The best wins of 2018 for all 30 teams

The best wins of 2018 for all 30 teams

December 22nd, 2018

When we look back at the 2018 season, we see countless memorable moments from an exciting MLB campaign. But each club had one signature victory, in many cases embodying its season. With the help of each MLB.com beat writer, here is each club's best win of '18.
Angels: 13-9 win vs. OAK (April 6)
Trailing by six runs in the second inning, the Angels' revamped offense came alive to fuel the team's biggest comeback win of the season. sparked the uprising by homering in his third consecutive game, and 's three-run shot capped a five-run seventh that put the Angels over the top. Full recap >
Astros: 10-5 win vs. LAA (Sept. 22)
After giving up five runs in the eighth inning to spoil a superb 11-strikeout start across six scoreless innings by and falling behind, the Astros rallied for their biggest inning of the season, scoring nine times in the bottom of the eighth to win, 10-5. Full recap > 
Athletics: 13-10 win (10 innings) vs. TEX (July 24)
The A's struck for 11 unanswered runs in the final four innings of a wild 10-inning affair in Arlington, pulling out a 13-10 victory over the Rangers. provided the game-tying home run in the ninth, and delivered the final blow with a three-run homer in the 10th. Full recap >
Blue Jays: 9-8 win vs. TB (Sept. 20)
Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning as the Blue Jays rallied from six runs down to stun the Rays with a 9-8 victory at Rogers Centre. The six-run turnaround was tied for the largest ninth-inning comeback in franchise history as Toronto sent nine batters to the plate; the win put a serious damper on the Rays' aspirations for the postseason. Full recap >

Braves: 10-9 win vs. MIA (May 20)
Facing a 9-4 deficit entering the bottom of the ninth against the Marlins, the Braves staged a six-run rally that was capped by Dansby Swanson's two-out, two-run, walk-off single. After 's one-out sacrifice fly accounted for Atlanta's first run of the frame, five straight Braves reached safely ahead of Swanson, who fouled off consecutive 99-mph pitches before lacing his game-winning hit to left. Full recap >
Brewers: 13-12 win (10 innings) vs. CIN (Aug. 29)
There was the postseason clincher in St. Louis and the division clincher in Chicago, but the Brewers' wildest win of the year was Aug. 29 in Cincinnati, a 10-inning thriller that featured four ties and five lead changes, defensive gems and disputed calls aplenty, plus the first of 's two cycles in the span of three weeks. Full recap >

Cardinals: 7-6 win vs. WSH (Aug. 13)
The signature victory during the Cardinals' eight-game winning streak came on Aug. 13, when they delivered a blow to Washington's playoff hopes while resuscitating their own. After Matt Carpenter put the Cards in front with a three-run, eighth-inning blast, sealed the win with his first career walk-off homer. Full recap >
Cubs: 4-3 win vs. WSH (Aug. 12)
It was the kind of blast that kids dream about in their backyards -- two outs, bases loaded, trailing by three in the bottom of the ninth. On Aug. 12, lived it. The Cubs' rookie delivered a pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam against Nationals reliever , setting off pure bedlam at Wrigley Field. It was the 25th ultimate slam on record and the first by the Cubs since Aug. 31, 1963 (Ellis Burton). Full recap >

D-backs: 8-7 win (15 innings) vs. LAD (April 2)
The D-backs trailed the Dodgers, 6-3, with two outs and no one on in the bottom of the ninth with dominant closer on the mound. After a pair of two-out walks, Chris Owings hit a three-run homer to tie the game. After the Dodgers took a 7-6 lead in the top of the 15th, the D-backs wound up tying the game on a Nick Ahmed double, before a single by catcher Jeff Mathis in the bottom half of the frame won it. Full recap >
Dodgers: 5-1 win vs. MIL (Oct. 20, NLCS Game 7)
Rookie started, series MVP and launched crowd-silencing homers at Miller Park, Chris Taylor pulled off a miracle catch in left field and pitched the ninth inning as the Dodgers eliminated the Brewers in Game 7 of the NLCS, 5-1, advancing to their second consecutive World Series. Full recap >

Giants: 7-5 win (14 innings) vs. LAD (April 7)
's three-run homer in the 14th inning gave the Giants a satisfying victory over their archrivals. It was McCutchen's sixth hit of the game, making him only the second player since 1900 to have six hits in a game with one of them resulting in a walk-off victory. Full recap >
Indians: 10-9 win (14 innings) vs. HOU (May 27)
Down by five runs to the Astros in the bottom of the ninth, the Indians forced extra innings on five RBI singles. In the 13th, answered Evan Gattis' solo shot with one of his own, before delivered his first career walk-off homer in the 14th frame. Full recap >
Mariners: 4-3 win (10 innings) vs. HOU (Aug. 12)
After saving three straight games over the Astros, was supposed to have the day off in the Aug. 12 series finale in Houston. But when homered with two outs in the ninth to tie the game following Houston's three-run rally in the eighth, Diaz called to the dugout and said he wanted to pitch. Mitch Haniger's RBI double gave Seattle a 4-3 lead in the 10th, Diaz came on for yet another one-run save and Seattle notched an impressive four-game sweep to pull within four games of the American League West lead. Full recap >
Marlins: 2-1 win (17 innings) vs. CHC (March 30)
Nothing came easy for the young Marlins in 2018, including their first victory of the season. In game No. 2, ' walk-off single off  scored , capping a 5-hour, 18-minute affair, the longest game in Marlins Park history. , who started the next day, threw a scoreless 17th for the win. Full recap >
Mets: 6-5 win (12 innings) vs. WSH (April 8)
Shortly after flared a 12th-inning, go-ahead hit into center field early on the morning of April 9, the Mets closed out a 6-5 win in Washington to match their 1985 and 2006 predecessors for the best start in team history. They went on to open the season a franchise-best 11-1. Full recap >
Nationals: 14-12 win vs. MIA (July 5)
One day after the Nationals held a team meeting, they had their defining win of the season on July 5. After falling behind, 9-0, against the Marlins at Nationals Park, the Nats stormed back for the largest comeback in club history, an improbable 14-12 win led by 's career-high eight RBIs. Full recap >

