Sept. 18--Cubs reliever Jason Motte had a unique and scary view of the only National League wild card game he participated in.
"There were beer bottles being thrown at me," Motte recalled with a laugh. "Shoes were being thrown from the upper deck."
And Motte was merely warming up in the Turner Field bullpen while a controversial infield fly rule stunted a rally by the Braves in the first National League wild card game in 2012 and incited fans to litter the field.
Motte, then pitching for the Cardinals, earned the final four outs to preserve a 6-3 victory before sprinting off the field at the suggestion of catcher Yadier Molina to reduce the risk of getting hit by more flying objects.
With the Cubs destined for their first playoff berth since 2008, the anticipation to advance will soar -- especially if they participate in first NL wild card game on Oct. 7 at either PNC Park or at Wrigley Field.
After playing a 162-game season, there might not be a single game with more at stake than the wild card game, in which the winner advances to the best-of-five division series and the loser is sent home.
Since there's so much at stake, 25-man rosters often are sculpted so managers can try to pull out all the stops.
"For the most part, it's all hands on deck," said manager Bob Melvin, whose Athletics lost to the Royals 9-8 in 12 innings in the 2014 American League wild card game despite holding a 7-3 lead with Jon Lester on the mound.
The Royals stole seven bases, including one steal by Terrance Gore, who was on the Royals' post-season roster exclusively as a pinch-runner.
"You're built for length," said Pirates manager Clint Hurdle, who is 1-1 in the past two NL wild card games.
"You're built for endurance. Win, and you go to the next round. Or you don't win, and you go home. It's a tremendous rush when you win. And it's a tremendous halt to your season when you lose.
"I've been on both ends of it. There's a lot to consider and you try to throw it all out there."
The Cubs and Pirates gave themselves enough of a cushion to align aces Jake Arrieta and Gerrit Cole to pitch in the wild card game. That luxury cannot be overlooked, according to Melvin.
Melvin was forced to use Sonny Gray on the final day of the regular season to clinch a wild card berth after Jeff Samardzija lost 5-4 to an unimposing Rangers lineup.
"We had to get there," Melvin recalled.
This meant that Lester, who was 3-0 against the Royals in 2014, would start the AL wild card game but continued to struggle against speedy Royals team.
Compounding the Athletics' worries were that Geovany Soto, who started the wild card game for the sole purpose of controlling the Royals' running game, was forced to leave after only two innings because of a left thumb injury.
That caused Melvin to employ Derek Norris, who dropped a pitchout in the 12th inning that helped allow the winning run to score, and the Royals went on to advance to the seventh game of the World Series.
"Sometimes it's that certain runner, that certain defender," Hurdle said. "It could be one guy with this skill. Maybe it's only one skill that really plays big, but you're going to need it.
"You also got to back away sometimes and say, 'we can't overcook this thing.' "
Motte tried to put the wild card game in perspective, stating that teams are eliminated from the NCAA basketball tournament after only one loss each year, as well as teams in the NFL playoffs.
The only time Motte said he was nervous during the 2012 NL wild card game was after wondering about the safety of his then-pregnant wife Caitlin.
"But if you play those games, you know what's at stake," Motte said.
mgonzales@tribpub.com
