By The 2021 regular season has finally concluded on Sunday. Going into play, we saw both spots in the AL Wild Card game still very much on the line. The Yankees, Red Sox, Mariners, and Blue Jays were still all mathematically alive on Sunday, as there were multiple scenarios for each of the teams. Wins by the Yanks, Sox, and Jays, with a Mariners loss, set up what should be a great game. Another chapter in a very storied rivalry. Yankees @ Red Sox.
New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, 8:08 PM EST
Aaron Judge came to the plate late Sunday afternoon with runners on second and third and 1 out. The game was still tied at 0, in what was a pitching battle from start to finish. Tyler Wade, a pinch-running speedster for the pinstripes lead off of third. In a 2-2 count, Judge lines one up the middle that Rays second baseman Brandon Lowe fields. By the time he could gather and throw home, it was too late. Tyler Wade was safe, and the Yankees head back the postseason.
As for the Red Sox, they bounced back with a huge weekend sweep of the Washington Nationals. This was huge after losing 2 out of 3 to the lowly Orioles during the week. 3rd-baseman Rafael Devers put the team on his back over the weekend with multiple clutch home runs. The clinch is big news for the team. They were not projected to be anything close to a playoff team before the season started. With Alex Cora back at the helm in 2021, the Red Sox tune out all of the outside noise, and host a Wild Card game tomorrow night.
The Yankees will send Gerrit Cole (16-8, 3.23 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday, as the Red Sox will turn to Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 ERA). The two right-handed 2021 All-Stars will battle it out for the opportunity to meet the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. Both teams should not be strangers to these starting pitchers. The Red Sox saw Cole a little over a week ago, and the Yankees roughed up Eovaldi in a must-win game in the same series.
St. Louis Cardinals @ Los Angeles Dodgers, Wednesday 8:10 PM EST
The Cardinals could only imagine themselves in this position just a few weeks back. The playoffs were extremely unlikely, and fans were annoyed at what was going on with the team on the field. However, a September 17-game win streak can fix all of that, and that it did. The Cards practically became unbeatable in the month of September. The Reds and Padres were forced to watch them run away with a spot they thought they could have. Nonetheless, the Cardinals clutched up, and will head to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers Wednesday night.
The Dodgers did everything they could to avoid having to play in this game. They fought back and forth with the San Francisco Giants for the division title all season long. It was the Giants who ended up division winners by 1 game. So now, the Dodgers put their season on the line in a one game playoff. Unfortunately for them, they lost star 1st-basemen Max Muncy to an arm injury in their finale. His status for the Wild Card game is unknown. With all that being said, the Dodgers still enter the postseason as the betting favorites, just as they have been all season long.
The Cardinals will send the veteran Adam Wainwright (17-7, 3.05 ERA) to the mound to oppose the NL Cy Young favorite in Max Scherzer (15-4, 2.46 ERA). The move to acquire Scherzer at the deadline from the Washington Nationals looks huge right now . The two right-handers should participate in a pitching dual Wednesday night. The winner will head to San Francisco and begin an ALDS series with the team who had the best record in baseball in the Giants.
By 
By 
