There was a common theme in the four wild-card series games that kicked off Major League Baseball's postseason on Tuesday. Three of the four winning sides received dominant pitching from their southpaw starters and the fourth benefitted from a very serviceable effort as well.
Detroit's Tarik Skubal got the ball rolling by striking out 14 and holding the Guardians to a single run in 7 2/3 innings. Chicago's Matt Boyd left his start in the fifth inning down 1-0 but the Cubs rallied for a victory. Garrett Crochet matched Skubal's line with three fewer strikeouts during a 117-pitch masterpiece. Dodgers ace Blake Snell put a capper on the night by taking care of the Reds with seven innings of two-run ball.
