Locked On Mariners - Daily Podcast On the Seattle Mariners - National League Wild Card Series Recaps

Episode Date: October 13, 2020

Jon Miller fills in for a laryngitis-stricken D.C. Lundberg and offers recaps from all four National League Wild Card series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Here's your host, filling in for D.C. Lundberg, John Miller. Thank you, Joey Martin, and happy birthday. I am Lock-on Mariner's contributor, John Miller, filling in for D.C., who has a slight case of laryngitis and can't really speak. And if I may be candid, the truth is he heard his voice while practicing his yodeling. He's trying out for the championships in Sheboygan, seen as he did so well with thumb wrestling, so he thought he'd try his hand at that too.

He will be back later on this week after he regains his voice. In any case, this is Locked-on Mariners. Part of the Locked-on podcast network. Remember to download, rate, and subscribe to this program on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or whichever podcast an app that you personally care to use. Ask your smart device to play Lockdown Mariner's podcast or any program here on...

the Locked-on podcast network. Follow us on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow DC on Twitter at DC underscore Lundberg. You can follow me on Twitter at Seattle Pilot 69. Over the next few shows, we'll be getting you updated on how the postseason is going, as we're already in the midst of the league championship series will begin in the National League. With the four brand-new wildcard series, DC has already stated his opinion on this new format many times, First of all, I need to say, to state my own opinion, I am not sure if this opinion agrees with the host of this show. The name needs to go. You had the baseball leading Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card series, the best record in baseball and they're in the wild card.

When I first heard about that, it made it seem like they had been shafted somehow. You have best record in baseball, and you're only in the wild card. It's like you barely made the playoffs or something. It just seems to cheapen this format even more. Okay, moving on from that one, this all began a couple of weeks ago on September 30th. These are three games series, and three of the four were two-game sweep. Best of Three Series. The first one, we'll speak up,

pitted the National League East-winning Atlanta Braves versus the Cincinnati Reds, who finished third place in the Central at 31 and 29. The first game was a pitcher's duel remaining scoreless through 12 innings. During the regular season, an ex-draining would have started with a runner at second base.

But fortunately, that rule is not in effect in the post-season, one of the only redeeming points of these messed-up playoffs. Anyways, the Reds did not score on the top of the 13th. They send Archie Bradley to the mound in the bottom of the inning to try to keep the game scoreless. Veteran Nick Marquakis leads off with ground ball single and his pinch run for by Christian Pache. Austin Riley follows with a single of his own to send Pache to second.

Ronald Acuna Jr. then grounds into a forceout, erasing Riley and sending Pache to third. Acuna is on at first. underrated and underappreciated Freddie Freeman then ends the ballgame with the line drive single to center field to score Apache and give the Braves a one-to-nothing win and a one-to-nothing lead in the short series. Game two was another low-scoring affair, aside from the bottom of the eighth inning where the Braves score four runs on two-to-run home runs by Marcel Osuna and Adam Duvall. The final was five to nothing. The Braves move on to the division series, which sounds wrong to say. Cincinnati did not score a single run in the series. The next Wildcard series we'll discuss was Los Angeles Dodgers versus the Milwaukee Brewers. This one was also a two-game sweep at the hand of the Dodgers. In the first game, the Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the first, and I'd like to say this was their powerful offense making a statement, but in reality it was more that Brewer starter, Brent Souter,

not to be confused with Hall of Famer, Bruce Souter, made a statement akin to, I'm really nervous. is about this whole situation. He issued two basis-loaded walks in the inning to Will Smith and A.J. Pollock, respectively. Souter went back to work in the bottom of the second, allowing a lead-off double to former mariner, Chris Taylor, professional bowler mookie bets promptly drove him in with the double of his own. Souter wouldn't last the rest of the inning. After retiring the next two hitters, he walked Max Muncie and was pulled from the game with a three-o deficit. The Brewers would score two in the fourth and Dodgers would tack one more in the seventh to win four to two. The next game, the Brewers, would not score at all thanks to a dominating performance by the

incomparable Clayton Kershaw. He'd go eight innings and strikeout 13, utilizing only 93 pitches. Bruce Darradoral, also known as Punky Brewster, closed out the game to give the Dodgers a three-to-nothing win and a two-to-nothing series win. We'll speak of the other two-nation National League Wildcard series in a bid, but first, this from Bilt Bar. I have yet to try these great protein bars for myself, but DC has, and can attest that they taste great. And he doesn't eat what doesn't taste good. That's one reason he needed to go back to the gym and start shedding weight. They are great for between meal, snacks, for a quick breakfast on your way out the door, or for a post-workout protein boost. While being high in protein, they're also low in sugar, carbohydrates,

and calories, a great combination for a protein supplement, you can buy these terrific protein bars at builtbar.com. If you use promo code, plurk, plack, pliccity plaque, nothing happens. I know, I tried. So use promo code locked on instead to get $10 off your order. Don't forget about Built Boost, drink powder, and Build Go energy shots. Also available at Builtbar.com. Do you have a question or comment for DC? Set it in to Lockdown Mariners at gmail.com, and D.C. will reply to it on the air in an upcoming mailbag episode. Questions and comments about any subject are welcome. Just please keep it clean. This is a family show. Locked on Mariners at gmail.com is that address once again. Locked on Mariners will continue after this brief word of importance.

