With the race for the last two National League wild card spots still wide open, MLB's final weekend did not disappoint, delivering plenty of memorable moments. These five in particular were especially unforgettable.
Max Fried's Gem Keeps Braves' Playoff Hopes Alive in Potential Last Start at Truist Park
If Friday's start was the last of Fried's career at Truist Park, then it was one to remember. With the Atlanta Braves needing a win to keep their playoff hopes alive, Fried, a free agent after the season, was nearly perfect. The 30-year-old lefthander scattered three hits and a pair of walks over 8 2/3 innings pitched, striking out nine Kansas City Royals batters. Fried's game not only provided a crucial victory, but it also gave Atlanta's bullpen a much-needed rest day.
Not to mention that it forced Braves fans, already riding the emotional roller coaster of a playoff chase, to face the harsh reality of Fried potentially leaving this winter. That only made the standing ovation Fried received from the crowd even more special.
"I’d be lying [if I said free agency] didn’t cross my mind," Fried told reporters after the game.
White Sox, Doomed to History by Incompetence, Help Tigers End Playoff Drought
What makes a good team successful and a bad team, well, not successful? It's easy to ponder that question at times when watching sports. But, unfortunately, the answer was not so difficult to arrive at when watching the 2024 Chicago White Sox. Sometimes, it's as simple as this: Bad teams find a way to hand their opponents chance after chance to win, and good teams happily oblige them. That's exactly what happened at Comerica Park on Friday night during the Detroit Tigers' 4–1 win over the White Sox.
The two teams traded zeroes on the scoreboard for four innings. Then, after loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning, White Sox reliever Jared Shuster threw a wild pitch, allowing Tigers catcher Jake Rogers to score. Detroit outfielder Matt Vierling then lifted a sacrifice fly to give the club a 2–0 lead.
Later in the bottom of the seventh inning, the White Sox couldn't get out of their own way again. Tigers infielder Andy Ibáñez, who doubled with one out in the seventh, advanced to third on a throwing error by White Sox outfielder Dominic Fletcher. After an intentional walk to Vierling, Chicago reliever Fraser Ellard delivered a cutter that caught too much of the zone to Tigers outfielder Riley Greene, who promptly lined it into center field for a run-scoring double. Then, a wild pitch from Ellard allowed Vierling to scamper home and handed the Tigers a 4–1 lead.
When White Sox designated hitter Andrew Vaughn's lazy fly ball landed in the glove of Tigers right fielder Wenceel Perez (somewhat scarily for Detroit fans given the near collision with Parker Meadows), the Tigers' magical run culminated in their first postseason berth since 2014. And the White Sox were doomed to the history books.
Travis d'Arnaud Plays Hero for Braves With Dramatic Walk-Off
Oftentimes, September and October baseball beckon for unsung heroes to emerge. On Saturday night, one day after Fried's gem, it was Braves catcher Travis d'Arnaud's turn to put on the Superman cape against the Royals.
d'Arnaud, no stranger to October greatness, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the game tied 1–1. d'Arnaud, with just six hits in his last 42 at bats, took the first two pitches from Royals reliever Sam Long for balls. Then, the Braves backstop got a juicy fastball right down Broadway and crushed it 421 feet to dead center, watching it fly with a Carlton Fisk-esque hop down the first base line. d'Arnaud raised his arms in the air as the ball soared over the fence for a walk-off home run. Truist Park went ballistic. Ballgame, Braves.
The moment was made even sweeter by the fact that the rival New York Mets had lost earlier Saturday, though that point would become moot on Sunday. More on that in a moment.
Francisco Lindor Keeps Mets' Playoff Hopes Alive With Huge Game
There was understandably some concern surrounding Mets star Francisco Lindor's health, as the veteran shortstop missed nearly two weeks as he dealt with lower back pain before returning to the lineup on Friday. On Sunday, Lindor seemingly erased those concerns—and kept the Mets' season alive.
Lindor, bad back and all, was quite simply inevitable during Sunday's 5–0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. In the top of the first inning, Lindor drew a walk, stole second base and then scored on a Brandon Nimmo single. 1–0 Mets. The Mets star was slow to get up after sliding into home, but he wasn't about to let a bad back stop him.
In the top of the fourth inning, Lindor, after a Francisco Alvarez RBI single, tacked on an insurance run of his own with a run-scoring single. 3–0 Mets. Lindor then swiped his second bag of the game. Finally, in the top of the sixth inning, the Mets shortstop turned on a 2-1 splitter and crushed it over the right field wall to cap off a monster day. 5–0 Mets.
Thanks to seven shutout innings from southpaw David Peterson and another two scoreless frames from the bullpen, the Mets walked away with the victory. And with the Braves' loss Sunday, New York and Atlanta, thanks to untimely weather postponements, will play a Monday doubleheader to determine their—and the Arizona Diamondbacks'—postseason fates.
"Our destiny is in our hands," Lindor said after the game. "We've got to go out there and do whatever it takes to win."
Diamondbacks Power Their Way to Three-Way Tie for NL Wild Card Spot
After losing five of their last six games—and getting blanked in a 5–0 loss on Saturday, the Diamondbacks needed something to change on Sunday to keep their season alive. And boy, did it ever.
After getting blanked for the first three innings again, one could hardly blame the Chase Field fans for feeling a bit anxious. But all that changed in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Diamondbacks put up a six spot, courtesy of a pair of RBI singles, an RBI double, a run-scoring groundout and a Ketel Marte two-run homer.
But Arizona was far from finished. The D-backs proceeded to tack on runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth innings to win the game over the San Diego Padres 11–2. The offensive awakening kept the Diamondbacks' playoff hopes alive, as they sit in a three-way tie with the Mets and Braves for the final two wild card spots in the National League prior to Monday's doubleheader between New York and Atlanta.
The Diamondbacks' postseason fate is, unfortunately, out of their hands at this point. As Tom Petty once aptly put it, the waiting is the hardest part.
Honorable Mentions Paul Skenes Cements Case for NL ROY With Stunning Sequence vs. Yankees Sluggers
Did Skenes win the National League Rookie of the Year award with the two perfect innings he pitched Saturday? Certainly not. But striking out New York Yankees sluggers Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, the Yankees' duo who represents the closest thing baseball has seen to Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the modern era, was the perfect capper to a truly memorable season. He's no ordinary rookie.
Luis Arraez Hits His Way Into History Books
Not only did Luis Arraez, who doubled in Sunday's 11–2 loss to the Diamondbacks, collect 200 hits for the second straight season, he also secured another batting title, denying Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani the Triple Crown in the process. The Padres infielder became the first player in MLB history to win three consecutive batting titles with three different teams (Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins and Padres). That Arraez managed to lead the league in hitting again in a year where MLB hitters posted the fifth-lowest batting average of all-time dating back to 1871 is nothing short of remarkable.
Mother Nature Denies Jose Ramirez Chance at Rare Season
The final game of the year for the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians carried no meaning for either postseason-bound club. But it sure did for Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez, who, with the Sunday contest's postponement, finished one home run shy of just the seventh 40-homer, 40-stolen base season in MLB history. It's a real bummer for the six-time All-Star. Perhaps he will use it as October motivation to help the Guardians end the longest World Series drought in the sport.
