MLB wild-card series Game 1 takeaways

It was a four-game Friday never seen before in MLB postseason history as the new three-game wild-card series format debuted. Let's break down the biggest takeaways from every Game 1 as four teams got one step closer to the Fall Classic and four others find themselves on the brink of elimination.

Phillies-Cardinals

Defensive miscues, bullpen blowups cost the team you wouldn't expect

Entering this series, every single pundit who thought they knew anything would've said the Phillies had a suspect defense and bullpen. And they wouldn't have been wrong: Philadelphia's relief corps posted the eighth-worst ERA in MLB - the worst of any playoff team - and ranked 25th in the league by FanGraphs defensive metrics.

So you're forgiven if it wasn't the Cardinals whose bullpen and defense you expected to implode in the ninth inning.

It all started with a bit of rookie managing from 36-year-old Oliver Marmol, who got plenty of credit during the regular season and will garner NL Manager of the Year consideration. After 5 1/3 mystifyingly good innings from Jose Quintana, during which the veteran lefty went toe to toe with 2021 NL Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler, Marmol wanted to go to his top relievers. It's a perfectly justifiable move - manage like there is no tomorrow - but after getting two key outs from Jordan Hicks, he seemed intent on trying to get the final nine outs from Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley.

Gallegos and Helsley are unquestionably among the league's elite relievers. However, St. Louis relied on Gallegos for more than three outs a mere eight times in his 57 appearances this year. After he issued a one-out walk in the eighth, the Cardinals quickly summoned Helsley for the last five outs. At least Helsley was no stranger to that type of assignment, having pitched at least 1 2/3 innings 10 times this season. However, the right-hander is also fresh off of a finger injury that seemed to flare up during the pivotal ninth frame, in which the Phillies erased a two-run deficit by scoring six.

By the time Marmol and the rest of the Cardinals' coaching staff got the bullpen stirring, it was too late. And that's the biggest red flag for St. Louis: There was no contingency plan beyond using Gallegos and Helsley for nine outs. The bullpen scrambled to get both Jack Flaherty and Andre Pallante ready while Marmol and pitching coach Mike Maddux used their best stall tactics.

Then things arguably got even direr. By using Pallante - a ground-ball pitcher - with the bases loaded and one out in a 2-1 game, the Cardinals were clearly angling for a double play. But the coaching staff inexplicably brought the infield in, leading to the decisive hit.

Moment of the Game: Segura gives Phillies late lead on two-run single past a diving Edman

With the defense playing straight up, that's a potential double play. At worst, the ball doesn't get past a sprawling Tommy Edman, St. Louis gets an out, and the Phillies only score a single run.

That appeared to deflate the Cardinals completely. Pallante was entrusted to finish the inning no matter how bad it got - and it got pretty bad, with Philadelphia sending 10 batters to the plate. The bullpen remained quiet while the Phillies piled on en route to a 6-3 victory. By then, Marmol looked like he was managing a game in mid-June, not a borderline must-win contest with four more starters in the bullpen and at most two games left in the series. Two of Flaherty, Adam Wainwright, and Jordan Montgomery won't start in the wild-card round. Why are they on the roster if not for these emergencies?

Adding insult to injury, St. Louis sprinkled in defensive miscues from Paul Goldschmidt (who threw home instead of touching first base, failing to get an out) and Nolan Arenado (who let a ground ball bounce by him for a hit).

For eight innings, it seemed as though the Phillies had squandered a gem from Wheeler, with their biggest bats falling silent. Instead, the Cardinals ended up burning Gallegos and Helsley in a loss while also wasting an unbelievable effort from Quintana. Miles Mikolas against Aaron Nola is up next. - Michael Bradburn

Mariners-Blue Jays

Castillo comes up big, Manoah falters

A dream pitching matchup kicked off the series between the Blue Jays and Mariners: two dominant right-handers who stymied opposing hitters all season long and looked primed to deliver a Game 1 duel for the ages. However, only Mariners ace Luis Castillo played his part, keeping the vaunted Blue Jays lineup off balance with a devastating mix of 100-mph sinkers combined with changeups and sliders. Seattle made a bold push to acquire Castillo at the deadline for exactly this type of performance, and the 29-year-old rewarded the team, becoming the first Mariners pitcher to complete at least seven innings in a postseason start.

Blue Jays righty Alek Manoah entered Game 1 on the heels of an incredible sophomore campaign and was relishing the spotlight, declaring on the eve of his outing that "pressure is what you put in tires." But the pressure apparently got to Manoah in his first inning of work. The 24-year-old plunked leadoff hitter Julio Rodriguez with two strikes before giving up an RBI double to Eugenio Suarez and a two-run homer to Cal Raleigh. Manoah battled back to grind through 5 2/3 innings but struggled overall in his postseason debut, failing to complete six innings for the first time since mid-August.

