It's Wild Card Day in baseball. This is a new thing. Since I believe, 1995, when the wild card concept was implemented, there have been three division champions and one wild card team. Baseball, concerned that no advantage was given to teams that won their divisions, added a second wild card this season in each league. Thus, the two wild card teams will play one another for the right to play the top seeds in the Division Series, followed by the series for the pennant, and of course, the World Series.
The National League game features the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals (that never gets old) and the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is favored, having won 94 games, falling just short of their upstart division mates, the Washington Nationals, who won 98. The Cardinals won 88 games, exactly the same number they won as a division champion in 1996, when they were beaten by the Atlanta Braves for the pennant in 7 games, by a combined score in the final three of 32-1.
The other game features the shocking Baltimore Orioles, picked to finish last in the East division of the American League, who narrowly missed wresting the division itself from the mighty Yankees. They did this with an astonishing 29-9 record in one-run games. Their opponent is the Texas Rangers, who have represented the American League in the World Series the past two seasons. Still seeking their first championship, Texas is primed and ready for another run. But they choked away a division title to the young Oakland Athletics in the American League West, blowing a five-game lead with 9 to play.
The pitching match-up in the National League features Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA) vs. Kris Medlen (10-1, 1.57 ERA). Intriguingly, the Braves have won 22 consecutive games that Medlen has started.
The National League game features the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals (that never gets old) and the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is favored, having won 94 games, falling just short of their upstart division mates, the Washington Nationals, who won 98. The Cardinals won 88 games, exactly the same number they won as a division champion in 1996, when they were beaten by the Atlanta Braves for the pennant in 7 games, by a combined score in the final three of 32-1.
The other game features the shocking Baltimore Orioles, picked to finish last in the East division of the American League, who narrowly missed wresting the division itself from the mighty Yankees. They did this with an astonishing 29-9 record in one-run games. Their opponent is the Texas Rangers, who have represented the American League in the World Series the past two seasons. Still seeking their first championship, Texas is primed and ready for another run. But they choked away a division title to the young Oakland Athletics in the American League West, blowing a five-game lead with 9 to play.
The pitching match-up in the National League features Kyle Lohse (16-3, 2.86 ERA) vs. Kris Medlen (10-1, 1.57 ERA). Intriguingly, the Braves have won 22 consecutive games that Medlen has started.
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