’s capital with momentum in hand after they staved off elimination in pursuit of their first National League Championship Series appearance since 2013. 

The Nationals, meanwhile, will need to put Tuesday’s loss in the rearview mirror as they seek the franchise’s first NLCS appearance since moving to Washington. 

And if Murphy, Werth and Turner can continue to buoy the offense and force a shaky Dodgers bullpen into action early, the NL East champions could be in position to exorcise their postseason demons and send the Dodgers packing. 

Postgame Reaction

Once the Dodgers put the finishing touches on their Game 4 win, the team’s official Twitter account relayed video of their celebration: 

“Man, that was a hard-fought game on both sides,” Baker said, according to Weisman.

Looking ahead, Baker told reporters he’s glad his team won’t have to face Kershaw again this season, according to True Blue LA’s Eric Stephen: 

However, the Nationals will have to face Rich Hill, according to the Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough: 

The Nationals, on the other hand, will counter with Max Scherzer, according to the Washington Post‘s Jorge Castillo. 

“Biggest start of my career,” Scherzer said, according to MASN’s Dan Kolko. “Biggest start of my life.” 

“It’s gonna be a heck of an experience,” he added, per Kolko. “It comes down to one game. Winner-take-all.”

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Johnny Cueto and Jon Lester engaged in an epic pitchers’ duel Friday night at Wrigley Field, but Javier Baez snapped the scoreless deadlock in the eighth inning of Game 1 of the National League Division Series with a solo home run to hand the Chicago Cubs a 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants.  

The Cubs’ official Twitter account offered a glimpse at the game’s defining moment: 

As ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark pointed out, Baez’s game-winning dinger off Cueto was improbable based on his past failures at the plate against the San Francisco starter: 

However, Inside Edge took note of Baez’s historic success against two strikes to show the second baseman’s game-winner was the continuation of a recent trend: 

Offense wasn’t abundant on either side, but the Giants were more consistent at the plate through the first three innings. 

While the Cubs failed to notch a hit off Cueto in each of the first three frames, the Giants produced a baserunner in each of the first four half-innings they stepped to the plate.

However, the Giants were unable to push a runner across the plate during that span and take the lead despite the fact that they had runners on second and third with two outs in the fourth. 

Kris Bryant finally got the Cubs into the hit column with a double to left field in the fourth inning, and the brief awakening looked for a moment like it would spark Chicago’s offense. 

But with Cueto dealing, the Cubs couldn’t make good on Bryant’s two-bagger, as Anthony Rizzo and Ben Zobrist both were unable to come up with timely hits that would have given the Cubs a 1-0 edge. 

Fox Sports 1 on Twitter provided a snapshot of just how strong both starting pitchers were as the game progressed: 

And when the bottom of the fifth came to a close, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan noted the Giants’ pitching staff as a whole has been aces in the postseason: 

Bay Area News Group’s Andrew Baggarly explained that Cueto’s off-speed stuff was giving the Cubs fits: 

Meanwhile, MLB.com’s Daren Willman provided a visual overview of Cueto’s dominance against a team that ranked third in MLB in runs scored:

The pitchers’ duel continued through the top half of the eighth inning, but things turned in Chicago’s favor when Baez launched a shot to left field that just sneaked over the wall to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead with Aroldis Chapman warming in the bullpen. 

With Wrigley buzzing following Baez’s improbable blast, all of the momentum had shifted in the Cubs’ favor.  

Chapman entered to try to close the Giants out in the ninth inning, and he did just that even though Giants catcher Buster Posey reached base after ripping a two-out double to left-center field. 

But with his trademark fireballs flowing, Chapman settled down after Posey moved into scoring position and induced a Hunter Pence groundout to end things. 

The Cubs will now try to mount a 2-0 edge against the NL Wild Card champions on Saturday when the series resumes at 8:08 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field.

Chicago will send Kyle Hendricks—who is 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA in his last three starts—to the mound, while the Giants will counter with Jeff Samardzija, who has been red hot to the tune of a 1.37 ERA and 24 strikeouts in his last three outings. 

Postgame Reaction

Following the win, the Cubs’ Twitter account captured the scene on the field at Wrigley: 

“It was a classic kind of an old-school baseball game,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, according to 670 The Score on Twitter. 

“I expect these games to be like this,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy added, per 670 The Score.  

According to USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale, Baez wasn’t initially planning to swing away against Cueto in the eighth: 

“We have 10 wins to go,” Baez said, according to 670 The Score. 

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The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t receive a sterling performance from starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Friday, but a couple of home runs and a strong bullpen effort allowed the NL West champions to sneak out a 4-3 win over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.  

