The New York Yankees and Houston Astros are set for the American League wild card game and the matchup will be on Tuesday from Yankee Stadium starting up past 8 pm ET on ESPN. The pitching matchup has Masahiro Tanaka against Dallas Keuchel and it comes just after Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia announced he will be entering rehab and not participating in the postseason.
The Yankees backed into home field advantage for the wild card game, as they finished the season on a 3-7 stretch but will still host the matchup. The home field advantage for this game is big, as the Astros have been a completely different team on the road than they have been at home this season. The Astros are 53-28 this season at home, but just 33-48 on the road and that gives the Yankees a solid advantage.
Tanaka has pitched well for the Yankees and he will get the ball on Tuesday, while Keuchel, who is a Cy Young favorite, will pitch for the Astros. The home field comes into play for the pitching duel as well, as Keuchel has been amazing at home while going 15-0, but on the road he is just 5-8 with a 3.77 ERA. The Yankees will try to take advantage of that, but they will be entering the postseason without one of their best hitters in Mark Teixeira.
Teixeira is out for the postseason after getting injured late in the season and now Greg Bird likely will start at first base for the team. Some of the projected lineup and position players for the Yankees include Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Didi Gregorius, Alex Rodriguez, Rob Refsnyder, Chase Headley, Bird and Brian McCann. The Astros have some power and speed with Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve, Carlos Gomez, George Springer as well as Jason Castro and Evan Gattis and this wild card game could be decided on home runs.
The Astros won the season series 4-3, but that likely will not play much into the outcome of this wild card game. The Astros made the playoffs for the first time in a decade, while the Yankees are back after missing out the past two seasons. CC Sabathia will not be a part of things for the Yankees, as the pitcher released a statement on Monday announcing that he will be entering rehab for alcohol issues. Sabathia was not going to pitch in the wild card game, but he could have been an option for the bullpen or the back end of the rotation later in the playoffs if the Yankees advanced.
Check here for more on the Yankees, Sabathia and the playoff wild card game with the Astros.