The American League Wild Card game will take place on Wednesday night, when the Tampa Bay Rays visit the Oakland Athletics. The Rays won 48 of their 81 road games and finished the regular season at 30 games above .500 overall. All-Star Austin Meadows led the Rays with a .291 batting average to go along with 33 home runs and 89 runs batted in.
Thirty-five year old righty Charlie Morton (16-6 3.05 ERA) will take the mound for the Rays in this matchup. Tampa Bay has won each of Morton’s last five starts and he has allowed nine runs over his last 29 plus frames.
The Oakland Athletics will be making their second straight wild card game appearance and lost at New York 7-2 a season ago. Oakland won 52 of their 81 home games and finished the season with a plus 165 run differential. SS Marcus Semien led the Athletics with a .285 batting average and 92 RBIs. while 1B Matt Olson clubbed a team best 36 home runs.
Oakland will tab twenty-seven year old southpaw Sean Manaea (4-0 1.21 ERA) to start on Wednesday. Manaea, who missed most of the season with a shoulder injury, has struck out 30 batters and owns a 0.78 WHIP through 29 plus innings.
