Within fifteen minutes, both the Red Sox and Braves completed two of probably the five worst collapses in baseball history, and the Rays walked-off to put their stamp on the final Wild Card spot in the American League...after coming back from being down 7-0 in the bottom of the 8th inning!
If you were watching baseball on Wednesday night, night 162 of 162 games of the MLB season, you witnessed a night that won't be forgotten, truthfully until Friday night when the playoffs get underway, but in a historical sense for a really long time. Four teams competing for two playoff spots, two teams having blown tremendous leads throughout September, one night with the potential for two one-game playoff series if all four teams won.
Spoiler Alert! There won't be a 163rd night of the regular season.
We'll go chronological. The Cardinals took care of business as they should have, getting an 11 strike out complete game shutout out of their ace Chris Carpenter, the Cards smoked the wack-ass Astro's 8-0. Staying in the NL, the Braves, who led St. Louis by 10 games just a month ago, hosted the NL-best Phillies, and jumped out to a 3-1 lead through the first seven innings mainly thanks to Dan Uggla's 36th homerun of the season.
Jump over to the American League. You already know the story. The Red Sox held a nine game lead on the Wild Card earlier in the month! Well coming into today with wins in just 7 of their last 26 games, it's needless to say they had some problems on their hands, mainly the come-back kids, otherwise known as the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams tied for the AL wild card, the Rays hosting the AL-best Yankees, and the Red Sox on the road against the lowly Orioles.
The Rays came hungry, going with hard-throwing ace David Price. Price got LIT-UP to the tune of two Tex-messages, translated into six runs in four innings, which led to a 7-0 deficit. With the Rays down early, the Red Sox failed to capitalize and fell behind 2-1 after three, until grabbing the lead back and ultimately taking a 3-2 lead through the middle of the game.
NL...the Braves held on to their 3-1 lead until the Phillies scrapped together runs in the seventh and the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra's. AL...while things took a turn into latter innings in Atlanta, rain started falling in the seventh in Baltimore with the Sox up 3-2, and AJ Burnett came into the game for a relief appearance in the bottom of the eighth in Tampa. Burnett got a ground ball out and was taken out of the game, and that's when things got weird.
While it was strange to see Burnett in that situation, it was even stranger to see what followed. With a 7-0 lead, the Yankees loaded the bases, then walked two runs in, then gave up a GRAND SLAM to Evan Longoria! Baseball caps turned inside out, fairweather fans going nuts, smiles and celebration prevailing from a recently depressing looking dugout, and a seven run lead reduced to just a one run lead, yup, we were in the midst of a rally.
With the Braves and Phillies duking it out, the Yankees survived the eighth and got the ball to Cory Wade with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Then the unexpected happened. Joe Maddon had seen enough of Sam Fuld, who pinch-hit just the inning before, and needed a big stick with two outs in the ninth and his team basically dead to rights. Enter Dan Johnson. The back-up catchers last hit came on April 27th, last long-ball on April 8th, this is your guy Maddon?
There's a reason he's a former Manager of the Year and I'm...not. Dan Johnson goes yard, ties the game up, the Trop's freaking out, except for the 75% of the stadium that're Yankees fans, this is baseball! Speaking of baseball...the tarp comes off the field at Camden and the Red Sox know the pressure's on.
NL...The Braves finally get a runner to third in the bottom of the 12th on a wild pitch, but can't bring him in. Sadly for Atl-iens, Hunter Pence bloops one in front of Jason Heyward and brings Brian Schneider home, Phillies take the lead, force Freddie Freeman into a 3-6-4 double-play in the bottom half, and complete the Braves collapse. Sorry Atlanta.
Speaking of sorry...the Red Sox get their guy Jonathan Papelbon into the game for the bottom of the ninth and a chance to at worst play for a playoff spot on Thursday. Paps fans Adam Jones and Mark Reynolds, two down, 163 here we come!
Tampa...top 12, Jorge Posada on first and Eric Chavez on second with one out. Rookie Jake McGee gets a Chris Dickerson strikeout and a Brett Gardner ground out, the Rays live to see another day.
Baltimore...two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Sox up one. Chris Davis hits a bullet to right on the first pitch, double. Uh-oh. Nolan Reimold up next to try and keep Baltimore alive in their World Series. Reimold goes 2-0, Papelbon gets him swinging at the next two, 2-2, Sox up one...not for long, tie game. Reimold goes to deep center, ground rule double, double uh-oh! Papelbon's pissed, Boston's scared, I'm going NUTS!
B.J. Upton's going to the on-deck circle as he leads off the bottom of the 12th back in Tampa. Upton sees four pitches, foul-ball, ball, swings and misses at the last two, Evan Longoria your move. But before the man who changed the game with one swing earlier in the night comes up, we have a runner on second with two outs in a tie game back in Baltimore.
The slumping Robert Andino comes to the plate, extra's would be fine as it would extend the O's season, but Andino's not looking for an extension, he's looking for...a hit? Andino rips one to left, Carl Crawford makes the shoe string slide, ball in his glove, ball OUT OF HIS GLOVE! Ball laying on grass, Reimold rounding third, throw coming in late, Orioles...Winning!
Minutes later Tropicana Field is shaking! Everyone in the stadium knows this won't be their "beloved" Rays final game of the 2011 season, especially Evan Longoria. Unfortunately for the Yankees, reliever Scott Proctor knew it as well. After six tough pitches came clarity, this will be the Rays final game of the regular season. This team is going to the PLAYOFFS! Longoria hits a laser just feet to the right of the left field foul line over the left field wall, Rays win, Red Sox lose, somewhere Dick Vitale is acting like he found the lost 92 Duke porno.
Within minutes we saw the Braves crumble, the Red Sox collapse, and the Rays surge. For the Braves it tied for the worst collapse in September in National League history, for the Red Sox it was the largest September collapse in Major League history, and for the Rays it was the largest deficit overcome in September to clinch a playoff spot in Major League history.
What will this mean for the postseason? I'm not sure. Are the Mets off the hook just yet? That I'm not sure about either. But I am sure that this was the most incredible night that Major League Baseball has seen in years. Wow!
