CLEVELAND (92.3 The Fan) – The bizarre 2020 MLB regular season is officially over. Still, for the Cleveland Indians, their season will continue with the best-of-three wild-card round.
The Indians, who finished with a 35-25 record, will be the No. 4 seed going into the playoffs and host the fifth-seed New York Yankees.
Start times for Game's 1 and 2 will be 7 p.m.
Usually, in a "normal" regular season, the teams would match up seven times in the regular season. However, with travel being restricted due to the pandemic, the playoffs will be the first time they will both face each other this year.
The winners of the Wild Card will go to a bubble-style neutral for the Division and League Series. San Diego (Petco Park) and Los Angeles (Dodgers Stadium) will host the American League. In contrast, Arlington, Texas (Globe Life Field), and Houston (Minute Maid Park) will host the National League.
The World Series will be held at Globe Life Field with Game 1 starting Oct. 20.
Let's breakdown the Indians-Yankees best of three series and who will be moving on to San Diego to face the winner of the Tampa Bay-Toronto series.
Offense
New York's offense is going to be a tough match-up for Cleveland. The Yankees have the best OBP in the American League (.789), the game's top hitter in DJ LeMahieu (.364 batting average), and home run leader Luke Voit (22 home runs). The Yankees have more power in their lineup with Aaron Judges and Giancarlo Stanton – making it challenging for Indians' pitchers to get outs.
Even with the recent success at the plate, Cleveland is still one of the worst offenses in baseball.
23th overall in team batting average (.228) and a .689 OPS average. The Indians will need to lean on MVP candidate Jose Ramirez to guide the offense who struggled all season long.
EDGE: Yankees.
Pitching
Cleveland's starting rotation going into the playoffs will go as followed: Game 1 – Shane Bieber, Game 2 – Carlos Carrasco, Game 3 (if necessary) Zach Plesac. The Yankees will send out Gerrit Cole to be their Game 1 starter, while J.A. Happ and Masahiro Tanaka will probably be next in line to go for New York in Games 2 and 3.
The Indians have the best starting rotation in the American League: 3.29 ERA, 621 total strikeouts, and a 1.11 WHIP. New York's starting is middle of the pack: 4.31 ERA, 526 total strikeouts, and a 1.24 WHIP.
Outside of Cole (7-3, 2.84 ERA), the Yankees rotation isn't as good as the Indians. Happ and Tanaka have been OK for New York, but having Carrasco and Plesac for Games 2 and 3 will give Cleveland the edge.
Brad Hand hasn't blown a save for Cleveland this season. He's converted all 16 saves this season and will be a crucial contributor for the Indians' late-game situations.
EDGE: Indians.
Prediction
I like how the Indians have played over the past 10 days with their comeback wins and late-inning heroics.
Plus, Cleveland's offense has been playing better of late, making them a tough out to go in the wild-card round.
Suppose Cleveland can create offense early on with its outstanding starting pitching and hand it over to the bullpen of James Karinchak and Hand, the team should down the formidable Yankees lineup.
FINAL VERDICT: Indians over Yankees in three games.