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It looks a little longer than expected, but we know the Brewers opponent for the National League Division Series. It will be the Colorado Rockies, who outlasted the Chicago Cubs 2-1 in a thirteen inning winner-take-all Wild Card Game.
The Rockies got on the board right away in the first when Nolan Arenado hit a sacrifice fly to score DJ LeMahieu, giving the Rockies a 1-0 lead. From there, it turned into a pitcher’s duel. Kyle Freeland pitched 6 2⁄3 scoreless innings with 4 hits and a walk, striking out 6. Jon Lester countered with 6 innings, allowing just the 1 run with 4 hits, a walk, and 9 strikeouts.
From there, it went to the bullpens. The Rockies first turned it over to Adam Ottavino, who got out of the seventh inning. However, in the eighth, the Cubs broke through. Anthony Rizzo singled with two outs, and Joe Maddon decided to pinch run for him with Terrance Gore, a base-stealing specialist. Gore did his job and stole second, and then on a 0-2 pitch to Javier Baez, scored on a double to tie the game at 1-1 for the Cubs.
The battle of the bullpens was on from here. The Rockies used six pitchers total. The Cubs used nine pitchers. It went down to the top of the 13th, where Kyle Hendricks had two outs in the inning. He then allowed three straight singles to Trevor Story, Gerardo Parra, and Tony Wolters, giving the Rockies a 2-1 lead. The Cubs had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth, but Terrance Gore, Javier Baez, and Albert Almora Jr. all struck out to end the game.
The Rockies now move on to face the Brewers, and it will be a matchup of two of the hottest teams in baseball. The Brewers won eight straight to end the regular season, while the Rockies won 10 of 12. Meanwhile, the Cubs season comes to an end despite the second best record in the National League. They had a lead in the division entering the last week of the season, but a 6-6 record in their final 12 games wasn’t enough.
The Brewers will kick off the Division Series round on Thursday afternoon against these Rockies. First pitch is scheduled for 4:07 pm Central. It’s going to be a wild postseason.