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| Date | October 5, 1:05 (EDT) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Turner Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Atlanta, Georgia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Umpires | Lineup
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| Attendance | 52,631 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | TBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Brian Anderson,Ron Darling, andJoe Simpson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN Radio | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jon Sciambi andChris Singleton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2012 National League Wild Card Game was aplay-in game duringMajor League Baseball's (MLB)2012 postseason played between theNational League's (NL) twowild card teams, theSt. Louis Cardinals and theAtlanta Braves. It was held atTurner Field inAtlanta, on October 5, 2012, at 5:07 p.m.EDT.[1][2] The Cardinals won by a 6–3 score and advanced to play theWashington Nationals in theNL Division Series. In addition to being the inaugural NL Wild Card Game, it is notable for being the final game ofChipper Jones’ career, as well as for a controversialinfield fly rule call made by umpireSam Holbrook. The game was televised onTBS.[3]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| St. Louis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Atlanta | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Kyle Lohse (1–0) LP:Kris Medlen (0–1) Sv:Jason Motte (1) Home runs: STL:Matt Holliday (1) ATL:David Ross (1) Attendance: 52,631 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Braves startedKris Medlen, who had a 9–0win–loss record and 0.97earned run average (ERA) in 12games started during the 2012 season.[4] The Cardinals selectedKyle Lohse, who had a 16–3 win–loss record and 2.86 ERA during the season, as their starting pitcher.[5]
Lohse allowed a two-runhome run toDavid Ross in the second inning. The Cardinals scored three runs in the fourth inning, in whichChipper Jones committed a throwingerror, taking a 3–2 lead. Medlen allowed ahome run toMatt Holliday in the sixth inning. After the Cardinals scored two more runs in the top of the seventh inning, the Braves scored one in the bottom of the seventh.[4]
In the bottom of the eighth inning,Andrelton Simmons hit a fly ball to left field that dropped in between Cardinals shortstopPete Kozma and left fielder Holliday. Left field umpireSam Holbrook called Simmons out, citing theinfield fly rule.[6][a] Had an infield fly not been called, Simmons would have been credited with a single and Atlanta would have had the bases loaded with one out, trailing 6–3. Fans littered the field with trash, delaying the game for 19 minutes before a message over theTurner Fieldpublic address system advised fans the game was subject to forfeiture by the umpires if the field continued to remain unplayable due to the thrown debris.[4][9][10] Atlanta managerFredi González announced that the Braves would play the rest of the gameunder protest. The protest was denied shortly after the game byJoe Torre, MLB executive vice president for baseball operations, saying it was a judgment call—which cannot be protested under MLB rules.[11] Prior to the game, MLB's official Twitter bio included the joke "We don't understand the infield fly rule either". This was quickly removed in light of the controversial call.[12]
Following the controversial play, CardinalscloserJason Motte entered the game and walked the next batter to load the bases, but then struck outMichael Bourn to end the inning without allowing the Braves to score. With two outs and nobody on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Chipper Jones extended the game with an infield single in his final Major League at-bat.Freddie Freeman hit aground rule double, bringingDan Uggla to bat as the potential tying run. Motte retired Uggla with agroundout to record thesave, then both teams rushed off the field after fans resumed throwing debris.[13]
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