2022 American League Wild Card Series

Cleveland won the series, 2–0.

Seattle won the series, 2–0.

José Ramírez hit a go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning of Game 1.

Game 1 featured a pitching duel between Cy Young candidates Shane Bieber and Shane McClanahan. The game was scoreless until a José Siri solo home run in the top of the sixth inning, which would immediately be topped by a José Ramírez two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. Bieber went 7+2⁄3, only throwing 99 pitches on the day while not allowing a hit until the fifth inning.[25] Two runs would be all the Guardians needed as Emmanuel Clase closed the game with a perfect ninth, giving the All-Star closer his first career postseason save.

At a brisk two hours and 17 minutes, it was the shortest postseason game since Game 2 of the 1999 NLDS between the Braves and Astros.[26]

Fans celebrate at Progressive Field as Oscar González rounds the bases on his walk-off home run

In the contest, the Rays and Guardians used eight pitchers each and totaled 39 strikeouts. The Guardians came close to scoring in the bottom of the sixth, where they had the bases loaded with no outs, but José Ramírez struck out and Josh Naylor grounded into a double play to end the inning scoreless. The Rays had runners on the corners on the top of the 12th, but Ramírez turned a ground ball by Manuel Margot into a difficult out at first base to end the inning. In the bottom of the 13th, with both teams having increasingly depleted bullpens, ace Corey Kluber made his first relief appearance in more than nine years,[27] that would eventually end up surrendering the walk-off home run to Oscar González. Sam Hentges, on the other hand, lasted the longest among all relievers, pitching the last three full innings for Cleveland while not allowing a single hit, striking out six batters and earning the win. It was Cleveland's first postseason series win since the 2016 American League Championship Series.

With 14 innings scoreless for both teams, this was the longest scoreless postseason game in Major League history, until the Astros and Mariners surpassed it a week later in Game 3 of the 2022 American League Division Series.[28][29] For Tampa Bay, the walk-off series-ending loss was their seventh straight loss (regular season and postseason).

2022 ALWC (2–0): Cleveland Guardians beat Tampa Bay Rays

Luis Castillo (pictured here with the Reds) earned the win in Game 1.

Blue Jays starter Alek Manoah began the game by hitting the Mariners' star rookie outfielder Julio Rodríguez. Two batters later, Eugenio Suárez flipped a line drive down the right field line for an RBI double, scoring Rodríguez. Cal Raleigh then worked Manoah a full count before hitting a home run over the right field fence to give the Mariners a 3–0 lead in the top of the first. In the Seattle fifth, Suarez drove in another run when his fielder's choice plated Rodriguez. Four runs would be all that Mariners ace Luis Castillo needed, as the big trade deadline acquisition twirled a shutout over 7+1⁄3 innings, striking out five and allowing just six hits. Castillo was the first ever Mariners pitcher to throw at least seven scoreless innings in a postseason game.[30]

Andres Munoz relieved Castillo in the eighth and finished off the game for Seattle with a five-out performance, giving the team its first postseason victory since Game 3 of the 2001 American League Championship Series.[31] For the Blue Jays, George Springer and Matt Chapman each had two hits, while Toronto relievers combined for 3+1⁄3 scoreless innings after Manoah exited the game.

J. P. Crawford hit a bases-clearing bloop double in the top of the 8th to tie the game.

In Game 2, Seattle came back from a seven-run deficit to clinch the series, in what would become tied for the second largest comeback in MLB postseason history, and the largest comeback in MLB postseason history on the road.[32]

The Mariners' Robbie Ray, a Cy Young Award winner for the Blue Jays the preceding year, faced off against Toronto's Kevin Gausman, who was brought in during the off-season to essentially replace Ray. The Blue Jays got off to a fast start, scoring four runs on a two-run home run by Teoscar Hernández in the bottom of the second, a run batted in by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the third, and another home run by Hernández in the fourth which chased Ray. The Mariners got their first hit in the fifth inning, when a sacrifice fly by Jarred Kelenic got them on the board. With the score now 4–1, the Blue Jays increased their lead by scoring four more runs off Seattle reliever Paul Sewald. However, in the top of the sixth, Gausman loaded the bases on three consecutive singles. After a strikeout and a pop out, he was relieved by Tim Mayza, who allowed Seattle to cut the lead down to 8–5 on a wild pitch and a three-run home run from Carlos Santana. The Blue Jays extended their lead by a run in the seventh on a Danny Jansen single scoring Matt Chapman.

Seattle responded in the top of the eighth inning, cutting the score to 9–6 after four straight batters reached base. With the bases loaded again, Toronto's closer Jordan Romano (who was brought in to relieve Anthony Bass with runners on first and second with no outs) struck out Santana and Dylan Moore before George Springer and Bo Bichette collided on a bloop bases-clearing double by J. P. Crawford to improbably tie the game at nine. Springer got the worse of the collision and had to be carted off the field. After reliever Andrés Muñoz allowed no runs in the bottom of the eighth, the Mariners took the lead in the top of the ninth on a Adam Frazier double scoring Cal Raleigh, who also doubled earlier in the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, rookie starter George Kirby worked around a one-out walk to Chapman to earn the first save of his career and send the Mariners to the American League Division Series.[33]

2022 ALWC (2–0): Seattle Mariners beat Toronto Blue Jays