New York Yankees: The American League Wild Card game will be in the Bronx on October 3rd

The New York Yankees have earned home field advantage for the Wild Card game following their victory over the Boston Red Sox on Friday night.

Despite having more wins than twenty-seven other MLB teams, the New York Yankees will head to a one-game playoff against the Oakland A’s on October 3rd. Although it is unfortunate that a 99-win team will have their entire season hinge on one important game, it could have been much worse for the Yankees if they had to travel to Oakland.

Yankees Stadium is located 2,911 miles away from Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. If the A’s clinched home field advantage, the Yankees would have had to travel across country for the pivotal game following their current series with the Boston Red Sox.

Even though traveling nearly 3,000 miles is definitely preferable to missing out on the playoffs, it is a long trip to take after all of the travel during a 162 game season. If the Yankees were able to win the game in Oakland, they would have to make the travel all the way back to Boston on October 5th, which could have put them at a large disadvantage due to fatigue.

Instead, the Yankees will be well rested for the Wild Card game and will have a well rested opportunity to earn a trip to the ALDS against their long-time rivals. It was very important for the team to clinch home field advantage due to the travel requirements, so they will now also be able to get their pitching staff in order for the Wild Card game.

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J.A. Happ is currently in line to pitch the Wild Card game on normal rest. Even though he is dominant against the Red Sox throughout his career, the Yankees do not have the luxury of resting their best starting pitcher to be ready for the ALDS when facing a one-game elimination situation.

Through his career, Happ has pitched in 15 games at Yankees Stadium. In these games, he holds an 8-1 record with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 87.2 innings pitched.

Against the A’s, Happ has pitched in 11 games. In these games, he holds a 4-1 record with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 59.2 innings pitched. The numbers at Yankees Stadium combined with the success against the A’s make Happ a very strong choice for the one-game playoff.

The Yankees will most likely match up against Mike Fiers who has been extremely valuable for the A’s. Through 9 starts, he holds a 5-2 record with a 3.74 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 53.0 innings pitched.

Through his career, he has made two starts a Yankees Stadium. In these starts, he compiled 10.2 innings pitched with a 7.59 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. However, when all of his home and road starts against the Yankees are combined, he holds a 5.06 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.

The season numbers for each pitcher against their Wild Card opponents are quite different. Happ is 0-0 against the A’s through only 1 start with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.50 WHIP. Fiers is 2-1 against the Yankees through 3 starts with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.

The Yankees hold an .819 on-base plus slugging percentage as a team at home compared to a .744 OPS on the road. The A’s hold a league leading .797 OPS on the road compared to a .732 OPS at home. This should be quite the interesting Wild Card matchup between two very strong MLB teams.

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The Yankees have high hopes for this game after reaching the ALCS following a Wild Card game victory last season over the Minnesota Twins. The Athletics also have high hopes as they have not reached the playoffs since losing a Wild Card game in 2014 against the Kansas City Royals. Nonetheless, if the talent and drive of these teams is not enough to make you watch this game, the history between Giancarlo Stanton and Fiers will be worth keeping an eye on as well.

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