who does the american league wild card play
Major League Baseball Wild Card Game In the division series, the winner of the wild-card game will always face whichever division champion has the best record. All division winners receive a bye as they await the result of the game. Previously, a wild-card team could not face the champion of its own division. This change makes it possible for the two teams with the best record in the league to face each other before the League Championship Series for the first time since 1997, if the wild card winner has the second-best record only to its own division's champion. From 1995 to 1997 the matchups for the division series were determined by annual rotation between the west, central and east divisions.
2017 American League Wild Card Game The 2017 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's 2017 postseason that was played between the American League's (AL) two wild card teams, the New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins. The game was televised nationally by ESPN. The game took place on October 3 at Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees winning 8–4, thus eliminating the Twins from the postseason and advancing the Yankees to the AL Division Series (ALDS), in which they defeated the Cleveland Indians, 3–2.
Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball and most of the minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April.
American League Championship Series The ALCS and NLCS, since the expansion to best-of-seven, are always played in a 2–3–2 format: Games 1, 2, 6, and 7 are played in the stadium of the team that has home field advantage, and Games 3, 4, and 5 are played in the stadium of the team that does not. The series concludes when one team records its fourth win. Since 1998, home field advantage has been given to the team that has the better regular season record, unless that team happens to be the Wild Card team. In that case, the other team gets home field advantage, because by rule the Wild Card team is never allowed home field advantage in a Division Series or LCS. In the event that both teams have identical records in the regular season, home field advantage goes to the team that has the winning head-to-head record. From 1969 to 1993, home field advantage alternated between the two divisions, and from 1995 to 1997 home field advantage was determined before the season.