Epic Opener
Freeman, Braves top Reds 1-0 in 13th inning
ATLANTA — Freddie Freeman singled home the winning run in the 13th inning, finally ending the longest scoreless duel in postseason history as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 in the opener of their NL wild-card series on Wednesday.
The East champion Braves won the first game of a postseason series for the first time since the 2001 NL Division Series and can wrap up the bestof-three series on Thursday. If they do, it will snap a record-tying streak of 10 straight playoff round losses.
What began as a pitching showdown between between Cy Young contenders Trevor Bauer of the Reds and Atlanta’s Max Fried devolved into a strikeout contest.
Rays 8, Blue Jays 2 Tampa Bay wins series 2-0
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam and the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays won a postseason series for the first time in 12 years, overpowering the young Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 Wednesday to finish a two-game sweep of their AL wild-card matchup.
Renfroe launched the first playoff grand slam in franchise history during a six-run second inning. Tyler Glasnow kept Tampa Bay ahead from there, allowing two runs — on a pair of homers by Danny Jansen — in six innings.
Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer off Blue Jays ace Hyun Jin Ryu during Tampa Bay’s big inning. Manuel Margot and Randy Arozarena also drove in runs as the Rays advanced to the AL
Division series against either the New York Yankees or Cleveland Indians.
Marlins 5, Cubs 1 Miami leads series 1-0
CHICAGO — Corey Dickerson hit
a three-run homer off a fading Kyle Hendricks in the seventh inning, and the Miami Marlins beat the Chicago Cubs 5-1 on Wednesday in Game 1 of their NL wild-card series.
Jesús Aguilar also homered and Sandy Alcantara pitched three-hit ball into the seventh as Miami conjured up memories of past playoff magic in the franchise’s first postseason game since it won the World Series in 2003. The Marlins, who rallied past the Cubs in a memorable NLCS that year, have never lost a playoff series.
Athletics 5, White Sox 3 Series tied 1-1
OAKLAND — Marcus Semien and Khris Davis homered early and the Oakland Athletics held off José Abreu and the Chicago White Sox in the late innings for a 5-3 win Wednesday that sent their AL playoff series to a deciding Game 3.
A’s reliever Jake Diekman walked home a run in the ninth, then retired the big-hitting Abreu on a sharp grounder to end it and even the best-of-three wild-card matchup at 1-all.
Astros 3, Twins 1 Houston wins series 2-0
MINNEAPOLIS — Carlos Correa hit a two-out, tiebreaking home run in the seventh inning for the Houston Astros, who produced another stifling pitching performance and swept Minnesota with a 3-1 victory Wednesday that sent the Twins to a record 18th straight postseason loss.
Nine months after Houston’s rules-breaking, sign-stealing system was revealed, the Astros advanced to the Division Series in Los Angeles. As the sixth seed, they’ll face the Oakland Athletics or Chicago White Sox in a bestof-five matchup starting Monday at Dodger Stadium.
Cardinals 7, Padres 4 St. Louis leads series 1-0
SAN DIEGO — Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run during a four-run first inning, St. Louis’ bullpen held strong after starter Kwang Hyun Kim stumbled in his playoff debut and the Cardinals ruined San Diego’s long-awaited return to the playoffs in the opener of their NL wild-card series.
The Cardinals need one more win to eliminate the Padres from the postseason for the fourth time since 1996. They swept the Padres in the NL Division Series in 1996 and 2005, and won 3-1 in 2006, which was the last time San Diego made the postseason. Game 2 is Thursday.
New York Yankees at Cleveland, late Milwaukee at Dodgers, late