SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
It was no doubt a wild first round of the Major League Baseball wild-card best of 3 games on Friday.
Three on the road and one home, sweet, as in the American League, Cleveland was the only home side to win via an impressive 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. But it was a huge letdown for the other home teams as the Seattle Mariners blanked the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0, in Canada, in the other American League contest, the Seattle Mariners went to Canada and blanked the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0.
And in the National League, the road wins went to the Phillies, 6-5, in a big ninth inning that edged St. Louis, and then there was a shocking 7-1 home run whipping by the San Diego Padres over the Mets at Citi Field in New York, New York, in the borough of Queens.
To save the 101-game Mets, it will be Jacob deGrom on the hill tonight. He had been in line for game three if his team had won last night, but now the finest hurler in the majors will get the assignment. Game three will be only if he comes through to cool off the Padres. The winner here will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best of five.
As for the Phils, they trailed 5-0 in the top of the ninth and stunned St. Louie with six runs, then held the Cards scoreless in the bottom of the frame, then hustled to the field to celebrate their remarkable comeback while the full house of Cardinal fans left totally shocked.
Cleveland had splendid pitching in pushing across two runs in the third and yielded just one late run.
Seattle also came away with stellar pitching in shutting down Toronto.
Then the Mets. With Max Scherzer on the mound, San Diego struck quickly with a 3-run home run in the second inning, added a 2-run shot in the third, and when it got to 7-0 Scherzer was gone. The lone New York run came on Edurado Escobar’s solo home run to make it 7-1.
Is the 101-win campaign over for the Mets? Well, it will be up to Jacob deGrom to keep his team alive when he takes the hill Saturday night. He was originally scheduled to hurl game three if his team won last night, but now the flintiest pitcher in the majors can not be concerned with a game three, his role is to cool off fired-up San Diego and get New York to Sunday’s deciding game. The winner gets the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best of five.
In the American League, the Houston Astros and New York Yankees received opening round byes, and the bye in the National League belongs to the Atlanta Braves, who finished in a season tie with the Mets but swept them at home in three games.
Home field advantage wasn’t that much of a factor in this wild wild-card first round. Now it’s day two for the losers, or it can be called survival time.
