MLB Roundup: Two Spots Left in Playoffs, and Cubs Look to Stay Alive Friday

It's decision day in the National League, as Kyle Schwarber and the Chicago Cubs look to get even with the Miami Marlins, and the Cardinals and Padres play a deciding Game 3.

Six teams have survived the first-ever best-of-three wild-card round of the Major League Baseball Playoffs so far, and two spots remain in the National League.

The Chicago Cubs, who won the National League Central but have struggled to hit the ball of late, get back to work at 2 p.m. ET on Friday. They were rained out Thursday, so they'll take on the Miami Marlins in Game 2 on your local ABC affiliate.

And Friday night, the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres will settle their series, which is now tied at 1-1.

The Cubs have their backs to the wall, but this is an experienced group, so the moment shouldn't be too big for them.

“We’re not going to go out there and play with a demeanor that we can’t make a mistake or play tight,” former Indiana star Kyle Schwarber said after Thursday's rain delay. “It’s just the reality of the situation. We need to play our baseball, which is really good baseball, doing the little things right and making sure we’re really good in situations. That’s our baseball.

“It’s no secret it’s an elimination game for us. It's still a little different without the fans in the stands and being able to go off their momentum, but we’re going to create our own momentum (Friday).” 

Yu Darvish will pitch for the Cubs, and he's been very good all year. He was 8-3 in 12 starts with a 2.01 earned run average. He'll take on Miami rookie Sixto Sanchez, a 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic who started seven games, posting a 3-2 record and a 3.46 ERA.

The Padres and Cardinals will play at 7 p.m. ET, and the game will be televised on ESPN. Jack Flaherty is starting for St. Louis, and San Diego, whose starting rotation is severely depleted by injuries, is undecided on a starter. It will likely be all arms on deck for the Padres.

Thursday's American League Game

• Oakland A's 6, Chicago White Sox 4: The A's kept pecking away at Chicago's depleted pitching staff in Game 3, finally pulling away with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good. Chicago used nine pitchers — five of them rookies — and the moment was too big for several of them. In the fifth, the A's scored twice thanks to two walks and a catcher's interference call, followed by a single by Chad Pinder. The A's will play the Houston Astros in the AL Division Series, which starts Monday. 

Thursday's National League Games

• Atlanta Braves 5, Cincinnati Reds 0: Atlanta's pitchers completely dominated the Reds once again. shutting them out for the second straight day. The Reds went 22 straight innings without scoring a run, setting a playoff record. They had only two hits on Thursday.
• San Diego Padres 11, St. Louis Cardinals 9: Fernando Tatis Jr. and Wil Myers each hit two home runs as the Padres came from behind to win and stay alive in their series. It was the first time since 1932 that two players on the same team hit two homers in the same playoff game. The last to do it were Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig with the New York Yankees. That's some pretty good company there. 
• Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Milwaukee Brewers 0: Clayton Kershaw was spectacular, striking out 13 and closing out the Brewers in a 3-0 shutout. The top-seeded Dodgers advance to the NL Division series against the St. Louis-San Diego winner.

Friday's National League Games

• Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs, Game 2, 2 p.m. ET (TV: ABC) 
• St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres, Game 3, 7 p.m. ET (TV; ESPN)

Tuesday's Results

• Houston Astros 4, Minnesota Twins 1: The Twins lost their 17th consecutive playoff game, a pro sports record, giving up three unearned runs in the ninth inning to Houston to drop Game 1. Jose Altuve walked with the bases loaded after a Jorge Polanco error to give Houston a 2-1 lead and then Michael Bradley tacked on a two-run single to seal the deal.
• Chicago White Sox 4, Oakland A's 1: Chicago starter Lucas Giolito took a perfect game into the seventh inning and the No. 7-seed White Sox hit three home runs to cruise past No. 2-seed Oakland in Game 1. It was a nice bounce-back win for Chicago, which had struggled down the stretch, losing seven of its final eight games. Jose Abreu had a two-run homer, and Adam Engel and Yasmani Grandal had solo shots.
• Tampa Bay Rays 3, Toronto Blue Jays 1: Blake Snell pitched no-hit ball through five innings and left in the sixth, allowing just one hit and striking out nine in Tampa Bay's victory. Tampa Bay center fielder Manuel Margot had a two-run homer and Peter Fairbanks got the save, his first of the year. The Rays won despite getting only four hits.
• New York Yankees 12, Cleveland Indians 3: Shane Bieber was the best pitcher in baseball all year long, but the Yankees didn't care, roughing him up in the blowout win. Bieber, who was 8-1 with a 1.63 ERA in the regular season, got touched up for seven runs in less than five inning. Gerrit Cole was great for the Yankees, striking out 13 in seven innings of work.

Wednesday's American League Games

• Houston Astros 3, Minnesota Twins 1: The sixth-seeded Astros advanced with a 3-1 win in Game 1, continuing the Twins' postseason misery. Minnesota has now lost 18 consecutive playoff games, which has never happened before in any major professonal sport. The Astros' bullpen was terrific, pitching 4 2/3 scoreless innings and allowing only one hit. Houston will play the Oakland-Chicago winner in the divisional series.
• Oakland A's 5, Chicago White Sox 3: Oakland jumped on White Sox starter Dallas Kuechel early and then held on for a 5-3 win to even their series at 1-1. Chris Bassitt went seven innings for Oakland, allowing only one run and six hits.
• Tampa Bay Rays 8, Toronto Blue Jays 2: The top-seeded Rays closed out their series with a convincing 8-2 win over the Blue Jays. Mike Zunino hit a two-run homer and Hunter Renfroe added a grand slam in Tampa Bay's six-run second inning. Tyler Glasnow got the win, allowing only two runs in six innings, and the Rays bullpen allowed just one hit in the final three. Former Indiana star Aaron Slegers is on the Tampa Bay roster, but he did not pitch on Wednesday.
• New York Yankees 10, Cleveland Indians 9: The Yankees tied the game in the ninth inning with a sacrifice fly and then won it on a single by D.J. Lamahieu, sweeping the Indians to advance to the ALDS against Tampa Bay. The Yankees scored 22 runs in their first two playoff games, something they've never done before in their long playoff history.

Wednesday's National League Games

• Atlanta Braves 1, Cincinnati Reds 0, 13 innings: Atlanta won the longest scoreless playoff game in history, winning in the 13th inning on a single by Freddie Freeman. The Reds wasted a great start by Trevor Bauer, who allowed only two hits and had 12 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. The Reds had plenty of chances to score, but left 13 men on base.
• Miami Marlins 5, Chicago Cubs 1: Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the Marlins to a comeback victory over the Cubs. Ian Happ homered for the Cubs in the fifth inning for their only run. It was Miami's first postseason victory since winning the World Series in 2003.
• St. Louis Cardinals 7, San Diego Padres 4: The Cardinals came into the playoffs with the worst offensive numbers of any of the 16 teams, but they hit hard from the get-go in beating the Padres in Game 1. The Cardinals had 13 hits, with four doubles as a team and a home run by Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning.
• Los Angeles Dodgers 4, Milwaukee Brewers 2: Corey Seager had a home run and Mookie Betts had two singles and an RBI as the Dodgers beat Milwaukee in Game 1. The Los Angeles bullpen pitched five scoreless innings, allowing only four hits.