Blue Jays, Orioles control their wild-card prospects heading into final day
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a look the playoff race in the American League.
Those hoping for complete chaos in the American League wild-card race were most definitely disappointed by Saturday’s results. Rather than entering the season’s final day with more scenarios than solutions, we enter with two straight-forward resolutions: If the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles win, they are in.
As of Sunday morning, Toronto and Baltimore are tied with matching 88-73 records. That’s a game-and-a-half better than the Detroit Tigers. The Seattle Mariners, as a result of their loss to the Oakland A’s, were officially eliminated. Of course, if one or both of the Blue Jays and Orioles lose, then the door remains open for Detroit, which would also need a win in Monday’s makeup game against the Cleveland Indians to force a tiebreaker or perhaps two.
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If you’re wondering how that might be sorted out or which team would host the AL wild-card game between the Blue Jays and Orioles, we direct you to our MLB playoff picture, otherwise known as a chaos tracker.
So you’re completely up to speed on the results, here’s how Saturday’s games involving AL wild-card contenders played out.
Blue Jays 4, Red Sox 3: Having lost three straight coming in, the Blue Jays faced a must-win in a difficult atmosphere and in miserable weather conditions at Fenway Park. They responded well, even bouncing back from a Roberto Osuna balk that allowed Boston to score the tying run in the eighth inning.
Toronto manufactured the winning run against Craig Kimbrel with a walk, sacrifice bunt, wild pitch and then a sacrifice fly. Not bad for a team known mostly for its slugging ways. It shows how important small ball can be too, especially when a season is slipping away.
Yankees 7, Orioles 3: Baltimore entered needing a win and Tigers loss to clinch on Saturday. The Orioles couldn’t hold up their end, blowing an early 3-0 lead and eventually falling in the Bronx. New York did its biggest damage against usually reliable reliever Brad Brach, scoring four against him in the eighth inning. Austin Romine’s two-run single gave New York the lead, while Brett Gardner’s two-run double was the dagger.
Braves 5, Tigers 3: In a season filled with missed opportunities, Detroit missed its biggest on Saturday. Thanks to Baltimore’s loss earlier in the afternoon, Detroit had an opportunity to control its playoff outlook, at least in terms of forcing a tiebreaker. We can’t just beat up on the Tigers though, because they caught Braves starter Aaron Blair on the wrong night. The Braves rookie entered with an 8.02 ERA over 14 starts, but caught fire here, allowing two runs over six innings. He struck out a career best 10.
A’s 9, Mariners 8 (10 innings): The drama was high in Seattle as the Mariners entered knowing it was win-or-go-home. The Mariners and their “keep fighting” mantra were on full display as they rallied to tie the game in the seventh and eighth innings. Unfortunately for them, they ran out of magic in the 10th, as Robinson Cano, Nelson Cruz and Kyle Seager were all retired with the tying run in scoring position. As a result of the loss, Seattle’s playoff drought reaches 15 seasons.
TOP PERFORMERS
Ty Blach: If you’re not familiar with Ty Blach, you’re not alone. The 25-year-old left-hander had made only one MLB start before Saturday, but Giants manager Bruce Bochy still called his name in a must-win game with Clayton Kershaw on the other side. Blach answered the call by pitching the game of his life. In eight scoreless innings, he allowed just three hits. Meanwhile, his teammates scratched out three runs to win it 3-0. That will allow San Francisco to carry a one-game lead for the second wild card spot into Sunday.
Jedd Gyorko: One of the more unexpected stories this season has been Gyorko’s power surge. The Cardinals utilityman entered the All-Star break with seven home runs. In 69 games since, he’s hit 23. None bigger though than Saturday’s eighth-inning solo shot that proved to be the difference in a 4-3 win against the Pirates. With their season basically on the line, St. Louis had already rallied from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game. Gyorko’s blast assured they’d play a meaningful game on Sunday.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
The Mets clinched a playoff spot and home-field advantage in the NL wild card game with a 5-3 win in Philadelphia. James Loney’s go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth was the key hit and the feel-good hit of the day, as evidenced by his reaction and bat drop.
REST OF SCOREBOARD
Nationals 2, Marlins 1: Washington locked up home-field advantage for its upcoming NLDS against the Dodgers. Trea Turner’s 13th home run was the difference.
Reds 7, Cubs 4: Cincinnati spoiled Jon Lester’s bid for 20 wins by scoring five runs against him in five innings. That included a two-run homer from Eugenio Suarez.
Indians 6, Royals 3: Even with their postseason ticket punched, the Indians aren’t slowing down. They picked up win No. 93 behind Trevor Bauer, who pitched six innings of three-run ball.
Twins 6, White Sox 0: With rumors swirling that Robin Ventura will be out as manager, the White Sox showed little fight against Hector Santiago and the Twins. They managed just three hits against the left-hander in 6 1/3 innings.
Rays 4, Rangers 1: Rays righty Jake Odorizzi allowed one run on three hits over 6 1/3 innings to earn his 10th win. Corey Dickerson helped the cause with a three-run homer against Colby Lewis.
Brewers 4, Rockies 3: All Chris Carter does is hit home runs. He hit No. 41 in the 10th inning to give Milwaukee the win.
Diamondbacks 9, Padres 5: Arizona scored five in the first inning and right-hander Archie Bradley struck out a career-high 11 batters to jump into a tie with San Diego at the bottom of the NL West.
Astros 3, Angels 0: Strong finish from Collin McHugh, who pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings on three hits and a walk.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
