MLB Wild Card Series Day 1: Previews, live results, takeaways

07.10.2022 - 16:39 espn.com

MLB's first-ever wild-card series weekend is here. As the playoff field expands to 12 teams for the 2022 postseason, four best-of-three series starting today will determine which teams will advance to the American League Division Series (against either the Houston Astros or the New York Yankees) and National League Division Series (against either the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers).

Friday's festivities begin with the Tampa Bay Rays at the Cleveland Guardians, followed by the Philadelphia Phillies at the St.

Louis Cardinals. Then it's the Seattle Mariners at the Toronto Blue Jays, and finally, the San Diego Padres at the New York Mets.

Follow the action below all day long with start times, pitching matchups and starting lineups as they're announced, followed by in-game updates and takeaways after each game is concluded. More: Everything you need to know about the 2022 MLB playoffs | Could this be the greatest postseason… ever? | Bracket, results and more Series tied 0-0 Rays starter: Shane McClanahan (12-8, 194 K, 2.54 ERA) Guardians starter: Shane Bieber (13-8, 198 K, 2.88 ERA) Starting lineups: RAYS TBD GUARDIANS TBD What to watch for: Expect a low-scoring series, if only because pitching and defense is what got these teams to this point.

1 Philadelphia Phillies Shane Bieber Usa New York New York Los Angeles Atlanta Seattle Houston county St. Louis county San Diego county Bay

Bryce Harper slugged his fifth homer of the post-season, a two-run blast in the eighth inning that turned Citizens Bank Park into a madhouse, and the $330 million US slugger powered the Philadelphia Phillies past the San Diego Padres 4-3 on Sunday and into the World Series for the first the time since 2009.

Padres' bats come alive in Game 2 comeback win to even NLCS

SAN DIEGO — Juan Soto and Josh Hader absorbed most of the attention, but Brandon Drury and Josh Bell were in-season acquisitions of similar importance to the San Diego Padres — a belief further emphasized by Fernando Tatis Jr.'s ensuing suspension. Bell and Drury represented key power bats in the middle of the lineup, a key source of protection for Soto and Manny Machado. And on Wednesday, with the Padres in desperate need of a victory, their bats finally came alive.

2022 ALCS: Preview, predictions for Yankees-Astros

Would you like a little chalk with your chaos? While the fifth-seeded San Diego Padres and sixth-seeded Philadelphia Phillies are playing in the NLCS, the American League gives us the two teams that carried the conversation all season in the junior circuit: The 106-56 Houston Astros, playing in their sixth straight ALCS, and the 99-63 New York Yankees, returning to the ALCS for the first time since 2019.

2022 MLB Playoffs - Matchups to watch in Phillies-Padres, Yankees-Astros

It was almost 24 hours later than expected, but on Tuesday afternoon, as Aaron Judge traded forearm bashes and smiles with teammates after a home run that put the New York Yankees up 4-0, relief had invaded the faces of teammates in the Yankees' dugout. They have seemingly lived at the precipice for weeks now, briefly flirting with the worst collapse in the division era, sliding one game away from elimination in the American League Division Series against the Guardians in Cleveland. With the help of Monday's rainout, the Yankees have survived — and they have advanced.

Nola brothers to make MLB history in Game 2 of NLCS

Aaron Nola and Austin Nola are about to make postseason history.

Three questions for Cleveland Guardians after MLB playoffs exit

The Cleveland Guardians won the American League Central, but they won't be playing the Houston Astros for the AL pennant, falling to the New York Yankees in Game 5 of a hard-fought division series.