2018 Major League Baseball tie-breaker game
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 winning 2?1 in 13 innings to advance to face the Brewers in the
National League Division Series
.
[1]
[2]
The Cubs and Brewers ended the
2018 season
tied for the division lead and the NL's best
win?loss record
at 95?67 (.586), thereby guaranteeing that whoever lost would host the Wild Card Game two days later.
[3]
The tie-breaker was counted as a regular season game for both teams, with all events in the game added to regular season statistics.
[4]
[5]
October 1 also marked the first time two division tie-breakers had been played in a single season.
[6]
Background
[
edit
]
Chicago
had won two consecutive
National League Central
Division championships,
[9]
and were expected to win a third-consecutive division title.
[10]
[11]
The
Milwaukee Brewers
finished 2017 six games back of the Cubs, despite leading the 2017 division race by 5.5 games at the All-Star break. Milwaukee's last playoff appearance was its
2011 division title
.
[12]
To challenge for the 2018 division, the Brewers made several key offseason acquisitions, among them
starter
Jhoulys Chacin
, former
Kansas City Royal
Lorenzo Cain
and then-
Marlins
outfielder
Christian Yelich
.
[13]
The Cubs' high-profile
[14]
[15]
offseason acquisitions,
Yu Darvish
and
Brandon Morrow
, were lost to injury during the season,
[16]
[17]
[18]
and both missed the tie-breaker game.
Milwaukee emerged from a crowded early division race on May 18. Chicago took the division lead from the Brewers on July 14 and maintained sole possession of first place until falling to a third-place
St. Louis
club at home in the penultimate game of the season.
[19]
Chicago had surged out of the
All-Star break
to a five-game lead over the Brewers lead on September 2, but Milwaukee put together a 19?7 September record
[20]
that included four wins over the Cubs in nine days.
The Brewers ended the season on an 8-game win streak,
[21]
while the Cubs won their final game 10?5 over the Cards to force the tiebreaker.
[22]
The Cubs won the right to host the tie-breaker with an 11?8 head-to-head record against the Brewers.
[22]
Game summary
[
edit
]
Jose Quintana
started for Chicago,
[26]
and
Jhoulys Chacin
started for Milwaukee.
[27]
ESPN
broadcast the game, with
Karl Ravech
,
Eduardo Perez
,
Tim Kurkjian
, and
Buster Olney
. The game was also broadcast on
ESPN Radio
, with
Jason Benetti
and
Chris Singleton
.
[28]
[29]
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 Chacin.
[30]
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.
[31]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
With the win, the Brewers extended their regular-season win streak to 9 and qualified for home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. Finishing one loss behind the Brewers, the Cubs hosted the
2018 NL Wild Card Game
and the
NL West
runner-up Rockies the following day. Colorado defeated the Cubs in 13 innings.
[2]
It was Chicago's first opening-round exit since the
Dodgers
swept the
Cubs
in the
2008 NLDS
.
[b]
Milwaukee swept the Rockies in the
NLDS
,
[34]
but their win streak ended at 14 in the
NLCS
when the
Dodgers
beat Milwaukee 4?3 on October 13, the Brewers' first loss in 27 days.
[35]
L.A. would win the NL
pennant
at
Miller Park
in seven games.
[36]
Yelich won the NL
MVP
over Baez, who finished in second. Both men won
Silver Slugger awards
[37]
[38]
and finished as Gold Glove runners up
[39]
at their respective positions. Rizzo, Cain, Brewers third baseman
Travis Shaw
and Cubs right fielder
Jason Heyward
were also
Gold Glove
runners up. Brewers
manager
Craig Counsell
would finish second in NL
Manager of the Year
voting, losing to
Atlanta Braves
manager
Brian Snitker
.
[40]
This game, along with the
NL West tie-breaker game
, were the last such tie-breaker games in Major League Baseball, as the league eliminated this scenario starting with the
2022 season
. All ties in the standings would be broken through various formulas.
[41]
- ^
The following season, MLB eliminated the waiver trade, which had allowed teams to conduct trades after the July 31 deadline by first putting a player on a "trade waiver." Teams could then claim that player. The team with lowest record among those claiming the waivered player could then initiate a trade transaction. The so-called "waiver deadline" was Aug. 31.
[23]
[24]
- ^
Major League Baseball changed its
playoff format
in 2012 from a four-team to a five-team format, adding a second Wild Card spot and each league's respective
Wild Card play-in game
.
[33]
In 2008, the top-seeded Cubs hosted the lowest seeded division champion, the Dodgers (the NL West champions) instead of the Brewers due to the Brewers being the wild card team, and the previously used restriction of teams from the same division meeting in the Division Series, in the 2008 NLDS.
References
[
edit
]
General
[
edit
]
Specific
[
edit
]
- ^
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
.
- ^
a
b
"Rockies vs. Cubs - Game Summary - October 2, 2018 - ESPN.com"
. ESPN
. Retrieved
July 14,
2021
.
- ^
McCalvy, Adam (May 24, 2018).
"Brewers set for Game 163 against Cubs"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
October 1,
2018
.
- ^
"MLB - Breaking down Monday's division tiebreaker doubleheader"
.
ESPN
. October 1, 2018
. Retrieved
November 26,
2018
.
- ^
Snyder, Matt (October 1, 2018).