Washington now trails 1-0 with Game 2 slated for Saturday afternoon at Nationals Park. It got off on the wrong foot in search of the franchise’s first division series victory since 1981. 

Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer allowed 17 first-inning runs this season—his most in any stanza, according to MASN’s Mark Zuckerman—and his trend of starting slowly continued Friday. 

Corey Seager stepped into the box as the second batter of the day, and he promptly crushed a solo home run over the center field fence in his first career postseason at-bat to give the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead, as MLB showed on Twitter: 

The Nationals didn’t experience similar success on the scoreboard during the game’s opening stages, but they did make Kershaw work. Specifically, Washington loaded the bases in the second, and Scherzer worked an eight-pitch at-bat against the southpaw before he popped out to shallow left. 

As the Washington Post‘s Jorge Castillo noted, the Nationals had to take solace in silver linings as the Dodgers maintained a slight edge: 

Once that crisis was averted, the Dodgers collectively exhaled and continued to find success in spots against Scherzer.

After Andrew Toles singled to start the inning, Chase Utley scored him from second on a single of his own to push the Dodgers’ lead to 2-0. A couple of batters later, Justin Turner followed in Seager’s footsteps and crushed a two-run home run to give L.A. a cushy 4-0 advantage. 

CSN Mid Atlantic’s Chase Hughes put Scherzer’s struggles in context: 

But just when it looked like the wheels were starting to fall off, the Nationals responded. 

With men on second and third, Anthony Rendon delivered a two-run single to left field to slash the Dodgers’ lead in half. 

By the time the third inning came to a close, Kershaw had thrown 66 pitches and allowed five hits in what proved to be another less than stellar postseason display. 

ESPN Los Angeles’ Steve Mason believed Kershaw didn’t look like himself on the mound in hostile territory: 

Kershaw gutted it out through the end of the fourth inning after he allowed Washington to cut L.A.’s lead to one, but his command remained shaky.

Los Angeles’ ace ultimately logged 101 pitches through five innings—which represented the most he tossed since returning from the disabled list on Sept. 9, according to J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. 

Sporting News’ Jesse Spector broke down Kershaw’s evening once the three-time Cy Young Award winner was replaced by reliever Joe Blanton: 

Conversely, Scherzer struck out five and gave up five hits over six innings. However, two costly mistakes served as blemishes on an otherwise impressive outing, per Zuckerman: 

Once the starters sat, the Dodgers bullpen took over. 

Blanton, Grant Dayton and Pedro Baez combined to pitch 2.1 no-hit innings, and they served as a stellar bridge to closer Kenley Jansen—who was brought aboard for his first successful five-out save since April 13 against the Arizona Diamondbacks, per ESPN Stats & Info. 

Jansen’s clutch effort was amplified by the fact he retired Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth in the ninth to give his side a 1-0 series lead. 

The Nationals will now turn to Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83 ERA) to try to stem the tide in Game 2, while the Dodgers will trust Rich Hill (12-5, 2.12 ERA) on the mound as they seek to take a 2-0 lead back to Hollywood and advance to the NLCS for the first time since 2013. 

Postgame Reaction

According to ESPN Stats & Info, the Dodgers are in an advantageous spot entering Game 2: 

Hoornstra later relayed word from manager Dave Roberts regarding Jansen’s potential usage later in the series: 

The Los Angeles Times‘ Bill Shaikin noted Jansen was in favor of that plan: 

As for the Nationals, Daniel Murphy owned up to his decision to try to swipe second when he was caught stealing. 

“There are two choices there, be safe or don’t run,” he said, according to MLB.com’s Alex Putterman. “It was a bad play.”

As for Danny Espinosa (0-for-3 with three strikeouts), manager Dusty Baker just noted it wasn’t the shortstop’s night. 

“Espinosa can turn around and hit the next pitch out of the park,” he said, according to the Washington Post‘s Chelsea Janes. “That’s what’s kind of frustrating…his swing was long tonight.”

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For the second time in as many years, the New York Mets are headed to the postseason.

By virtue of Saturday’s 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Mets clinched a wild-card berth a week after the Washington Nationals celebrated their National League East title.

With the game’s final out in hand, the Mets celebrated on the mound at Citizens Bank Park before they hit the locker room for some champagne showers:

MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo documented the scene in the clubhouse:

DiComo also captured footage of the team celebrating with its fans in Philadelphia:

Following an eight-year playoff drought, the Mets have now joined the postseason party in consecutive years for the first time since 2000.

Though New York’s vaunted pitching staff was dogged by injuries all season—Matt Harvey had season-ending surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, Steven Matz has endured elbow and shoulder ailments and Jacob deGrom underwent season-ending elbow surgery—New York has a shot to defend its National League pennant.

