Last night, in Major League Baseball’s American League Wild Card Game, the Houston Astros defeated the New York Yankees, 3-0, earning the right to play the Kansas City Royals in the next round of the postseason. Three years ago, MLB decided to add a second Wild Card team to its postseason, with those two squads meeting in a one-game showdown. The winner would advance to face a division winner; the loser’s season would end on the spot.
For many sports fans, this might seem a bit unfair. The Yankees and Astros each played 162 regular-season games (the Yankees hosted last night’s game because of their superior 87-75 record, to Houston’s 86-76), but this singular game would determine their fates. The winner would move onto a best-of-seven series—a better overall assessment of a team, with less left to chance, and the manner in which most American professional sports’ playoffs are decided.
The Astros probably didn’t mind that, though, because of their imposing starting pitcher, Dallas Keuchel. The best pitcher on either team, Keuchel was the Astros’ trump card for a winner-take-all game. The left-handed and long-bearded ace went 20-8 in the regular season with a 2.48 earned-run average and tormented the Yankees this season, winning twice in The Bronx without allowing a run in the process.
Knowing this in advance, the Yankees made a peculiar decision. Jacoby Ellsbury, whom the team signed at a cost of $153 million in 2013, was kept on the bench to start the game. Yankee manager Joe Girardi instead played fellow outfielder Brett Gardner (who, as Girardi sharply pointed out, is making a good bit of money himself), because of his better batting average against left-handed pitchers.