Game 162: 10 Years Later

Ten years ago today, Major League Baseball experienced probably the most wild and exciting days in the game’s history.

Game 162 captivated the baseball world and sent fans into a frenzy. Amazing comebacks were completed, as well as some devastating collapses. Four games that were to decide the Wild Card in each league took place in a final collision course that changed the game and ultimately led to the addition of the second Wild Card. 

Let’s relive that crazy night and the moments that made it so special.

Reliving The WIldness

Back in 2011, the regular season actually ended on a Wednesday night as opposed to the final Sunday in September or first Sunday in October that we’re used to. Two teams were tied for the Wild Card in each league.

In the American League, the Red Sox and Rays were tied. Tampa Bay had rallied from a nine game deficit in early September to pull even with the Sox with just one game to go.

The Red Sox were in Baltimore, playing the last place Orioles, while the Rays played host to the Yankees, who had nothing left to lose. Each team had their ace on the mound; David Price for the Rays, and Jon Lester for Boston.

And in the NL, the Braves and Cardinals were deadlocked. St. Louis had trailed Atlanta by 10 ½ games in the Wild Card race on August 25 before going on an improbable run to draw even in the standings.

As was the case with Boston and Tampa Bay, each club had their ace. Chris Carpenter took the mound for the Cards in Houston while Tim Hudson got the start in Atlanta as the Braves hosted the Phillies, who like the Yankees, had nothing left to lose.

The night got off to an interesting start. The Phillies jumped on Hudson early and put Atlanta in a 1-0 deficit. The Yankees did the same in St. Petersburg, striking first on an error by Ben Zobrist. Not too long after that, the Red Sox jumped ahead on a base-hit by Dustin Pedroia.

The Phillies’ slim lead would not last, as the Braves began to chip away, tying the game on Chipper Jones’ sac fly and taking the lead on Dan Uggla’s two-run homer. 

But the Rays playoff hopes took a big hit when Price surrendered a grand slam to Mark Texiera, giving the Yankees a 5-0 lead. Boston also subsequently fell behind, as J.J. Hardy hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the third.

About an hour into each of the other three games, the Cardinals and Astros finally got going. St. Louis wasted no time jumping on Houston, scoring five in the first before Chris Carpenter even took the mound. When Carpenter finally did come out to pitch, he breezed through the first inning.

So while one team seemed poised to complete their comeback, the other seemed to be tanking, as the Yankees added two more runs on solo shots by Texiera and Andruw Jones, making it 7-0. To make matters worse, Boston looked to have regained its footing, tying the game in the fourth and going back ahead on Pedroia’s solo shot.

Both teams in the AL were behind, while both teams in the NL were ahead. While Carpenter was dominating in Houston, so too, was Hudson in Atlanta, pitching into the seventh and only allowing two runs.

Back in Baltimore, Jon Lester had gotten the Red Sox through six innings, only allowing two runs. But rain began to fall and the game was subsequently delayed.

Boston went into its clubhouse at Camden Yards and for a time, focused on the Rays game, where the Yankees had taken their 7-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth.

Out of nowhere, the Rays began to chip away, scoring three runs and bringing Evan Longoria to the plate with two outs. 

Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Braves were clinging to a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth, when they turned things over to their rookie closer, Craig Kimbrel. 

But the Phillies had no intention of going quietly, loading the bases with one out. Chase Utley followed with a sac fly to tie the game at three.

The Rays were also threatening, and Longoria hit one over the left field wall that incredibly put the Rays back to within a run.

In Houston, Chris Carpenter finished a two-hit shutout. St. Louis won 8-0, shaking hands on the field and retreating to their clubhouse to focus on the game in Atlanta.

The Braves had failed to come up with a big hit in the bottom of the ninth, and the story remained the same in extra innings, as Michael Martinez made a spectacular running grab in center to put an end to the Braves threat in the tenth.