"Brewers vs. Cubs in NL Central tiebreaker: What to know about pivotal Game 163 in Chicago"
. CBSSports.com
. Retrieved
November 26,
2018
.
- ^
"MLB - Breaking down Monday's division tiebreaker doubleheader"
.
Espn.com
. Retrieved
October 2,
2018
.
- ^
Flanagan, Jeffrey.
"Royals send Moose to Brewers for 2 prospects"
.
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Grathoff, Pete.
"Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain shared a laugh on first day as Brewers teammates"
. Kansas City Star
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
Moustakas was in the lineup and took time to greet old friend Lorenzo Cain, who signed with Milwaukee as a free agent last winter.
- ^
Neveau, James (September 22, 2018).
"Chicago Cubs Clinching Scenarios: Saturday"
. NBC Chicago
. Retrieved
October 2,
2018
.
- ^
L, Jaymes.
"2018 NL Central Preview: Chicago Cubs"
.
Brew Crew Ball
. SB Nation
. Retrieved
July 12,
2021
.
The Cubs should probably win the NL Central again this year, and they should probably win it by a fairly comfortable (let's say at least 5-ish games?) margin.
- ^
"NL Central 2018 preview: Breakdown of the teams and players entering the new MLB season"
.
Denver Press
. The Associated Press
. Retrieved
July 12,
2021
.
there's no reason to think they won't be in the mix for another title this year
- ^
"Brewers 2, Cardinals 1: First playoff berth since 2011 is assured"
. Jsonline.com
. Retrieved
October 2,
2018
.
- ^
Sullivan, Paul.
"A Cubs-Brewers encore in October is just what baseball needs"
.
Chicago Tribune
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
Stearns added veterans Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich last offseason
- ^
Stephen, Eric.
"Yu Darvish, Brandon Morrow among 6 Dodgers who are now MLB free agents"
.
True Blue LA
. SB Nation
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
Darvish headlines the group...
- ^
Miller, Bradon.
"Cubs Release Brandon Morrow Following Yet Another Procedure"
.
Cubs Insider
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
Brandon Morrow was the definition of "sparkle and fade" during his time with the Cubs, starting the first half of 2018 as a dominant closer before a string of injuries prevented him from ever pitching again.
- ^
Wells, Adam.
"Yu Darvish Out for Season After Elbow Injury Diagnosed as Stress Reaction"
. Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Muskat, Carrie.
"Morrow expects DL stint to be minimal"
. MLB.com. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
"Cubs Reliever Brandon Morrow Out for the Season with Biceps Injury"
. Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
"Cubs lose 2-1 to Cardinals as NL Central race goes to final day"
. WGN. Associated Press
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Bretl, Paul.
"Milwaukee Brewers: Behind The Impressive September Run"
.
Fansided
. Reviewing the Brew
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
This led to the Brewers finishing September with a NL best 19?7 record.
- ^
Tototraitis, Joe.
"Brewers top Tigers; NL Central tiebreaker vs Cubs next"
.
apneas.com
. Associated Press
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Sandalow, Brian.
"Fit to be tied: Cubs beat Cardinals, headed to playoff against Brewers"
. Chicago Sun-Times
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Axson, Scooby.
"How Does the Waiver Trade System Work in MLB?"
.
SI.com
. Sports Illustrated
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
"Trade Deadline | Glossary"
.
www.mlb.com
. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
As of 2019, the July 31 Trade Deadline is the only trade deadline.
- ^
"Nats trade Daniel Murphy to Cubs, Matt Adams to Cardinals"
. ESPN
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
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. Archived from
the original
on October 2, 2018
. Retrieved
October 7,
2018
.
- ^
"ESPN, ESPN Radio have coverage of Monday's baseball playoffs"
. Blogs.hudsonvalley.com. September 30, 2018
. Retrieved
October 7,
2018
.
- ^
"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
.
- ^
Chiarelli, Mark.
"Christian Yelich Claims 2018 National League MVP Award"
. Baseball America
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
...topping Javy Baez and Nolan Arenado. Yelich received 29 of 30 first-place votes.
- ^
Rudnansky, Ryan.
"MLB Playoff Format 2012: Explaining Wild Card, Divisional Series Changes & More"
. Bleacher Report
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
Starting in 2012, the two wild-card teams from each league play each other in a single-game playoff the day after the regular season ends.
- ^
"MLB playoffs: Brewers punch NLCS ticket with savvy moves, platoon help"
. Usatoday.com
. Retrieved
November 26,
2018
.
- ^
Perry, Dan.
"Dodgers vs. Brewers final score: Justin Turner comes up big as NLCS heads to Los Angeles even"
.
CBS Sports
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Los Angeles Dodgers advance to the World Series, beating Milwaukee 5-1 in Game 7
, WRIC, October 21, 2018
- ^
"2018 Silver Slugger Award Winners"
.
MLB.com
.
- ^
Castrovince, Anthony.
"6 NL first-timers among Silver Slugger honorees"
.
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Randhawa, Manny.
"The 2018 Gold Glove Award winners are ..."
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
Castrovince, Anthony.
"Melvin wins 3rd Manager Award, Snitker his first"
.
MLB.com
. Major League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 13,
2021
.
- ^
"Everything you need to know about '22 season"
.
MLB.com
. Retrieved
March 10,
2022
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