Highlights from the 2024 MLB Wild Card Series

Image Courtesy of ESPN

By Zachary Lichter

The 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) Postseason has been underway for over a week, and a lot of action got people jumping out of their seats. This year’s MLB Wild Card round featured the Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, and San Diego Padres. Whoever won these series advanced to the League Division Series, where they played the Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, or the Philadelphia Phillies.

The postseason began October 1 of this year with the Tigers playing the Astros in Houston. The Tigers stunned the baseball world by making their first appearance in the postseason since 2014. This team was not projected to go to the postseason, but in August and September, they climbed the ranks in the American League by beating some of the best teams in baseball and clinched the sixth seed.

Game 1 of the Tigers vs. Astros series ended up being a thriller because the Tigers’ starting pitcher, Tarik Skubal, pitched six innings and only gave up four hits. His success in closing out the Astros gave Detroit a 3-1 win.

Henry Escandon, a senior marketing major commented on Skubal’s performance on the mound.

“I am not surprised at all by the way Skubal pitched in game one against the Astros,” Escandon said. “He should win the Cy Young award this year for the American League and that is how you expect a guy with stuff of his caliber to deliver. I was surprised the Tigers swept the Astros.”

While the win in Game 1 stunned baseball fans, they realized that the Tigers swept the Astros, then they had done their job of preventing them from getting anywhere close to the World Series. Though game 2 almost didn’t go the way the Tigers wanted because the Astros’ starting pitcher, Hunter Brown, pitched 5.2 innings, and the Astros had a 2-1 lead going into the eighth inning. The lead didn’t last long, because the Tigers right fielder, Kerry Carpenter, scored on a wild pitch from the Astros reliever, Ryan Pressly, and the Tigers second baseman, Andy Ibáñez, hit a three-run double, giving the Tigers a 5-2 win and sending them to Cleveland to play the Guardians in the American League Division Series.

The American League Wild Card action continued with the Royals playing the Orioles in Baltimore. The Royals made their first appearance in the postseason since 2015, and they made their mark in Game 1 as their starting pitcher, Cole Ragans, throwing six innings, helping them grab a 2-1 win. The Royals continued to make their mark in Baltimore as their first baseman, Vinnie Pasquantino, hit a single to grab a 1-0 lead, and then later, their shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr., hit a single to help the Royals secure a 2-1 win against the Orioles and a trip up north to New York to play the Yankees.

In the National League, the Mets played the Brewers in the Wild Card in Milwaukee. The Mets were not expecting to go to the postseason because they started the season 0-5. But with their hitting, they were able to secure the sixth seed on the National League side of the bracket.

Game 1 looked like it was going to be a Brewers win from the start because in the first inning, the Brewers catcher, William Contreras, hit a single, and then their first baseman, Rhys Hoskins, got hit by a pitch, scoring two runs for the Brewers. The Mets right fielder, Starling Marte, was able to grab a 3-2 lead when he hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Then, during the fifth inning, the Mets scored five runs in the fifth inning as they got an 8-4 win against the Brewers. 

Game 2 looked similar to Game 1, with the roles switched because the Mets left fielder Brandon Nimmo hit a single to give the Mets a 1-0 lead in the first inning. But then, later in the eighth inning, the Brewers left fielder, Jackson Chourio, hit a solo home run to tie the game at three runs a piece. Then the Brewers centerfielder, Garrett Mitchell, hit a two-run home run to give the Brewers a 5-3 win, forcing Game 3.

Game 3 ended up being a pivotal day for the Mets because their pitcher, Jose Quintana, pitched six innings. Their first baseman, Pete Alonso, hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning, giving the Mets a 3-2 lead. The Mets won 4-2, sending them to Philadelphia to play their division rival, the Phillies.

The action in the National League concluded with the Braves playing the Padres in San Diego. Game 1 began with the Padres right fielder, Fernando Tatis Jr., hitting a two-run home run in the first inning. The Padres beat the Braves in a 4-0 shutout. 

The Padres continued to dominate at the plate in Game 2 because their catcher, Kyle Higashioka, hit a solo home run, their third baseman, Manny Machado, hit a two-run double, and their centerfielder, Jackson Merill, hit a two-run triple, giving the Padres a five-run fifth inning. They then beat the Braves 5-4 before heading to Los Angeles to play against the Dodgers.

Escandon commented on the Padres’ performance at the plate.

“The Padres have a roster with a lot of postseason experience and they simply played the game they have been playing all year and weren’t phased by the moment,” Escandon said. “They need their pitching to control the Dodgers lineup to give themselves the best chance of advancing.”

So, with the Tigers, Mets, Padres, and Royals all advancing, they look to have similar performances as they did in the Wild Card. It will be exciting to see who will win the League Division Series, and the action the players will have in store during the three to five games it takes them to win.