The Rays seemed out of gas in the ninth, as pinch-hitter Dan Johnson fell behind 0-2, putting the Yankees a strike away from a win. However, Johnson found one in his groove, and hit one down by the right field foul pole. It just barely stayed fair, and the game was tied.

The game resumed in Baltimore, and the Red Sox had something cooking in the top of the eighth. They had a runner on first in Marco Scutaro, with Carl Crawford at the plate. Crawford drove one into the gap in left-center. Nolan Reimold made a diving attempt, but the ball got past him, and Scutaro seemed to have a clear path to score all the way from first.

But the Orioles quickly made a relay, and just in the nick of time, Scutaro was thrown out at the plate.

Back in Atlanta, the Braves watched their playoff hopes take another hit, as Hunter Pence put Philadelphia in front with a bloop single in the top of the 13th. 

The champagne was on ice in Houston, as the Cardinals anxiously waited for the thrilling conclusion of the game in Atlanta.

Chipper Jones struck out against Phils reliever David Herndon, but Dan Uggla drew a walk, which put the tying run on first. Freddie Freeman came to the plate, representing the winning run.

Freeman grounded sharply to first. John Mayberry Jr. threw to second to get the lead man before Freeman was thrown out at first and the double play was complete.

The Braves had collapsed, and in Houston, the Cardinals celebrated and popped champagne.

But it wasn’t over. Not yet.

In St. Petersburg, the Rays found themselves in a jam in the top of the 12th, while the Red Sox turned to Jonathan Papelbon to finish things off in Baltimore.

Papelbon managed to get the first two men out in the bottom of the ninth. The only thing standing in the way for Boston was Chris Davis. 

The Rays escaped their jam, while Davis doubled into the right field corner to put the tying run in scoring position. He was replaced by pinch runner Kyle Hudson.

The Red Sox remained determined, however, as Papelbon had two strikes on Nolan Reimold. But it all came crashing down when Reimold hit a ground-rule double to tie the game. 

Fans in Florida got the word that the game was tied, and Tropicana Field began to buzz.

Robert Andino stepped to the plate for the Orioles with a chance to win the game. He hit one out to left, and Carl Crawford made a sliding attempt to catch the ball, but it snuck under his glove. Reimold scored and Baltimore had shocked the Sox.

Evan Longoria came up again in the bottom of the 12th for the Rays. All it took was one run to get the Rays into the postseason. 

Longoria got a hold of a fastball from Yankees reliever Scott Proctor, and drove it into the left field corner. Like Johnson’s home run in the ninth, this one barely made it into home run territory, sneaking over the wall just to the right of the left field foul pole.

The Rays had completed an improbable comeback, rallying from 7-0 to walk off the Yankees and clinching a playoff berth after trailing nine games.

Aftermath

The regular season was over. The Red Sox and Braves went home, while the Cardinals and Rays had snuck into the playoffs.

Tampa Bay matched up with the then-defending AL Champion Texas Rangers. They won Game 1, but dropped the next three and were eliminated in the ALDS.

Drama unfolded within the Red Sox organization. Manager Terry Francona was let go. General Manager Theo Epstein bolted for the Cubs, and a report from the Boston Globe revealed that the Red Sox clubhouse had been divided. On top of that, Lester, Josh Beckett, and John Lackey were allegedly drinking beer and eating fried chicken while playing video games as the team’s collapse was unfolding.

The Braves had fallen short in 2011, but they rebounded to make it to the postseason the next two years.

The Cardinals had a tough scene, matching up with the Phillies, who had helped them into the postseason. In a do-or-die Game 5, Chris Carpenter outdueled Roy Halladay to send St. Louis to the NLCS, where they disposed of the Brewers in six games, before matching up with the Rangers in the fall classic.

The Cardinals rallied twice after being down to their last strike in Game 6, before forcing Game 7 on David Freese’s dramatic walk-off home run, and winning Game 7 the next night, capping off an improbable comeback with their 11th World Series title.

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