Wild Card Wrap-Up
After three sweeps and a lousy game three Sunday night, the 2022 Wild Card weekend has come to a close quickly.
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Guardians vs Rays
The Guardians swept the Rays 2-0 in Cleveland over the weekend behind timely hitting and great pitching. Game one can be summarized by two names: Shane and Jose. Shane Bieber threw an absolute gem Friday afternoon throwing 7.2 innings, giving up just three hits, one earned run, and struck out eight. The Guardians’ runs came off one swing the of the bat by Jose Ramirez as he answered Jose Siri’s 6th inning solo shot with a two-run shot of his own in the bottom of the same inning. Those two runs were the final runs of the game as the Guardians took game one by a score of 2-1.
Game two managed to have even less runs than game one, in almost double the innings. Game two was led by strong pitching (or poor hitting) as the game went into the 15th inning tied 0-0. Again, it was one swing of the bat that did it for the Guardians as a solo homer to left by Oscar Gonzalez sent Progressive field into a frenzy, with the Guardians taking game two 1-0 and sweeping the series.
Next for the Guardians is a matchup with the Yankees in the Divisional Round. For them to have any luck pulling off the shocker, they are going to have wake up their bats. Putting up three runs in two games may have gotten them past the Rays, but they most likely will need to put up bigger numbers to hang with the Yankees.
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Phillies Vs Cardinals
The Phillies facing off against the Cardinals was the second series to start on Wild Card weekend. Game one went from a snooze fest to a crazy comeback that left the home crowd speechless. The Cardinals opened up the scoring in this one with a two-run homer by Juan Yepez in the bottom of the 7th. Going into the 9th it was looking like Yepez’s homer was going to be good enough to propel them to a game one-win in front of their home crowd. The Phillies quickly loaded the bases against all-star closer Ryan Helsley, though, before plating 6 runs in the top of the frame to take a commanding 6-2 lead going into the home half. The Cards tried to make some noise by plating one and bringing Yadi to the plate with two on and a chance to tie with a home run. Yadi eventually went down swinging and the Phillies stormed back to take game one, 6-3.
Game two was less exciting than game one, unless you consider good pitching exciting. Harper got things started off with a solo shot in the 5th and Schwarber had a sacrifice fly out for the game’s only other run. The Phillies closed out the Cards 2-0, and swept the series.
The Phillies have a huge task coming up as they face the Braves in the Divisional Round. They are going to have get the bats going a little bit more and a little earlier than against the Cardinals if they want to pull off the upset.
Provided by Inside The Red Sox on FanNation
Mariners Vs Blue Jays
The third, and final sweep of the weekend came by the Mariners, as they took on the Blue Jays in Toronto. In game one, the Mariners jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first. This was all thanks to a one-run double by Eugenio Suarez, followed by a two-run blast from “Big Dumper” Cal Raleigh. Given a three run lead before throwing his first pitch, Louis Castillo came out looking comfortable and sharp, going 7.1 and giving up zero runs on six hits. Munoz followed Castillo’s lead and shut down the Jays the rest of the way as the Mariners took game one, blanking the Blue Jays 4-0.
Game two was one of a kind. The Blue Jays jumped on first year Mariner Robbie Ray early, getting four runs off of him in only three innings of work. Thanks to a team effort on the offensive end and two home runs from Teoscar Hernandez, the Blue Jays took an 8-1 lead into the sixth inning. This is when the whole game took a shift in momentum. After five strong innings, Kevin Guasman loaded the bases and after a wild pitch the Mariners got one back and trailed 8-2. Tim Mayza came in to relieve Guasman of his duties and three pitches into his outing, Carlos Santana took him deep to left to bring the Mariners within three.
The Blue Jays added one more in 7th to make it 9-5 heading into the eighth. After a four-run eighth by the Mariners, highlighted by a J.P. Crawford base-clearing and game-tying double, game two was headed into the ninth tied. In the top of the ninth, off-season addition Adam Frazier gave the Mariners a 10-9 lead with double to right. The Mariners brought in rookie starting pitcher George Kirby, who got the save, as Julio Rodriguez got the final out in center and left Rogers Centre stunned.
Up next for the Mariners is a very familiar opponent as they look to keep their dream season alive, the Houston Astros.
Photo by Nathan Denette/Canadian Press via AP
Padres Vs Mets
The only 3-game series of the weekend came in New York as the Padres and Mets faced off in the most highly anticipated matchup of the round. Game one saw the Padres breakout early on Scherzer starting with a two-run homer by deadline acquisition Josh Bell. An inning later, Trent Grisham went yard. In the 5th, Profar hit a two-run homer followed by a Machado solo shot to cap off the Padres scoring for the night, and giving them a 7-0 lead. The Mets managed to only score one off of Yu Darvish as the Padres took game one 7-1.
Game two saw the Mets’ stars shine as Lindor and Alonso went deep and Nimmo and McNeil picked up one and two RBIs respectively. DeGrom did his thing as he went six innings, fanning eight while only giving up two earned runs. The Padres put up a small fight early on but eventually the Mets took game two 7-3, setting up a game three on Sunday night.
Game three was utter domination by the Padres led by hometown man, Joe Musgrove. Machado and Soto helped produce half the offense, but only one run was needed that night. Musgrove threw seven scoreless frames striking out five and giving up only one single hit. Musgrove pitched so well the Mets had the game stopped to check him for illegal substances on the mound. Musgrove and the Pads cruised to a game three win 6-0 and took the series in New York.
Next for the Padres is a trip back to Cali for a series against divisional rival Los Angeles Dodgers. There is no doubt this will be the most anticipated series of the Divisional Round as these teams brings loads of star power into every game.
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