Atlanta knocked out of BLW playoff race after Las Vegas shutout

Konner Jaso broke a scoreless game with a solo home run, and Las Vegas rode Sawyer Behen and Cael Foreman through a 1-0 shutout that ended Atlanta’s playoff chase.

Chicago kept its season alive in the next win-or-go-home matchup, beating Arizona behind one of its best offensive outings of the year and a strong mound effort from Keaton Kimmel. Arizona’s season ended there, while the Bats stayed in the hunt long enough to reach the final round of the night. Dallas then beat Atlanta, with Luke Rose again looking like the league’s most dangerous hitter, Ben Dulin adding a late home run and Jaxson Blum steady on the mound in a crucial Pandas win.

New York and Arizona went extra innings. James Kline made his pitching debut for the Green Apples, Brice Clark worked deep for the Saguaros, and New York eventually pushed across the winning run to improve its seeding. Only six of the 10 franchises advance to the postseason.

Chicago met Dallas in the second-to-last game, and Ryan O’Rear blasted a three-run homer to send the Bats into the playoffs. Dallas lost the game but still stayed safe, because the Pandas had already done enough over the season to clinch their place in the field. By night’s end, the first BLW summer championship bracket was complete and six teams were set for the postseason.

BLW’s second professional campaign features 10 franchises, weekly Sunday game days, live broadcasts on ESPN+ and ESPN2, and a season structure built around five regular-season game days, an All-Star Game and a World Series. The league played its regular-season and playoff games in Atlanta at Assembly Studios in Doraville, with the All-Star Game slated for St. Louis and the World Series for Orlando.