Wild Card Tuesday open thread

Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

We have an expanded playoffs!

The playoffs have been expanded, which may upset the purists but it means there is a BUTT-LOAD* of post-season baseball on this week.

*-analytics term

There are four games today, all in the American League, the superior league.

(#6) Houston Astros at (#3) Minnesota Twins, 1 p.m. (ABC)

The Twins have called up outfield prospect Alex Kirilloff to be on the active roster, and he could become the third player to make his MLB debut in the playoffs, joining Mark Kiger of the A’s in 2006 and Adalberto Mondesi of the Royals in 2015. Josh Donaldson is out with a calf injury. Zack Greinke faces Kenta Maeda.

(#7) Chicago White Sox at (#2) Oakland Athletics, 2 p.m. (ESPN)

The White Sox really slumped at the end of the year, but the A’s are without slugger Matt Chapman. Oakland has a bullpen stocked full of former Royals - Joakim Soria, Mike Minor, Jake Diekman, and All-Star Liam Hendriks. Former Nats prospects Lucas Giolito faces Jesus Luzardo.

(#8) Toronto/Buffalo Blue Jays at (#1) Tampa Bay Rays, 4 p.m. TBS

The Rays had the most wins in the American League with 40, and were 20-9 at home. Both of these teams have some good young players, so you could see them in the post-season a a lot in the near future. Matt Shoemaker goes for the Jays against Blake Snell.

(#5) New York Yankees at (#4) Cleveland Indians, 6 p.m., ESPN

The Yanks had a dreadful mid-season slump, and ended the season dropping six of eight. The Indians feature the best starting pitching in baseball, while the Yankees feature one of the best offenses. Gerrit Cole faces off against Cy Young frontrunner Shane Bieber.