Best moments in MLB play-in game history

Joe Saunders and Yu Darvish were locked in a 1-1 pitcher's duel until the bottom of the sixth inning between the Orioles and Rangers. After Chris Davis singled to put runners at first and third, Jones hit a sacrifice fly to drive in the eventual winning run on the way to a 5-1 victory. It capped off a late-season collapse by the Rangers.

Before Ross was a key part of the Cubs World Series roster, he made his presence felt with Atlanta. Starting the wild card game, he hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second inning against St. Louis to take a 2-0 lead. The Cardinals would rally to win 6-3.

The first-ever wild card game was filled with controversy. Atlanta trailed St. Louis 6-3 in the eighth inning with one out, when Andrelton Simmons hit a flyball to shallow left that fell between the shortstop and left fielder. The play would have loaded the bases, but the infield fly rule was called by the umpires. Fans began to throw trash on the field, resulting in a delay.

The Cardinals held a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning vs. Atlanta, but they were in big trouble. The Braves had runners on second and third with two outs when the Cardinals brought in Motte, their closer. He walked Brian McCann before striking out Michael Bourn to keep the lead. While he allowed two hits in the ninth inning, Motte threw a scoreless inning to vault the Cardinals onto the NLDS.

The wild card game between Tampa Bay and Cleveland was scoreless until the top of the third inning, when Rays designated hitter Delmon Young launched a solo home run off Danny Salazar. Tampa would continue to pile on and win 4-0 in Cleveland.

It was a long and scary year for Cobb, after he took a liner to the head earlier in the 2013 season. However, he pitched well in August and September after missing two months and had the start of his life in the wild card game, throwing 6.2 scoreless innings to beat Cleveland.

The 2012 wild card game featured NL Central rivals Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. The Pirates didn't waste much time, as Marlon Byrd hit a solo shot in the second inning off Reds starter Johnny Cueto. Two batters later, Russell Martin launched another home run after the Pittsburgh fans started a "Cueto" chant, and the Reds ace dropped the ball while standing on the mound.

Trailing Oakland 7-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, KC's offense went to work. The persistent bunch scratched and clawed its way to scoring three runs off Jon Lester and Luke Gregerson in the eighth inning before a Nori Aoki sac fly tied the game at seven in the ninth.

After blowing a 7-3 lead to send the game into extra innings, the A's scored in the top of the 12th on an Alberto Callaspo single. The team looked set to move onto the ALDS again, if only the bullpen could hold...

Kansas City had its second big comeback of its memorable 2014 AL Wild Card Game, and this time it was for good. After trailing 8-7 in the bottom of the 12th, Christian Colon drove in Eric Hosmer on a single. Two batters later, catcher Salvador Perez drove in Colon from second after Colon stole the base. The Royals would make it all the way to the World Series but fall short vs. San Francisco in seven games.

It was a fitting start to the 2014 playoffs for the Giants, as ace Madison Bumgarner threw a dominant four-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over Pittsburgh. The Giants went on to win the World Series, and Bumgarner was MVP of both the NLCS and World Series.

Keuchel was the surprise AL Cy Young winner in 2015 and continued his dominance into the playoffs. The Astros lefty threw six scoreless innings against the Yankees in the 3-0 wild card game win, outdueling Masahiro Tanaka.

The Cubs didn't have much trouble defeating the NL Central rival Pirates on the road in the wild card game. Arrieta had a Cy Young season in 2015 and saved one of his best starts for the wild card game, throwing a complete game shutout while allowing only five hits and fanning 11 batters.

A hyped rookie in 2015, Schwarber hit 16 home runs in 69 games during the regular season. He became a household name after launching a two-run homer off Gerrit Cole in the third inning of the wild card game to take a 3-0 lead. The Cubs would never look back, winning 4-0.

The powerful Jose Bautista got the scoring started for Toronto against Baltimore with a solo home run off Chris Tillman in the second inning. Toronto would eventually win 5-2 in 11 innings.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the fourth inning, Mark Trumbo had his say against Blue Jays starter Marcus Stroman. He hit a two-run homer to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead. Toronto would tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, and the tie would eventually be broken with an Edwin Encarnacion three-run shot in the 11th inning to give Toronto the win.

An epic battle between the Blue Jays and Orioles ended with a three-run home run by Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion off Ubaldo Jimenez to win 5-2. Orioles manager Buck Showalter was criticized after the game for failing to use closer Zach Britton.

The Giants and Mets were still tied in the ninth inning due to amazing performances from aces Madison Bumgarner and Noah Syndergaard. However, Syndergaard was removed after seven innings, as the Mets pen tried to hold the tie. Closer Jeurys Familia allowed two runners on before Gillaspie hit a go-ahead three-run homer.

Bumgarner continued to solidify his status as one of the all-time great playoff pitchers. The former World Series MVP threw a complete game shutout to beat the Mets, finishing the game in 119 pitches after Conor Gillaspie hit a go-ahead three-run home run over Jeurys Familia in the top of the ninth inning.

Yankees starter Luis Severino didn't even make it out of the first inning vs. the Twins, allowing two home runs before getting removed. Trailing 3-0 after the top of the first inning, Yankees shortstop Gregorius launched a three-run home run off Ervin Santana to tie the game. The Yankees would eventually win a slugfest 8-4.

Colorado and Arizona squared off in a high-scoring affair after the NL West rivals won the two wild card spots. After the Diamondbacks got off to a 6-0 lead in the third inning, Colorado stormed back to come within one run in the seventh inning. Then the improbable happened. Arizona relief pitcher Archie Bradley hit a two-run triple off Pat Neshek to score two runs. Arizona went on to win 11-8.