The 2017 MLB playoffs kick off this week with the American League Wild Card Game between the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins at Yankee Stadium. The game begins at 8:00 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 3 on ESPN. Whichever team wins will move on to face the defending AL champion Cleveland Indians in the ALDS on Thursday, October 5.
The game will feature the Twins’ first appearance in the playoffs since 2010, when they reached the ALDS. After clinching the spot late last month, the team announced that their ace Ervin Santana will get the start.
Santana joined the Twins in 2015 and reached the 2017 All-Star Game. He has a 16-8 record and 3.28 ERA, with five complete games and 167 strike outs. He’s given up 31 home runs on the season and 61 walks in 33 starts.
Santana pitched against the Yankees once this season, taking the loss in a 2-1 game on September 18. He gave up a home run to Aaron Judge.
The Yankees still haven’t announced a starter, but Luis Severino will likely get the ball. He has a 14-6 record with a 2.98 ERA. Severino pitched against the Twins in an 11-3 win, but he only pitched in the first three innings of the game. It took him 71 pitches to get out of three innings, and he gave up three earned runs in the third. Severino was back in top form for his final start though, going six innings in a 6-1 start against the Tampa Bay Rays on September 27.
“It means a lot. Last year they didn’t trust me to even start a regular game, and right now I have this opportunity to open the postseason,” the 23-year-old Severino told the New York Daily News. “I feel proud of myself and the team, too. I’ll be ready.”
The Yankees are looking for their first World Series win since 2009 in their first playoff appearance since 2015. The Twins haven’t won the World Series since 1991.
DATE: Tuesday, October 3, 2017
CHANNEL: ESPN
LOCATION: Yankee Stadium, New York
PROBABLE STARTERS: Ervin Santana (15-8) vs. Luis Severino (14-6)
TV ANNOUNCERS: Dan Shulman, Jessica Mendoza, Aaron Boone & Buster Olney
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AL Wild Card Game 2017 Yankees vs. Twins Schedule: Time, Date & Channel