What if cardinals and braves win

The decision to add a second wild-card team and go to a one-game playoff to start the postseason this year had already created excitement, but the frustration over what was viewed as a bad call will go down as the first memory of this expanded format. Umpires are taught that once an infielder gets his shoulders square to the infield and can make a routine play on the ball, then the umpire, no matter who it is, can and should make the [infield fly rule] call.

Looking at the replay, Sam got the call right. An up-and-coming team. But a World Series team? That was hard to see in late August when the Cardinals were 11 games behind the Phillies. Not only that, but they trailed the Reds and Giants, too. But beginning on Aug. Two days after losing a game, Bob Gibson came back to throw four innings in relief on the final day of the regular season to clinch the pennant. Gibson started three games in the World Series as the Cardinals beat the Yankees in seven games.

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Connect with us. About us. The Cardinals, who the Braves will again try to eliminate, have won 15 playoff series in that span -- most in MLB. I've often wondered, in a chicken-and-egg way, whether teams playoff histories are the way they because each has laid that particular foundation. Do wins beget wins and losses beget losses, even amid organizational turnover? Is there such thing as an October-specific team culture, even if on a subconscious level? Is there a mental component at all?

I'm no psychologist, so maybe those are unanswerable questions. Baseball is always weird and unpredictable, except when it's not. This is now," Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson told reporters after Game 3, which the Braves won in comeback fashion, something Braves teams have seldom done in October since We don't worry about what happened tonight; we're not worried about what's happening in the future.

In the Braves' case, the future saw them squander a Game 4 lead, numerous scoring opportunities and a chance to win their first playoff series in 18 years, as the Cardinals forced Game 5 behind heroics from catcher Yadier Molina. Both things were extremely on brand for each team, as they both found ways to keep the narratives alive. Though Molina isn't always big in October, he does have plenty of big moments on his resume.

And that creates a certain expectation — both with him and his teammates. There's no question when that situation came up in the 10th in Game 4 , he was going to get it done somehow, whether it be walk, hit, homer or sac fly. He allowed three runs — two earned — and five hits. Just very fortunate and thankful that we were able to get three in a row and hopefully get this momentum that we need.

He gave up two runs on two hits and three walks, striking out two. Shildt expects Flaherty to throw around 75 pitches. Muller got a no-decision while allowing one run in five innings during his last start against Milwaukee on July The year-old Wainwright went seven innings for a third straight start and earned his first career win over Minnesota on Sunday.

Saying the job has become too big for just one person, the Brewers, who ranked 27th in batting average last season, have hired two hitting coaches -- Ozzie Timmons and Connor Dawson -- and will also hire an assistant hitting coach.