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The American League Wild Card Game will be a tough act to follow, but a top-flight pitching matchup is on tap as the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets square off on the National League side of things Wednesday night.

Both teams have their respective aces on the mound with the season on the line, as Madison Bumgarner (15-9, 2.79 ERA, 251 K) takes the ball for San Francisco and Noah Syndergaard (14-9, 2.60 ERA, 218 K) toes the rubber for New York.

Who will come out on top in tonight’s NL Wild Card Game and move on to face the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS?

Keep it right here for live updates on all of tonight’s action.

FINAL SCORE: Giants 3, Mets 0

W: Madison Bumgarner
L: Jeurys Familia

HR: Conor Gillaspie
RBI: Conor Gillaspie (3)

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If the MLB postseason follows the same course the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles traveled Tuesday night, October will be a month to remember.

The Blue Jays picked up a 5-2 win in the one-game American League Wild Card Round at the Rogers Centre when slugger Edwin Encarnacion slammed a three-run homer off Ubaldo Jimenez in the bottom of the 11th inning, sending the home team into the American League Division Series against the AL West champion Texas Rangers.

That best-of-five series will get underway Thursday in Texas, with the Rangers holding home-field advantage.

The other American League series will feature the Boston Red Sox and the Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox won the AL East, outlasting the Blue Jays and Orioles thanks to an 11-game winning streak in September that saw them leave their two competitors behind.

The Indians gained control of the AL Central in the middle of the season thanks to a solid pitching staff and the sharp managing of Terry Francona. The Indians have home-field advantage in the series that also gets underway Thursday.

The two ALDS winners will meet in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series in mid-October, and the winner of that series will represent the Junior Circuit in the World Series.

The American League representative will have home-field advantage in the World Series, thanks to the American League’s 4-2 victory in the All-Star Game in July.

The National League Wild Card Game has a chance to join the American League game as a true classic. The San Francisco Giants may have slumped throughout the second half of the season, but they survived and will face the New York Mets at Citi Field in New York Wednesday night.

The Giants will send postseason ace Madison Bumgarner to the mound against Noah Syndergaard, and this should turn into a pitcher’s duel of epic proportions. 

But it doesn’t always work out that way. Sometimes a classic pitcher’s duel becomes a slugfest, and that could happen if neither pitcher is at his best.

The winner will earn the right to play the powerful Chicago Cubs in the National League Division Series.

The Cubs won 103 regular-season games, and this is supposed to be their year. However, the best regular-season team doesn’t always win, and when a team carries the burden of not having won a World Series since 1908, it may not be an easy run to the title that long-suffering Cubs fans are waiting to see.

The other National League series will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers vs. the Washington Nationals. Manager Dusty Baker’s Nats have home-field advantage in that one.

If the Cubs beat the wild-card winner, they will host the National League Championship Series against the Nats or Dodgers. If the Cubs fall short, the Los Angeles-Washington winner will have the home-field edge against the wild-card winner.

Prediction

The Red Sox had an indifferent final week of the season that saw them lose five of their final six games, which cost them home field against the Indians.

However, the Red Sox have the much more potent lineup, and they also have the healthier starting pitching. Look for Mookie Betts, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia to lead the Red Sox to a four-game win over the Indians.

The Blue Jays and Rangers engaged in a nasty playoff series a year ago, with the Blue Jays emerging victorious in five games. Look for the Rangers to win the series this year, also in five games.

The Red Sox will outlast Texas in six games in the ALCS, as Ortiz and Betts outslug the dangerous Rangers.

In the National League, the Giants and Bumgarner will outduel the Mets and Syndergaard. That will give San Francisco a chance to exercise its postseason muscle against the Cubs, but after Chicago nervously loses the first two games of the series at home, manager Joe Maddon’s team finds its stride and wins three straight.

The Dodgers will use their pitching edge to punish the Nats and win that series in four games. The Dodgers will push the Cubs hard, but Chicago will overcome past demons and win the NL pennant in seven games.

That will lead to a classic World Series between the Red Sox and the Cubs. The Red Sox used to be the team that couldn’t win the big one, but that has changed with three World Series titles since 2004.

They will use the motivation of Big Papi’s last stand to win the World Series in seven games and break hearts all over Chicago.

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The Miami Marlins officially picked up the contract option on outfielder Ichiro Suzuki on Wednesday to keep him with the organization for the 2017 season. 

