2018 National League Central tie-breaker game
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| Date | October 1, 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Venue | Wrigley Field | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| City | Chicago, Illinois | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Attendance | 38,450 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Television | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV announcers | Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez, Tim Kurkjian, and Buster Olney | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio | ESPN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio announcers | Jason Benetti and Chris Singleton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2018 National League Central tie-breaker game was a one-game extension to Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2018 regular season, played between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs to determine the champion of the National League's (NL) Central Division. It was played at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on October 1, 2018.
The Brewers won, 3–1, and became the top seed in the NL playoffs. The Cubs hosted the NL West runner-up Colorado Rockies in the NL Wild Card Game on October 2, with the Rockies advancing to face the Brewers in the National League Division Series.[1]
The tie-breaker was counted as the 163rd regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.
Background
Entering the 2018 Major League Baseball season, the Chicago Cubs had won two consecutive National League Central division championships.[2] The Milwaukee Brewers last made the Major League Baseball postseason in 2011, when they won the Central division.[3]
The Cubs and Brewers ended the 2018 season tied for the division lead with 95–67 (.586) win-loss records.[4] Milwaukee ended the season with an eight-game winning streak.[5] As the Los Angeles Dodgers and Colorado Rockies also tied for first place in the National League West, they also played in a tie-breaker game, marking the first time in Major League Baseball that two tie-breakers are needed in a year.[6]
Game summary
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||||||||||
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| Milwaukee Brewers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 12 | 0 | |||||||||||
| Chicago Cubs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||||||||
| WP: Corey Knebel (4–3) LP: Justin Wilson (4–5) Sv: Josh Hader (12) Home runs: MIL: None CHI: Anthony Rizzo (25) Attendance: 38,450 Boxscore | |||||||||||||||||||||||
The Cubs hosted the tie-breaker game based on their head-to-head record against the Brewers in the regular season. José Quintana started for Chicago,[7] and Jhoulys Chacín started for Milwaukee.[8] ESPN broadcast the game, with Karl Ravech, Eduardo Pérez, Tim Kurkjian, and Buster Olney. The game was also broadcast on ESPN Radio, with Jason Benetti and Chris Singleton.[9][10]
Christian Yelich had a run batted in (RBI) single for the Brewers in the third inning. Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs tied the game with a home run in the fifth inning, the first hit the Cubs had off of Chacín.[11] Lorenzo Cain and Ryan Braun of the Brewers added RBI singles in the eighth inning. Orlando Arcia had his first career four hit game and scored two of Milwaukee's runs.[12]
Aftermath
With the victory, Milwaukee finished the season with the best record in the NL. They would sweep the Colorado Rockies in the 2018 National League Division Series, and will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2018 National League Championship Series, starting on October 12.[5] The Dodgers and Brewers matching up in the 2018 National League Championship Series meant it was the first time two teams that won a tiebreaker game faced each other in a playoff series.
With the loss, the Cubs finished the season as the top Wild Card. They would lose to the Colorado Rockies in the Wild Card Game on October 2.[11]
References
- ↑ Lacques, Greg (September 30, 2018). "Game 163! Historic day on tap as Dodgers-Rockies, Cubs-Brewers set for NL tiebreakers Monday". USA Today. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
- ↑ Neveau, James (September 22, 2018). "Chicago Cubs Clinching Scenarios: Saturday". NBC Chicago. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Brewers 2, Cardinals 1: First playoff berth since 2011 is assured". Jsonline.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ↑ McCalvy, Adam (May 24, 2018). "Brewers set for Game 163 against Cubs". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- 1 2 "Brewers 3, Cubs 1: Milwaukee wins NL Central title at Wrigley Field". Jsonline.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ↑ "MLB - Breaking down Monday's division tiebreaker doubleheader". Espn.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ↑ Muskat, Carrie (May 24, 2018). "Cubs top Cardinals, face Brewers in tiebreaker". MLB.com. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
- ↑ "Jhoulys Chacin to start for Brewers in tiebreaker to decide NL Central". Espn.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ↑ Cafardo, Ben (September 30, 2018). "ESPN To Exclusively Televise Both MLB National League Tiebreaker Games On Monday - ESPN MediaZone U.S". Espnmediazone.com. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- ↑ "ESPN, ESPN Radio have coverage of Monday's baseball playoffs". Blogs.hudsonvalley.com. September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
- 1 2 "Cold bats cost the Cubs in NL Central tiebreaker loss to the Brewers". Chicago Tribune. August 30, 2018. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
- ↑ R.J. Anderson. "Brewers vs. Cubs final score, things to know: Milwaukee wins NL Central in tiebreaker game". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.