NEW YORK – The New York Yankees and Oakland A’s will square off in the AL Wild Card Game tonight at Yankees Stadium.
Yankees pitcher Luis Severino will start for manager Aaron Boone. Severino, who went 19-8 in the regular season, will start over veteran J.A. Happ, who was 7-0 in 11 starts since being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays.
Giancarlo Stanton unleashed 38 homers and drove in 100 RBI’s in his first season in pinstripes.
Both left fielder Aaron Judge and shortstop Didi Gregorious will enter the postseason healthy.
The Yankees also have the Cuban Missile Aroldis Chapman in their corner for a potential save. Despite missing time due to injury, Chapman tallied 32 saves and struck out 93 batters.
The Oakland A’s are no slouch. Designated hitter Khris Davis finished the regular season with a league-leading 48 long balls, while driving in 123 RBIs. Davis’s average was .247 for the fourth year in a row.
The A’s also have a dynamite closer of their own in Blake Treinen. In 68 appearances, Treinen finished with a 0.78 ERA. Treinen allowed just seven earned runs all year while compiling 38 saves and striking out 100 batters.
Liam Hendriks will start for the A’s. Manager Bob Melvin will try to use a strategy which is common in postseason play. The A’s will be attempting to do a bullpen rotation in order to keep their entire pitching staff as fresh as possible. The reason is to avoid further injuries to their pitching corps. Seven pitchers for their team are currently injured, and three of them are out for the season.
The AL Wild Card will be on tonight at 8:08 on TBS.
