Hi all. Here’s how I see baseball on this Wednesday, October 3. Somehow over the last few years the MLB wild card games have managed to generate more high anxiety than the Mel Brooks’ movie of the same name. In 2016 the Blue Jays beat the Orioles (yes, the same Orioles that lost 110 games this year) on a 3-run walk-off home run. Last year, both sides of the aisle produced action that left their fans exhausted-and begging for more. A year ago the Yankees fell behind 3-0 in the first, tied the game in their half and ultimately shut down the Twins. The Rockies came agonizingly close to beating the D-Backs before the Snakes took a 10-8 win. Last night, postseason play began and the Rockies were involved again, as the Yankees will be tonight when they host Oakland.
The Rockies’ foe last night was the Cubs, a team which held a lead of 5 games over their nearest divisional rival and nearest neighbor, the Brewers as late as September 2. After failing to lock down their division on Monday, the Cubs had one chance to begin another run toward the World Series. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 they had reached the league championship series. In 2016 they went the distance, winning their first World Series since the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt.
Last night the Rockies took the lead from the outset, scoring in their half of the first. The Cubs squared things in their half of the 8th. When the Rockies stepped up in the visiting 13th, their third-string catcher Tony Wolters singled home Trevor Story with what would prove to be the winning run. Scott Oberg struck out Kris Bryant, the one batter he saw in the 12th, then struck out the side in the 13th to pick up the win. The Cubs used 3 starters in their desperation to win. John Lester went the first 6, giving up the first run to the Rockies. Cole Hamels took the hill in the 10th while Kyle Hendricks took the loss. From here, the Rockies face the Brewers. The Brewers won their second NL title Monday over the Cubs. Meantime the Rockies’ last visit to the NLDS came in 2009.