ATLANTA — Freddie Freeman singled home the winning run in the 13th inning, finally ending the longest scoreless duel in postseason history as the Atlanta Braves defeated the Cincinnati Reds 1-0 in the opener of their NL wild-card series on Wednesday.
The East champion Braves won the first game of a postseason series for the first time since the 2001 NL Division Series and can wrap up the best-of-three series on Thursday. If they do, it will snap a record-tying streak of 10 straight playoff round losses.
What began as a pitching showdown between Cy Young contenders Trevor Bauer of the Reds and Atlanta’s Max Fried devolved into a strikeout contest.
The teams combined for a postseason record 37 Ks — 21 by the Braves. After a couple of hits in the 13th against Archie Bradley, Freeman drove one into center field off Amir Garrett against a five-man infield with one out to end a game that dragged on for more than 4 1/2 hours.
YANKEES 10, INDIANS 9
CLEVELAND — DJ LeMahieu’s tiebreaking single in the ninth inning off Cleveland closer Brad Hand sent New York into the AL Division Series with a wild win in a rain-delayed Game 2 that started in September and ended in October.
At 4 hours, 50 minutes — even without the delays — it was the longest nine-inning game (regular season or postseason) in major league history.
LeMahieu, the AL batting champion during the shortened, 60-game regular season, grounded his hit into center field to score Gio Urshela, who hit a go-ahead grand slam earlier. Down 9-8, the Yankees tied it in the ninth on Gary Sánchez’s sacrifice fly off Hand, who went 16 of 16 on save tries during the season.
ASTROS 3, TWINS 1
MINNEAPOLIS — Carlos Correa hit a two-out, tiebreaking home run off Cody Stashak in the seventh inning for a two-game sweep that sent the AL Central champion Twins to a record 18th straight postseason loss.
Nine months after Houston’s rules-breaking, sign-stealing system was revealed, the defending AL champion Astros advanced to the Division Series. As the sixth seed, they’ll face Oakland or the Chicago White Sox in a best-of-five matchup.
CARDINALS 7, PADRES 4
SAN DIEGO — Paul Goldschmidt hit a two-run home run during a four-run first inning, St. Louis’ bullpen held strong after starter Kwang Hyun Kim stumbled in his playoff debut and the Cardinals ruined San Diego’s long-awaited return to the playoffs in the opener of their NL wild-card series.
The Cardinals need one more win to eliminate the Padres from the postseason for the fourth time since 1996. They swept the Padres in the NL Division Series in 1996 and 2005, and won 3-1 in 2006, which was the last time San Diego made the postseason.
RAYS 8, BLUE JAYS 2
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Hunter Renfroe hit a grand slam and top-seeded Tampa Bay completed a two-game sweep to win a postseason series for the first time in 12 years. The East champion Rays advanced to an AL Division Series against the New York Yankees.
Renfroe launched the first playoff grand slam in franchise history during a six-run second inning off Hyun Jin Ryu that also included a two-run homer by No. 9 hitter Mike Zunino. Ryu was rocked for a season-high seven runs in 1 2/3 innings, the lefty’s shortest outing of the season for the wild-card Blue Jays.
ATHLETICS 5, WHITE SOX 3
OAKLAND, Calif. — Marcus Semien and Khris Davis homered early off Dallas Keuchel, and Mark Canha made a game-saving catch against the wall as West champion Oakland tied the series 1-1 and forced a deciding Game 3 on Thursday.
Chris Bassitt allowed one run and six hits in seven-plus innings to help the Athletics stop a six-game postseason losing streak dating to 2013.
MARLINS 5, CUBS 1
CHICAGO — Corey Dickerson hit a three-run homer off a fading Kyle Hendricks in the seventh inning, and Miami beat Chicago in Game 1 of their NL wild-card series.
Jesús Aguilar also homered and Sandy Alcantara pitched three-hit ball into the seventh as Miami conjured up memories of past playoff magic in the franchise’s first postseason game since it won the World Series in 2003. The Marlins, who rallied past the Cubs in a memorable NLCS that year, have never lost a playoff series.
DODGERS 4, BREWERS 2
LOS ANGELES — Mookie Betts had two hits and an RBI, Corey Seager homered and Los Angeles beat Milwaukee in the opener of their NL wild-card series.
The eight-time West champion Dodgers capitalized early in a bullpen game for the Brewers and can wrap up the best-of-three series on Thursday. Milwaukee — a playoff entrant despite a losing record — limped into the postseason as the No. 8 seed without its best starter and reliever, who are hurt.
The Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on a leadoff double by Betts and four walks by left-hander Brent Suter in the first, tying for the most walks by a pitcher in a single inning in postseason history. Betts scored when Will Smith drew a four-pitch walk with the bases loaded. Seager walked and scored on AJ Pollock’s bases-loaded walk.