Thanks to the Texas Rangers, the Houston Astros earned a spot in the Wild Card Game.
Thanks to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the New York Yankees have home-field advantage for that game.
The Astros earned their spot in the playoffs when the Rangers knocked off the Los Angeles Angels 9-2 in their series finale and eliminated Mike Trout and Co. from postseason consideration.
The Yankees earned home-field advantage when the Diamondbacks beat the Astros 5-3 in their season finale.
While the formula for winning the World Series starts with getting into the playoffs, the Yankees come into the one-game series limping badly. They were swept in their final three-game series by the Baltimore Orioles and have lost six of their last seven games.
They will have to face 20-game winner Dallas Keuchel Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, and the left-handed Astros ace has given the Yankees fits.
Keuchel is 2-0 against the Yankees this season and has not given up a run against them. Keuchel has a 21-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio against the Yankees this season, and they had just nine hits off of him in 16 innings.
Right-hander Masahiro Tanaka will get the pitching assignment for the Yankees. He had a 12-7 record this year with a 3.51 ERA and a 0.994 WHIP.
Very small sample, but interesting: Astros' hitters 11-for-34 vs. Masahiro Tanaka, 4 doubles, 3 homers. http://t.co/1c762hETPj
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) October 5, 2015
The Astros are making their first appearance in the postseason since they won the National League pennant in 2005 and faced the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. They lost that series in four straight games and have had only one winning season since that postseason run. The Astros left the National League and joined the American League prior to the 2013 season.
The Astros lost 106 games or more from 2011 through 2013 and were 70-92 last year. Their resurgence this year was sudden and ahead of schedule.
AL wild card Astros/Yankees Keuchel: 16 IP, 0 R vs NY in 2015 Tanaka: 3.06 ERA in last 5 starts Tuesday, 7 ET ESPN pic.twitter.com/7itCzSnOGf
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 5, 2015
An influx of young talent helped turn their team around this year, and while they had their difficulties down the stretch, players like George Springer (.452 slugging percentage, .915 OPS), Carlos Correa (22 homers, .859 OPS), Evan Gattis (27 homers, 87 RBI), Jose Altuve (.311 batting average and 38 stolen bases) and Chris Carter (24 homers, .429 slugging) should give them an excellent chance of surviving the Wild Card Game and advancing to the ALDS.
The Yankees return to the playoffs after a two-year absence, and few observers thought they would be in this position at the start of the season. The starting pitching rotation appeared to have several weaknesses, and the retirement of Derek Jeter meant there was a significant leadership change.
But while the Yankees tried to figure that out, they got off to a surprising start thanks in large part to Alex Rodriguez. While he missed the 2014 season after being suspended by the league for his involvement with performance-enhancing drugs, a humbled Rodriguez came back and belted 33 home runs and drove in 86 runs.
While his production slowed in the final weeks of the season, his performance helped the Yankees stay on track for most of the year.
The winner of the Wild Card Game will face the defending American League champion Kansas City Royals in an American League Divisional Series. The Toronto Blue Jays will face the Texas Rangers in the other ALDS.
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