MLB Wild Card top plays: Guardians walk off against Rays, SEA-TOR in action

Day 2 of MLB wild card action is here, as the Cleveland Guardians swept the Tampa Bay Rays in Saturday’s first matchup, via a walk-off homer.

Toronto is looking to stay alive against Seattle In the second game of the day, before the Mets aim to bounce back after a disappointing outing against San Diego (7:37 p.m. ET, ESPN) and Philadelphia attempts to close the door on St. Louis (8:37 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Here are the top plays from Saturday’s wild-card matchups:

Mariners vs. Blue Jays (Game 2, SEA leads 1-0)

Teoscar goes yard

Blue Jays slugger Teoscar Hernandez gets his team on the board first in a do-or-die game for Toronto, hitting a two-run blast to left field to take 2-0 lead. 

Teoscar times two!

After Vlad Guerrero Jr. hit an RBI single in the third, Hernandez extended the Blue Jays’ lead to 4-0 when he hit his second homer of the game, both coming off Mariners starter Robbie Ray. The homer ended Ray’s day as Seattle called on Matt Brash out of the bullpen.

So close!

Carlos Santana was just a few feet away from cutting the Blue Jays’ lead in half. His fly ball to center hit the top of the wall, evading the outstretched arm of George Springer.

Santana ended up with a double that put runners in scoring position and Jared Kelenic knocked in a run on a sac fly to make it 4-1 in the fifth. 

Wild pitch leads to wild inning

The Mariners’ three-run deficit didn’t last long. The Blue Jays loaded the bases quickly and a passed ball allowed Santiago Espinal to score and make it 5-1. After Alejandro Kirk walked, Hernandez wasn’t given a chance to hit his third home run, as he was hit by a pitch to make it 6-1.

Blue Jays add on

Matt Chapman hit a sac fly to continue the Blue Jays’ scoring in the fifth and make it 7-1. Danny Jansen doubled to help Toronto jump out to an 8-1 lead in the fifth.

Mariners making it interesting

Blue Jays starter Kevin Gausman found himself in a jam to start the sixth, allowing the first three Mariners’ hitters to get on base. However, he got two straight outs, but was still pulled from the game. 

Tim Mayza came in and threw a wild pitch on his first offering to Carlos Santana, allowing a runner to score. Later in the at-bat, Santana took Mayza yard to cut the Blue Jays’ lead to 8-5. 

Guardians 1, Rays 0 (CLE wins series 2-0)

Just nasty

Tyler Glasnow appeared to be in postseason form with this strikeout.

Pitching duel

Glasnow and Triston McKenzie are in rare form, quickly turning Saturday’s matchup into a classic playoff pitching duel. 

A round of applause

Kudos are in order for Glasnow, who was stellar through five innings.

McKenzie magic

Through six innings, McKenzie registered eight strikeouts and only allowed two hits.

In other words, he’s dealing.

Narrow escape

In the bottom of the sixth, the Guardians had the bases loaded with no outs. But Jason Adam was able to strike out Jose Ramirez before Josh Naylor grounded out into a double play.

Run saved!

The Guardians kept the Rays off the board with this incredible defensive play!

A new record set!

The Rays and Guardians both left the 13th inning empty-handed, making it the first scoreless game through 13 innings in MLB playoff history. 

More history being made

As the game moves into the 15th, more MLB playoff records have been set. With the Guardians’ Sam Hentges striking out Taylor Walls and Francisco Mejia to open the inning, Saturday’s game broke the record for total strikeouts in a playoff game with 38. Hentges struck out Jose Siri to end the inning.

Guardians walk it off!

After 14.5 innings of scoreless baseball, Oscar Gonzalez ended the game and the series by hitting a solo shot to open the bottom of the 15th, sending the Guardians to the ALDS to face the Yankees. 

Padres vs. Mets (Game 2, SD leads 1-0)

Phillies vs. Cardinals (Game 2, PHI leads 1-0)

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