Following a 15-7 start in April, the Mets went 26-30 in May and June before they started to right the ship. After going 13-13 in July and 15-14 in August, they notched 17 wins in 27 September games.

New York also overcame inconsistencies on offense to return to the postseason, as it ranks 12th among the 15 NL clubs with a collective .245 batting average. The only teams with worse marks are the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres.

With Noah Syndergaard headlining a pitching staff that ranks third in the NL in team ERA and starters’ ERA, the Mets look like they may be able to pull off the improbable and return to the World Series. But it will be tough to best the Nationals, Chicago Cubs or Los Angeles Dodgers.

And first they’ll have to get by the San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Game.

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Marcell Ozuna was among the Miami Marlins players who declined an invitation to join pitcher Jose Fernandez on a boat the night he was killed in a fatal crash. 

According to the Associated Press’ Curt Anderson, Ozuna was one of at least three Marlins teammates who who opted against going on the boat with Fernandez, 24, Emilio Jesus Macias, 27, and Eduardo Rivero, 25, shortly before they crashed into a jetty. 

“That night I told him, ‘Don’t go out,'” Ozuna said, per the Miami Herald‘s Andre C. Fernandez. “Everybody knew he was crazy about that boat and loved being out on the water. I told him I couldn’t go out that night because I had the kids and my wife waiting for me.”

“It was a bad decision for him,” Ozuna added, per Anderson. “He heard everybody say, ‘No, go back to your house and take it easy.’ Then you wake up and see the news.” 

According to Anderson, Will Bernal, who was a friend of Rivero‘s, also expressed concern about his decision to take the boat out after midnight on Sunday and posted their text message correspondence on social media: 

“Yo please be careful bro,” Bernal texted at 12:07 a.m.

“I will bro,” Rivero said.

“Try to keep him close to shore if you go out,” Bernal wrote back.

“Trust me,” Rivero wrote, “it’s not my time yet.”

Bernal then asked Rivero to turn on his “find iPhone” application and to “keep Jose cool.”

A public memorial will be held for Fernandez on Wednesday, according to USA Today. The procession will reportedly begin at 2:16 p.m. ET as a way to honor Fernandez, who wore No. 16. A private funeral will also be held for Fernandez on Thursday. 

Monday, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria announced the team will retire No. 16, per the Palm Beach Post‘s Hal Habib.  

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A year after they imploded down the stretch, the Washington Nationals put the clamps on a division title, clinching the National League East on Saturday with a 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and the New York Mets‘ 10-8 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The win moved the Nationals to 90-64 on the year, while the Mets dropped to 82-73.

The division crown is Washington’s fourth in franchise history and third since the team moved from Montreal to the nation’s capital.

The Nationals’ official Twitter account relayed several shots of the team reveling in the glory of its accomplishment on Saturday night: 

Olympic swimming sensation Katie Ledecky also chimed in after Bryce Harper was spotted wearing a swim cap with her name on it: 

The Nationals were nine games up on the Mets when their chief NL East rivals made a trip to town Sept. 12 for a three-game series, and manager Dusty Baker’s club made a statement by winning two of three. 

“It’s real big,” center fielder Trea Turner said, per MASNSports.com’s Mark Zuckerman. “It’s the last time we’re going to play them. If they sweep us, it could be a lot different situation. Winning this series has, I think, been very big for us.”

The Nationals, who rank fourth in the NL in runs scored, have been buoyed by a balanced attack at the plate, though Harper entered Saturday batting just .243/.376/.442 with 24 home runs and 82 RBI.

Daniel Murphy—who signed a three-year, $37.5 million deal with the Nationals over the offseason—has mashed the ball, though. With the season drawing to a close, the MVP candidate is batting .347/.391/.596 with 25 home runs, 104 RBI and an NL-best 47 doubles.

“He’s been more than I think anybody dreamed that he would be,” Baker said, per CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Daniel Shiferaw.

Catcher Wilson Ramos has also been a revelation for the Nationals. A year after he batted just .229 with 15 home runs and 68 RBI, the 29-year-old has posted a .304 average, 22 dingers and 80 RBI while serving as a steady presence behind the plate.

Washington’s pitching staff has been similarly strong, ranking second in the NL in ERA. The Nationals bullpen has also thrived, posting the second-best ERA in the NL.

Max Scherzer has been potent with a 2.82 ERA and 0.93 WHIP while leading the National League in strikeouts en route to posting an 18-7 record.

The Nationals have the depth and firepower to challenge for the pennant in October, though besting the Chicago Cubs—whom they’re 2-5 against this season—won’t be an easy task. Washington will likely face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. 

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