The Marlins announced the decision on their official Twitter feed. Ichiro is scheduled to make $2 million during the final year of the current deal, per Spotrac.

One year ago, it appeared the 42-year-old legend was finally starting to fade. The Japanese superstar posted a career-low .282 on-base percentage and finished with a negative WAR (-0.7) for the first time, according to FanGraphs.

Ichiro bounced back in a significant way during the 2016 campaign, though. While he didn’t make the type of daily impact he did during his prime with the Seattle Mariners, his .354 OBP was back in line with his career average while he filled various voids for the club.

The 10-time All-Star also reached a couple of milestones during the season.

In June, he passed longtime Cincinnati Reds star Pete Rose with his 4,257th career hit between his time in MLB and Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The outfielder told Joe Frisaro of MLB.com through an interpreter he wasn’t interested in the debate about being the true hit king.

“I don’t think you can compare,” Ichiro said. “Obviously, it’s a combined record. So I always just say, ‘What people think about that record, if they recognize it, I’ll be happy.’ But obviously, 3,000, it’s a no-doubter. Obviously, it’s a record here. So that is a goal I want to achieve.”

He accomplished the latter task in August with a triple against the Colorado Rockies. He expressed concerns about how he had achieved the mark, but his resurgent play alleviated them, per David Waldstein of the New York Times.

“Are you at the end and can barely play and are just chasing this number and can barely get there?” Ichiro said. “Or are you part of a team trying to win ballgames, going about your business properly as you go past that number? I think that is what I want to experience, and that is what is important for me.”

Looking ahead, Ichiro figures to play the role of fourth outfielder again next season behind the triumvirate of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna.

He can still play all three outfield spots at age 42, which will lead to a few starts per week. Per FanGraphs, he posted a plus-six defensive runs saved figure this season, and that also allows him to serve as a defensive replacement in the late innings off the bench.

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Fact: Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run walk-off home run in the Toronto Blue Jays‘ 5-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. He became the first player since the New York Yankees‘ Aaron Boone (2003 ALCS Game 7 vs. Boston Red Sox) to hit a walk-off in a winner-take-all game. 

Bleacher Report will be bringing sports fans the most interesting and engaging Cold Hard Fact of the day, presented by Coors Light.

    
Source: B/R Insights 

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The 2016 MLB playoffs commenced in grand fashion Tuesday when the Toronto Blue Jays knocked off the Baltimore Orioles in extra innings in the American League Wild Card Game, but there are several more intriguing matchups on tap moving forward.

On Wednesday, it will be decided who advances to the National League Division Series when the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets clash in what promises to be a pitchers’ duel. Also, the AL Division Series is set, with the Blue Jays taking on the Texas Rangers and the Boston Red Sox meeting the Cleveland Indians.

Ahead of the NL Wild Card Game and the start of the ALDS, here is a full rundown of the schedule and a look at where you can view every game.

NL Wild Card and ALDS Schedule

Giants vs. Mets

Following an AL Wild Card Game between the Jays and Orioles that went down to the wire, expectations are high for Wednesday night’s battle between the Giants and Mets.

The Mets reached the World Series in surprising fashion last season, while the Giants tend to win the World Series every other year, and the calendar suggests they are due in 2016.

While timely hitting will be key, the main matchup to watch is undoubtedly that of Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard attempting to go pitch for pitch at Citi Field.

Bumgarner and Syndergaard were two of the National League’s best hurlers during the regular season, and hits figure to be difficult to come by with them on the mound.

While Syndergaard had a better ERA this season than Bumgarner (2.60 compared to 2.74), Bumgarner seemingly has the advantage because of his incredible playoff success.

Bumgarner was named the World Series MVP in 2014, and as Mike Puma of the New York Post pointed out, his recent postseason numbers and career numbers at Citi Field are astounding:

At the same time, Bumgarner isn’t in ideal form entering the playoffs, according to Jerry Recco of WFAN:

Neither Bumgarner nor Syndergaard makes many mistakes, so Wednesday’s game figures to come down to which offense is able to take advantage of the few opportunities it receives. 

Syndergaard proved last year that the postseason stage wasn’t too big for him, but Bumgarner has been nearly unhittable in that atmosphere, which is why San Francisco enters the game with a leg up.

