Zack Wheeler strikes out 8, NL champion Phillies beat Marlins 4-1 in Wild Card Series opener
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Zack Wheeler struck out eight and pitched into the seventh inning to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-1 win over the Miami Marlins in the opener of their NL Wild Card Series. The Phillies moved within a victory of an NL Division Series matchup against Atlanta. Cristian Pache and Bryson Stott had run-scoring singles for the Phillies. Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos added RBI doubles. Phillies reliever José Alvarado struck out Yuli Gurriel with two runners on in the seventh to end a threat.
Twins stop record 18-game postseason skid on strength of Royce Lewis home runs
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis hit home runs in each of his first two at-bats to carry the Minnesota Twins to a 3-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of their AL Wild Card Series. That ended Minnesota’s record 18-game postseason losing streak. Lewis hit a two-run shot off Kevin Gausman to left field in the first inning. He went deep to right leading off the third and became the third player in history to homer in each of his first two career postseason plate appearances. The Twins last won a game in the playoffs on Oct. 5, 2004.
Diamondbacks hit Burnes hard to rally for 6-3 victory over Brewers in Wild Card Series opener
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte and Gabriel Moreno homered against Corbin Burnes, helping Arizona erase an early three-run deficit and sending the Diamondbacks to a 6-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series. The rally put Arizona in a prime position to advance. Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Wednesday, and the Diamondbacks have ace Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly lined up after rookie Brandon Pfaadt lasted just 2 2/3 innings in the opener. Arizona, which clinched an NL wild card in the final days of the season, had been 0-14 in postseason games when trailing by at least three runs.
Montgomery sparkles, Rangers beat sloppy Rays 4-0 in AL Wild Card Series opener
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Montgomery scattered six hits over seven innings, helping the Texas Rangers beat the sloppy Tampa Bay Rays 4-0 in their AL Wild Card Series opener. Corey Seager and Josh Jung drove in runs and the Rangers benefitted from four errors by the Rays, who also fizzled offensively before a crowd of just 19,704. Texas moved within a victory of a AL Division Series matchup against Baltimore. Tampa Bay, lost its sixth straight postseason game since winning its 2021 Division Series opener against Boston. The Rays have one run in their last three playoff defeats, hitting .133.