Tonight begins Week 6 in the NFL, featuring two teams looking to improve on a slow start to the season. There are also two games in the MLB Division Series playoffs, with the home teams hoping to take a two-game lead in each series. Here’s a look at all the action scheduled for Thursday.

Seattle Looks To Even Series In Houston

Game 2 of the AL Division Series continues tonight as the Seattle Mariners look to tie their series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park this afternoon. Seattle lost the first game 8-7 after coming into the ninth inning with a two-run lead and was shocked when the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez came up with two outs and hit a three-run walk-off homer. 

The Astros are looking for their fourth straight win in the playoffs. This team is only second to the Los Angeles Dodgers with a .270 batting average with runners in scoring position and went 2 for 6 in this situation in Game 1. Houston finished the regular season ranked eighth in runs scored, with 4.55 per game, while their pitching was second in the Majors with a 2.90 ERA. 

Luis Castillo (8-6, 2.99 ERA) takes the mound for Seattle, while Framber Valdez (17-6, 2.82 ERA) makes the start for the Astros.

Houston wins to go up 2-0 in the series. 

Cleveland’s Offense Needs Spark Against New York

The Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees meet tonight for Game 2 of their AL Division series at Yankee Stadium. The Guardians lost their first game of this postseason 4-1 to New York in Game 1 and have been suffering through a slump at the plate. They have only scored four runs in the first three games of the playoffs and won’t win against this Yankees team without more run production.

The Yankees will be tough to beat if they continue to play at their current level. They got 6.1 innings of stellar pitching from Gerrit Cole and had two home runs in their 4-1 victory in Game 1. Both DJ LeMahieu and Matt Carpenter have been out with injuries but could possibly play tonight to give Aaron Judge some help on offense. He was 0-3 in the first game with three strikeouts. 

Shane Bieber (13-8, 2.88 ERA) starts tonight for Cleveland against Nestor Cortes (12-4, 2.44 ERA) for New York. 

New York wins to take command of the series. 

Commanders Clash With Bears In NFC Showdown

The Washington Commanders travel to Soldier Field tonight for their first meeting with the Chicago Bears since the 2019 season. Washington has won seven of the last eight meetings between these two teams. QB Carson Wentz is fifth in the league in passing yards with 1,390 and in touchdown passes with ten. However, he has thrown six interceptions and has been sacked 20 times in the first four games. 

This season has been a disaster so far for Bears QB Justin Fields, who is 31st in the league in passer rating at 73.1 and 29th in touchdown passes with just three. He’s also last in the league with 135.1 yards per game and has 18 sacks. However, Chicago has 787 yards rushing in the first five games, which is the most they’ve had at this point of the season since 1990. 

The Bears win for their second straight over Washington.