The wackiest, wildest games of the year

As the calendar year nears an end, it’s a great time to look back at another thrilling MLB season, particularly some of the more notable moments. There were individual and team milestones, records broken and incredible performances that left us in awe.

There were also some wacky, wild games that left us stunned.

Let’s remember some of the craziest contests we witnessed in 2023, from huge -- even historic -- comebacks to a play in the postseason that had never been seen before:

April 9 -- Blue Jays 12, Angels 11 (10 innings)
The Angels jumped out to a 6-0 lead through five innings. That’s when things got crazy. The Jays scored six runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to take a 10-6 lead. But down to their final out in the ninth, trailing by three, the Halos loaded the bases.

Toronto’s closer, Jordan Romano, hit Anthony Rendon to force in a run, and the next batter, Hunter Renfroe, delivered a game-tying two-run double. The Blue Jays promptly responded in the top of the 10th, getting an RBI double from Kevin Kiermaier followed by a George Springer RBI single to put Toronto ahead, 12-10. The Blue Jays held on to win despite walking Mike Trout with the bases loaded to force in the Angels’ 11th run.

May 17 -- Mets 8, Rays 7 (10 innings)
The Rays led this one, 5-2, heading into the bottom of the ninth. But the Mets, thanks to the heroics of rookie catcher Francisco Alvarez, tied the game on a two-out, three-run homer to force extra innings.

In the top of the 10th, Tampa Bay went ahead thanks to a pair of RBI singles -- one from Harold Ramírez and the other by Josh Lowe. But the Mets responded with their second three-run homer in as many innings, this one a towering drive into the second deck in left-center field by Pete Alonso to win it.

June 9 -- Guardians 10, Astros 9 (14 innings)
Cleveland and Houston were knotted at 6 at the end of nine innings thanks to Josh Naylor’s clutch RBI double with the Guardians down to their final out. It remained that way until Kyle Tucker finally broke the logjam with a single to score Jose Altuve in the top of the 12th.

But the Guardians weren’t fazed. They eked out a run in the bottom of the 12th thanks to a throwing error by Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña. In the top of the 13th, the Astros went ahead again on a Mauricio Dubón RBI double. But the Guards again had an answer -- Steven Kwan delivered a game-tying single in the bottom of the frame.

Tucker came through with another go-ahead single for Houston in the 14th, but the indomitable Guardians would not be deterred. Tyler Freeman doubled in the tying run and two batters later, Will Brennan won this marathon with a double of his own.

July 3 -- Astros 12, Rangers 11
The Astros were involved in another wild one about a month later, but this time Houston emerged victorious -- though it was nearly a disaster. Houston jumped out to a 10-2 lead over its Lone Star State rival, but the Rangers reeled off nine unanswered runs to take an 11-10 lead into the ninth at Globe Life Field.

The Astros, despite blowing an eight-run lead, got up off the mat and scored twice in the ninth inning on back-to-back RBI doubles from José Abreu and Chas McCormick in what proved to be the difference in the game.

Aug. 13 -- Nationals 8, A’s 7
Aug. 13 was quite a day for wild games around baseball. One of them took place in Washington, where the A’s took a 7-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth against the Nationals.

In a scene reminiscent of a game that took place nearly four years earlier, the Nats rallied for six runs to win it. On Sept. 3, 2019, Kurt Suzuki launched a walk-off three-run homer to cap a seven-run ninth to beat All-Star closer Edwin Díaz and the Mets.

This time, it all began with a Jeter Downs leadoff walk against Trevor May. One out later, Joey Meneses and Keibert Ruiz hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Stone Garrett followed with an RBI single. Ildemaro Vargas then hit a sacrifice fly.

It was now 7-4, but Washington was down to its final out, making what followed even more remarkable. Riley Adams came to the plate and drew a walk, spelling the end of May’s outing. Kirby Snead was summoned from Oakland’s bullpen and walked Dominic Smith to force in another run.

Alex Call then reached on an E-6 that enabled two more runs to score and tie the game. Downs, who had opened the inning with a walk, delivered a game-winning single to complete the incredible comeback.

Aug. 13 -- Marlins 8, Yankees 7
On the same day, another game ended with the same final score and another amazing ninth-inning comeback. At loanDepot park, the Yankees held a 7-3 advantage going into the bottom of the ninth, with Clay Holmes trying to close out a New York victory.

But Yuli Gurriel had other ideas, opening the frame with a double. After Jon Berti struck out, Nick Fortes singled and Jazz Chisholm Jr. drew a walk to load the bases. Then, as is the case in many improbable comebacks, there was a defensive miscue -- Josh Bell reached first on an errant throw by Holmes, enabling two runs to score.

It was now 7-5. Up stepped Luis Arraez, who tripled in two more to tie the game. Two batters later, Jake Burger delivered a walk-off single to cap the rally as a stunned Yankees squad walked off the field in an 8-7 loss.

