The 2021 National League Wild Card Game was a

play-in game A play-in gameTh ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

's (MLB) 2021 postseason contested between the two wild card teams in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL): the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

and the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. It was played on October 6, at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...

. The game was televised nationally by TBS and presented by

Hankook Tire Hankook Tire & Technology (; , also known simply as Hankook and stylised ), is a South Korean tire company. Based in Seoul, Hankook is the seventh largest tire company in the world. History Hankook Tire was established by Jae Hun Chung's grandf ...

. Chris Taylor of the Los Angeles Dodgers hit a two out, two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th inning to win the game for the Dodgers, sending them to the

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

to face the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

Background

The

secured a postseason berth in the Wild Card Game on September 28. The Cardinals previously appeared in the 2012 NL Wild Card Game, defeating the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

, and the 2020 NL Wild Card Series, where they fell to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

, two games to one. With the

finishing their season (107–55), they clinched the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

division, resulting in the

(106–56) hosting the Cardinals in the Wild Card Game. This was the Dodgers' first wild card game appearance after winning the

NL West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

for eight consecutive seasons. The Dodgers set an MLB record for the most wins by a wild card team. The Cardinals won 22 of their final 25 regular-season games, which included a 17-game winning streak, the longest in franchise history. After acquiring

Max Scherzer Maxwell Martin Scherzer (born July 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and L ...

and

Trea Turner Trea Vance Turner (born June 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner pla ...

at the trade deadline, the Dodgers went 44–13 the rest of the season. This was the sixth postseason meeting between the Dodgers and Cardinals, with the Cardinals previously winning four and the Dodgers winning one. In the regular season series, the Dodgers posted a 4–3 record against the Cardinals. The Dodgers' All-Star first baseman

Max Muncy Maxwell Steven Muncy (born August 25, 1990) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Baylor Bears. He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in t ...

was not on the roster due to a collusion at first base with

Jace Peterson Jace Ryan Peterson (born May 9, 1990) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Baltim ...

on the final day of the season. It was later reported he suffered a dislocated elbow on the play and his status remained an unknown if the Dodgers advanced.

Game results

Line score

started for the Dodgers and he pitched innings, allowing only one run on three hits and three walks.

Tommy Edman Thomas Hyunsu Edman (born May 9, 1995) is an American professional baseball second baseman and shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (Major League Baseball, MLB). Born in Pontiac, Michigan, and raised in San Diego, Edman ...

scored the Cardinals run in the first inning on a bloop single, stolen base and a wild pitch.

Adam Wainwright Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981), nicknamed "Waino" and "Uncle Charlie", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected him 29th overall in the ...

pitched innings for the Cardinals, allowing only a solo home run by

Justin Turner Justin Matthew Turner (born November 23, 1984) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dod ...

in the fourth inning. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when Chris Taylor hit a walk-off two-run home run off of

Alex Reyes Alexander Reyes (born August 29, 1994) is a Dominican–American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals as an amateur free agent in December 2012, and made his MLB debut for the club o ...

. This was

Mike Shildt Michael Timothy Shildt (born August 9, 1968) is an American baseball coach for the San Diego Padres, where he is the team's interim third base coach. After serving as a scout and manager in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system, he serv ...

's last game as the Cardinals' manager. He was dismissed by the team on October 14, 2021 and replaced by

Oliver Marmol Oliver Jose Marmol (born July 2, 1986) is an American professional baseball manager and former coach who is the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). As of the 2023 season, he is the youngest manager of an MLB team. ...

References

External links

Major League Baseball postseason schedule
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Background

Game results

Line score

See also

References

Further reading

External links