It is the "other" wild-card game, the one with the teams that are closer to 10 games over .500 than 30-35 games over. And yet, there's great theater to the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros, teams that most thought had little (Yankees) or no (Astros) chance to make the playoffs when the season began. One was too old to make it, the other too young. And here they are.
Here are five questions.
1. What can we expect from Masahiro Tanaka?
He has had a good year, despite missing time due to injury. He has a 0.99 WHIP and a .221 batting average against. In his past seven starts, he has five walks and 39 strikeouts. He wasn't very good in his final start of the regular season ("Everything was flat," one scout said), but otherwise, he has been something close to a No. 1 starting pitcher. The Yankees paid him a lot of money to pitch games such as this one. Here is his chance to shine.
2. How will Astros starter Dallas Keuchel do on short rest?
We don't know; he has never tried it. But he has started twice against the Yankees this season, and was dazzling: 2-0 record, 16 scoreless innings, nine hits allowed, one walk and 21 strikeouts. The only pitchers since 1900 to throw more scoreless innings in one season against the Yankees are Earl Moseley in 1913 (18 innings) and Joel Horlen in 1965 (18). Keuchel is likely going to win the AL Cy Young Award in part because he throws strikes, he keeps the ball in the park and because his stuff, though not overpowering, is terrific.
3. Who wins if it comes down to the bullpen?
The Yankees set a major league record this year for strikeouts by relievers. Setup man Dellin Betances became the first pitcher working solely in relief to strike out at least 120 batters in consecutive seasons since Rob Dibble in 1990-91. Closer Andrew Miller was almost as overpowering. Betances showed signs of wearing down late in the season, but if he and Miller are at their best, so are the Yankees. Meanwhile, the Astros' bullpen, which was so good for the first four months of the season, had the worst ERA (5.63) in the major leagues from Sept. 1 on. Luke Gregerson and Pat Neshek had very good seasons, but they aren't as dominant as the late guys for the Yankees, and strikeouts are crucial in October. The 2015 Cubs and the 2015 Astros had the most strikeouts in history for playoff teams.
4. Are the young Astros ready for this?
They are at least a year ahead of schedule. There have been times this year when they appeared to be playing tight, but they worked that out, and finished with seven wins in their last eight games. But most of their core players, led by 21-year-old shortstop Carlos Correa, have never played in the postseason. Yankee Stadium isn't as intimidating as the old Yankee Stadium, but it's still a tough place to play for any team, especially a young team. Most any place has been tough for the Astros other than Minute Maid Park. They lost 22 of their final 34 games away from home, and their season record on the road -- 33-48 -- was second worst to the 1987 Twins (29-52) among playoff teams in major league history.
5. What are we to make of the Yankees' offense?
They finished second in the major leagues in runs scored, but in losing six of their final seven games to finish the season, they scored only 23 runs in that span. Still, the Yankees have an eclectic mix, from 40-year-old Alex Rodriguez to 22-year-old Greg Bird, and they usually find a way to score runs. Carlos Beltran found his stroke after a slow start; he's one of the best postseason players ever. It might all come down to how a team of veteran hitters does against a young pitcher who is pitching on three days' rest.
Yankees in one.