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| 2024 American League Wild Card Series | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 1–2 | ||||||||||||
| Television | ABC | ||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Michael Kay,Todd Frazier,Tim Kurkjian, and Alden González | ||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | ||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Dave O'Brien andWill Middlebrooks | ||||||||||||
| Umpires | Jordan Baker,Will Little,Alfonso Márquez (crew chief),Tony Randazzo,Jeremie Rehak,Junior Valentine | ||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||
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| Dates | October 1–2 | ||||||||||||
| Television | ESPN2 (Game 1) ESPN (Game 2) | ||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Sean McDonough,Jessica Mendoza,Ben McDonald, andJeff Passan | ||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | ||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Mike Monaco andRubén Amaro Jr. | ||||||||||||
| Umpires | Ryan Additon,Nic Lentz,Ben May,Bill Miller (crew chief),Malachi Moore,David Rackley | ||||||||||||
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The2024 American League Wild Card Series (branded as theWild Card Series presented byT-Mobile 5G Home Internet for sponsorship reasons) were the twobest-of-three playoff series inMajor League Baseball's (MLB)2024 postseason that determined the participating teams of the2024 American League Division Series (ALDS). Matching with the NL Wild Card, both matchups began on October 1, with Game 2s on October 2.ESPN broadcast both Wild Card Series in the United States together withESPN Radio.[1][2]
These matchups were:
The lowest-seeded division winner and three wild card teams in each league play in a best-of-three series after the end of the regular season. The winners of each league's wild card rounds advance to face the two best division winners in that league'sDivision Series.
TheHouston Astros (88–73) qualified for the postseason as theAmerican League West division winner, clinching the division by beating theSeattle Mariners on September 24.[3] As the team with the lowest record among other division winners in the American League for this season, they were locked into the third seed following theCleveland Guardians' win over theCincinnati Reds on September 24, which resulted in the Guardians clinching a first-round bye.[4] With the postseason berth, the Astros extended their streak of appearances to eight seasons, thefourth longest in MLB history. They hosted theDetroit Tigers (86–76), who clinched a postseason berth on September 27 with a victory against theChicago White Sox.[5] The Tigers, who held just a 0.2% chance of a postseason berth on August 2 when they were9+1⁄2 games back from a wild card spot,[6] made their first postseason appearance since2014, ending thelongest current postseason drought they had shared with theLos Angeles Angels. The Astros won both series against the Tigers during the regular season, with both meetings taking place in May and June, when both teams were under .500. Five years earlier, Tigers' managerA.J. Hinch — then manager of the Houston Astros — lost in the2019 World Series. Hinch was fired by the Astros less than three months later, and was issued a one-season suspension by MLB for his role in thesign-stealing scandal that took place in2017, the year the Astros won theWorld Series.[7] This was the first postseason meeting between the Astros and the Tigers.
TheBaltimore Orioles (91–71) qualified for the postseason with a victory on September 24.[8] They were locked into the Wild Card spot with a loss to theNew York Yankees on September 26, ending their division title aspirations, and clinched the fourth seed the next night by beating theMinnesota Twins.[9][10] This is Baltimore's second straight postseason berth. They hosted theKansas City Royals (86–76), who qualified for the postseason with the Minnesota Twins loss on September 27 to the Baltimore Orioles, thus eliminating Minnesota from postseason contention. The Royals are playing in their first postseason since they won theWorld Series back in2015 and are just the third team to make the postseason after losing 100+ games the previous year.[11][12] The Orioles won the season series against the Royals, winning both series in April.[13] This is the second postseason meeting between the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals. Their only previous postseason meeting came in the2014 American League Championship Series, which saw Kansas City sweep Baltimore to advance to their firstWorld Series in 29 years. This was the second postseason match-up between the two cities this year, following theAFC Championship Game between theKansas City Chiefs andBaltimore Ravens in January.
As the top two seeds, theNew York Yankees (94–68) andCleveland Guardians (92–69) earned a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the ALDS.[14][15][16] This was the first year since2014 that no team in Major League Baseball won 100 games or more in the regular season.[17]
Detroit won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 1 | Detroit Tigers – 3, Houston Astros – 1 | Minute Maid Park | 3:01 | 40,617[18] |
| 2 | October 2 | Detroit Tigers – 5, Houston Astros – 2 | Minute Maid Park | 2:55 | 40,824[19] |
Kansas City won the series, 2–0.
