Game 1 storylines, how to watch, starting pitchers and more

Game 1 storylines, how to watch, starting pitchers and more

2:55 AM UTC

At last, we have playoff baseball. (It has been 341 days since our last MLB postseason game. That’s too many days!) In a month or so, we will know the 2024 World Series champion, but we have a whole bunch of games to go before then. And those games start Tuesday*.*

Throughout this postseason, I’ll be previewing the next day’s action, game-by-game, with the major storyline from each one. We couldn’t kick it off any better: With four games today and four more on Wednesday … and hey, you never know, maybe even four more on Thursday.

Here’s the top storyline from each of Tuesday’s Wild Card Series openers.

Tigers at Astros
2:32 p.m. ET, ABC
SP: Tarik Skubal (DET) vs. Framber Valdez (HOU)

Can Skubal keep the Tigers’ mojo rolling?

The Tigers got so hot in September that not only did they shock the world to reach their first postseason series since 2014, they did so quickly enough that they were able to line up their pitcher Triple Crown-winning (and, presumably, Cy Young Award-winning) ace for Game 1. There’s no more dominant pitcher in baseball right now than Skubal -- he had a 1.52 ERA in four September starts, and it’s not like he was lagging before then -- and no one more capable of shutting down even the most formidable lineup.

He may have to be his top-shelf self, though, because his opposing lefty has been nearly as good of late. In Valdez’s final 16 starts, he went 10-2 with a 2.19 ERA, and he’s facing a Tigers lineup that has a ton of left-handed bats. The Tigers are the upstart team of young, scrappy underdogs … but they’re also a team that happens to have the best pitcher on the planet right now. That gives them a real chance here.

Royals at Orioles
4:08 p.m. ET, ESPN2
SP: Cole Ragans (KC) vs. Corbin Burnes (BAL)

Will Bobby Witt Jr. get any help?

The last postseason game the Orioles won was nearly a decade ago, on Oct. 5, 2014, when they finished off a three-game sweep of the Tigers. (They’d get swept by the Royals 10 days later.) But for all the struggles the Orioles endured in the second half, they may have no better opportunity to snap that decade-long drought than this series, with Burnes on the hill and a thin Royals lineup on the other side. In fact, the Royals’ lineup has been essentially non-existent outside of Witt lately, scoring only 74 runs in September, the lowest total in baseball. (Shohei Ohtani alone scored 27!)

The loss of Vinnie Pasquantino, who missed the whole month with a broken thumb, proved devastating: Without him, Witt had to carry a hefty load. Pasquantino is a perfectly fine hitter, but don’t get carried away: He had a career-low .760 OPS, so we’re not talking Peak Bonds here. And while Pasquantino is hoping to fight his way back from his injury, expecting him to just start launching homers after not playing in a month, with a healing thumb, is unreasonable. Given that, will any other K.C. hitters step up to aid the team’s superstar?

Mets at Brewers
5:32 p.m. ET, ESPN
SP: Luis Severino (NYM) vs. Freddy Peralta (MIL)

Which team has better vibes?

I know, I know: That’s not exactly the most analytical question ever posed on this site. But there are plenty of reasons for fans of each of these teams to feel fortunate. The Mets had a truly nightmarish 2023 that left many of their fans wondering if it would be a few years until they returned to the postseason; instead, they had a thrilling underdog season that featured Grimace, an MVP-caliber season from Francisco Lindor and a playoff clincher in Atlanta that legitimately might be one of the best baseball games I’ve ever seen in person.

The Brewers, meanwhile, saw their beloved longtime manager (Craig Counsell) and their Cy Young Award-winning ace (Burnes) head out the door in the same offseason. Their lights-out closer (Devin Williams) didn’t throw a Major League pitch until July 28 – five days after their resurgent MVP winner (Christian Yelich) was lost for the season. Despite all that, this team not only got better, it was relentlessly fun and inspiring while doing so. (Have you seen how happy Bob Uecker has been this year?)

One of these teams is going to come out of this series -- and maybe even this game -- feeling like they can run through a wall. Also, Mets, your disorientation and confusion is understandable: If it feels like you were just in Milwaukee, don’t worry: You were.

Braves at Padres
8:38 p.m. ET, ESPN
SP: TBD (ATL) vs. Michael King (SD)

Uh, how is the Braves’ pitching situation going to work?

The Braves used nine pitchers during their doubleheader against the Mets on Monday, two of them (Raisel Iglesias and Joe Jiménez) twice. They also can’t start Charlie Morton (started Sunday), Reynaldo López (started Saturday and also pitched an inning Monday), Max Fried (started Friday) or Chris Sale (hurt, likely not on the Wild Card roster) in Game 1. And now they have to play three games in three days AFTER flying across the country on Monday night.

No matter who starts on Tuesday, it’s not an ideal situation for Atlanta. The top candidates apparently are Ian Anderson (no MLB appearances since 2022), 21-year-old prospect AJ Smith-Shawver (one MLB start this season, back in May), or Bryce Elder (6.52 ERA in 10 starts for the Braves this season). That’s going to make this a massive, massive uphill climb. Remember when we were worried about all their hitters being unavailable?