The 2012 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

's (MLB) 2012 postseason played between the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

's (AL) two wild-card teams, the Texas Rangers and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. It was held at Rangers Ballpark in

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region ...

, on October 5, 2012, at 8:37 p.m. EDT. The Orioles won by a 5–1 score and advanced to play the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

in the AL Division Series. The game was televised on TBS.

Game results

Line score

The Orioles scored their first run of the inaugural AL wild-card game when

J. J. Hardy James Jerry Hardy (born August 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. Hardy attended Sabino High School in Tuc ...

knocked in

Nate McLouth Nathan Richard McLouth (born October 28, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. He was pri ...

, who reached second on first baseman Michael Young's error, with his RBI single. The Rangers answered in the same frame when

Ian Kinsler Ian Michael Kinsler ( he, איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for ...

scored on a double play grounder by Josh Hamilton with runners on first and third. After the first inning, both starters,

Joe Saunders Joseph Francis Saunders (born June 16, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Saunders pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners and ...

and

Yu Darvish , more commonly known as Yu Darvish (ダルビッシュ有), is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Darvish has also played in MLB for the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Dodgers, and ...

, pitched shutout baseball until the sixth inning when Adam Jones knocked in a run via a sacrifice fly after back-to-back singles by Hardy and Chris Davis. Darvish was charged with another run in the seventh via a

RBI single after a leadoff single by

Ryan Flaherty Ryan Edward Flaherty (born July 27, 1986) is an American professional baseball coach and former infielder. He is an advance scout and development coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Baltimore Or ...

and sacrifice bunt by

Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Very highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he a ...

. The Oriole relievers would prove enough to take care of the Rangers lineup the rest of the way. The Orioles scored two insurance runs off of

Joe Nathan Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago Cu ...

in the final frame on a leadoff double by

Robert Andino Robert Lazaro Andino (born April 25, 1984) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Florida/Miami Marlins, and Seattle Mariners. Baseball career Florida M ...

, RBI single by Machado, and sacrifice fly McLouth to seal a 5–1 victory.

References

External links

* * {{Major League Baseball on ESPN Radio 2012 Major League Baseball season Texas Rangers postseason Baltimore Orioles postseason 2012 in sports in Texas 21st century in Arlington, Texas Baseball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Major League Baseball Wild Card Game October 2012 sports events in the United States