MLB wild-card series Day 2: Best moments, analysis

Four games down, three Game 3s forced.

The Cleveland Guardians kicked off the action by slugging their way to a Game 3 against the Detroit Tigers, followed by the San Diego Padres keeping their season alive with a shutout of the Chicago Cubs. The New York Yankees were the third team of the day to tie their series by eking out a win over the Boston Red Sox.

In the final game of the night, the Los Angeles Dodgers took care of business against the Cincinnati Reds -- though only after they escaped from another eighth-inning mess.

We've got you covered with postgame takeaways, as well as sights and sounds from the ballparks on Day 2.

Key links: Megapreview | Day 1 lessons | Bracket | Schedule

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Takeaways | Sights and sounds

Takeaways

Los Angeles Dodgers 8, Cincinnati Reds 4

Dodgers win 2-0

The Dodgers surged past the Reds for two reasons: They received dominant starting pitching, with Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto combining to allow two earned runs in 13 2/3 innings; and their offense was clicking on all cylinders, rattling off a combined 28 hits from 10 different players in the two games. But in the end, their much-maligned bullpen received a glimmer of hope in the form of Roki Sasaki, who fired off triple-digit fastballs and devastating splitters to cruise through the final three outs. "Wow," Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy said. "That's all I can say is wow." You can make a case that the Dodgers possess the strongest rotation and the deepest offense in this playoff field. Their one glaring weakness resided in their bullpen. Sasaki might be a gamechanger. -- Alden Gonzalez

Mookie Betts was in the background all season for the Dodgers, in the shadow of Shohei Ohtani's brilliance and the concerns about the bullpen. He had his worst season at the plate, although he was much better the final two months and especially in September. His Game 2 performance -- 4 hits, 3 doubles, 3 RBIs -- was a nice reminder that he's still capable of being one of the best all-around players in the game. The Dodgers' offense steamrolled the Reds in their two wins, setting up the anticipated showdown against the Phillies. Alas, while Mookie is back, the Dodgers' bullpen struggled for the second straight game, leaving Dave Roberts still trying to figure out which relievers to trust -- although he might have found his closer in Roki Sasaki, who had a brilliant ninth inning. -- David Schoenfield

New York Yankees 4, Boston Red Sox 3

Series tied 1-1

Jazz Chisholm Jr. didn't hide his disappointment after not starting in the Yankees' Game 1 loss. In Game 2, he played hero. The second baseman, after preventing the go-ahead run from scoring with a diving stop in the seventh inning, worked a walk and dashed from first base to score on Austin Wells' go-ahead single in the eighth. Chisholm's two displays of athleticism -- on defense and on the basepaths -- might have saved the Yankees' season. -- Jorge Castillo

For the first time in, oh, 21 years, this game felt like an old-school Red Sox-Yankees playoff game -- full of emotion, second-guessing, clutch hits and big mistakes. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, they made the two big ones: Jarren Duran had Aaron Judge's fly ball clank off his glove to allow a run to score (the play was unbelievably scored a hit instead of an error) and then Nate Eaton didn't score from second base when Chisholm's throw bounced away from first baseman Ben Rice. Eaton ranks in the 98th percentile in speed and was already rounding third as Chisholm made the throw. Why did he stop?

On top of that, manager Alex Cora went all out for the win, pulling starter Brayan Bello after just 28 pitches, which eventually led to using Garrett Whitlock, his second-best reliever, for 47 pitches. With rookie Connelly Early the likely starter, Cora will have to figure out how he can piece the innings together in a must-win Game 3 before calling on Aroldis Chapman late in the game. -- David Schoenfield

San Diego Padres 3, Chicago Cubs 0

Series tied 1-1

Yes, the Padres' bullpen is great, but the Cubs need to generate more offense or they're going home for the winter earlier than they'd like. Perhaps their best hope is that San Diego might not be able to pitch Mason Miller in Game 3 after he appeared in Games 1 and 2. He was the talk of both clubhouses after Wednesday's contest as he consistently lit up the radar gun, striking out five batters one day after striking out three in Game 1. Seemingly everyone in the Cubs' lineup, save Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly, is slumping right now, though the Padres' pitching has a lot to do with that over the past two days. Lefties Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Ian Happ and Kyle Tucker are a combined 2-for-27 through two games. The Cubs need some damage from that side of the plate when they face righty Yu Darvish on Thursday or their season might end with a thud. -- Jesse Rogers

Manager Mike Shildt couldn't have drawn up a better script for his Padres in a must-win game: Get a first-inning lead, have Dylan Cease shut down the Cubs for three or four innings, get a big home run from Manny Machado and turn the game over to your flame-throwing bullpen. Adrian Morejon and Mason Miller combined for four scoreless innings, with Miller once again lighting up the radar gun and sending helpless Cubs hitters back to the bench. In two games, he has recorded eight outs -- all on strikeouts. One of his pitches today: 104.5 mph, the fourth fastest of the Statcast era. The hope for the Cubs, however, is that Morejon has thrown 42 pitches in two games, and Miller has thrown 40. Will either be available for Game 3? -- David Schoenfield

Cleveland Guardians 6, Detroit Tigers 1

Series tied 1-1

After Game 1, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said that every game between his club and the Guardians was like this -- close, low-scoring, every run like squeezing blood from a turnip. Game 2 was more bullpen heavy than Game 1 but other than that, Hinch's observation held up. The Tigers had all kinds of traffic on the bases but could not get a timely hit, and even had a run taken away after a replay overturned the original call. Things got so desperate that Hinch pinch-hit for his best player, Riley Greene, hoping that Jahmai Jones could make contact against nasty lefty Tim Herrin with a runner on third base. Jones stuck out. Finally, the Guardians broke through against Troy Melton in the eighth, and we will have a Game 3. If Hinch knows anything, it'll be a lot like the first two games. -- Bradford Doolittle

If you've wondered how the Guardians reeled off 15 wins in 16 games in September despite a bad offense, their Game 2 win showed how: good enough starting pitching, great bullpen work, some timely hitting (in this case, three home runs, two of them in the eighth inning) and an odd play that went their way. In the top of the fourth, Javier Baez singled with two outs and the bases loaded, seemingly scoring two runs to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. Except Zach McKinstry got thrown out at third (after the replay overturned the original call), a split second before Dillon Dingler crossed home plate, so that second run didn't count. Certainly, a huge blunder by McKinstry, but credit center fielder Chase DeLauter, who made the throw. Oh, and to further show how unconventional this team is: This was not only DeLauter's first game in the majors after getting added to the postseason roster but his first game of any kind since July 11. Game 3, everyone! -- Schoenfield

Sights and sounds

We've got you covered with all the best moments from the ballparks on the second day of the playoffs.

Reds at Dodgers

Dodgers' bullpen struggles in the eighth -- again -- but escapes