August 27th Bi-Weekly Baseball Breakdown

If you caught any baseball from the past few days there’s a good chance you saw some weird things happen. We had one game go for almost six hours. Another game saw a beleaguered team finally get a win against one of the greatest players in the league, and a team who’s likely destined for a wild card spot win their 11th game in a row!

No matter what the news in the MLB we’ll always keep you covered on the Bi-Weekly Baseball Breakdown.

AJ Pollock hit the game winner in the 16th inning in San Diego (Randy Andy/ Shutterstock)

Padres and Dodgers Battle over 16 Innings

Anybody who found themselves at Petco Park in San Diego on Wednesday evening definitely got their money’s worth no matter what ticket they got. Instead of the regular 9 innings, fans were treated to 16 innings, equaling five hours and 49 minutes of baseball.

When the dust cleared, The LA Dodgers won 5-3, but not before using 23 players and 10 different pitchers. The game ended with a total of 19 pitchers used, and those aren’t the only weird stats from the night.

Padres manager Jayce Tingler ran out of position players early and therefore had to rely on his pitchers to take at bats. To take advantage of this, opposing skipper Dave Roberts issued a MLB record eight intentional walks to bring up the pitcher’s spot multiple times throughout the game.

After starting pitchers Walker Buehler and Blake Snell each pitched phenomenally, the game was tied 1-1 going into extra innings. Neither of the stacked lineups were able to record a hit in the extra inning until the 15th inning. When the Dodgers scored two, many (myself included) assumed the game was coming to the close. Fernando Tatis Jr. had other ideas when he launched a two run homer just over the wall in the bottom of the 15th to even things up at 3-3.

The Dodgers would score two more in the 16th, and this time the Padres would not answer. This was the longest extra-inning game since the new format which started in 2020. My guess is this record won’t be broken for some time.

Orioles End 19 Game Winning Streak Vs. Who?

The Orioles have been carrying a gorilla on their backs in the form of the longest losing streak since 2005. When they were slated to face All-Star pitcher and hitter Shohei Ohtani in Baltimore Wednesday night, most assumed the streak would go to 20.

The doubters, and maybe even Oriole fans would be in for a shock when the O’s launched three home runs off of Ohtani in five innings on their way to 10-6 victory. They became the only team to hit multiple home runs off the pitcher in any of his 31 starts on the way to their first win in more than three weeks.

The Angels didn’t serve up the win on a silver platter. They battled and held a 6-5 lead going into the bottom of the 8th. That’s when two unfortunate walks and a big hit from Austin Hays gave the Orioles a four run cushion going into the ninth.

Just in case anyone thought it might be fluke, the Orioles punished the Angels today on their way to a 13-1 rout. Maybe that sage they burnt before yesterday’s game worked after all…

Yankees continue to win, but will it be enough? (Conor P. Fitzgerald/ Shutterstock)

Yankees Win 11th Straight, May Still Only Make Wild-Card

The Yankees won their 11th straight game Tuesday night when they beat the Braves 5-4. They now hold a 74-52 record. Those crazy statistics are currently only good enough for a wild card spot as they sit 4.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Yankees could finish the regular season with close to 100 wins and still go out of the postseason after only playing one game. The boys in pinstripes need to stay scorching hot, all the while hoping for the Rays to cool if they hope to win the AL East and avoid the ever tricky Wild Card Game.