10/1/14

It's Buctober!!!!

Tonight, the Pittsburgh Pirates will take on the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park. The game will start at 8:07 ET and will be shown nationally on ESPN. This game marks the second-consecutive year in which the Pirates will be hosting the National League Wild Card Game. Believe it or not, the Wild Card Game last year was also played on October 1. The game last year offered fans their first glimpse of playoff baseball since 1992. In that game, the Pirates defeated the Reds in a 6-2 triumph. A notable part of the game was when the fans were able to get into Johnny Cueto's head. Cueto proceeded to drop the ball. Once he recovered, Russell Martin drilled his first of two home runs of the game to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.

Last night was a great night to get the playoffs started. The Kansas City Royals, who had not been in the playoffs since 1985, defeated the Oakland Athletics in twelve innings. The Athletics took a two-run lead in the first inning thanks to a two-run home run hit by former Pirates outfielder Brandon Moss. In the bottom half, Billy Butler hit an RBI single to put the Royals on the board. The Royals scored twice to give themselves a 3-2 lead thanks to an RBI double by Lorenzo Cain and an RBI single hit by Eric Hosmer. The Athletics responded and put up a five-run sixth inning sparked by a three-run home run hit by Brandon Moss to give the Athletics a 7-3 lead. The Royals fought back by putting up a three-run eighth inning. Billy Butler and Lorenzo Cain hit RBI singles and Eric Hosmer proceeded to score on a wild pitch. In the bottom of the ninth, the Athletics summoned closer Sean Doolittle. After a Jarrod Dyson steal of third base. Norichika Aoki tied the game with a sacrifice fly. The game proceeded to go into extra innings. In the top of the twelfth inning, Alberto Callaspo hit a pinch-hit RBI single to give the Athletics an 8-7 lead. In the bottom of the twelfth, Eric Hosmer hit a triple with one out to put the tying run ninety feet away. Christian Colon, who came into the game as Billy Butler's replacement as designated hitter, hit an RBI infield single to drive in Hosmer and tie the game at 8. With two outs and a runner on second base, Royals catcher Salvador Perez, who had been 0 for 5 at the plate, came up big and hit a walk off RBI single past Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson. After such a thrilling start to the playoffs, much more excitement is yet to come.