The American League Wild Card game is tonight, featuring the Athletics hosting the Rays in a winner-take-all game, as both teams fight for the chance to face the top-seeded Astros in the American League Divisional Round.
Oakland, CA will be rocking for their A’s Wednesday night when starter Sean Manaea steps onto the mound to face Charlie Morton and the Tampa Bay Rays. This game features two of the more talented young rosters in baseball, with both teams boasting potential superstar players in 3B Matt Chapman for Oakland and rookie DH/OF Austin Meadows for Tampa Bay.
But the real story will be the pitching, as the Rays send Cy-Young candidate Charlie Morton to the mound in their first postseason game since 2013. But they’ll be facing a home crowd in Oakland that doesn’t bode well for an opposing pitcher, and with all the big-bats in Oakland’s lineup, Morton can’t afford to early mistakes.
The Rays offense has been propelled lately by Meadows and his hot bat (nine home runs and 1.156 OPS in the last 30 days) the rookie has been worth nearly 2.0 fWAR in the final month of baseball. But two hot bats to watch for tonight are OF Avisail Garcia who is hitting .343 in his last 70 PA’s and 1B Ji-Man Choi who’s hit seven home runs in the last 30 days.
Lefty-starter Sean Manaea has been excellent since returning to the team late this season, posting a 1.21 ERA with 30 K’s to just seven BB’s in five starts, he would have been the staff ace had he been healthy. But Manaea falters early, Oakland’s sneaky-good pitching depth should allow manager Bob Melvin to have a quick hook for Manaea.
Offensively, Chapman has been slumping as of late despite hitting six home runs in the last 30 days, he’s only batting .189. Expect that to change. However, 1B Matt Olsen and SS Marcus Semien have picked up the slack with a combined 18 home runs with each posting an OPS north of 1.000 over the last month of baseball. And despite his down 2019 season, DH Khris Davis is still a threat to go deep anytime he steps up to the plate, there’s a lot of firepower in Oakland’s lineup.
Here’s how to watch Wednesday night’s AL Wild Card game:
Date: Wednesday, Oct. 2
Time: 8:09 p.m. ET
Location: Ring Central Coliseum, Oakland, CA
TV Info: ESPN
Live Stream: Watch ESPN App or ESPN.com