The A's should know all too well how high the stakes are in Wednesday's AL Wild Card Game. They were, after all, boat-raced by the New York Yankees in last year's winner-take-all contest.
Tuesday's NL Wild Card Game served as yet another reminder.
The Washington Nationals advanced to the NLDS with a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park, thanks to a fielding error from Milwaukee outfielder Trent Grisham. Grisham misplayed Soto's single to right field with the bases loaded, and all three Nationals scored to turn Washington's 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead.
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Tuesday's wild outcome -- pun intended -- shows how quickly things can change in a do-or-die scenario. So, too, does the Colorado Rockies' 13th-inning win over the Chicago Cubs in the same game last season, the Giants' Conor Gillaspie-led win in 2016 and even the A's own loss to the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 AL Wild Card Game.
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Baseball is random enough over 162 games. With two teams' seasons coming down to a single game, sudden shifts aren't just possible.
They're to be expected, as Tuesday night proved.
