All four Wild Card Series in the 2023 MLB playoffs ended in two-game sweeps on Wednesday. The Rangers, Twins, Diamondbacks and Phillies are all moving on in the postseason bracket after Game 2 wins. They eliminated the Rays, Blue Jays, Brewers and Marlins in the process to set up four LDS matchups: Orioles-Rangers, Astros-Twins, Dodgers-Diamondbacks and Braves-Phillies.
With the four sweeps, we'll be without postseason baseball for two days. All four matchups in the ALDS and NLDS get started Saturday. So let's use this time to reflect on what we learned on Day 2 of the postseason, a day that saw the playoff field shrink from 12 teams to eight.
This is the first round in MLB playoff history that contained at least four series and had every series result in a sweep, per CBS Sports research. Last year, three of the four Wild Card Series were sweeps, but the Padres-Mets series went to Game 3. There had previously been plenty of years with four series going on at the same time -- that would be the divisional round -- and we never before had four sweeps. Sure, the overwhelming majority of those series before were five-game series, meaning a team would need to win three straight before a sweep and now it's only two straight in this best-of-three format, but it's still notable. It also means there is no playoff baseball on Thursday. The postseason resumes Saturday afternoon (here's the full schedule).
Evan Carter, the No. 9 prospect in baseball, made his MLB debut on Sept. 8 and immediately became an impact player for the Rangers. He hit .306/.413/.645 with five home runs in 23 regular season games, then had a whale of a Wild Card Series: 3 for 4 with two doubles, one homer, three walks, one strikeout, and one hit by pitch in the two games. The homer broke Game 2 open.
At 21 years and 36 days, Carter is the 11th-youngest player in history to hit a postseason home run, and the third youngest US-born player to go deep in October. Only Bryce Harper (19 years and 362 days) and inner circle Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle (20 years and 352 days) hit homers in the playoffs at a younger age than Carter among US-born players.
The Rangers bludgeoned the Rays in the two games -- they outscored them 11-1 -- and Carter was not the only youngster to put a dent in the scoreboard. Leody Taveras went 3 for 9 in the two games and Josh Jung went 3 for 4 with two doubles in Game 2. Clearly though, Carter was the star of the show. He's made a name for himself these last four weeks.
There really is no other way to put it: Tampa embarrassed themselves this postseason. They were outscored 11-1 in two games and kicked the ball around like Little Leaguers, and they were one inning away from tying the postseason scoreless streak record when Curtis Mead singled in a run in the seventh inning of Game 2. By then the score was 7-0, however.
Here are the longest postseason scoreless droughts in baseball history:
The Rays have lost their last seven postseason games -- that dates back to Game 1 of the 2021 ALDS -- and that is the longest active streak now that the Twins have snapped their record 18-gamer. A historic 13-0 start to the regular season and 99 wins ultimately went for naught. October has been Tampa's kryptonite the last few years.
These are not your older brother's Twins. During their record 18-game postseason streak, Minnesota often took a pitching staff loaded with pitch-to-contact soft-tossers into October, and that's not going to play. My evidence: 18 straight postseason losses. The Twins are out of the Stone Age now and have the high-end velocity and spin that plays well in the postseason.
Between Games 1 and 2, the Twins held the Blue Jays to one run on 15 hits and five walks in 18 offensive innings. Toronto had 14 singles and one double in the series. Twins pitchers struck out 19 in the two games, include two by closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning of Game 2. He struck out Daulton Varsho with 100 mph, 102 mph, and 101 mph to close out the series.
In Pablo López and Sonny Gray, the Twins have two ace-caliber starters fronting the staff, and the bullpen is deep in hard-throwers and bat-missers. 24 of the 30 fastest and 36 of the 47 fastest pitches in Game 2 were thrown by Minnesota pitchers. At long last, they have the kind of pitching that wins in October. They completely shut down the Blue Jays in the Wild Card Series.
To be clear, the Twins won the Wild Card Series because their pitching was so good. They deserve all the credit. The Blue Jays also shot themselves in the foot more than once in Game 2. First and foremost, José Berríos was pulled after four innings plus one batter and only 47 pitches, specifically to get southpaw Yusei Kikuchi on the mound against Minnesota's lefty hitters. That did not work.
Kikuchi allowed an infield single and a walk to load the bases, then Carlos Correa shot a ground ball back up the middle to open the scoring. Willi Castro followed with an RBI double play to give Minnesota the only two runs they'd need. Twins skipper Rocco Baldelli emptied his bench and pinch-hit Donovan Solano (walk) and Castro to get the right matchups that inning, and they paid off. Pulling Berríos, who looked fantastic, and going to Kikuchi was too cute by half.
A half-inning later, the Blue Jays -- more accurately Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -- ran themselves out of prime run scoring opportunity. They had runners on second and third with two outs and their best hitter, Bo Bichette, at the plate. Then Vlad Jr. got picked off second base. This straight up can not happen:
The Blue Jays are 0-6 in the postseason in the Bichette and Guerrero era and their last three seasons are all pretty similar: 91 wins and no postseason in 2021, 92 wins and a Wild Card Series sweep in 2022, and now 89 wins and a Wild Card Series sweep in 2023. This core, which is not short on talent, has yet to break though. Their seasons keep ending in disappointment.
As with Game 1, the Phillies received contributions up and down the lineup in Game 2. Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner opened up the scoring, and J.T. Realmuto later launched the first home run of the series. That would not be the last home run of the series, though.
