It’s time for the MLB Playoffs, at the moment we are in the League championship series. Even though the Cardinal’s season has ended, it’s important to look back at how far we’ve come. Ever since the series, Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols have retired. The first part of the postseason has highlights we should look back on.
What is a Wild Card game?
To start off, what is a Wild Card game? These types of games happen in the first part of the Postseason. It’s called the Wild Card series because the teams selected are based on record. Of course, besides the winning division teams. What happened in the Wildcard games?
Rays @ Guardians
Starting with the Rays @ Guardians series, the Rays lost the three-game series 2-0. The first game on October 7th was a close one, 2-1 Guardians. On Saturday, October 8th, the second wild-card game, Rays @ Guardians, broke the longest MLB Postseason game record. Fifteen innings are now the second-longest Postseason game. For those who don’t know, a regular MLB game is nine innings long. The only times when a baseball game is not nine innings is when there are doubleheaders. A double header is two games on the same day; because of this, they shorten the game to seven innings. The other time it’s not nine innings is in overtime.
How does overtime work? (Continuation of Rays @ Guardians )
In a typical MLB game, a ghost runner is on second base. A ghost runner is a runner who is automatically put on second base in overtime. They put this rule in place to keep the overtime shorter. The longest MLB game was 26 innings on May 1, 1920. Remember, I mentioned before that a typical game is nine innings, which takes around three hours. The game in May should’ve taken around eight hours to complete. Can you imagine staying at the stadium for this long? Well, these fans stayed at the ballpark for fifteen innings just to see rookie Oscar Gonzalez hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 15th. The Guardians play the New York Yankees this week.
Mariners @ Blue Jays
The Mariners Miracle, what happened? What seemed to be Toronto making it a game three turns into a season-ending disaster for the Blue Jays. In the series’ first game, the Mariners shut out Toronto 4-0. The next day on October 8th, 2022, they played each other again. At this time, the Blue Jays had a 7-run lead over the Mariners, 8-1, in the bottom of the 5th inning. What seemed like all hope was lost; it looked as if there would be a game three. Little did they know that the 6th inning would change everything. The Mariners scored four runs in the top of the 6th; when this happened, the Mariners tweeted “WE ARE BACK!!” At this time, the game was 8-5 Toronto, and the Blue Jays fans started to get worried. Bottom of the 7th, the Jays scored one run, making it a 9-5 Toronto game. Finally, the Mariners make a miraculous comeback scoring another four runs and tying the game. However, when they tied, there was a scary collision between outfielders George Springer and Bo Bichette. Bichette seemed to get up after the collision and was fine; however, Springer was still lying on the ground, clearly hurt. He was taken out of the game during the 8th inning. Being carted off of the field, but the nightmare doesn’t end for Toronto. At the top of the ninth, the Mariners scored one more run to win the game and move on to the postseason. They are playing the Houston Astros starting this week.
Phillies @ Cardinals
If you’re a Cardinals fan, this game was devastating. In game one, rookie Juan Yepez hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the 7th. This homerun awoke the crowd, and all you could hear were cheers and joy. All the Cardinals have to do is maintain their lead and have a good defense to keep it. That shouldn’t be too hard, right? Pitcher Helsley was put into the game in the top of the ninth. However, he has an injury and should not be pitching at any cost. Helsley gave up four out of the five runs in the top of the 9th inning. Many Cardinal fans were upset with this poor decision because Manager Oli Marmol knew he was injured and still put him in. Many fans have voiced their frustrations. One saying, “The manager had no idea what he was doing, it was not a smart decision made.” In game two, there was no offense whatsoever from the St Louis Cardinals. “It looks as if they have given up trying,” A Cardinals fan says. 2-0 Phillies was the score for the Second game. MVP Candidates Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt combined went 1 for 15 in this wild card series. Many fans were not happy with this and had a lot to say. One Cardinal fan says, “Arenado and Goldschmidt are frauds and should be taken off of the team.” Many Cardinal fans are now attacking Goldy and Arenado for their lack of effort in the wild card series. Both combined went 1 for 15 during the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Phillies ended an eleven-year playoff drought and won the series 2-0. Lots of fans were saying they were going to take on Atlanta and win the world series.
Padres @ Mets
The Mets take it to game three but are unable to take themselves to the NLDS series. This series was the only one that had three games; however, the outcome was disappointing for Mets fans. In game one, the Padres took the game-winning 7-1. After game one, the Mets made a surprising comeback, with Brandon Nimmo going three for four. This game was filled with home runs and hope for New York; however, that hope would end on Sunday, October 9th. This wild card series was the only one taken to a game three. New York was unable to bounce back and was shut out by San Diego 6-0. Did you know that the Mets had a record of 101 wins and 61 losses this season? They had one of their best seasons yet, but all came to a tragic and disappointing ending.
What’s next?
Overall the Wild Card series was very eventful. A lot of disappointment, joy, and surprise in these last few games. I know most of us are looking forward to what else has to come this postseason. What two teams do you think will make the World Series?
