Garrett Crochet stood in the dugout in Boston the day before the playoffs, as manager Alex Cora made a call to the bullpen. Cora recalled Crochet confidently saying, “‘Tomorrow you’re going to make one call to the bullpen.'” Cora responded, “‘Maybe two,'” to which Crochet insisted, “‘No, no, no. One. It’s going to be straight to Chappy.'” Crochet’s boldness translated into an outstanding pitching performance, throwing 117 pitches – the most in a postseason game in six years. He outshone Max Fried and the New York Yankees with an impressive display on the mound, striking out 11 batters and walking none over 7 2/3 innings. The Red Sox triumphed with a 3-1 win in the AL Wild Card Series opener.
Crochet admitted, “Just being arrogant, to be honest. I didn’t actually expect that to be the case.” The game saw Anthony Volpe hitting a homer for the Yankees in the second inning, but Crochet dominated, retiring 17 consecutive batters until Volpe’s single in the eighth. With the game tied 1-1, Boston took the lead when Ceddanne Rafaela walked and Nick Sogard doubled to set up pinch-hitter Masataka Yoshida for a two-run single. Crochet showcased his prowess with a 100.2 mph full-count pitch to strike out Austin Wells and secure the win.
In another game, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Cleveland Guardians 2-1, led by pitcher Tarik Skubal’s stellar performance. Skubal tied a franchise postseason record with 14 strikeouts, propelling the Tigers to victory in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. Despite a challenging September, Skubal’s resilience and strong pitching set the tone for Detroit’s success in the series, limiting Cleveland to just one run on three hits over 7 2/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Seiya Suzuki of the Chicago Cubs made his playoff debut count by hitting a crucial home run in their 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. Suzuki’s blast sparked Chicago’s offense, breaking a tie game and propelling them to victory.
In the NL Wild Card Series opener, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Cincinnati Reds 10-5 behind strong performances from Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, and Blake Snell. The Dodgers matched a franchise postseason record with five home runs, including two each from Ohtani and Hernandez, as they aim to secure back-to-back World Series championships.
