If you thought last night's MLB slate was thrilling, there's more in store
Tuesday night, as we anticipated, ended up being a most eventful evening of baseball, with the Phillies clinching a playoff spot, the Brewers clinching the NL Central, Zack Greinke throwing five shutout innings in what could be his last start, Elly De La Cruz trying to keep the Reds in the playoff chase in every way that he can and … oh no, Seiya Suzuki.
But Tuesday still didn’t resolve everything. In fact, it might have made Wednesday, and the rest of the week, even more complicated.
Here’s a look at the games on Wednesday that you won’t want to miss.
D-backs at White Sox (Brandon Pfaadt vs. Luis Patiño), LIVE
Heck yeah, afternoon baseball. The Diamondbacks very much enjoyed everything that was going on with Chicago baseball on Tuesday. They stomped the White Sox 15-4 right around the same time the Cubs were having their nightmarish adventure at Truist Park. Those events gave the D-backs a one-game lead on the Cubs for the second NL Wild Card spot, with two more games left against the Pale Hose. With the Astros waiting this weekend, Arizona needs every win it can get right now. Getting another game in hand on the Cubs, Marlins and Reds before their games even start Wednesday would be absolutely idea. But is Pfaadt -- who was just shelled by the Yankees in his last start -- going to be able to give them the leg up?
Marlins at Mets, doubleheader (Braxton Garrett vs. TBD, TBD vs. TBD), 4:10 p.m.
A doubleheader with five games left in the season when you’re desperately trying to fight your way into a Wild Card spot isn’t ideal, but that’s the situation the rain in Queens has put the Marlins in. That said … the aforementioned Cubs loss in Atlanta had profound effects for Miami as well. Even though the Cubs head into the day with a half-game lead for the final NL Wild Card spot, because the Marlins hold the tiebreaker over the Cubs, a doubleheader sweep at Citi Field would essentially put Miami in control of its own destiny. They would hold that third spot (and No. 6 seed) heading into Thursday, not the Cubs. Win out after that, Marlins, and you’re in. There’s no question: Skip Schumaker’s players were making a lot of noise in their hotel rooms when Suzuki dropped that ball. It turned everything in favor of the Marlins … if they can get a sweep on Wednesday.
Reds at Guardians (Andrew Abbott vs. Shane Bieber), 6:10 p.m.
Elly De La Cruz, it’s fair to say, is not ready for the Reds’ season to be over. His two homers Tuesday helped launch the Reds to a big win over the Guardians and thus pushed them within a game-and-a-half of the Cubs for that last spot. (And a game behind the Marlins, though Miami does hold a tiebreaker over the Reds.) If you counted out the Reds -- who don’t have another home game -- you may well regret it: They have more than a puncher’s chance, particularly with the rest of their games against teams playing out the string. (They have this game, and then St. Louis three times this weekend, and the Cardinals may in fact be having Adam Wainwright bat for them.) The Reds would particularly love to see the Mets sweep that doubleheader; that, with a win in this game, would put them ahead of the Marlins.
Nationals at Orioles (Patrick Corbin vs. Grayson Rodriguez), 6:35 p.m.
Could the Orioles clinch the division … tonight? Because they hold the tiebreaker over the Rays, their magic number is two. The Rays and Red Sox game starts 25 minutes before the Orioles’ game does, which means that if the Red Sox win that game, the Orioles (and, just as important, their home fans) will know it while the O’s are still playing. Thus: If Rodriguez has the Orioles ahead late, and the Rays have lost … it could set off quite a party at Camden Yards. Orioles fans have been through a lot. Could tonight be the celebration they’ve been waiting for?
Yankees at Blue Jays (Gerrit Cole vs. José Berríos), 7:07 p.m.
This would be quite the pitching matchup even if both teams were long out of the playoff chase. But instead, because of the Yankees’ win in Toronto on Tuesday night, every pitch will be racked with tension. With the AL West teams at each other’s throats, the Jays have become the least favorite team of everybody in Texas and Seattle: A Blue Jays loss helps all of them. This is likely Cole’s last start of the season, in a year when he’s heavily favored to win the AL Cy Young Award. If he finishes off his masterful season with one last gem, it will make the whole AL West cheer.
Cubs at Braves (Jameson Taillon vs. Darius Vines), 7:20 p.m.
Oh boy. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. The Cubs were all set to beat the Braves, to stay in control of their spot in the Wild Card chase, to keep the good vibes of a winning streak going. And then Seiya Suzuki had a Brant Brown moment. It’s hard to even look at, isn’t it? It should be said that the Cubs are still in good position to make the playoffs, and they’re playing two teams who are locked into their playoff seeds and have little to play for. They’re also facing a pitcher making his second career start. If they can ignore what happened Tuesday night -- how costly that loss could be -- circumstances are still tilting in their favor.
Rangers at Angels (Dane Dunning vs. Griffin Canning), 9:38 p.m.
Tuesday was a pretty miserable night for the Rangers, all told, but a miserable night that, when you take a step back from it, could have been a whole lot worse. Corey Seager took a pitch off his wrist -- absolutely terrifying everyone in the moment -- but it looks like he’s going to be fine. And the Rangers got knocked around by an Angels team playing out the string … but because the Mariners beat the Astros, they didn’t lose any of their division lead. They’re still 2 1/2 games up on Houston and well-positioned for their No. 2 seed in the AL. Their perfect scenario is winning Wednesday and hoping the Mariners beat the Astros again in Seattle. That would give them a three-game lead over the Mariners and a 3 1/2 game lead over the Astros … essentially setting them up to need to win just one of their four games against Seattle this weekend to clinch the division.
Astros at Mariners (Framber Valdez vs. Bryce Miller), 9:40 p.m.
It sure looked grim for the Mariners in the first inning on Tuesday. George Kirby, the pitcher they were counting on to stop their four-game losing streak and reverse a skid that was feeling very collapse-y, was facing a bases loaded mess in the top of the first. Were the Astros going to pour it on and get this over with quickly? Nope: Kirby escaped the mess, ended up throwing six shutout innings and the Mariners got a desperately needed victory to put them within a half-game of Houston. They have a tough challenge with Valdez in this one, but it’s just as important to the Astros. After all, lose this game tonight and suddenly they’re the team on the outside looking in in the Wild Card chase.