MLB Wild Card Game Review
The addition of the one game wild card playoff adds an exciting aspect to the MLB playoff. The first wild card game was a battle in Chicago against the Cubs and the Colorado Rockies. Veteran starter Jon Lester started for the Cubs and pitched a strong 6 innings. Kyle Freeland took the mound for the Rockies as he pitched 6.2 shutout innings. The Rockies struck first and scored 1 run in the first inning but after that it was zeros across the board until the Cubs tied it up in the 8th inning on a Javier Baez RBI double. It was a battle of the bullpens until the 13th inning when Rockies catcher Tony Walters came through in the clutch to take the lead that the bullpen did not let up. Now, the Rockies will fly to Milwaukee to face the red hot Brewers.
The second wild card game was not as close of a battle but was way more exciting to watch. The Oakland Athletics were facing the New York Yankees for the chance to face the Red Sox in the next round of the playoffs. The Yankees led the league in homers, and home runs at home while the Oakland Athletics led the MLB in home runs while on the road. This game was destined to be a high scoring affair. The game started with a quick 2 run home run by the Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and they never let up the lead from there. Scoring 4 more in the 6th inning on a Aaron Hicks double and player of the week Luke Voit triple. Oakland got on the scoreboard in the 8th inning with a Khris Davis 2 run homer to prove why he led the league with 48 homers this season, but this wasn’t enough to top the New York Yankees. The Yankees could not allow Oakland to score the last run in this game, Giancarlo Stanton smashed a moonshot to left field in the bottom of the 8th inning. This is Stanton’s first career playoff home run. The Yankees will now face Boston in the next round. This will be the first time the Red Sox and Yankees will face each other in the playoffs in 14 years.
