MLB wild card: Padres silence Mets, Mariners shut out Blue Jays

The MLB postseason is officially in full swing.

The expanded, 12-team playoffs began Friday with eight teams partaking in best-of-three wild-card series.

The Cleveland Guardians topped the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1, and the Seattle Mariners shut out the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 in Friday’s two AL wild-card games. Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Phillies pulled off a stunning 6-3 comeback win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the afternoon’s first NL wild-card game. Rounding out the day, the San Diego Padres pulled away from the New York Mets in a 7-1 victory in the second NL wild-card game.

Here are the top plays from Friday’s action.

Padres 7, Mets 1 (Game 1)

BOOM

Jurickson Profar led off the game for the Padres with a single to left center field. Two at-bats later, Josh Bell cranked a two-run home run to left center field off Max Scherzer, giving San Diego an early 2-0 lead.

Another one…

Scherzer sat down the first two batters in the second inning. Then, Trent Grisham flicked out a solo home run to right center field, the Padres’ second of the game. The homer extended their lead to 3-0.

Double up

Scherzer entered the fifth inning having retired seven consecutive hitters. But after two of the first three batters reached base in the inning, Profar punched out a home run to right field, giving the Padres a 6-0 lead.

ANOTHER dinger

Two batters after Profar went yard, Manny Machado did the same, hitting a line-drive home run to left field. It was the Padres’ fourth homer of the night and knocked Scherzer out of the game.

On the board

Eduardo Escobar earned the Mets their first run of the game in the bottom of the fifth, blasting a solo home run to center field.

Seven innings strong

Yu Darvish went seven innings for the Padres. The right-hander surrendered one run and six hits while striking out four batters. Robert Suarez and Luis Garcia pitched two combined scoreless innings to seal the 7-1 Padres victory.

Mariners 4, Blue Jays 0 (Game 1)

Right off the bat!

The Mariners didn’t waste any time getting on the board in this one. Third baseman Eugenio Suárez doubled to right field, bringing in Julio Rodríguez for Seattle’s first score of the day in the top of the first inning.

Outta here

Then, Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh hit a two-run home run to give Seattle an early 3-0 lead.

He is the first player in Mariners history to hit a home run in his first career postseason at-bat.

Another one!

The Mariners added another run in the top of the fifth inning, extending their lead to 4-0.

The Blue Jays were never able to gain momentum, and they were shut out at home with ease. Seattle ace Luis Castillo allowed six hits over 7 1/3 scoreless innings to power the franchise to its first playoff win in 7,657 days — the last was Oct. 20, 2001 in Game 3 of the ALCS against the Yankees).

Phillies 6, Cardinals 2 (Game 1)

Fan favorite

Cardinals star Albert Pujols got a standing ovation as he took the plate Friday to start his final playoff run.

Putting up points

Things were scoreless all the way until the bottom of the seven inning, when Cardinals first baseman Juan Yepez homered to left field, bringing in Dylan Carlson with him. Just like that, St. Louis took an early 2-0 lead.

When it rains, it pours

The Cardinals were three outs away from sealing the deal, but the Phillies had other plans. Alec Bohm was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, allowing J.T. Realmuto to score and bring Philly within one.

Jean Segura followed with a single to right, scoring Nick Castellanos and Bryce Harper.

The Phillies proceeded to bring in three more runs before the end of the inning, cruising to a 6-3 victory and stunning Cardinals fans and players. It was the Phillies’ first playoff win in 4,021 days, their last coming on Oct. 4, 2011 in Game 3 of an NLDS against … St. Louis.

Phillies score six runs in the ninth inning to take Game 1

The Phillies scored six runs in the ninth inning amid a Cardinals meltdown to take Game 1 of their wild-card series, 6-3.

Guardians 2, Rays 1 (Game 1)

All-out effort

Both teams started off strong in Cleveland, where a pitchers duel unfolded through the first four innings that included seven combined strikeouts between the Guardians’ Shane Bieber and the Rays’ Shane McClanahan.

Tampa Bay closed out the fourth inning with a monster double play to work out of a bases-loaded jam.

Going, going, gone!

Rays center fielder Jose Siri hit a solo homer to get Tampa Bay on the board first in the sixth inning.

Jose Siri’s home run gives Rays 1-0 lead vs. Guardians

Jose Siri kicked off the postseason scoring by hitting a home run to right-center field that gave the Tampa Bay Rays a 1-0 lead over the Cleveland Guardians.

Answering back

Cleveland answered right back, as third baseman José Ramírez crushed a two-run homer to give Guardians a 2-1 advantage in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was a lead they would hold onto until the end.

José Ramírez’s two-run homer gives Guardians a 2-1 lead vs. Rays

José Ramírez gave the Cleveland Guardians a huge boost after crushing a two-run homer to right-center field, giving them a 2-1 lead over the Tampa Bay Rays.