Aug. 15 -- Mariners 10, Royals 8 (10 innings)
This game featured another inspired ninth-inning comeback by the home team, but without the same result as what the Marlins and Nationals enjoyed two days earlier.

The Royals, who trailed the Mariners in the fifth inning, 7-0, were down 8-5 heading into the bottom of the ninth at Kauffman Stadium. Nelson Velázquez opened the inning for Kansas City by reaching on an errant throw by Seattle second baseman Josh Rojas. One out later, Samad Taylor walked and the Royals brought the tying run to the plate.

Maikel Garcia, however, grounded out softly to second, and Kansas City was down to its final out. Bobby Witt Jr. stepped to the plate and drew a walk to load the bases. Then back-to-back singles from Michael Massey and Salvador Perez tied the game.

But that’s where this plot diverged from the events that transpired in Washington and Miami a couple of days prior. Ty France helped Seattle avert disaster with his clutch two-run single in the top of the 10th, and Tayler Saucedo closed the game out with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th for the Mariners.

Aug. 26 -- Reds 8, D-backs 7 (11 innings)
Arizona led this one, 4-0, in the sixth inning. But the visiting Reds proceeded to score four unanswered runs to push the game into extra innings.

Then, things got wild. Spencer Steer and Nick Martini opened the 10th with back-to-back doubles, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand added an RBI single for good measure, giving Cincinnati a three-run lead.

But that lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the 10th, Geraldo Perdomo led off with a single to drive in Jose Herrera, who began the inning at second base. Perdomo eventually came around to score when Tommy Pham reached on an error by second baseman Matt McLain. Christian Walker followed that with a game-tying sacrifice fly, scoring Corbin Carroll, who had earlier walked.

When it comes to wild finishes, this one was unique on this list -- it wasn’t a hit or a walk that drove in the go-ahead run for the Reds in the 11th, but a balk by D-backs reliever Nabil Crismatt. TJ Hopkins was at the plate when the balk occurred, after Steer reached on an infield single that sent automatic runner TJ Friedl to third.

One TJ was at the plate and another represented the go-ahead run at third when Crismatt’s miscue gave Cincinnati the lead. Lucas Sims closed the game out for the Reds with an uneventful bottom of the 11th.

Sept. 23 -- Pirates 13, Reds 12
The Pirates not only won a thrilling game with an incredible comeback on this day, they also made franchise history in the process.

Things started out ugly for Pittsburgh at Great American Ball Park. By the fourth inning, Cincinnati had a 9-0 lead. The Bucs, in their franchise’s 142-year history, were 0-819 when trailing by nine or more runs in a game.

Then the unprecedented materialized -- Pittsburgh scored 13 unanswered runs, including three on an opposite-field homer by Bryan Reynolds, and extinguished a late Cincinnati threat thanks to some tremendous defense.

In the eighth, the Reds had two on and one out, with the Pirates clinging to a 13-11 lead. Tyler Stephenson hit a sharp ground ball headed for center field. But second baseman Ji Hwan Bae made a sensational sliding grab, got up and began an inning-ending double play.

In the ninth, despite the Reds putting the first two runners on and scoring a run on a groundout to pull within a run, Carmen Mlodzinski closed the game out for his first MLB save and a historic Pirates win.

Oct. 9 -- Braves 5, Phillies 4 (NLDS Game 2)
Wild games in the regular season are one thing. A wild finish to an epic postseason game? That’s quite another.

That’s what we saw in Game 2 of the National League Division Series between the Braves and Phillies at Truist Park. Atlanta featured the most prolific offense in the game, tying an AL/NL record with 307 home runs during the regular season and becoming the first team in AL/NL history to finish a season with a slugging percentage of .500 or greater (.501).

But the Braves’ lineup was conspicuously silent, with Phillies pitching shutting out Atlanta over the first 14 innings of the series. Then in the sixth inning of Game 2, Braves bats finally awakened. Ozzie Albies singled home Ronald Acuña Jr. to get them on the board. Then in the seventh, Travis d’Arnaud belted a two-run homer off Zack Wheeler to bring Atlanta within one.

In the eighth, Austin Riley smashed a go-ahead two-run homer to set the stage for a wild and historic finish.

Bryce Harper opened the ninth with a walk against A.J. Minter. Raisel Iglesias was summoned from the Atlanta bullpen to face J.T. Realmuto. He got Realmuto to fly out, bringing up Nick Castellanos, who hit a drive to deep right-center field.

Harper was off with the crack of the bat, even though there was only one out. Center fielder Michael Harris II made a spectacular leaping catch at the wall, then fired the ball back toward the infield. It skipped to Riley, who was standing near second base, and Riley fired to first to double off Harper and end the game.

Until that moment, no postseason game had ever ended on an 8-5-3 double play.