Bonus games will decide NL division champs
MLB Triple Crown contender Christian Yelich and the Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field.
Nolan Arenado and the big-hitting Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium.
October baseball is about to begin with Game No. 163 — two of them, actually — this afternoon.
Two tiebreakers on the same day for the first time in major league history. Both to divvy up divisions, too.
“It’s interesting that baseball is such a perfect game in some ways that it takes 162 to not decide anything,” Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon said.
Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and the Cubs begin the doubleheader drama when they host Milwaukee for the NL Central crown. Later in the afternoon, Dodgers rookie Walker Buehler is set to start when Los Angeles faces Colorado for the NL West title.
There’s a catch, though.
All four teams are already assured playoff spots, either as a division champ or wild card. The Dodgers, Rockies, Brewers and Cubs knew that going into Sunday, the final scheduled day of the regular season, and then romped by a combined score of 48-5.
So, it means this: These matchups are not one-and-done.
Never before has a team that lost a tiebreaker got to keep playing. Bucky Dent’s pop-fly homer finished off the Boston Red Sox in 1978. Matt Holliday slid home — and maybe touched the plate — to eliminate the San Diego Padres in 2007. David Price pitched the Tampa Bay Rays past the Texas Rangers in 2013 to win the most recent matchup.
This time, they’re all in. But there’s still a big difference between winning the division or going into the postseason as a wild card.
The Brewers-Cubs winner gets to start the best-of-five National League Division Series at home on Thursday against the wild-card winner. The Colorado-Los Angeles winner also begins the NLDS at home versus the Atlanta Braves.
“It’s a game where obviously it’s not do Milwaukee’s Jesus Aguilar, right, celebrates the Brewers’ victory over the Detroit Tigers with teammates Sunday in Milwaukee. Milwaukee plays the Chicago Cubs today in Chicago to determine the National League Central Division champion.
or die, but I think that it’s a must-win game,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after a 15-0 rout in San Francisco. “To win the game and get a couple days off, to host the Division Series is very important.”
The tiebreaker losers play Tuesday at the NL Central’s site to determine who advances.
The American League playoff scenario is set. The Oakland Athletics and the host Yankees will play the AL wild-card game Wednesday night in New York, and the winner goes to Boston on Friday. The Houston Astros begin their bid to repeat as World Series champs by hosting Cleveland starting Friday.
Arenado homered twice and Charlie Blackmon hit for the cycle as the Rockies roughed up Washington 12-0. The Nationals decided to skip ace Max Scherzer and instead started Erick Fedde.
Colorado, which has never won a division title since beginning play in 1993, will try to deny the 2017 NL champion Dodgers their sixth straight West title. German
Marquez, who struck out eight straight batters to begin his last start, takes on Manny Machado, Justin Turner and their Los Angeles teammates.
“It’s two of the best young starting pitchers in the big leagues pitching in this type of game,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “It’s great.”
The Dodgers topped Colorado 12-7 in the season series. The Cubs are 11-8 against Milwaukee.
At Wrigley, Cubs lefty Jose Quintana opposes Brewers right-hander Jhoulys Chacin. Quintana is a sharp 6-2 with a 1.60 ERA in 10 starts against Milwaukee.
The Cubs put themselves in this position with a 10-5 win at home over St. Louis. Milwaukee won its seventh in a row, trouncing Detroit 11-0.
“Expecting it to be fairly hostile tomorrow,” Yelich said. “Anytime we play the Cubs, it’s a hostile environment, especially in Wrigley Field. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to it.”