MLB Playoff Picture 2022: Hot Takes and Top Storylines for Wednesday's Schedule
The Divisional Series of the 2022 MLB playoffs just began, but there's already an iconic moment in the books.
On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros engineered a miraculous 8-7 comeback victory over the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of the Division Series thanks to a walk-off three-run home run by Yordan Alvarez.
The 25-year old designated hitter belted the deep ball to right field during the ninth inning to stun the Mariners, causing the capacity crowd at Minute Maid Park to erupt with elation.
Alvarez's homer capped off a wild rally by the Astros to maintain home advantage in the ALDS as they look ahead to Game 2 on Thursday afternoon.
For added reference, Alvarez's walk-off dinger was the first time in postseason history that a player went yard for the win while his team was trailing by multiple runs.
On the schedule for Wednesday are two games: Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres at Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Phillies and Dodgers both lead their respective NLDS series 1-0.
Here's the latest glance at the schedule and top storylines ahead of Wednesday's action.
Playoff Picture, Wednesday Schedule
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Playoff Bracket
American League
No. 1 Houston Astros vs. No. 5 Seattle Mariners
No. 2 New York Yankees vs. No. 3 Cleveland Guardians
National League
No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. No. 5 San Diego Padres
No. 2 Atlanta Braves vs. No. 6 Philadelphia Phillies
Wednesday Schedule
Phillies at Braves, 5:35 p.m. ET on FOX
Padres at Dodgers, 9:37 p.m. ET on FS1
Keep It Classy Fellas
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After besting the St. Louis Cardinals in their Wild Card Series, the Philadelphia Phillies moved on to the NLDS and have a surprising 1-0 lead over the Atlanta Braves.
Considering this is the first time that the Phillies are in the postseason since 2011, it's unexpected that they are looking to end Wednesday needing just one more win to advance to the National League Championship Series over the reigning champs Braves in their best-of-five series.
But winning isn't always the only thing on the menu.
There's a little bad blood between these teams.
While Philadelphia pitcher José Alvarado was on the mound, he heard some unwanted chirping from Atlanta outfielder Guillermo Heredia.
Alvarado and Heredia both played for the Tampa Bay Rays back in 2019, but now that they are facing off with big stakes hanging in the balance, they aren't as chummy as they once were.
According to Alvarado, Heredia was laughing and shouting things at him while pitching in the eighth inning.
"This guy, he needs to respect the game more," Alvarado told Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "I come in focused in a situation in the game. I am not paying attention [to him], I don’t like that stuff that Heredia was saying to me. He needs to respect the pitcher when he comes into the situation because that moment is very serious. He’s laughing about the situation. You need to respect when we come into the game.
"Everybody thinks, ‘Oh, I want to attack Alvarado,’ because before my mentality was all crazy. But right now, nobody can change my mentality. Nobody. I’m focused. When we come into the game, I come in to hit the target. I don’t care who is hitting. Strike one, strike two, and good luck."
Philly is already on a bit of Cinderella run, if they can harness some extra motivation from the exchange between Alvarado and Heredia, it can only help them as they try to topple the highly-favored Braves.
Game 2 is back in Atlanta at Truist Park.
Dodgers, What a Relief
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While the Wild Card participants are at least three-deep in their playoff rotations by this point, the top seeds get to start the festivities with their absolute best on the bump.
The slate features no shortage of Cy Young candidates.
The Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular season with the best record in the MLB, and they are continuing that momentum despite the layoff in the NLDS.
They have a 1-0 lead over the San Diego Padres after a four-reliever save to win Game 1.
Led by Evan Phillips, who threw a scoreless inning, the Dodgers are looking solid on the mound, and there's no reason to doubt that will continue on Wednesday.
The play of the game had to be the game-winning double play in the ninth off the bat of Wil Myers with one runner waiting to score.
It was a team effort, but the four relievers brought this one home.
"They have come together," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told Cary Osborne of MLB.com. "They’ve come together as a really good solid group. I think Josh Bard, our bullpen coach, deserves a lot of credit in challenging these guys for accountability and being unselfish and being open to whatever I asked of them. And so that’s kind of really showed itself. Those guys pull for each other, and it’s as good a group that I’ve seen that we’ve had."
Now looking ahead to Game 2, the Padres will try to go back into Dodger Stadium and steal a win.
With the way L.A. is playing, that could be a tall order.
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