Tonight the Houston Astros will travel to New York to take on the Bronx Bombers. This game will determine who will move on to face the winner of tomorrow night’s match up between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburg Pirates.
Houston comes into the game with an 86-76 record. They are currently second in the AL Western Division coming second to the Texas Rangers.
The Yankees come into the game with an 87-75 record. They are second in the AL Eastern Division coming second to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Starting Lineup
Houston Astros
| Houston Astros’ Projected Starting Lineup | |||||
| Order | Player | Bats | Slash Line | wRC+ | PA |
| 1 | 2B Jose Altuve | R | .313/.353/.459 | 120 | 689 |
| 2 | RF George Springer | R | .276/.367/.459 | 129 | 451 |
| 3 | SS Carlos Correa | R | .279/.345/.512 | 133 | 432 |
| 4 | 3B Jed Lowrie | S | .222/.312/.400 | 91 | 263 |
| 5 | DH Evan Gattis | R | .246/.285/.463 | 99 | 604 |
| 6 | LF Colby Rasmus | L | .238/.314/.475 | 115 | 485 |
| 7 | CF Carlos Gomez | R | .255/.314/.409 | 97 | 477 |
| 8 | 1B Chris Carter | R | .199/.307/.427 | 101 | 460 |
| 9 | C Jason Castro | L | .211/.283/.365 | 77 | 375 |
Projected starting lineup courtesy Grantland.com
New York Yankees
| New York Yankees’ Projected Starting Lineup | |||||
| Order | Player | Bats | Slash Line | wRC+ | PA |
| 1 | CF Jacoby Ellsbury | L | .257/.318/.345 | 83 | 501 |
| 2 | LF Chris Young | R | .252/.320/.453 | 109 | 356 |
| 3 | DH Alex Rodriguez | R | .250/.356/.486 | 129 | 620 |
| 4 | C Brian McCann | L | .232/.320/.437 | 105 | 535 |
| 5 | RF Carlos Beltran | S | .276/.337/.471 | 119 | 531 |
| 6 | 3B Chase Headley | S | .259/.324/.369 | 91 | 642 |
| 7 | 1B Greg Bird | L | .261/.343/.529 | 137 | 178 |
| 8 | SS Didi Gregorius | L | .265/.318/.370 | 89 | 578 |
| 9 | 2B Rob Refsnyder | R | .302/.348/.512 | 130 | 47 |
Projected starting lineup courtesy Grantland.com
Conclusion
ASTROS VS. YANKEES
The New York Yankees will face off tonight against the Houston Astros in the ALCS wildcard game.
The Yankees went 87-75 this season and clinched the post-season this year after beating the Boston Red Sox 4-1. Also the teams 10,000 regular season win, New york failed to reach the post season the past two years which is the longest they have done so since they were in a drought from 1982-93. And the only players that are still on this years team that was also on that team that last made the playoffs before being swept by Detroit is A-Rod, Brett Gardner, Mark Teixeira, and CC. But Mark will not be with team this post season due to a broken leg and CC was recently checked into an alcohol rehab center.
As for the match up tonight, the Bronx Bombers still have A-Rod in the line up and after a year where he has had 33 homeruns off of 523 at bats and a chip on his shoulder look for A-Rod to try and carry this Yankee team deep into the playoffs. Though CC was not starting tonight his loss is a big one at that, but on the mound tonight the Yankees will have Masahion Tanaka who has gone 12-7 this year with an ERA of 3.51.
Going against a team who has rarely been to the post season and one who has not won a World Series, I see the Yankees winning tonight’s matchup and moving on the next round if they can play like they have all year and mange to keep their errors to a minimum, and not beat themself
