Red Sox and Dodgers Advance in Wild Card Round

Gerrit Cole was one of the best pitchers in the American League this season, but he did not have it in the New York Yankees’ biggest game of the season. Cole was the starting pitcher for the Yankees in their American League Wild Card playoff game against the Red Sox in Boston on October 5th, but he lasted just two innings, allowing three runs and four hits, including a pair of home runs as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 6-2.

Xander Bogaerts hit a two run homer and Kyle Schwarber hit a solo shot, while Alex Verdugo drove in the other three Red Sox runs. Nathan Eovaldi allowed just one run on four hits in 5 1/3 innings and picked up the victory. Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton hit solo homers for the Yankees.

The Red Sox will face the defending American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays in the Division Series. The Rays, who finished with the best record in the American League (100-62), won the season series with the Red Sox 11-8.

The National League Wild Card game on October 6th  featured two of the hottest teams in baseball. The Los Angeles Dodgers won 106 games but still finished second to the incredible San Francisco Giants, who won 107 games. The St. Louis Cardinals had a club record 17 game winning streak in September, and were 21-2 from September 8th through October 1st. This one was tied at one apiece until the bottom of the ninth inning, when Chris Taylor hit a two out two run homer off Alex Reyes to send the Dodgers into the Division Series. They’ll play the San Francisco Giants for the 1st time ever in the post season. The Giants won the regular season series 10-9.