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| Date | October 1, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Dodger Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Los Angeles, California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Umpires | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 47,816 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Jon Sciambi,David Ross, andRick Sutcliffe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Adam Amin andJim Bowden | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2018 National League West tie-breaker game was aone-game extension toMajor League Baseball's (MLB)2018 regular season, played between theColorado Rockies andLos Angeles Dodgers to determine the champion of theNational League's (NL)West Division. It was played atDodger Stadium inLos Angeles, California on October 1, 2018.
The game was won by Los Angeles, 5–2. The Dodgers became the second seed in the NL playoffs and advanced to play the NL East championAtlanta Braves in theNational League Division Series. The Rockies were hosted by theNL Central runner-upChicago Cubs in theNL Wild Card Game on October 2.[1]
The tie-breaker counted as a regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.[2]
TheLos Angeles Dodgers entered the2018 Major League Baseball season having won the last five consecutiveNational League West Division championships.[3] TheColorado Rockies made theMajor League Baseball postseason in 2017 as awild card.[4] Despite this being their fifth postseason appearance, the Rockies had not won a division title.[4]
Both the Dodgers and Rockies finished the 2018 regular season with 91–71 (.562)win–loss records, necessitating a tie-breaking game to determine the division champion.[1] As theChicago Cubs andMilwaukee Brewers tied for first place in theNational League Central Division, they also played in atie-breaker game, marking the first time inMajor League Baseball that two tie-breakers were needed in a single year.[2]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Colorado Rockies | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 9 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Walker Buehler (8–5) LP:Germán Márquez (14–11) Home runs: COL:Nolan Arenado (38),Trevor Story (37) LAD:Cody Bellinger (25),Max Muncy (35) Attendance: 47,816 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dodgers hosted the tie-breaker game based on their head-to-head record against the Rockies in the regular season.Germán Márquez started for Colorado andWalker Buehler started for Los Angeles.[6]ESPN broadcast the game, withJon Sciambi,David Ross, andRick Sutcliffe. They also carried the game onESPN Radio, withAdam Amin andJim Bowden.[7][8]
The Dodgers got two-run home runs fromCody Bellinger in the fourth inning andMax Muncy in the fifth inning off of Márquez, who struck out nine in4+2⁄3 innings.[5] Meanwhile, Buehler did not allow a hit in his first five innings, and allowed one hit in6+2⁄3 total innings. The Rockies got solo homers in the ninth inning fromNolan Arenado andTrevor Story off ofKenley Jansen. However, they ended the game with only fourhits.[9] The Dodgers won the game 5–2 to clinch their sixth consecutive division championship. They became the first team to win six straight division championships since theNew York Yankees won 11 straight from 1996–2006 and only the third overall (theAtlanta Braves won 14 from 1991–2005).[5]
With the victory, the Dodgers clinched the second seed in the NL postseason. They beat theAtlanta Braves in theNLDS in four games.[10] The Dodgers defeated the Brewers in theNLCS in seven games,[11] and moved onto theWorld Series, where they lost in five games to theBoston Red Sox.[12]
With the loss, the Rockies were relegated to the second Wild Card spot. The Rockies defeated theChicago Cubs in the2018 National League Wild Card Game the next day, but were then swept by the Brewers in the NLDS.[13]
This game, along with theNL Central tie-breaker game, were the last such tie-breaker games in Major League Baseball, as the league eliminated this scenario starting with the2022 season. All ties in the standings would be broken through various formulas.[14]