In the sixth inning, Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott broke the game open with a grand slam against reliever Andrew Nardi that gave Philadelphia a 7-0 lead. Take a look:
According to Statcast, Stott's blast had an exit velocity of 102.4 mph and traveled 412 feet. It would have been a home run in 29 of the 30 ballparks.
Stott has never hit a grand slam during the regular season. This marks the second grand slam in Phillies postseason history. Previously, Shane Victorino hit one in 2008.
The Brewers jumped on top in both games against Arizona with a high-upside starting pitcher on the mound and ended up seeing the Diamondbacks to storm back with a big inning in both games. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta was dealing early in Game 2. He struck out five through 3 1/3 innings and had a no-hitter going through four scoreless innings. D-Backs center fielder Alek Thomas homered to break up the no-no in the fifth and then it was on. The Diamondbacks rallied for four runs in the sixth inning with Corbin Carroll's double making it a serious threat and Ketel Marte's two-RBI single giving Arizona the lead. A wild pitch and then a blooper with eyes scored the next two runs to give the D-Backs a 5-2 lead, which ended up being the final score.
Meanwhile, the Brewers left eight runners on base in Game 1 and left the bases loaded in the eighth inning of Game 2. They also left two on the ninth in Game 2. Arizona got out of these jams with good pitching and good defense while the Brewers' offense didn't execute. Simply: The Diamondbacks got the timely hits while making sure the Brewers didn't.
Arizona will advance to the NLDS to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers will head into a potentially transformative offseason that may result in a combination of Craig Counsell, Corbin Burnes, and Willy Adames departing.
He goes the other way, as he loves to do, especially at home, for the double off the wall. The Brewers have the tying run at the plate in William Contreras and he has a lot of power.
there's that D-Backs leather. They are one of the best defensive teams in baseball and the Brewers are down to their last out. It's Christian Yelich.
Monasterio strikes out looking and it's Tyrone Taylor at the plate for the Brewers
Josh Donaldson hit with a pitch to start the frame against D-Backs closer Paul Sewald.
Brewers trail 5-2. Season is on the line here.
Saalfrank disarmed that threat pretty easily. We head to the ninth.
Tapper right back to the mound and Saalfrank stays composed and gets the out at home.
Rookie Andrew Saalfrank in for the Diamondbacks to face Brewers rookie Sal Frelick
Yelich and Contreras singled to start the inning and now with one out Canha also singles. That means the bases are loaded with one out. We've seen this movie before ...
Bases now loaded, one out ...
Two on with no one out here in the eighth against Kevin Ginkel.
Sounds like the boo birds are out in Milwaukee. Could hear them after Winker grounded out, then again after Taylor struck out.
Easy inning from Ryan Thompson. D-backs still lead 5-2 heading into the eighth.
It's 5-2 Diamondbacks. They have an 87% win expectancy, per FanGraphs. As a reminder: an Arizona win means they advance. A loss means a Game 3 tomorrow.
Milner generates an inning-ending double play to keep it at 5-2.
The Diamondbacks' win expectancy is now nearing 90%, according to FanGraphs.
Gurriel pitches one into left field. Uribe will depart with runners on the corners and one out.
A wild pitch from Uribe allows Pham to score. Uribe seemed a little banged-up after Pham made contact with his left leg on the slide.
The Diamondbacks hadn't even had a hit until the fifth inning. They were being dominated by starting pitcher Freddy Peralta, who had struck out five in his four scoreless innings. Then Alek Thomas homered in the fifth.
In the sixth, the Diamondbacks took control. Geraldo Perdomo walked and then Corbin Carroll doubled down the first-base line. And then veteran Ketel Marte worked an impressive at-bat to single up the middle and -- with Carroll on second base -- the Diamondbacks easily scored two.
It's 3-2 Desert Snakes in another wild game in Milwaukee.
With a runner on, Corbin Carroll doubles, so the D-Backs have the tying run on third and go-ahead runner on second with no outs in the sixth.
The D-backs had not recorded a hit through the first four-plus innings of Game 2. Alek Thomas changed that, launching a solo home run to right field off Freddy Peralta to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Here's a look:
Thomas hit just .230/.273/.374 with nine home runs during the regular season. That didn't matter tonight.
Nifty snag by Josh Donaldson
The Brewers have about a 75% win expectancy, according to FanGraphs.
Brewers starter Freddy Peralta is through four innings on 49 pitches and hasn't allowed a hit. He's struck out five and walked one. Brewers lead 3-0 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Remember, the stakes for this game are straightforward: if the Brewers win, we'll play a Game 3 tomorrow. If the Diamondbacks win, they advance to play the Dodgers in the NLDS.
Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno was struck in the head by Brice Turang's follow-through. Moreno went down and seemed a little out of it, but a six-minute (or so) visit from his trainer and manager Torey Lovullo resulted in him staying in the game for the duration of the half-inning. He then was removed from the game afterward.
A few years back, CBS Sports reported about the epidemic of catchers concussions.
"It's just one of those byproducts of catching," former big-league backstop Rob Bowen told CBS Sports at the time. Bowen, who caught nearly 200 major-league games during his playing days, would know. "You're going to take your dings, you're going to take your hits, you're going to get balls off the mask."
It took a while with the D-Backs checking on him and he's taken warmup pitches and says he's good to go.
Brewers hitter Brice Turang hit D-Backs catcher Gabriel Moreno on the head with his bat during the follow through of his swing. Moreno is still being checked on. Things seem hazy for him.
Gallen is up to 31 pitches already, his most in a first inning in 2023.
