[5] With the San Francisco Giants having clinched the National League West with the best record (107–55), thus clinching home-field advantage throughout the entire playoffs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who set an MLB record for the most wins by a wild card team (106–56) hosted the Cardinals in their first wild card game appearance after winning the NL West for eight consecutive seasons.

[6][7][8] The Cardinals won 22 of their final 25 regular-season games, which included a 17-game winning streak, the longest in franchise history.

[11] The Dodgers' All-Star first baseman Max Muncy was not on the roster due to a collusion at first base with Jace Peterson on the final day of the season.

Tommy Edman scored the Cardinals run in the first inning on a bloop single, stolen base and a wild pitch.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when Chris Taylor hit a walk-off two-run home run off of Alex Reyes.