AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
No. 6 Astros (29-31) vs. No. 2 A’s (36-24)
Site: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Season series: Athletics won 7-3
Wild-card round: Houston beat Minnesota 2-0; Oakland beat Chicago White Sox 2-1
Astros summary: Framber Valdez, Jose Urquidy and Cristian Javier all delivered on the mound against the Twins. Michael Brantley and Carlos Correa came through at the plate, including a clutch home run by Correa. George Springer and Jose Altuve went a combined 1-for-16 with two RBIs. Houston has reached the ALDS for the fourth straight year. No. 1 starter Zack Greinke stumbled to a 6.07 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in his final five starts of the regular season as part of a second-half slide.
A’s summary: This year, Oakland outscored Houston 38-25 during a heated season series. Last November, ex-Houston pitcher Mike Fiers was the whistleblower in the Astros’ cheating scheme. Fiers didn’t face the Astros during the regular season. In August, A’s center fielder Ramon Laureano had a six-game suspension reduced to four games on appeal for his role in a benchclearing brawl with the Astros, and Houston hitting coach Alex Cintron received a 20-game suspension and a fine.
No. 5 Yankees (33-27) vs. No. 1 Rays (40-20)
Site: Petco Park
Season series: Rays won 8-2
Wild-card round: New York beat Cleveland 2-0; Tampa Bay beat Toronto 2-0
Yankees summary: Giancarlo Stanton hit .200 with one homer, four RBIs and 16 strikeouts in 35 at-bats after returning Sept. 15 from more than a month on the injured list with a strained left hamstring, then homered in each game vs. the Indians. Aaron Judge also slumped after returning Sept. 16 from a strained right calf, with no homers and two RBIs, then was 1-for-9 with an early home run against Cleveland. The big-budget Yankees lost the season series to the thrifty Rays for the first time since 2014. New York hit .218 with 13 homers against Tampa Bay, averaging 3.4 runs per game. Yankees pitchers had a 4.84 ERA vs. the Rays, allowing 47 runs and 16 homers.
Rays summary: Injured OF Austin Meadows (left oblique strain), a first-time All-Star in 2019, missed the wild-card round but might be nearing a return. Hard feelings between the Yankees and Rays date to at least March 2008, when they clashed in spring training, and tempers have flared repeatedly over the past few years following inside pitches.