National League Wild-Card Game Recap
If you like hitting, you like what the Arizona Diamondbacks did in beating the Colorado Rockies 11-8 on Wednesday night in the National League wild-card game.
Paul Goldschmidt got the D’backs off to a quick start in the bottom of the first with a three-run homer and Arizona added three triples among its 17 hits to advance to the NL Divisional Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. One of those triples came from relief pitcher Archie Bradley to drive in two runs.
And for good measure the Diamondbacks also bunted in a run in a three-run eighth inning.
Give the Rockies some credit. Down 6-0 early, they came back with four runs in the fourth and closed to 6-5 in the seventh and narrowed it to 8-7 in the top of the eighth. But Arizona scored five times in its last two at-bats and a Rockies’ rally in the ninth resulted in just one run off closer Fernando Rodney.
Arizona’s Ketel Marte became the only player to hit two triples in a postseason game, going three for five and driving in a run.
The Rockies got nothing from a top of the order that had been potent. Leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon, who led the NL in batting with a .331 average, was hitless in four at-bats and DJ LeMahieu produced nothing in five trips to the plate.
The Diamondbacks, who finished second in the NL West, now face the NL West winners Friday night at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers (104-58) had the best record in baseball during the regular season.
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman
Finding The Perfect Fit: Dailies Contact Lenses
A Chat With The New Judges Of American Idol
-
Recapping all the top games and matchups from over the weekend The Kansas City Chiefs clinched the AFC West...
-
A big weekend for college football If you cannot keep up with the many college football conference games that...
-
Rhodes apologizes after unsportsmanlike conduct in last game Xavier Rhodes, a cornerback for the Minnesota Vikings, apologized for his...
-
They’re both 6-6. And so much more was expected. The Dallas Cowboys travel to Chicago to play the Bears...
-
These have not been easy times for the Carolina Panthers They lost quarterback Cam Newton earlier this season to...
-
Hawks take on Warriors for a blow out game We knew the young Atlanta Hawks would not be contenders....
-
Tom Brady laughs over Ohio State-Michigan The Ohio State Buckeyes beat their number-one rival, the University of Michigan Wolverines,...
-
Catching up on the weekend games and matchups Justin Tucker delivered a 53-yard field goal as time expired and...
-
Enjoying the holiday weekend with some great games and matchups A slew of college football rivalry games means you...
-
Happy Thanksgiving! After you have listened to Alice’s Restaurant a couple of times to get in the holiday spirit,...
-
Austin the all-star You’d be forgiven if you thought the motto of Duke University’s men’s college basketball team was...
-
If you haven’t been paying attention, you are missing out. Lamar Jackson’s star is ascendant and so are the...