Orioles: 6-5 win vs. NYY (July 10)
This back-and-forth affair provided Orioles fans final, lasting memories of Manny Machado and . Three weeks before they'd be traded, Machado twice brought the O's back with game-tying home runs, and Schoop socked a walk-off single to lead Baltimore to a 6-5 win over the Yankees at Camden Yards. Full recap >
Padres: 7-6 win vs. ARI (Aug. 18)
The Padres unveiled a nine-foot-tall bronze statue of newly enshrined Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman before the game. Then they honored the legacy of the legendary closer in the best way possible: by winning in the ninth inning. 's two-out bloop single into left field sealed the victory, setting off a celebration that included Hoffman himself partying in the Padres' clubhouse. Full recap >
Phillies: 7-4 win (16 innings) vs. LAD (July 24)
had a short stint with the Phillies, but he hit a three-run homer against Dodgers infielder in a 16-inning walk-off victory on July 24. The Phillies' bullpen finished the game with 10 consecutive scoreless innings, with starter Vince Velasquez pitching the 16th. Full recap >
Pirates: 7-6 win (10 innings) vs. MIL (July 15)
A week after general manager Neal Huntington foreshadowed a potential Trade Deadline sell-off, Josh Bell's walk-off double in the 10th inning capped a five-game sweep of the Brewers with a rain-soaked, 7-6 win at PNC Park. The Pirates' winning streak reached 11 games on the other side of the All-Star break, and they wound up buying at the Deadline. Full recap >
Rangers: 3-1 win (10 innings) vs. HOU (April 15)
took a perfect game and a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning against the Astros at Minute Maid Park. Colon lost the perfect game in the eighth and gave up the tying run. But the Rangers came back and won it in the 10th on a two-run double by . Full recap >
Rays: 6-4 win vs. BOS (March 29)
The Rays trailed the Red Sox, 4-0, on Opening Day when they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning. That's when they sent 10 men to the plate against two Boston relievers, drew four walks and took the lead for good on 's three-run triple to complete a six-run rally. Full recap >
Red Sox: 9-6 win vs. LAD (Oct. 27, World Series Game 4)
The Dodgers looked primed to tie the World Series at 2-2 when Yasiel Puig belted a three-run homer to make it 4-0 in the sixth. But after Red Sox ace Chris Sale lit into the dugout for sub-par at-bats, the Sox came storming back for an epic comeback. The big blow was a three-run, pinch-hit homer by Mitch Moreland in the seventh to put his team within a run. Eventual World Series MVP Steve Pearce tied it with a homer in the eighth, and the Sox erupted for a five-spot in the ninth for a stunning 9-6 win. Full recap >

Reds: 9-7 win (12 innings) vs. ATL (April 24)
In a game where rookie starter had a no-hitter through six innings, it became a bullpen battle and a 9-7 walk-off win in 12. Scooter Gennett hit two homers, including the game-winner, and had a perfectly-executed suicide squeeze bunt in what became a nail-biter of a game. It was the first time in 2018 that Cincinnati earned back-to-back wins. Full recap >
Rockies: 2-1 win (13 innings) vs. CHC (Oct. 2, NL Wild Card Game)
If any game embodied the pitching-oriented 2018 Rockies, it was the 2-1, 13-inning victory over the Cubs in the NL Wild Card Game. shut down a tough lineup for 6 2/3 innings, and the bullpen held on until Tony Wolters -- who had a .170 regular-season batting average -- delivered the winning RBI single. Full recap >

Royals: 5-4 win vs. CLE (Aug. 24)
The Royals stunned the Indians at Kauffman Stadium, 5-4, on Aug. 24 when two rookies, and , delivered home runs in the bottom of the ninth inning off closer to walk-off the Tribe in perhaps the most thrilling Royals win of the season. Earlier that night, a water pipe broke near the Royals' bullpen in right field, which flooded the warning track and created a 30-minute delay. Full recap >
Tigers: 3-2 win (12 innings) vs. TB (May 2)
What began as a pitchers duel between and ended in the 12th inning with a walk-off squeeze bunt from backup catcher , scoring as and Brad Miller collided chasing the ball for a 3-2 win over the Rays. Full recap >
Twins: 7-5 win vs. CLE (June 3)
Twins left fielder almost single-handedly carried Minnesota to a win over the Indians, as he hit three homers, including a walk-off two-run shot off Cleveland's closer, Cody Allen. To make it even better, Rosario's family from Puerto Rico was in attendance at Target Field. Full recap >
White Sox: 14-7 win vs. KC (March 29)
The season opener at Kauffman Stadium didn't exactly start well, with the Royals scoring four runs in the first inning off . But the White Sox scored the next 14 runs on the strength of six homers, with three from Matt Davidson and two from for an eventual 14-7 victory. Full recap >
Yankees: 7-5 win vs. SEA (June 20)
completed the comeback from a five-run deficit with a mammoth game-tying blast in the eighth inning and celebrated his first signature moment in pinstripes with a walk-off shot in the ninth, enveloped by his teammates at home plate as they celebrated a memorable 7-5 victory over the Mariners at Yankee Stadium. Full recap >