how many games are in a wildcard game in baseball
Major League Baseball Wild Card Game The one-game, win-or-go-home Wild Card format favors teams with at least one dominant pitcher. In the twelve games played since the new Wild Card system began in 2012, five have been shutouts. In four of the seven others, the losing team scored 3 or fewer runs. Only the 2014 AL Wild Card game between the Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics and the 2017 NL Wild Card game between the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks featured high scoring[clarification needed] by both teams, with the Royals eventually winning 9-8 in 12 innings and the Diamondbacks winning 11-8 with the most runs scored in a Wild Card game. The margin of victory has been four runs or more in six of the twelve games played, and one run only twiceâ€”in the 2014 Royals-Athletics game and the 2018 Rockies-Cubs game.
Major League Baseball postseason The Major League Baseball postseason is an elimination tournament held after the conclusion of the MLB regular season. As of 2012, the playoffs for each league—American and National—consist of a one-game wild-card playoff between two wild card teams, two best-of-five Division Series (LDS) featuring the wild-card winner and the winner of each division, and finally the best-of-seven League Championship Series (LCS). The winners of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the National League Championship Series (NLCS) play each other in the best-of-seven World Series.