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 rosters A postseason roster takes effect only if a team clinches a playoff berth. Players who are part of the team's final roster at the end of the regular season are eligible to participate in the postseason. Any player who has been traded from a different team, spent time in the Minor Leagues, or signed later in the season with the team (no later than August 31) is eligible to participate in the postseason. A postseason roster is allowed up to 25 active players. Other players who are not on the 25-man active roster will be assigned to the postseason secondary squad. Players who are on the disabled list or any other non-active transaction by the end of the regular season will have their transactions passed on in the postseason. Rosters for a series are set at the beginning of the series and no changes to the 25-man active roster are allowed except when a player is moved to the disabled list or any other inactive transaction. If a player is moved to the disabled list or another inactive transaction during a series, he then becomes ineligible to be returned to the 25-man active roster for the remainder of the series as well as the next series if applicable. If any player goes on any inactive transaction, any player from the 40-man roster can be promoted to the 25-man active roster for the remainder of the series if applicable.[3]
Major League Baseball rosters A postseason roster takes effect only if a team clinches a playoff berth. Players who are part of the team's final roster at the end of the regular season are eligible to participate in the postseason. Any player who has been traded from a different team, spent time in the Minor Leagues, or signed later in the season with the team (no later than August 31) is eligible to participate in the postseason. A postseason roster is allowed up to 25 active players. Other players who are not on the 25-man active roster will be assigned to the postseason secondary squad. Players who are on the disabled list or any other non-active transaction by the end of the regular season will have their transactions passed on in the postseason. Rosters for a series are set at the beginning of the series and no changes to the 25-man active roster are allowed except when a player is moved to the disabled list or any other inactive transaction. If a player is moved to the disabled list or another inactive transaction during a series, he then becomes ineligible to be returned to the 25-man active roster for the remainder of the series as well as the next series if applicable. If any player goes on any inactive transaction, any player from the 40-man roster can be promoted to the 25-man active roster for the remainder of the series if applicable.[2]
Major League Baseball schedule The regular season is constructed from series. Due to travel concerns and the sheer number of games, pairs of teams are never scheduled to play single games against each other (except in the instance of making up a postponed game); instead they play games on several consecutive days in the same ballpark. Most often the series are of three or four games, but two-game series are also scheduled. Teams play one mid-week series and one weekend series per week. Depending on the length of the series, mid-week series games are usually scheduled between Monday and Thursday, while weekend games are scheduled between Thursday and Monday. Beginning in 2018, teams start and end their season on a weekend for a total of 26Â½ weeks. Due to the mid-week all-star break in July, teams are scheduled to play 27 weekend series and 25 mid-week series for a total of 52 series (24 divisional series, 20 inter-divisional series, 8 inter-league series). A team's road games are usually grouped into a multi-series road trip; home series are grouped into homestands.