THE SAN FRANCISCO Giants collapsed after leading MLB at the All-Star break, but the club avoided a worst-case scenario after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park on Sunday to clinch the second wild-card spot.
Behind eight innings of three-hit ball from southpaw Matt Moore, the Giants topped the Dodgers 7-1 and will face the Mets in New York on Wednesday as the club looks for a fourth World Series title in even-numbered years.
The Giants’ win also meant the St. Louis Cardinals were eliminated despite a 10-4 victory over Pittsburgh Pirates and will miss the playoffs for the first time since 2010.
In all, postseason chaos was averted as the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers each lost in the American League to Toronto Blue Jays and Atlanta Braves respectively, meaning no make-up game or play-in game for the wild card is needed.
Instead, the Indians will host the Red Sox in Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Thursday and the Blue Jays will host the Orioles Tuesday.
Catcher Matt Wieters went 2 for 4 with two homers and four RBIs as Baltimore clinched the second AL wild-card spot with a win over the New York Yankees. He finishes the regular season with a .243/.302/.409 slash line, with 17 homers and 66 RBIs.
The 2016 MLB postseason kicks off Tuesday in Toronto after both the O’s and Blue Jays tied with a regular-season record of 89-73.
Because Toronto had a better head-to-head regular season record, they will host the wild-card game. The winner faces top-seeded Texas Rangers on Thursday in Arlington.