| Game | Date | Score | Location | Time | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 1 | Kansas City Royals – 1, Baltimore Orioles – 0 | Oriole Park at Camden Yards | 2:25 | 41,506[20] |
| 2 | October 2 | Kansas City Royals – 2, Baltimore Orioles – 1 | Oriole Park at Camden Yards | 3:01 | 38,698[21] |
†If necessary
This was the first postseason meeting between the Houston Astros and Detroit Tigers.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Tarik Skubal (1–0) LP:Framber Valdez (0–1) Sv:Beau Brieske (1) Attendance: 40,617 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the top of the second,Jake Rogers had an RBI single offFramber Valdez to give the Tigers the early lead, and then an RBI single byTrey Sweeney extended their lead to 2–0.Matt Vierling's single gave the Tigers a 3–0 advantage.Tarik Skubal, who won the pitching Triple Crown, threw six scoreless innings and struck out six to earn his first playoff pitching win in his career. The Tigers carried a shutout into the ninth inning whenYainer Díaz hit an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth to score pinch runnerZach Dezenzo as the Astros' only run in the game. With the bases loaded and two outs for the Astros,Beau Brieske gotJason Heyward to lineout toSpencer Torkelson for the final out of the game. With this loss, the Astros have lost six consecutive home games in the playoffs since they last won their home playoff game inGame 1 of last year's ALDS. For the Astros, the loss ended a ten-game home winning streak in postseason opening games dating back to the2004 NLDS, while the Tigers' victory was their first in a playoff game sinceGame 4 of the 2013 ALCS.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Sean Guenther (1–0) LP:Ryan Pressly (0–1) Sv:Will Vest (1) Home runs: DET:Parker Meadows (1) HOU: None Attendance: 40,824 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Game 2 was a scoreless affair until the top of the sixth whenParker Meadows hit a solo home run off of Astros starterHunter Brown. With that home run, Brown's time on the mound ended after going 52⁄3 innings allowing two hits and one run and striking out nine batters. In the bottom of the seventh,Victor Caratini tied the game on a fielder's choice byJon Singleton and a throwing error bySpencer Torkelson.Jose Altuve's sacrifice fly scoredJeremy Peña and gave the Astros a 2–1 lead. In the top of the eighth, the Tigers tied the game onRyan Pressly's wild pitch that scoredKerry Carpenter. With the bases loaded, pinch hitterAndy Ibáñez cleared the bases with a double off of Astros' closerJosh Hader, giving the Tigers a three-run lead at 5–2.Will Vest closed out the Astros with a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the ninth to seal the series for the Tigers to advance to the ALDS for the first time since2014. With the Tigers' victory, they ended the Astros' streak of consecutiveALCS appearances at seven from2017 to2023. This continued the Astros streak of their season either ending at home in defeat (2018,2019,2021,2023,2024) or it ending in a World Series win (2017 and2022), with2020 being the lone season where Astros season ended on the road (or typically, at a neutral site due to theCOVID-19 pandemic).
Detroit became the fourth team in major league history to win a playoff series after having been 10+ games back of a postseason berth at least 110 games into the regular season, joining the1964 Cardinals,1969 Mets, and2011 Cardinals, as well as the third team of the post-1961 expansion era to win a playoff series while having one or fewer players (in this case,Matt Vierling) with previous postseason experience, the others being the 1969 Mets and2002 Angels.[22]
2024ALWC (2–0):Detroit Tigers beatHouston Astros
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston Astros | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 12 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total attendance: 81,441 Average attendance: 40,720 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This was the second meeting between the Baltimore Orioles and the Kansas City Royals in the postseason, with the last being in the2014 American League Championship Series, in which Kansas City swept.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Cole Ragans (1–0) LP:Corbin Burnes (0–1) Sv:Lucas Erceg (1) Attendance: 41,506 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
In the top of the sixth,Bobby Witt Jr. delivered an RBI single offCorbin Burnes to scoreMaikel García, giving the Royals a 1–0 lead. That would be enough for the Royals, who were playing in their first postseason game since Game 5 of their World Series-clinching victory in2015.Cole Ragans threw six scoreless innings and struck out eight to earn his first playoff pitching win in his career. The Orioles left seven batters on base andLucas Erceg got the save by striking out two.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| WP:Ángel Zerpa (1–0) LP:Cionel Pérez (0–1) Sv:Lucas Erceg (2) Home runs: KC: None BAL:Cedric Mullins (1) Attendance: 38,698 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vinnie Pasquantino hit an RBI single offZach Eflin in the top of the first inning to give the Royals the early lead. The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the fifth whenCedric Mullins hit a solo home run offSeth Lugo, which turned out to be their only run in this series. In the top of the sixth,Bobby Witt Jr. hit an RBI single to scoreKyle Isbel for the Royals to retake the lead 2–1.Lucas Erceg pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth to seal the series for the Royals, sending them to theALDS for the first time since2015 and giving them their first postseason series victory since the2015 World Series. With the loss, the Orioles extended their postseason game losing streak to a league-leading ten games dating back to the2014 ALCS.
2024ALWC (2–0):Kansas City Royals beatBaltimore Orioles
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Royals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Baltimore Orioles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Total attendance: 80,204 Average attendance: 40,102 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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