Blue Jays vs. Rangers

Perhaps no rivalry in baseball has been more intense than that of the Blue Jays and Rangers over the past year, so it was undoubtedly fitting when Toronto dispatched the Orioles in the AL Wild Card Game by virtue of a walk-off home run by Edwin Encarnacion.

That set the stage for an ALDS rematch from last season that saw Toronto outlast Texas in five games. Plenty of bad blood was produced in that series, most notably because of Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista‘s demonstrative bat flip.

The tension carried over to 2016, as Bautista and Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor engaged in a brawl after Bautista slid hard into second base during the regular season.

CBS Sports provided a reminder of the incident on Twitter:

Despite the obvious tension between the two teams, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary with regard to the upcoming series, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:

It’ll be talked about a ton. I think it’ll dominate or at least be one of the top story lines nationally and locally. I think that the fan bases will be loud and the crowd. Beyond that, I don’t expect much.

I think this time of year everybody’s so focused on what they want to do, everybody wants to win so badly. … I don’t think you’re going to see any silly stuff because teams have too much to lose this time of year. I expect our fans will boo their guys and their fans will boo our guys and the game will go on.

Even if the Blue Jays and Rangers players decide to keep it clean, the respective fanbases promise to create raucous environments perfect for postseason baseball.

In terms of entertainment value, the Jays and Rangers figure to offer plenty of bang for the buck because of the hatred between them and the fact that they are among the most explosive offensive teams baseball has to offer.

Red Sox vs. Indians

Terry Francona will always have a special place in Red Sox history, as he managed them to World Series titles in 2004 and 2007, but the ALDS will see him attempting to stop Boston in its tracks as manager of the Indians.

Francona is in the midst of his fourth season as Cleveland’s manager, and he has the team in the ALDS for the first time as the No. 2 seed in the American League.

While his tenure with the Red Sox didn’t end on ideal terms in 2011, Francona harbors no ill will toward the organization, especially since Red Sox manager John Farrell is his close friend, according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com: “I’m extremely proud of what John has done this year. And it’s tough to compete against one of your best friends. That’s actually kind of hard, but I’m so proud and happy for him, what he’s accomplished. I kind of consider it an honor to actually compete against him.”

In addition to the storyline of Francona going up against the Sox, the ALDS marks what could be the final postseason series of Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz’s illustrious career.

While Big Papi is 40 years of age, he is coming off a regular season that saw him hit .315 with 38 home runs and 127 RBI. Because of that, Francona joked that he wished Ortiz would step away a bit sooner than planned, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian:

Both the Red Sox and Indians are well-equipped to make a World Series run. Boston boasts the deepest and most dangerous lineup in baseball, while Cleveland has the type of pitching needed for postseason success.

While the Chicago Cubs are the favorites to win it all, the winner of the ALDS between the Sox and Tribe could potentially stake claim to that distinction.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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Despite missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season, the Detroit Tigers exercised manager Brad Ausmus‘ fourth-year option for 2017. 

The Tigers announced the news Wednesday. 

“Brad was instrumental in leading the team through adversity and with the development of our younger players, particularly the young starting pitchers,” executive vice president and general manager Al Avila wrote in a press release. “The team improved from last season, and under the leadership of Brad and his coaching staff, the ballclub kept fighting and remained in contention for the postseason. Moving forward we want to build off that progress.”

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News was the first to report the move Tuesday night.

The Tigers went 86-75, missing the playoffs by 2.5 games. Consecutive losses to the 68-93 Atlanta Braves to close out the season ended their chances of securing one of the two wild-card spots in the American League.

Detroit is 250-234 during Ausmus’ three years at the helm, including a playoff appearance in 2014 that resulted in the team getting swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Division Series.

The Tigers had made three straight trips to the postseason prior to Ausmus’ arrival, including a World Series loss under Jim Leyland in 2012.

When asked about his desire to remain as manager following the conclusion of the 2016 regular season, Ausmus said the following, per Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press: “Yeah. It’s a team that’s got a chance to win that’s got some good young pitching now. You know, it’s got a bona fide ace at the top, and it’s got some good young pitching that will, theoretically, just grow and get better.”

With a starting rotation featuring the likes of Justin Verlander, Michael Fulmer, Jordan Zimmermann and Daniel Norris and a lineup with hitters such as Miguel Cabrera, Justin Upton, Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez, the Tigers have the talent to make a deep run next season.

