2023 MLB Playoffs: Wildcard Week
Well, Wildcard Week went just as quick as it came. All four series were done after just two games and even though they were quick, they did not disappoint. We are going to start off with the upsets:
Arizona Diamondbacks (6) beat the Milwaukee Brewers (3) in 2 games:
Arizona will be the Cinderella story of this years playoffs. And with the way they played these two games, they deserve it. Unfortunately, Milwaukee’s struggles to perform in the postseason continued.
Game 1 saw Arizona put their power bats on display., coming out on top in a 6 to 3 win despite being out hit 9 to Milwaukee’s 12. Milwaukee started out strong with getting 3 runs in the first two innings from a Carlos Santana single and Tyrone Taylor 2-run homerun. But Arizona would not take it lying down. They answered back in the top of the third and tied the game from just two swings of the bat with back to back homeruns from Corbin carroll (2-run homerun) and Ketel Marte (single run homnerun). After the first two innings, the Arizona bullpen was lights out. Yes they gave up hits here and there but gave up no runs. The Brewers bullpen was not as fortunate. after the third inning, they gave up another three runs: a single run home run to Gabriel Moreno in the 4th inning and an RBI (runs batted in) double from Christian Walker that scored two in the top of the 9th. The downfall of the Brewers in this game was their inability to capitalize on the four opportunities they had with multiple runners in scoring position.
Game 2 was practically a repeat of game 1. The Diamondbacks were out hit by the Brewers 6 to 9 but they were more efficient with the hits they did get and pulled out a series win with a score of 5 to 2. The Brew Crew started strong out of the gate just like in game 1 by scoring their only two runs of the game in the 1st inning off a Sal Frelick sacrifice fly and a Willy Adames single. Unfortunately, after that they were again unable to capitalize on multiple opportunities to score additional runs with runners in scoring position. For the front half of the game, it looked like the Brewers were going to take this game and force a rubber match in game 3. The Diamondbacks however had other ideas. Their rally started in the top of the 5th inning with an Alek Thomas homerun. Followed by a Ketel Marte 2-run single, a wild pitch allowing Tommy Pham to score and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. 1-run single in the top of the 6th. They were aggressive on the bases and turned what would have been singles in an ordinary games into extra bases-giving themselves more opportunities to get runs.
Overall, the Diamondbacks were able to create and capitalize on opportunities that the Brewers, simply put, did not do. While they out hit Arizona, they were unable to convert those hits into the runs they so desperately needed to move on. Arizona on the other hand, the team that everyone has questioned whether or not they were even going to make the postseason proved that they are in it to win it. The Diamondbacks move on to the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday October 7th, who have, in all honesty, caused them nothing but grief.
Texas Rangers (5) beat the Tampa Bay Rays (4) in 2 games:
I will say that the one thing this blog will never do is single out a player in a team sport and put all of the blame for a poor performance on them. It is simply not fair when the team is a unit. You win as a team and lose as a team. That is it.
Game 1 was simply a dumpster fire in the middle of the desert for the Rays. If you expect that a team can commit four errors and come away with a win, the offense better be crushing the ball well into the outfield seats or you better be praying that the other team cannot take advantage of those errors and score some runs. The Rays were unlucky on both sides of that coin. The outcome of this game could have been foreshadowed from the 1st inning when on the second batter, 1st baseman Yandy Diaz committed a fielding error allowing Corey Seager to reach safely. In the 2nd inning, Catcher Rene Pinto attempted to throw a base stealing Leody Taveras out at 2nd base but over threw the short stop allowing Traveras to get to third base. The next error was committed in the 3rd inning with a errant throw made by shortstop Taylor Walls. Now, neither of these errors gave up any runs. But that was not the case for all of them. In the 6th inning, Rays Center Fielder Jose Siri ran up on a fly ball and in an attempt to throw out Ranger’s baserunner Marcus Semien at third, made a bad throw that ended up in the Ranger’s dugout. Because the ball was deemed ‘dead’ at this point, Marcus Semien was awarded home plate and a run that should have been prevented did. All of these errors were not only capitalized on by the 5th seed Rangers, but overshadowed their own shut out performance. Allowing no runs on 6 hits. All in all, this game was an organizational break down by the Rays which put them down in the series with a 0-5 loss.
