If you blinked on Wednesday night, you missed the most memorable night of regular season baseball in MLB history. Four teams were fighting for two Wild Card spots, and two of these teams made heroic comebacks just to give themselves the opportunity. The other two collapsed in September to put the pressure on themselves on the final night of the season. The Braves and Cardinals were tied at 89-72 entering the night, and the Rays and Red Sox were tied at 90-71.
In Houston, the Tony La Russa and the Cardinals thought they would be the last team with playoff hopes at stake to complete their game. With an 8:05 EST start, and each of the other three games having an hour head start, the Cardinals expected to have the Braves scoreboard watching around 10PM. However, due to extra inning affairs in two of the three games, and an extensive rain delay in the other, the Cardinals finished over an hour earlier than the other three games with a comfortable 8-0 victory. All eyes turned to the Phillies vs. Braves game.
In Atlanta, the Braves faced the Phillies in hopes of at least forcing a tiebreaker game on Thursday. For 8 innings, the Braves had the plan working to perfection. Atlanta had a 3-2 lead entering the 9th inning, and handed the ball to rookie phenom Craig Kimbrel, who hurls fastballs at 98+ MPH and has recorded 46 saves through 161 games. But it wasn’t the rookie’s night, as he walked 3 hitters and blew his 8th save of the year. After three scoreless extra innings, Hunter Pence knocked in a runner from third in the 13th inning on a blooper which barely reached the outfield grass. The Braves went out with a whimper in the bottom of the 13th as rookie Freddie Freeman grounded into a double play which ended the season for Atlanta and sent St. Louis to the playoffs. The youth which took the Braves so far this season was not there when it was needed most.
In the American League, the AL East drama lived up to the hype. The Rays had made up a 9 game deficit in the Wild Card Race during the month of September to share the same record with the Red Sox entering the final day of the season. However, by 8PM EST it appeared the Rays would simply need to scoreboard watch and hope that the Orioles would beat Boston. Tampa Bay fell behind 7-0 after 5 innings, and entering the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees still led 7-0.
The Rays couldn’t just fold that easily, right? Not after the team showed the heart and guts it took to make up the 9 game deficit in September. History will tell the rest. The Rays scored 6 runs in the 8th inning, 3 of which came on a home run from Evan Longoria, arguably the hottest and best player in the month of September and the only .243 hitter that I would ever consider as an MVP candidate. However, in the past month, that is exactly what Longoria has been for the Rays. He comes up with every big hit for the Rays, as he has had 7 home runs this month and 3 in the past week. The Rays trailed entering the 9th, and were down to the final out and strike when pinch hitter Dan Johnson drove a ball down the right field line and off the foul poul for a game-tying home run.
At this point the tarp was being removed at Camden Yards, and the Red Sox were resuming play with a 3-2 lead in the 7th inning. In the 8th inning, Marco Scutaro was thrown out at home plate while trying to score from 1st on a double to left field with 1 out. However, a flawless relay from Adam Jones to JJ Hardy to Catcher Matt Wieters cut down Scutaro at the plate to keep the Red Sox lead at just 1 run. The score remained 3-2 until the 9th inning, when the Red Sox had a bases loaded situation with 1 out. An infield double play got the Orioles out of a jam for the second consecutive inning without allowing a run, and gave the Orioles an opportunity to tie or win the game in the 9th. After a game-tying double to right field by Nolan Reimold, Robert Andino (who crippled the Sox with a 3 RBI hit on Monday) singled to right with a liner that slipped just under the glove of Carl Crawford and scored Nolan Reimold from second. In less than two minutes, the Red Sox went from leading the final game of the season to scoreboard watching and praying for a Yankees win.
Back to St. Petersburg, where the Rays and Yankees battled into the 12th inning. Less than 5 minutes after Reimold scored to send the Red Sox to the locker room, Evan Longoria again retained his late-season MVP form by lining a ball down the left field line and over the short fence at Tropicana Field for a solo home run. The stadium erupted as the Rays bench emptied and greeted Longoria at home plate. The Rays were going to the playoffs as the AL Wild Card Winner!
Let’s recap the madness. The Red Sox and Braves both blew nearly 10 game leads in the month of September, and both blew a 9th inning, 2 out lead in their final game of the season. The Rays were down 7-0 in the 8th inning, and came back to win in the 12th inning behind 2 Evan Longoria home runs. The Cardinals, whose game began an hour later than the other three, cruised to an 8-0 win that ended hours earlier than any of the other three games. Entering the night, it was a distinct possibility that two tiebreaker games would be necessary to decide the Wild Card winners. Instead, both the Braves and Red Sox collapsed in the 9th inning with opportunities to force these playoffs. This night was the most memorable and incredible night of regular season baseball in the history of Major League Baseball, and those who watched should be proud to have been a part of it.