A Wild Wednesday it was. Excuse me for a second while I take off my Giants Fan hat (otherwise known as a Giants hat) and put on my Baseball Fan Hat. I am so happy that I spent my afternoon/evening watching the MLB Network. 4 games to decide the final 2 postseason spots: Coming into today, the Braves and Cardinals were tied for the NL Wildcard. The Red Sox and Rays were tied for the AL Wildcard. MLB Network kept me up-to-date on all four games, which were awesomely going on at the same time.
Cardinals vs. Astros - Cards win 8-0. Not much excitement here, although the CGSO (complete game, shutout) by Chris Carpenter is noteworthy.
That game ended as the Braves were still in the late innings vs. the Phillies. So they know they had to win to stay alive and force a 1-game playoff. They head to the bottom of the 9th with a 1-run lead, but they're soon-to-be-rookie-of-the-year closer blows it. Still, with the Phillies having much less to play for and the stellar Braves bullpen, you had to think the Braves had the advantage in this extra-inning game. But in the 13th, the Phils broke through for a run. Then in the bottom of the inning, the Braves'-other-rookie-of-the-year-candidate, Freddy Freeman, grounds into a double play to end their season. Awesome.
The American League finish was even more exciting. Rays hosted the Yankees. Sox were in Baltimore. With these games going on at the same time, you could not have scripted them better. The Rays promptly fall behind 7-0. So you figure that game is over -- they'll have to hope for a Red Sox loss to force a playoff. Meanwhile, the Sox scratch out a 3-2 lead through 7 innings of exciting baseball (big hits, great defense, plays at the plate, etc). But then the rain comes. And as the Red Sox sit out the delay in their clubhouse, they watch the Rays in disbelief...
Down 7-0 in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Rays score 6. Then, down to their last strike in the 9th, PINCH HITTER Dan Johnson hits a game-tying solo home run. To extra innings we go...
Meanwhile back in Baltimore, the Sox miss opportunities to score, but still have their 1-run lead with their closer coming in to pitch the bottom of the 9th. And it all started with 2 out and nobody on. Double. Double to tie the game. And then a sinking liner that any self-respecting left-fielder would have caught. But Carl Crawford didn't. Ballgame......[side note: it really is amazing how well-timed and effective the rain delay was at syncing the games together].
By this time, the Rays and Yanks are in the bottom of the 12th. We see the fans and dugout cheer as the Red Sox score shows up as final. And 3 minutes later, Evan Longoria ends the game (and the Red Sox season) with a walk-off home run (his 2nd HR of the day, btw). The rain delay really was remarkably effective in syncing the games together.
Un-freaking-believable. In those 4 games, we had 2 go to extra innings, and 2 end in walk-off hits. Both races ended in epic collapses/comebacks. Seriously, both of these Wildcard races were all-but-mathematically decided at the start of this month. Sorry for gushing, but I just felt the need to summarize all this for the record. I love baseball. I love when the Braves lose. I love when the Red Sox lose. I LOVE BASEBALL.
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