MLB Wild Card Game 2 round-up: Brewers force Game 3 as Tigers, Padres and Royals advance
By Jamie Barton, CNN
(CNN) — The MLB postseason continued on Wednesday, as eight teams faced off in Game 2 of the NL and AL Wild Card series.
The day saw three teams progress to the Division Series (DS), while one series will go to Game 3 after a clutch comeback.
Here are the main storylines from Wednesday’s action.
Brewers stage their own comeback to force Mets to Game 3
The New York Mets got a taste of their own medicine as the Milwaukee Brewers came from behind to force a winner-takes-all Game 3 in the NL Wild Card series.
Down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, the Brewers were six outs away from the end of their season, but a game-tying home run from superstar rookie Jackson Chourio and a two-run homer from Garrett Mitchell flipped the game on its head and gave Milwaukee a 5-3 victory.
It is the first time in franchise history that Milwaukee has been down at the start of the eighth inning of a postseason game and come back to win, following 26 losses from that position previously.
Chourio’s blast was his second of the game. Having also tied the score at 1-1 in the first inning, the 20-year-old became only the second ever player in Major League history to hit two game-tying home runs in a single postseason game. The only other player to do so was none other than Babe Ruth in Game 4 of the 1928 World Series.
The Venezuelan also became the fifth-youngest hitter to ever go deep in the postseason, behind Miguel Cabrera (Florida Marlins, 2003), Manny Machado (Baltimore Orioles, 2012), Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals, 2012) and Andruw Jones (Atlanta Braves, 1996).
“I think I still feel the adrenaline,” said Chourio via translator Daniel de Mondesert, according to MLB.com. “It was a very special moment for me, and it’s one I’m going to look back on and remember for the rest of my life.”
Chourio tied the game in the bottom of the first following Brandon Nimmo’s RBI single, but New York would regain its lead in the second with an RBI single from Francisco Álvarez and a sac fly from Francisco Lindor.
Blake Perkins’ own sac fly in the fifth made it a one-run ballgame, before Chourio and Mitchell’s heroics in the eighth. It was fitting that Chourio also recorded the final out, catching a fly ball off Jesse Winker.
Game 3 will be played on Thursday evening at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
Tigers halt Astros’ ALCS streak
The Houston Astros suffered their own disastrous eighth inning to lose 5-2 to the Detroit Tigers, failing to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time in eight years.
Andy Ibáñez’s three-RBI double proved the decisive moment as the Tigers swept the series.
It’s a huge blow to the 2022 World Series champs, who have now lost all of the last seven postseason games they have played at home.
“When we get to the playoffs, you’re thinking long-term, you’re thinking winning,” Astros second baseman Jose Altuve said, per MLB.com. “We couldn’t win a game against the Tigers. We’re heartbroken right now. We’ve just got to move on.”
In winning the series, Detroit progresses to the ALDS for the first time since 2014 and will hope its momentum can drive a young team to an unlikely fifth World Series title.
“I don’t know who,” manager AJ Hinch told his team according to MLB.com, “but somebody let the Tigers get hot.”
It took until the sixth inning for either team to get on the board, with Parker Meadows sending a solo-shot off the right field foul pole to put the Tigers in front.
An inning later, Houston would load the bases with nobody out. On a ground ball off Jon Singleton, Spencer Torkelson’s throw home was fumbled by Jake Rogers, allowing Victor Caratini to score and tie the game.
Detroit looked like it was in big trouble after a sac fly from Jose Altuve gave the Astros the lead, but Sean Guenther took over on the mound and was able to force a double play to avoid a big inning.
Entering the eighth down 2-1, the Tigers tied the game when a wild pitch by Ryan Pressly allowed Kerry Carpenter to score. Ibáñez’s clutch double cleared the bases, and Houston had no reply.
“It’s tough,” said Astros manager Joe Espada, per MLB.com. “But I want our guys to be proud of how far we’ve come. Like it was a very challenging season, and we reached the postseason, something that’s our goal every year. We win the division, and then play deep into the playoffs.”
Detroit heads to Cleveland to take on the Guardians in the ALDS, which begins on Saturday.
Padres and Royals complete sweep
The San Diego Padres will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS for the third time in five years after they beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 to sweep the series.
A huge second inning saw the Padres score all five of their runs with two outs, thanks to a solo homer from Kyle Higashioka, a two-RBI double from Manny Machado and a two-RBI triple from Jackson Merrill.
It is the first time in MLB postseason history that a team has picked up six consecutive hits, while hitting for a cycle among those six hits, per STATS.
“Two outs, nobody on – we’re really good at that,” said Padres manager Mike Shildt, according to MLB.com. “It’s a big part of our identity with our club, the mantra of, ‘We’re going to compete regardless of circumstances.’ Nobody on, we’ll figure it out, get it going.”
Meanwhile, Bobby Witt Jr. drove home the winning run for the second time in two games as the Kansas City Royals beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1.
In another tight game, the shortstop’s infield single in the top of the sixth proved enough to sweep a series in which only four runs were scored.
“That’s the fun part of this game,” said Witt, per MLB.com. “This is why we do it, these situations here. It really just comes down to controlling what I can control, just being present in that moment, be where my feet are and enjoy the moment. You never know when this opportunity is ever going to happen again, so make the most of it while you have it.”
Saturday will see the Royals head to the Bronx to face off against the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS.
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