Welcome back to Locked on Mariners and your guest host, John Miller. Thank you again, Joey. Locked on Mariners is back with you talking about. the National League Wildcard series, which are new this year in this bloated playoff format. We've talked about the Braves and Dodgers series wins, so now we'll talk about the other wildcar series that ended in a two-game sweep. It was between the Miami Marlins, are they a Major League team? Just kidding. And the Chicago Cubs. The fish finished at 31 and 29, second place in the east, while the Cubs topped the Central at 34 and 26. The Cubs should have rolled to an easy victory, right?

As Lee Corso would say, not so fast, my friend. For the Marlins, yes, those Miami Marlins swept aside the Cubs, allowing only one run to the Southsiders in both games. In game one, the Cubs would actually get on board first, in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run from Ian Hap. That would be it, however. And the fish would score five runs in the seven, which was a disaster for Chicago pitching.

With starter Kyle Hendrick still on the mountain, he'd retire the first batter and then give up back-to-back singles, followed by a three-run blast by Corey Dickerson. Hendrix was yanked in favor of Jeremy Jeffress, who promptly gave up a single and a two-run home run. This one was hit by Jesus Aguilar. Marlins win this one, five to one, then shut out the Cubs in game two. The Marlin started Sexto Sanchez against you Darvish, and Darvish actually may have had a better game. Sanchez went only five innings and didn't allow a lot. run on four hits. Darvish went six and two-thirds innings with its only blemishes coming in the form of

solo home run and an RBI single following an intentional walk. Both came in the seventh inning. The Miami Marlins, that same team that lost about 900 ball games over the last few seasons, upset the Chicago Cubs in a two-game series sweep. The Marlins had no business being in the playoffs to begin with, and they knock off a division winner. This is further proof. This is that this playoff structure is, shall we say, garbage. The last series went the full three games, this one featuring the National League West's second place finishers, San Diego Padres, who had the second best record in the National League, against the St. Louis Cardinals, who went 30 and 28 and finished third in the central. In contrast to the other three series, this one was much higher scoring. The cards

took the first one by a seven to four final. St. Louis put the Friars on notice in the top of the very first inning, busting out with four runs to open the series. The Padres would counter with one piece in the bottom of the first, second, and third, while the card scored two more in the top of the third and an insurance run in the ninth. Neither starting pitcher survived the fourth inning, with Cardinal starter Quang Young Kim, sorry if I got that wrong, lasting only three and two-thirds innings, while Chris Paddock lasted a mere two in the third innings. Game two was a shootout, with the Padres topping the cards by an 11 to 9 final score. St. Louis would jump out to a 4-0-0 lead after two innings on two RBI singles and a two

on home run by Colton Wong. San Diego, or Slam Diego, as it were, answered with two in the fourth, which is the Cardinals would count with two more of their own in the top of the sixth. Then Slam Diego would get serious. In the bottom of the sixth, they'd score four to tie the game at six all. Three more in the seventh would follow. The cards would push two more across in the top of the eighth, but the Padres equaled that in the bottom of the frame. Paul Goldschmidt would lead off the ninth for the cards with a solo home run.

But at last, that would be the end of the scoring as the San Diego Padres win the Barn Burner, 11 to 9. The third and final game went like many of the other games in the series did, with only one team scoring any runs. And that team was not the Cardinals. The Friars resorted to a bullpen game with reliever Craig Stamen getting the starting assignment. Nine San Diego pitchers would combine for a four-hit shutout with Trevor Rosenthal striking out the side in the ninth inning. On the flip side, Jack Flaherty pitched pretty well further Edwards, going six innings and scattering six hits and two walks while striking out eight. He'd give up only one of the San Diego runs as Eric Hosmer hit an RBI single in the fifth inning. The Podger's would score two unurned runs in the seventh against Alex Reyes

and tack on one more on the 8th and win the game 4 to nothing. Take the series two games to one. That'll do it for this one. The American Wild Card Series recaps will be coming up later this evening. Remember to download rate and subscribe to this program on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, or any podcasting app that springs to mind. Follow the show on Twitter at L.O. underscore Mariners. Follow DZ on Twitter at DEC underscore Lundberg.

You can follow me on Twitter at Seattle Pilot 69. I'll be with you later on tonight. In the meantime, have a good afternoon. This is Joey Martin speaking for Locked-on Mariners, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network.