They have faltered despite their talent over the past couple of years, and while Ausmus has yet to pay the price for that, his leash isn’t likely to be long in 2017, especially since he’ll be managing for a new contract.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

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When the 2016 MLB season began, few people figured the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants would be here.

Sure, a majority of baseball pundits and fans expected both teams to be playing in October. But most thought they’d be respective division winners readying for the National League Division Series—not participants in the Wild Card Game.

With both teams starting outstanding pitchers in Wednesday’s win-or-go-home game, the matchup can be dissected a multitude of ways, with each suggesting a different outcome. Follow along to determine who you think will win Wednesday’s NL Wild Card Game.

Begin Slideshow

If Tuesday’s drama-filled American League Wild Card Game between the Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles was an indication of what’s to come in the 2016 MLB playoffs, baseball fans are in for a treat.

Edwin Encarnacion played the role of hero with a three-run walk-off homer in the 11th inning, propelling the Blue Jays past the Orioles 5-2 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto and pushing them to a date with the Texas Rangers in the American League Division Series.

MLB on Twitter shared video of Encarnacion’s long ball:

Mike Halford of NBC’s Pro Hockey Talk passed along an image of the Blue Jays celebrating:

While Encarnacion made headlines with his homer, the Toronto bullpen deserved plenty of credit. After starter Marcus Stroman pitched six solid innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and striking out six, Brett Cecil, Joe Biagini, Jason Grilli, Roberto Osuna and Francisco Liriano shut down the Orioles, as Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com illustrated:

The Baltimore bullpen was also impressive until Ubaldo Jimenez allowed three hits on five pitches in the 11th, including the home run to Encarnacion. Starter Chris Tillman tossed 4.1 innings and allowed two earned runs on four hits and a walk while striking out four.

Mychal Givens, Donnie Hart, Brad Brach, Darren O’Day and Brian Duensing then combined for six innings of two-hit relief with seven strikeouts. However, stud closer Zach Britton didn’t make an appearance.

“Either Britton is hurt or we just saw the worst managerial decision in my lifetime,” David Cameron of FanGraphs said.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said there was nothing physically wrong with Britton and that he elected to use Jimenez instead because “No one has been pitching better for us than Ubaldo,” per Jayson Stark of ESPN.

Each starter threw a perfect first inning well before the bullpens took over, and Big League Stew wondered how the rest of the game could unfold:

The scoreless tie didn’t last long, as Jose Bautista drilled a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second inning. It was his fifth homer in 12 postseason games.

“This guy lives for the big moments,” Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com said.

While it was just one run, the deficit appeared more daunting with Stroman working quickly and effectively. He mowed through the first nine Orioles, leading Ryan Fagan of Sporting News to opine, “In Toronto’s Game 162, Aaron Sanchez took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Stroman looks better tonight.”

He didn’t look better in the fourth when Mark Trumbo—who was 5-for-11 against the Blue Jays right-hander in the regular season—launched a frozen rope over the left field wall to give the Orioles a 2-1 advantage.

Toronto responded in the fifth. Michael Saunders and Kevin Pillar hit back-to-back doubles, though Saunders made a baserunning miscue and failed to score. He did, however, cross the plate on Ezequiel Carrera’s single, which drove Tillman from the game.

Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com bemoaned Michael Bourn’s failure to haul in Pillar’s double, which the right fielder seemed to have a bead on:

Givens limited the damage and maintained the tie by inducing a double play on his first pitch.

In the seventh, manager John Gibbons and the Blue Jays turned to the bullpen, and Biagini struck out both batters he faced after Cecil issued a one-out walk. Faizal Khamisa of Sportsnet shared a quote from the pitcher about pressure-packed moments:

The drama extended beyond the field in the bottom of the seventh when a fan threw a beer can at Baltimore left fielder Hyun Soo Kim as he tracked a fly ball. Adam Jones came over from center field to defend his teammate and angrily yelled into the crowd.

Richard Deitsch of Sports Illustrated suggested a punishment for the perpetrator:

Grilli and Brach pitched scoreless frames in the eighth, and Osuna took over in the top of the ninth, retiring Manny Machado, Trumbo and Matt Wieters with a groundout and two swinging strikeouts.

