MLB Playoff Bracket 2018: TV Schedule, Live Stream for AL Wild Card, ALDS Games

The Oakland Athletics are going into Yankee Stadium Wednesday night and hope to ruin the potential drama of a postseason series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

The A's and the Yankees will go at it Wednesday night in the American League Wild Card Game, and the winner will play the Yankees in an American League Division Series.

The Red Sox will host the first two games of the series, and they will also host a fifth game if the series goes that far. The Cleveland Indians and the Houston Astros, the American League's last two participants in the World Series, will meet in the other ALDS. The Astros have the home-field advantage in that series.

Postseason Schedule

American League Wild-Card Games

Wednesday, October 3, A's at Yankees, 8 p.m. ET, TBS

Division Series

ALDS

Friday, October 5, Yankees/A's at Red Sox, Game 1, TBS
Friday, October 5, Indians at Astros, Game 1, TBS
Saturday, October 6 Yankees/A's at Red Sox, Game 2, TBS
Saturday, October 6, Indians at Astros, Game 2, TBS
Monday, October 8, Red Sox at Yankees/A's, Game 3, TBS
Monday, October 8, Astros at Indians, Game 3, TBS
Tuesday, October 9, Red Sox at Yankees/A's, Game 4*, TBS
Tuesday, October 9, Astros at Indians, Game 4*, TBS
Thursday, October 11, Yankees/A's at Red Sox, Game 5*, TBS
Thursday, October 11, Indians at Astros, Game 5*, TBS
*If necessary

All postseason games can be live-streamed on MLB.TV.

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The Yankees will send Luis Severino to the mound in an effort to shut down the home-run hitting attack of the A's. 

Severino was one of the best pitchers in the American League through the first half of the season, but he struggled quite a bit after the All-Star Game. 

However, he closed the season by winning his last two starts, and he had a 19-8 record and a 3.39 earned-run average this season. Severino is looking forward to his starting opportunity in the wild-card game.

"I just want to win," Severino said, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.com. "Whatever happens, if I can go four good innings and then the bullpen comes, that would be great. I just want to win and move up and go to Boston and try to win there."

The A's are planning to make this a bullpen game, as Australian-born Liam Hendriks will be the opener. Hendriks had an 0-1 record this season with a 4.13 ERA. Hendriks is not likely to go more than an inning, as he pitched 24 innings in his 25 appearances, eight of which he started.

The A's will depend on the slugging of American League home run leader Khris Davis (48 home runs), along with Matt Olson (29 homers), Stephen Piscotty (27 home runs), Matt Chapman (24 home runs) and Jed Lowrie (23 homers).

The Yankees depend on the power bat of Giancarlo Stanton, who belted 38 home runs in his first season with the Bronx Bombers. Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Didi Gregorius and Miguel Andujar hit 27 homers each for Aaron Boone's Yankees.

The winner will play Game 1 of the ALDS at Fenway Park Friday night. The Red Sox are led by MVP candidates Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, and left-handed ace Chris Sale will get the start.

Betts led the American League in hitting with a .346 batting average, and he joined the 30-30 club with 32 home runs and 30 stolen bases. Martinez bashed 43 home runs and drove in an American League-best 130 runs. 

Sale was troubled by shoulder issues in the second half of the season and his velocity was down in his last start. Still, Sale had a 12-4 record with a 2.11 ERA and 237 strikeouts. The Red Sox are hoping he returns to the form he had in the first half of the season.

The Indians are another slugging team capable of wrecking any pitching staff. Jose Ramirez had 39 home runs, 105 RBI and a .552 slugging percentage. Shortstop Francisco Lindor tallied 38 home runs and Edwin Encarnacion blasted 32 homers and knocked in a team-high 107 runs.

Corey Kluber is once again the ace of the staff with a 20-7 record, 222 strikeouts, a 2.89 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He is joined by starters Mike Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco and Trevor Bauer.

The Astros are led by Alex Bregman, who hit a team-high 31 home runs with 103 RBI and a .532 slugging percentage. George Springer added 22 home runs while Jose Altuve battled injuries but still hit .316 with 84 runs scored.

Houston's pitching staff is led by Justin Verlander, and he is joined by Dallas Keuchel, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton. All four started 30 or more games for Astros manager A.J. Hinch.