Major League Baseball's new-look Wild Card Series exceeded expectations
(CBS DETROIT) - It was a wild weekend for Major League Baseball, as its first-ever Wild Card Series wrapped up Sunday night.
New this year was the addition of two more teams, allowing 12 teams to enter the playoff field. In years past, the two wild card teams from each league would face off against each other in a win-or-go-home game. This season introduced four best-of-three series between six of the top teams in the American and National League.
The new format lived up to the hype, resulting in some surprising teams moving on to the Division Series.
Starting in Cleveland, the Guardians swept its series against Tampa Bay, after outfielder Oscar Gonzalez ripped a walk-off solo home run against Corey Kluber in the 15th inning. The near five-hour long game was the longest 0-0 game in baseball history (fun fact: over the duration of this game I drove to and from the golf course for a total of 40 minutes, played 18 holes, and the game was still being played when I got home).
A total of four runs were scored between the two games in the series, (under bettors, rejoice). This series was the epitome of good pitching and defense, which typically wins ballgames. However, when both teams are racking up the strikeouts and putting the defense on display, the first team to get a run on the board typically has the advantage. In this case, advantage Cleveland.
The Guardians head to New York Tuesday to face the Yankees. Yikes.
Prediction: Yankees in four.
Across the border, the Toronto Blue Jays blew an 8-1 lead against the Seattle Mariners, allowing Seattle to score five unanswered runs and a trip to the ALDS.
The Mariners, who reached the postseason for the first time in more than 20 years, are one of the most exciting teams to watch this postseason. A three-run home run off the bat of Carlos Santana brought the Mariners to within three runs in the sixth inning.
It wasn't until a bloop double off the bat of J.P. Crawford in the eighth inning that pushed across three runs for the Mariners which tied the game. It was a bittersweet moment, however, as George Springer collided with Bo Bichette as they both made diving attempts towards the ball. Springer eventually was able to get up, but was carted off the field. It was a brutal moment, as the Blue Jays lost both the lead and one of its best players all in one play.
Seattle now heads to Houston to face off against the Astros. This one should be fun.
Prediction: Houston in five.
After coming back to score six runs in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals Friday and shutting them out Saturday, the Philadelphia Phillies are back in the NLDS for the first time since 2011.
This was a tough blow for the Cardinals, who looked well on their way to making a deep run this postseason. Instead, they were shutout in their final game. Paul Goldschmidt didn't record a single hit, and struck out three times for the cherry on top in Game 2. Nolan Arenado also struggled, racking up the strikeouts while leaving multiple runners on base.
The Phillies were led by strong starting pitching thanks to Aaron Nola, who finished the last full month of the regular season with eye-popping numbers. In five games, Nola was 1-2 with a 2.93 ERA, struck out 36 batters, and allowed opponents to a .212 batting average.
The Phillies head to Atlanta to face the former World Series champs.
Prediction: Braves in four.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the weekend was the New York Mets getting shutout thanks to dominant pitching from San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove. The Mets could only muster one hit in their final game, and never looked like themselves this whole series.
Max Scherzer gave up four home runs, the Mets offense went cold, and Edwin Diaz never got his moment in the sun to close out the game alongside the tune of his trumpets.
On the other hand, the Padres offense was relentless. Heck, Trent Grisham took Scherzer and DeGrom deep in back-to-back nights. All of a sudden, the combination of Bell, Soto and Machado looks dangerous for the first time since the trade deadline.
It's hard to believe the Mets fell as hard as they did. It wasn't until the Braves swept them during the last week of the regular season, and took over first place in the NL East that the collapse became alarming. It's going to be a long winter for Mets fans.
The Padres head to Los Angeles to face off against the Dodgers. In case you didn't know, the Dodgers finished 14-5 against San Diego this season. Oh, and they won 111 games.
Prediction: Dodgers in five.