*Photo from the San Francisco Chronicle*
October baseball is in the air. Ok, maybe it won't be as cold in California as everywhere else, but that feeling of postseason baseball still looms large. It's the Tampa Bay Rays taking on the Oakland Athletics in a small market vs small market win or go home wild card game, and it'll be a good one. Both teams flew under the radar entering the season, and both teams have played excellent baseball all season and have earned their spot here.
The visiting Rays have tabbed Charlie Morton to start the wild card game. Morton has been a shutdown pitcher at the top of the rotation, and with Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell both just returning from injuries, Morton was the clear cut favorite to start the wild card game. Morton has a 16-6 record with a solid 3.05 ERA on the season. Some standouts in Tampa Bay's lineup are Austin Meadows, a former Pittsburgh Pirate who broke out in a big way, with power hitting aplenty. Tommy Pham, a castoff from St.Louis, is experiencing a resurgence. Ji-Man Choi and Jesus Aguilar form a solid platoon at first base, and Brandon and Nate Lowe are solid utility players who can play all over the diamond. Kevin Kiermaier has continued his gold glove self in center field, and Willy Adames are having great seasons as well. They got Nick Anderson in a trade with the Marlins at the deadline, and he's been nasty since joining the Rays, being the most dangerous reliever they have. Diego Castillo and Oliver Drake are some other solid relievers in the bullpen.
The A's will send LHP Sean Manaea to the hill. Manaea was the clear cut ace of the team despite being out for all of the year until September. Their starting pitching was a shuffle of what could work all year, and right now it features guys such as Manaea, Homer Bailey, Tanner Roark, Mike Fiers, Chris Bassitt, and Brett Anderson, with all of them except Bassitt being castoffs from different teams. Their bullpen features discovered gems like Jake Diekman, Liam Hendriks, Blake Treinen, castoff Joakim Soria, Jesus Luzardo, and Daniel Mengden. The lineup features developed starts Matt Olson and Matt Chapman, who both burst onto the scene in a big way last season, and have kept up the production this season. Starting shortstop Marcus Semien broke out with the bat in a big way this season, and Mark Canha is a nice bottom of the order bat that flies under the radar. Khris Davis has been his homer smashing self at the DH position, Ramon Laureano and his amazing arm highlight center field, and Stephen Piscotty and Chad Pinder round out the outfield. There's also Twins castoff Robbie Grossman, who can add a jolt of power as a potential pinch hitter.
My pick to win this game is the home team Oakland, but it will be a very close game from start to finish. They'll have the home fans behind them, and I just feel that bats like Davis, Chapman, Olson, and Semien will be too much for Morton and the Rays defense to handle. I have Oakland winning by a score of 8-7 in a nailbiter. Stay tuned for the recap on Thursday, where we see how wrong I will inevitably be.
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