Watching Game 2 felt like watching a team that had something to prove. Almost as if they spent the final two games of the regular season fighting for a spot in the postseason and loosing out on a division title by one game. That is what happened to the Rangers. The team who spent 159 days atop the AL West only to loose it to the Houston Astros via a tiebreaker. So instead of getting an automatic bye week and a secured spot in the postseason, they ended up by the skin of their teeth with a wild card spot. And the team that I saw this week came out firing on all cylinders. For the Rangers, they did not have the errors from the Rays to capitalize on in game 2. But they didn’t need them. Their bats and bullpen carried the team. Adolis Garcia broke it open in the 4th inning with a laser of a homerun (416 ft and an exit velocity of 180 mph) over the left field fence. Quickly followed by an RBI triple by Josh Jung and a 2-run homerun by Evan Carter. Texas didn’t stop there. They scored an additional three runs over the next two innings. When all was said and done, the Rays were unable to recover from the barrage of runs that the Rangers delivered and ended up loosing the series.
The Rangers will be moving on to face the absolute powerhouse coming out of the North East- The Baltimore Orioles. This is shaping up to be one of the better match ups in the American League Championship Series. The Orioles are the only team in the AL to win over 100 games in 2023 regular season but if you know baseball, you know that the regular season record means nothing in the postseason. If the Rangers bring the same energy to Maine that they did to Tampa, they will give the number 1 seed a serious run. They are one to watch out for.
Minnesota Twins (3) beat the Toronto Blue Jays (6) in 2 games:
Honest opinion, this was probably the least exciting series in Wildcard Week. Interestingly enough, the Blue Birds had the better regular season record. The only reason they were seeded 6th was because of the division they play in. Minnesota came into this series with a bit of a chip on their shoulder with 18 consecutive postseason losses. Game 1 saw a very subdued outing from both teams. Royce Lewis was the MVP of this game for Minnesota by batting in all of the team’s 3 runs off of 2 home runs (2-run homerun in the 1st and a 1 run homer in the 3rd). The Blue Jays were only able to answer with one run in the top of the 6th off a single by Kevin Keirmairer. This game was more a pitchers duel which, do not get me wrong can be incredibly fun but at this point in the postseason, i’d rather see a war of the bats than a duel of the arms.
Game 2 was no more exciting than game 1. Minnesota took it with a score of 2-0 even though they were out hit by the Blue Jays 7-9. The runs came in the bottom of the 4th inning from a Carlos Correa single and an RBI groundout by Willi Castro. With 9 hits, the Jays had multiple opportunities to score with runners in scoring position and they just couldn’t do it. This series is a perfect example of how the regular season doesn’t always translate over into the postseason.
The Twins will move on to face the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. The Astros are the 2 seed in AL this postseason so they will have an uphill battle to fight. The Astros bring the muscle with their bats and with re-aquiring Justin Verlander at the trade deadline in July, they have the arms in the bullpen as well.
Philadelphia Phillies (4) beat the Miami Marlins (5) in 2 games:
I have to preface this series analysis by saying that this were the most exciting Wildcard games to watch. Philly, you are built different and the way you go to bat for your teams is next level. I’m so excited for all future playoff games in Philly just for the atmosphere.
Game 1 I think set the tone for how the Phillies are going to approach these playoff games. This is a team that not only has the boom with the bats but the speed on the base paths as well. But their star this game was starting pitcher Zach Wheeler who allowed only 1 run off 5 hits in 6 2/3 innings. His performance was backed up by his teammates at the plate who brought in 4 runs off 11 hits. On the other side of the coin, the Marlins were lack luster in their performance. They were only able to score 1 run off 7 hits and the most noteworthy thing that happened was the striking out of Kyle Schwarber with runners on base. Game 2 will be a must win for Miami and they, like all the other teams heading into game 2 down in the series need to capitalize on having runners in scoring position.
Game 2 saw the Phillies keep that same energy they had in the last half of the regular season going in the postseason. When I tell you that this team is so much fun to watch, I cannot exaggerate. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott and everyone else on that active roster want to be back in the World Series so bad you can see it in the way they play. Aaron Nola came out wheeling and dealing. Pitching 7 scoreless innings allowing only 3 hits. And while this performance is nothing to scoff at, the bats were the real stars of this game. Notably, Bryson Stott’s Grand Slam in the bottom of the 6th. The last player to launch one of those was none other than Stott’s current teammate Kyle Schwarber during the 2021 ALCS when he played for the Boston Red Sox. When all was said and done, Phillies won the game 7-1 and will move on to the NLCS where they face their division rivals and 1 seeded Atlanta Braves. Do not count this team out. They want the title just as bad if not worse than they did last year.
The League Championship Series start on Saturday October 7th.
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