Moment of the Game: Raleigh crushes two-run homer in first career postseason at-bat

The Blue Jays need to get their lineup on track; Toronto has mustered just three runs in its last three playoff games since 2020. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette both talked about savoring their first postseason experience in Toronto with a full house at Rogers Centre. They're also both still searching for success in the playoffs, as they've recorded a combined two hits in 21 at-bats over their first three postseason games.

Providing a delicious storyline, the Game 2 pitching matchup is 2021 AL Cy Young winner and former Blue Jay Robbie Ray versus Kevin Gausman. The two received nearly identical five-year contracts in free agency, and many regarded Gausman as the ready-made replacement for Ray in Toronto's rotation. Gausman was the superior hurler in the regular season, but that won't provide any solace to Blue Jays fans if Ray outperforms him in Game 2 and sends his former teammates packing. - Josh Goldberg

Padres-Mets

San Diego rocks Scherzer

Max Scherzer was booed off the field after his worst playoff performance of an otherwise stellar 15-year career. The three-time Cy Young winner surrendered seven earned runs and allowed four home runs over 4 2/3 innings. The right-hander never gave up more than two homers over 27 postseason appearances (22 starts) heading into Game 1. He's just the second pitcher ever to give up four homers and seven runs in a playoff contest. The 38-year-old was limited to 145 1/3 innings in 2022 due to multiple injured list stints and is still owed over $86 million across the next two seasons.

There's got to be concern over Scherzer's health, especially if the Mets come back to win the series. He missed time in September with an oblique injury and never looked comfortable in Game 1. Cameras caught him appearing to grimace on a couple throws pregame. The eight-time All-Star downplayed any physical ailments postgame and said he wasn't sure why his fastball got hit so hard.

"I don't know why I didn't have my good fastball," Scherzer said. "(It's) going to be a late night for me."

After Josh Bell and Trent Grisham took Scherzer deep earlier in the game to let a lot of air out from a jacked-up crowd at Citi Field, Jurickson Profar stepped up in the fifth inning and put the contest on ice with a three-run shot. Scherzer should've been taken out at that point. However, he wasn't and Manny Machado put salt in the wound with another homer.

Moment of the Game: Profar hits three-run blast off Scherzer to break it open.

Meanwhile, Yu Darvish was stellar against New York. The five-time All-Star gave up just one earned run on six hits with four strikeouts over seven innings. The veteran right-hander came into the matchup on the heels of one of his best regular seasons. He went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA and 0.95 WHIP while logging the most innings since his sophomore 2013 campaign. Darvish's 4.2 fWAR was the third-highest total of his 10-year run in the majors.

New York is one loss away from its season ending after a 101-win campaign. Jacob deGrom, who allowed a combined 11 earned runs over his last three starts heading into the postseason, will start Game 2. It could be his last with the Mets as he's already said he plans to opt out of his deal. Employing deGrom and Scherzer seemed like a surefire path to playoff success, but the club is now on the brink of elimination in the blink of an eye. - Tom Ruminski

Rays-Guardians

Hope you like pitching!

With Shane Bieber and Shane McClanahan going toe to toe, a pitcher's duel was to be expected, and that's without even considering each team's loaded bullpen. To begin the proceedings, Bieber and McClanahan both managed at least seven innings. In the entirety of last postseason, a starter worked seven or more frames four times, so 2022 got halfway to matching that mark after the first game.

The series' complexion may change in Game 2 with Guardians righty Triston McKenzie - an elite strikeout guy with some control issues - facing Rays flamethrower Tyler Glasnow, who isn't fully stretched out since returning in September from Tommy John surgery.

However, even if the pitching isn't elite, these offenses might struggle.

They're by far the two worst offenses among the 12 postseason clubs. The Rays rank 15th in MLB this year by wRC+ and the Guardians are marginally worse at 16th, one percentage point below the league average. The Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants all finished higher. Tampa and Cleveland's difficulties at the plate were on full display Friday as they mustered a total of three runs on Jose Siri's solo bomb and Jose Ramirez's two-run dinger.

Moment of the Game: Ramirez's go-ahead two-run homer one inning after Rays took the lead

Bieber was the star of the game, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth and allowing only three total hits over 7 2/3 innings while striking out eight. But it's hard to imagine what the Guardians would be without Ramirez, seemingly the only hitter worth pitching around in a Cleveland lineup that had Owen Miller and his 85 wRC+ hitting sixth and acting as DH. Thankfully Amed Rosario was on base for J-Ram's homer, or this game might still be going.

Pitching and defense are considered integral for clubs with championship aspirations, so this style isn't necessarily bad for these teams. It is something of a shame that they're playing each other, though. If the Guardians squared off against the Seattle Mariners and the Rays faced the Toronto Blue Jays, those matchups might've served as fascinating referendums on pitching versus offense. Instead, we'll have to wait for the victor of this series to take on the New York Yankees to get a better sense of what's more important in October. - Michael Bradburn