The Tampa Bay Rays and the Washington Nationals have won their respective Wild Card games and will advance to the Division Series.
AL Wild Card
Hitting four home runs, the Rays beat the Athletics by a score of 5-4 on Wednesday in Oakland. Yandy Diaz hit two solo home runs, including a leadoff home run. The Rays took the lead in the first at-bat of the game and never lost it.
The only non-solo home run of the game came off the bat of Avisail Garcia in the second, a two-run shot. Diaz hit his second homer of the day in the third, and Tommy Pham hit one for insurance in the fifth.
A’s starter Sean Manaea lasted just two innings. Charlie Morton took the win for the Rays, his third win in win or go home games in his postseason career.
The Rays will now take on the Astros in the ALDS, with game one starting at 2:05PM ET on Friday from Houston.
NL Wild Card
The Washington Nationals trailed almost all game, but some late-game heroics off the bat of Juan Soto surpassed the team over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Max Scherzer was by no means his best on Tuesday for the Nationals. He gave up three runs over five innings, and the Brewers were hitting the ball hard off of him all night. Yasmani Grandal hit a two-run home run just seven pitches in, giving the Brewers a quick 2-0 lead.
An inning later, Eric Thames joined in on the fun, making it 3-0.
The Nationals had trouble piecing together offense in the first seven innings, their only bright spot being a solo home run off the bat of Trea Turner. He had finished the regular season with five homers in his last 10 games with a new and improved grip.
In the eighth, Brewers all-star reliever Josh Hader hit a batter, walked a batter, and gave up a hit to load the bases. With two outs, Juan Soto hit a single to right that tied the game, but right fielder Trent Grisham booted the ball, scoring Anthony Rendon as the go-ahead run.
Daniel Hudson came in the ninth and got the save for the Nationals. They now take on the Dodgers on Thursday at 8:37PM ET. Patrick Corbin gets the ball for the Nats against Walker Buehler of the Dodgers.