Brach—and not Britton—faced the heart of the Blue Jays lineup in the bottom half, and Josh Donaldson led things off with a double. Brach then intentionally walked Encarnacion and struck out Bautista before handing the ball to O’Day, who delivered in the marquee moment by inducing a double-play ball off the bat of Russell Martin.

Jesse Spector of Sporting News reacted to the Orioles’ decision not to use Britton, who entered the game with a 0.54 ERA and 0.84 WHIP:

Osuna retired Chris Davis in the 10th but then left the game with a trainer, per Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star. That’s when Liriano entered the contest.

The left-hander gave the Blue Jays a reliever who could pitch a number of innings, and he got four ground-ball outs and a strikeout before Showalter used a similar strategy, inserting Jimenez for Duensing with one out in the 11th.

“Did Britton not get through customs?” Brian Kenny of MLB Network asked.

Retired pitcher Dan Haren also weighed in:

Jimenez promptly surrendered singles to Devon Travis and Donaldson before allowing the walk-off blast to Encarnacion. Khamisa reacted to the towering home run:

Daren Willman of MLB.com pointed out the location of the pitch:

All it took was that poorly placed offering, and the Orioles’ season came to a screeching halt.

What’s Next?

The Blue Jays will face the Rangers in the American League Division Series in a rematch of last year’s five-game classic.

Texas won the first two contests, but Toronto came storming back with three straight wins that included Bautista’s memorable bat flip in Game 5. The Rangers, with the best record in the American League at 95-67, will look for revenge this time around.

Texas boasts a formidable lineup with Rougned Odor and Adrian Beltre and was fourth in the AL in runs scored and fifth in home runs.

Toronto will be playing from behind in the starting pitching department after using Stroman and Liriano, but it was 4-3 against the Rangers this season. Game 1 is set for 4:30 p.m. ET Thursday.

Postgame Reaction

Britton said he was fine and called watching the last inning “frustrating,” per Crasnick.

Jimenez described the final pitch, per MASNSports.com’s Steve Melewski: “Was trying to get a sinker down and get a double play. But it didn’t do anything. It stayed up.”

Jones commented on the fan who threw a beer at Kim, per Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun: “That’s just as pathetic as it gets. I hope they find the guy, and I hope they press charges.”

The Blue Jays shared their celebration on Twitter:

“That’s why I want to come back here—because that happened tonight,” said Encarnacion, who is set to be a free agent after the season, per Chris Johnston of Sportsnet.

Scott MacArthur of TSN reported “Osuna told me he felt tired and a bit of a stretch in his shoulder. His self-prognosis is to be good for ALDS.”

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Boasting a National League-best 27 home runs at the end of July, Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story was on pace to decimate Nomar Garciaparra’s rookie shortstop record of 30 home runs, which was set in 1997 for a Boston Red Sox team that finished 78-84, per MLB.com.

Entering the season, the Rockies were awaiting punishment for Jose Reyes’ offseason issues, leaving the door open for Story at shortstop to begin the season. Reyes was eventually handed a suspension for 51 games, allowing the 23-year-old an extended audition for the starting role.

Any detractors of his were quickly silenced, as Story opened his major league career with a bang. In his first six games, Story collected seven home runs, including two in his major league debut on Opening Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

Many may point to Coors Field (known as the league’s friendliest ballpark for hitters) as the main source of Story’s power, but he surprisingly tallied 11 of his 27 home runs on the road.

He played well enough for the Rockies to designate Reyes for assignment when he was eligible to return from the suspension, permanently handing Story the shortstop job.

Unfortunately for both team and player alike, Story was diagnosed with a torn ligament in this thumb in early August, bringing an end to a spectacular rookie season. Despite missing the final two months, he should garner serious consideration for National League Rookie of the Year honors.

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If you’re a fan of the long ball, then the American League Wild Card Game between the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays is right up your alley. Baltimore led baseball with 253 regular-season home runs, while Toronto finished fourth with 221 outfield fence-clearing blasts.

With more than 450 homers between the two clubs—and 57 combined bombs in the 19 regular-season games in which they faced off (28 for the Orioles, 29 for the Jays)—it’s entirely possible the AL Wild Card Game will more closely resemble a home run derby than playoff baseball.

Keep it here for updates and analysis of all the action as it unfolds from Rogers Centre in Toronto and chime in with your thoughts in the comments section below and on Twitter (@RickWeinerBR)!

Final: Toronto 5, Baltimore 2 (11 innings)

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