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The American League settled its playoff field and schedule on Saturday, and it’s time to see if anybody can beat the Houston Astros in October. The Oakland Athletics will host the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Wild Card game, scheduled for Wednesday, October 2nd. The game will air on ESPN. The A’s won the season series 4-3.
The winner of that matchup advances to face the Houston Astros in the best-of-five divisional round. The A’s finished the season 8-11 against the Astros, while the Rays were 4-3. On the other side of the AL bracket, the New York Yankees will face the Minnesota Twins. The Yankees won the season series 4-2. The two winners will square off in the American League Championship Series.
The Astros are heavy favorites to come out of the American League, followed by the Yankees. Here are the full American League pennant odds, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Below that is the full schedule for the American League playoffs.
Houston Astros: -112
New York Yankees: +220
Minnesota Twins: +750
Oakland Athletics: +1000
Tampa Bay Rays: +1300
Wild Card round
AL WC: Tampa Bay Rays at Oakland Athletics, Wednesday, October 2 — ESPN
Divisional Series
ALWC at Houston Astros
Game 1: Friday, October 4 — FS1 or MLBN
Game 2: Saturday, October 5 — FS1
Game 3: Monday, October 7 — FS1 or MLBN
Game 4: Tuesday, October 8 (if necessary) — FS1
Game 5: Thursday, October 10 (if necessary) — FS1
Minnesota Twins at New York Yankees
Game 1: Friday, October 4 — FS1 or MLBN
Game 2: Saturday, October 5 — FS1
Game 3: Monday, October 7 — FS1 or MLBN
Game 4: Tuesday, October 8 (if necessary) — FS1
Game 5: Thursday, October 10 (if necessary) — FS1
ALCS
Game 1: Saturday, October 12 — FOX or FS1
Game 2: Sunday, October 13 — FOX or FS1
Game 3: Tuesday, October 15 — FOX or FS1
Game 4: Wednesday, October 16 — FOX or FS1
Game 5: Thursday, October 17 (if necessary) — FOX or FS1
Game 6: Saturday, October 19 (if necessary) — FOX or FS1
Game 7: Sunday, October 20 (if necessary) — FOX or FS1