Wild Card Thread: Eight Games On Tap

The 2020 expanded Major League Baseball playoffs kicked off on Tuesday with the Yankees knocking around the likely AL Cy Young winner and White Sox starter Lucas Giolito taking a perfect game into the seventh inning.

On Wednesday, all four National League series get started and all four of the American League series continue, meaning eight games today!

Reds vs Braves, 12:08 p.m. ET, Game 1 – ESPN
RHP Trevor Bauer vs LHP Max Fried

Bauer heads into the postseason after a spectacular year that saw him lead the NL with a 1.73 ERA and 0.80 WHIP. Fried was impressive in his own right, with a 2.25 ERA and allowed only two runs in 56 innings.

The Reds offense was led by outfielder Jesse Winker‘s .932 OPS, veteran Joey Votto was second on the team at .800 in 54 games.

The Braves offense had four players finish with an OPS over .900; Freddie Freeman (1.102), Marcell Ozuna (1.067), Ronald Acuna Jr. (.987), and Travis d’Arnaud (.919).

Astros vs Twins, 1:08 p.m. ET, Game 2 (Astros up 1-0) – ESPN2
RHP Jose Urquidy vs RHP Jose Berrios

Astros took game 1 of the series on Tuesday by a 4-1 score after scoring one in the seventh inning and three in the ninth. Framber Valdez threw five scoreless innings with five strikeouts in relief of Zack Greinke to get the win.

Marlins vs Cubs, 2:08 p.m. ET, Game 1 – ABC
RHP Sandy Alcantara vs RHP Kyle Hendricks

Alcantara led Marlins starters in 2020 with a 3.00 ERA over seven starts. Hendricks led baseball with his 0.9 BB/9 and the NL with 8.0 K/BB. The Cubs starter also has a 2.98 ERA in 11 playoff appearances.

Miguel Rojas was certainly the Marlins MVP in 2020, he had team-best .888 OPS and two defensive runs saved at shortstop. Surprisingly, the Cubs two best offensive players this season were Ian Happ (.866 OPS) and Jason Heyward (.848).

White Sox vs Athletics, 3:08 p.m. ET, Game 2 (Sox up 1-0) – ESPN
LHP Dallas Keuchel vs RHP Chris Bassitt

White Sox took game 1 behind a terrific performance from starter Lucas Giolito, he took a perfect game into the seventh inning of the 4-1 win. Adam Engel, Jose Abreu, and Yasmani Grandal all homered for Chicago.

Blue Jays vs Rays, 4:07 p.m. ET, Game 2 (Rays up 1-0) – TBS
LHP Hyun Jin Ryu vs RHP Tyler Glasnow

Rays got a terrific outing from Blake Snell in the first game (5 2/3, 0 ER, 9 K) to win 3-1 in Tampa. Rays’ outfielder Manuel Margot had two hits including a tow-run homer.

Cardinals vs Padres, 5:08 p.m. ET, Game 1 – ESPN2
LHP Kwang Hyun Kim vs RHP Chris Paddack

Kim had an impressive rookie season with a 1.62 ERA over seven starts and one relief appearance. Paddack was a disappoint in 2020, posting a 4.73 ERA and allowing 14 home runs in 59 innings.

The Cardinals offense outside of Paul Goldschmidt (.883 OPS) and Brad Miller (.807 OPS) struggled in 2020. It was a completely different story for the high-octane Padres offense, they had five players post an OPS above .800 including Wil Myers (.959), Manny Machado (.950), and Fernando Tatis Jr. (.937).

Yankees vs Indians, 7:09 p.m. ET, Game 2 (Yankees up 1-0) – ESPN
RHP Masahiro Tanaka vs RHP Carlos Carrasco

The Yankees scored early and often against Bieber, putting seven runs on the board in the first five innings in their 12-3 win. Gleyber Torres went 4-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs, three runs scored, a walk. Gerrit Cole allowed two runs in seven innings while striking out 13 and walking none.

Brewers vs Dodgers, 10:08 p.m. ET, Game 1 – ESPN
LHP Brent Suter vs RHP Walker Buehler

Suter will function as an opener for Milwaukee, he has a 3.13 ERA over 31 2/3 innings this season in 12 relief appearances and four starts. Buehler had a 3.44 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and 42 strikeouts in 36 2/3 innings for the Dodgers this season.

Jedd Gyorko led the Brewers offense with an .838 OPS and Christian Yelich was second at .786 in 58 games. The 43-17 Dodgers averaged major league best 5.82 runs per game in 2020. They had six players with an OPS over .800 including Will Smith (.980), Corey Seager (.943), and Mookie Betts (.927).