The 2022 MLB season is advancing into a brave new world, a 12-team postseason bracket that will decide a champion over the next month. The burst of high-stakes baseball pits eight teams against each other — Guardians-Rays, Cardinals-Phillies, Blue Jays-Mariners, Mets-Padres — for the right to advance. And it’s getting real fast. The new best-of-three wild-card series began Friday with the Padres humbling Max Scherzer and the Phillies turning the tables on St. Louis.
The top seeds they would face in the next round are familiar — the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. But certainly some of these challengers have designs on toppling baseball’s existing world order.
First, they have to get through this weekend. Saturday will see three home teams, the higher seeds, face down elimination.
Game 2: San Diego Padres at New York Mets – 7:37 p.m., ESPN (Padres lead, 1-0)
Game 2: Philadelphia Phillies at St. Louis Cardinals – 8:37 p.m., ESPN2 (Phillies lead, 1-0)
[Here’s the full TV schedule for the MLB postseason]
Follow all of Saturday’s action right here.
Mariners roar back from 7-run deficit to eliminate Blue Jays
In their first postseason since 2001, the Mariners are advancing to the ALDS in dramatic fashion. After winning Friday’s Game 1, Seattle fell behind 8-1 in the fifth inning against the Blue Jays in Saturday’s Game 2. And then … as fans at a Seattle watch party invented the “rally shoe,” the Mariners began to rally.
They cut the deficit to three on a wild pitch and a Carlos Santana homer in the sixth. Then the Blue Jays tacked on a run to make it 9-5 heading into the eighth inning. Blue Jays reliever Anthony Bass started the inning, but gave up thee straight hits without recording an out. Toronto closer Jordan Romano entered and got two strikeouts before Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford hit a bloop into center field with the bases loaded.
Giving chase, Blue Jays center fielder George Springer and shortstop Bo Bichette came together in a scary collision that left Springer injured on the turf. All three runners scored to tie the game. In the ninth inning, Adam Frazier and frequent Seattle hero Cal Raleigh strung together doubles to put the Mariners up one.
Having used a huge swath of their bullpen, the Mariners turned to rookie starter George Kirby to close out the 10-9 win and clinch the franchise’s first postseason series victory since the 2001 ALDS. They advance to face the Astros, their AL West rivals and tormentors.
Guardians eliminate Rays with walk-off homer to break scoreless tie in 15th
It took 15 innings for anyone to score, but Cleveland Guardians rookie Oscar Gonzalez scored in a big way. A loud walk-off homer in the bottom of the 15th sent the Guardians to a 1-0 win as they advance to the ALDS against the New York Yankees, and the Tampa Bay Rays are sent home on Saturday.
Gonzalez, a 24-year-old outfielder who uses the theme song from “SpongeBob Squarepants” as his walk-up music, was the only player in the game with more than one hit. Pitchers dominated Game 2, beginning with the Guardians’ Triston McKenzie and the Rays’ Tyler Glasnow. Reliever Sam Hentges, the eighth Cleveland pitcher of the day, went three innings and struck out six to earn the win.
The Rays become the first team eliminated in the new wild-card series, scoring a total of one run in 24 innings.
Need to catch up on the major storylines as the postseason gets rolling? We’ve got you covered.
