Photo from Google Images
I will never understand how MLB can have a team win 106 games and STILL have to play a one game, win or go home, Wild Card game to keep their post-season alive. The reality is that you have to win your division to secure your playoff spot. No matter how good or how bad the division may be, only first place advances. For those of you who haven’t been watching baseball, below is the break down in order of wins-losses by league:
National League:
107-55- San Francisco Giants -Clinched NL West
106-56- Los Angeles Dodgers -Wild-Card game
95-67- Milwaukee Brewers – Clinched NL Central
90-72 St. Louis Cardinals- Wild-Card game
88-73- Atlanta Braves- Clinched NL East
American League:
100-62- Tampa Bay Rays- Clinched AL East
95-67- Houston Cheaters- Clinched AL West
93-69- Chicago White Sox- Clinched AL Central
92-70- Boston Red Sox- Wild-Card game
92-70- New York Yankees- Wild-Card game
The team with the second-best record in MLB is ONE game behind the best record in MLB and has SIX more wins that the best team in the American League and still has to play in a one game, win or go home wild-card game. Baseball is played in a series all season, except for the wild card game. This is like an 11-win team in the NFL not making the playoffs. It’s absurd, right? Well, cue Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks character in a League of Their Own).
Dodgers Max Scherzer was asked if he was upset about being in a wild-card game: “No. You have to win your division. We didn’t win our division. We’re in the wild-card game. There’s no crying in baseball.”
Even with 106 wins to tie the franchise record set in 2019, the 8-years in a row National League West Championship streak has now ended for the Los Angeles Dodgers. But none of those stats or streaks matter. All that matters is winning TONIGHT and moving on.
Scherzer will face Cardinals ace, Adam Wainwright, in a pitching duel. These two have been here before. (I’m not going to focus on the details from 2019. The Dodgers should have won and yes, I’m still bitter. You can Google.) The difference now, is that Scherzer is in a Dodger uniform for his 19th career postseason start.
The Cardinals got really hot in September and won 17 games in row. The Dodgers have the best home record in the league 58-23 and won 18 of their last 21 games. It’s going to be a battle tonight with the entire season is on the line.
Game starts at 8:10PM EST on TBS. LET’S GO DODGERS!
