With the MLB Wild Card Round complete, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds enter the fray. The Orioles, Astros, Braves and Dodgers all begin their postseason journeys with LDS Game 1s on Saturday. Some were more successful than others.
The Orioles faced the Rangers’ new momentum in ALDS Game 1. The playoff energy at Camden Yards was off the charts, but still, Texas pulled out a 3-2 win on the strength of enough offense and enough pitching.
The Twins had won their first playoff series since 2002 against the Toronto Blue Jays and were headed to Houston. But the defending World Series champion Astros turned out to be a different animal. Two homers from Yordan Alvarez and six scoreless innings from Justin Verlander led the way for Houston in a 6-4 Game 1 victory.
Then, the Braves, MLB’s top hitting team in the regular season, were shut out by the Phillies in a 3-0 win, with Ranger Suarez and the Philadelphia bullpen combining for a terrific performance. Bryce Harper contributed a homer, and another run came on a catcher’s interference call that led to Atlanta fans throwing trash onto the field.
The worst performance of the night, and perhaps of the season, came in Los Angeles. Dodgers great Clayton Kershaw allowed hits to the first five Diamondbacks hitters and eventually walked out after six earned runs and four extra base hits. Not only was this the worst start of his career in the playoffs, it was the worst start of his career. After an eight-inning mop-up, the Diamondbacks celebrated an 11-2 win.
It was a day when the team that hadn’t been shut out all season was shut out, and a pitcher who had never allowed six runs in a first inning allowed six runs in a third of an inning.
Both the Orioles and Twins will try to make a comeback in Game 2 on Sunday, while the Braves and Dodgers will have to wait until Monday.
Follow along as Yahoo Sports provides the latest scores, news and injuries from Day 1 of ALDS and NLDS action.
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