2024 Wild Card Series Game 2 storylines, how to watch

The first day of the playoffs had a little bit of everything: a masterful performance from a soon-to-be AL Cy Young Award winner, a taut pitchers’ duel, a wild five-run inning, and all sorts of other madness. And that’s just Day One. We get to do this again on Wednesday!

Every day throughout this postseason, I’ll be previewing the next day’s action, game-by-game, with the major storyline from each one.

Here’s the top storyline for Wednesday’s Wild Card Series Game 2s — all potential elimination games thanks to the best-of-three format.

Is the Astros ALCS streak going to end just like that?

If Tigers fans had forgotten just how stressful October baseball can be during their 10-year absence from the postseason, they got a vivid reminder in the ninth inning of Game 1 at Minute Maid Park. After a predictably brilliant performance from Tarik Skubal, the Tigers nearly lost a 3-0 lead, hanging on only after a Jason Heyward line drive (that would have tied or even won the game) was caught by first baseman Spencer Torkelson, allowing hundreds of thousands of Detroit fans to exhale.

Now all that pressure has been placed directly on the Astros’ shoulders. Here’s a fun fact about the Astros’ seven-year-long streak of reaching the ALCS: They have faced elimination before the ALCS only once during that run, back in 2019, when they beat the Rays in a win-or-go-home ALDS Game 5. That’s the situation in front of them on Wednesday — and if they’re lucky, Thursday. The Tigers had the terrifying moment on Tuesday. Wednesday’s going to be full of them for the ‘Stros.

Can the Orioles snap out of this in time?

Baltimore’s offense was supposed to be a strength, and in the first half, the team ranked second in the Majors in OPS (.765). But they tumbled to 11th in the second half (.731), including 23rd in August (.692). Over the last week of the season, though, the Orioles started to stir, posting an .821 OPS while scoring 37 runs over six games. Maybe their funk was finally over? Turns out: Nope.

The Royals’ offense faced troubles of its own, even with Vinnie Pasquantino back, but one run turned out to be all they needed in Game 1, thanks in large part to Cole Ragans. The way the Orioles are going, heck, one run may be enough again in Game 2, especially with Lugo on the mound.

For all the advances the Orioles have made, for all their structural reinventions, you could make an argument that they have now had roughly 36 consecutive innings of absolute postseason misery, going back to last year’s ALDS sweep by the Rangers. There’s still every reason to think this is one of the most talent-flush organizations in all of baseball, one that is built to succeed over the long haul and eventually compete for a championship. But “built for the long haul” doesn’t necessarily prevent playoff faceplants. The Orioles need to wake up, and fast.

Can the Brewers get back to what makes them the Brewers?

If you haven’t been paying attention to the Brewers this season, it might seem strange that a team could lose Corbin Burnes and Craig Counsell (not to mention the injured Christian Yelich) and somehow get better. One might ask: How have they been doing this? The answer is pretty straightforward: With defense and a lock-down bullpen. Which is why it was so painful for the Brewers when both those stalwart strengths went haywire on them in the fifth inning on Tuesday. Both Jackson Chourio and Joel Payamps made defensive miscues, and relievers Payamps and Aaron Ashby got knocked around (giving up six straight baserunners), and suddenly a 4-3 lead was an 8-4 deficit. That ended up being the final score.

The Brewers’ unique mix of kismet and fundamentals allowed them to win the NL Central going away and had their fans dreaming big. But the very things that were supposed to go right for them instead went extremely wrong in Game 1. If that happens again on Wednesday, Milwaukee will be reckoning with getting swept out of the Wild Card Series, at home, for the second straight year.

Can the Braves take advantage of a better pitching situation?

The Braves’ pitching staff found itself in quite a difficult predicament in Game 1. After having to play a doubleheader (and losing Chris Sale to injury) the day before flying across the country to San Diego to start this series, Atlanta came in with an exhausted bullpen and inexperienced 21-year-old AJ Smith-Shawver making his second Major League start of the season. This one was always going to be an uphill battle, especially facing the Padres’ Michael King. And it was.

All told, the Braves’ pitching actually held up pretty well in a 4-0 loss. Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a vintage 2020 postseason homer in the first inning, but otherwise Atlanta, despite being so depleted on the mound, was able to stay in Game 1.

Now the Braves get some mound normalcy, finally, in Game 2. Max Fried will be starting on full rest, coming off a 2.14 September ERA and a dominant performance in his final regular-season start (8 2/3 scoreless innings against the Royals). In other words, the Braves shouldn’t immediately be behind the eight-ball this time, and key relievers such as Raisel Iglesias and Joe Jiménez will be available after a day of rest. None of that will matter if the Braves don’t score any runs, but a much better pitching situation should give them a real shot to extend their season.