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| Date | October 6, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Dodger Stadium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Los Angeles, California | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Umpires |
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| Attendance | 53,193 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | TBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Brian Anderson,Ron Darling, andLauren Shehadi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jon Sciambi andKyle Peterson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2021 National League Wild Card Game was aplay-in game inMajor League Baseball’s (MLB)2021 postseason contested between the twowild card teams in theNational League (NL): theSt. Louis Cardinals and theLos Angeles Dodgers. It was played on October 6,[2] atDodger Stadium.
The game was televised nationally byTBS.[2]Chris Taylor of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a two out, two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game for the Dodgers, sending them to theNational League Division Series to face theSan Francisco Giants.
TheSt. Louis Cardinals secured a postseason berth in the Wild Card Game on September 28.[3] The Cardinals previously appeared in the2012 NL Wild Card Game, defeating theAtlanta Braves,[4] and the2020 NL Wild Card Series, where they fell to theSan Diego Padres, two games to one.[5]
TheSan Francisco Giants clinched theNational League West with the best record (107–55) on the last day of the season, thus clinching home-field advantage throughout the entire playoffs. In turn, theLos Angeles Dodgers, who set an MLB record for the most wins by a wild card team (106–56), hosted the St. Louis Cardinals (90–72) for the one game playoff. This is the Dodgers first wild card game appearance after winning theNL West for eight consecutive seasons.[6][7][8] The 16-game difference between the teams is the largest inWild Card Game/Series-era (2012-present).
The Cardinals won 22 of their final 25 regular-season games, which included a 17-game winning streak, the longest in franchise history.[9] After acquiringMax Scherzer andTrea Turner at the trade deadline, the Dodgers went 44–13 the rest of the season.[10]
This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Cardinals, with the Cardinals previously winning four and the Dodgers winning one. In the regular season series, the Dodgers posted a 4–3 record against the Cardinals.[11]
The Dodgers' All-Star first basemanMax Muncy was not on the roster due to a collision at first base withJace Peterson on the final day of the season. It was later reported he suffered a dislocated elbow on the play and his status remained an unknown if the Dodgers advanced.[12]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| St. Louis Cardinals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Kenley Jansen (1–0) LP:T. J. McFarland (0–1) Home runs: STL: None LAD:Justin Turner (1),Chris Taylor (1) Attendance: 53,193 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Max Scherzer started for the Dodgers and he pitched4+1⁄3 innings, allowing only one run on three hits and three walks.Tommy Edman scored the Cardinals run in the first inning on a bloop single, stolen base and a wild pitch.Adam Wainwright pitched5+1⁄3 innings for the Cardinals, allowing only a solo home run byJustin Turner in the fourth inning. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth whenChris Taylor hit awalk-off two-run home run off ofAlex Reyes.[13]
This wasMike Shildt's last game as the Cardinals' manager. He was dismissed by the team on October 14, 2021, and replaced byOliver Marmol.