One game playoffs never disappoint
There are four MLB wild card teams each year. Two teams from the NL and AL play in a one-game playoff for each league. The winner of each game earns the right to move on to play in the divisional series against each league’s top team. This year, the Milwaukee Brewers took on the Washington Nationals in the NL wild card game, with the Tampa Bay Rays taking on the Oakland A’s in the American League. With seasons on the line, things got pretty nuts.
Rays vs. A’s
The Rays and A’s (hey that rhymed) are two small-market teams just trying to find their way. Tampa Bay is not even popular in their own city, and the A’s have found very little playoff success in the last 20 years. The Rays came to play. Tampa Bay hit three home runs in the first three innings to take an early 4-0 lead. Two of the homers were provided by infielder Yandy Diaz. The cool part is this was Diaz’s just second start since July.
The Rays were able to ride their hot start to a dub. The A’s barely threatened throughout the game, as the 54,000 fans at the Colosseum went home disappointed. The loss brought Billy Beane’s ‘Moneyball A’s’ to 0-9 in their last nine winner-takes-all postseason games. Perhaps Oakland’s time will eventually come, but for now, they have a long offseason to mull things over. The Rays won the chance to take on the World Series favorite Houston Astros. A Rays series win against the Astro would be an upset that would screw a lot of bettors in Vegas. However, weird stuff happens in baseball all the time, especially baseball in October.
Brewers vs. Nationals
Despite losing all-world outfielder Christian Yelich, the Brewers ended the regular season as one of the hottest teams in baseball. Milwaukee won 13 of their final 18 games to secure the second NL wild card spot. The good times appeared to keep on rolling early in their matchup against the Nationals. The Brew-crew took an early 3-0 lead and eventually led 3-1 late in the game. Nationals star Juan Soto came up to the plate in the bottom of the 8th with bases loaded and two outs. Soto did not disappoint.
The 20-year-old ripped a Josh Hader fastball into right field. The ball got passed Brewers outfielder Trent Grisham, allowing Anthony Rendon all the way from 1st. The brutal irony is Grisham was playing in Yelich’s primary position. Who knows, maybe if Yelich was healthy he might make that play and the Brewers come back to win. Man, the baseball gods can be cruel.
The Nationals were able to protect their 4-3 lead in the 9th to move on. Somewhere Bryce Harper had to be punching air. The Nationals moved on to now take on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. The Dodgers are the heavy favorites in the NL, so Washington will have to throw the kitchen sink at ’em to come away with a series win.