Tiebreaker & Wild Card Games – October 4-6, 2021

Regular Season Tiebreaker Games

Monday, October 4, 2021

Surprisingly, after the wild season finish,
none are needed!

American League Wild Card Game

New York Yankees (92-70, .568) at
Boston Red Sox (92-70, .568)

Red Sox defeat Yankees,
advance to NLDS

PRE-GAME CONTENT

The Red Sox will face the Yankees tonight without star slugger J.D. Martinez, who sprained his ankle tripping over second base, in the final game of the regular season. Martinez is day-to-day.

Nathan Eovaldi on starting against the Yankees:

Gerrit Cole on starting in the AL Wild Card:

Yankees 2 – Red Sox 6
WP: Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 1.69) | LP: Gerrit Cole (0-1, 13.50)

Who doesn’t love to see the damn Yankees lose!!!

The momentum is with the home team all night. Yankees $324 MM starter Gerrit Cole is off, giving up a 2-run HR to Xander Bogaerts and a solo shot to Kyle Schwarber, in the shortest outing of his career (2 BB, 3 SO in 2.0 IP). Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi is razor sharp, giving up just a solo HR to Anthony Rizzo on 4 hits (0 BB, 8 SO) in 5⅓ IP. Both bullpens perform similarly to their respective starters. Collectively, Yankees pitching issues 7 BB, to the Red Sox 0 BB. Alex Verdugo RBI 2B for the Red Sox, in the 6^th. Alex Verdugo is out at 2B on his own 2-RBI 1B that also advances Xander Bogaerts to 3B, in the 7^th. Giancarlo Stanton solo HR for the Yankees, in the 9^th, is not enough to bend the arc of destiny. Watch game highlights from mlb.com:

This spectacular defensive play by the Red Sox is not to be missed:

This is the third time that the Red Sox and the Yankees have faced off in a winner-take-all postseason game. The first was a tiebreaker game for the AL East title, in 1978. The Yankees won 5-4. The second was Game 7 of the ACLS, in 2003—a 6-5 Yankees win on an Aaron Boone walk-off in the 11^th inning.

National League Wild Card Game

St. Louis Cardinals (90-72, .556) at
Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56, .654)

Dodgers defeat Cardinals,
advance to ALCS

PRE-GAME CONTENT

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts on Max Muncy and Clayton Kershaw injuries:

Max Scherzer’s mindset ahead of NL Wild Card:

Adam Wainwright on starting against the Dodgers:

Cardinals 1 – Dodgers 3
WP: Kenley Jansen (1-0, 0.00) | LP: T.J. McFarland (0-1, 13.50)

That’s a relief! Los Dodgers won 106 games—16 more than the Cards!

A tense low-scoring night, marked by great defense and missed opportunities (Cardinals strand 11, Dodgers leave 7 on). Both starters are shaky, especially Dodgers starter Max Sherzer, yet both manage to escape multiple close calls. There is not a single 1-2-3 inning in the game. Tommy Edman scores for the Cardinals, in the 1^st, on a wild pitch by Sherzer. It takes Dave Roberts a minute to pull the future Hall-of-Famer-er, but with two on and one out in the 5^th, he sends in Joe Kelly, who retires the next two to end the inning. Sherzer gives up the 1 R/ER, on 3 H (3 BB, 4 SO) in 4⅓ IP. In the 4^th, Cardinals starter Adam Wainwright gives up a solo shot to Justin Turner (1) to tie the game at 1. Mike Schildt keeps Wainwright in through 5⅓ (4 H, 1 R/ER, 2 BB, 5 SO). Although he allows Tommy Edman a base hit, Kenley Jansen pitches brilliantly for the Dodgers, in the 9^th, striking out three of four (2 Ks). The game ends in high drama, in the bottom of the 9^th. With one on and two outs, center fielder and struggling hitter Chris Taylor delivers in the clutch with a 2-run walk-off HR (1)—the fourth in Dodgers postseason history. He doesn’t start the game—subbing in to last in the lineup, in the 7^th—but he sure finishes it! Watch game highlights from mlb.com:

Kenley Jansen fans 3 in the 9^th:

Chris Taylor enjoys his walk-off HR, Wild Card win:

Max Scherzer high fives fellow 2019 World Series Champion and former Nationals teammate Juan Soto, and Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long to celebrate the win: