The Toronto Blue Jays are in a must-win situation to save their season
The GIST: And they’re off! Nearly eight straight hours of meaningful baseball later, the Wild Card (WC) round could be wrapped as soon as tonight, pending today’s best-of-three Game 2s. Reload on those cracker jacks and settle in for another big day ahead.
Toronto Blue Jays drop Game 1 on the road: The clutch gene was nowhere to be found in yesterday’s 3–1 loss to the Minnesota Twins, with the Jays leaving an infuriating nine runners on base in the narrow L. It’ll be up to pitcher José Berrios to keep the season alive — and avoid Toronto’s third WC exit in the last four years — at 4:38 p.m. ET. No pressure.
Texas Rangers pitching stymies Tampa Bay Rays: Lifted by seven shutout innings from ace Jordan Montgomery (and a playoff franchise record four Tampa Bay errors), the Rangers took the series lead with yesterday’s 4–0 road win. Now in danger of a second straight stunning WC ouster, the Rays will need to bring the sting to avoid elimination at 3:08 p.m. ET.
Arizona Diamondbacks homer thrice to top Milwaukee Brewers: Three different DBacks went yard in their 6–3 come-from-behind win, including rookie sensation, outfielder Corbin Carroll. Plus, Arizona didn’t even have their best pitcher out there — that would be Zac Gallen, who gets the ball with a chance to seal the upset at 7:08 p.m. ET.
Philadelphia Phillies silence the Miami Marlins’ bats: The Phils censored Miami’s offense in a 4–1 victory, helmed by starting pitcher Zack Wheeler’s eight strikeouts in nearly seven innings of work. With the Red October crowd a rockin’, Kim Ng’s squad will have to swim against the current at 8:08 p.m. ET if they want to extend this to Game 3.
