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The two sets of Wild Card Game participants took different paths to reach the first two games of the Major League Baseball postseason.The Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs suffered defeats in divisional tiebreakers Monday to set up a winner-takes-all game at Wrigley Field Tuesday.In the American League Brian Dozier Jersey , the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics put together tremendous seasons, but neither team came close to challenging Boston and Houston for their respective divisional crowns.The winner of Tuesday's National LeagueWild Card Game begins the NLDS Thursday against Milwaukee, while Wednesday's victorious side in the American League heads to Boston to begin the ALDS Friday.Wild Card Game ScheduleTuesday, October 2Colorado at Chicago Cubs (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, live stream on WatchESPN or ESPN app)Wednesday, October 3Oakland at New York Yankees (8 p.m. ET, TBS, live stream on Watch TBS app)Rockies, Cubs Face Difficult TurnaroundThe Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs enter Tuesday's NLWild Card Gamein less-than-ideal positions.Both teams lost in divisional tiebreak games Monday to force them to play for their respective playoff lives Tuesday at Wrigley.The Rockies appear to be in a worse situation than the Cubs because they had to travel to Los Angeles Monday for the NL West tiebreaker with the Dodgers and then hop on a plane east to Chicago after their loss.The Rockies and Cubs split their six-game series, but it's hard to use those games as indicators for what will occur Tuesday since they were played in April and May.In addition to holding home-field advantage, the Cubs possess the upper hand in the pitching matchup on paper, as Jon Lester is set to make his 22nd postseason start, while Rockies starter Kyle Freeland will make his first-ever postseason appearance.Chris Coduto/Getty ImagesWhile Freeland isn't as experienced as Lester, he enters the NLWild Card Game with victories in six of his last seven starts.During that stretch, Freeland has allowed fewer than seven hits in six starts, with the outlier coming Friday in a 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals.Although he's one of the most experienced players entering the 2018 postseason http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-justin-morneau-jersey , Lester hasn't gotten past the sixth inning in his last four postseason starts.The Cubs might ask Lester to get them through the seventh inning against the Rockies since six relievers appeared in Monday's NL Central tiebreaker.Nick Wass/Associated PressConversely, four Rockies relievers trotted out to the mound after starter German Marquez in Monday's loss to the Dodgers, but with a day off for the winner ahead of the NLDS, every measure will be taken by each coaching staff to have the right pitchers on the mound in certain moments.The X-factor at the plate for the Rockies could be outfielder Matt Holliday, who is 10-for-27 in his career against Lester.Even though he'll be facing a left-handed starter, Anthony Rizzo will be the X-factor for the Cubs, as he's recorded seven hits in his last four games and has nine multihit games in September.Yankees Looking To Set Up Heated ALDS With Red SoxThe 100-win New York Yankees weren't good enough to beat out the 108-win Boston Red Sox for the AL East title, but they do have a chance to set up a best-of-five series with their rival.Michael Dwyer/Associated PressIn order for that to occur, the Yankees must conquer the one-game challenge presented by the Oakland Athletics.The Yankees captured three of their last four regular-season games, with two of those wins coming against the Red Sox.On the other hand, the Athletics alternated between a win and loss in their final seven games and fell in their regular-season finale to the Seattle Mariners.With two days between the end of the regular season and the AL Wild Card Game, both teams are taking their time naming a starting pitcher.Regardless of who starts on the mound for the Yankees and A's, they'll face a difficult test against each batter.The Yankees led the majors in home runs with 267, while Oakland ranked third with 227.Five different Yankees hit 27 or more home runs, with Giancarlo Stanton leading the way with 38 dingers. Oakland had five players reach 23 home runs, led by major league leader Khris Davis' 48.Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated PressSince both teams will be well-rested, almost every player on the two rosters will be available in some capacity Kirby Puckett Jersey , with the potential ALDS Game 1 starters being the only exception.The Yankees have a slight edge because of their home-field advantage and experience from winning the ALWild Card Game over Minnesota a year ago, but that's about all that separates the two ballclubs from each other.Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90. CLEVELAND — Trying to stay interested in a division race they have all but officially won, the Cleveland Indians will play the finale of a nine-game homestand Wednesday afternoon when they host the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field. The two teams have split the first two games of their three-game series.Cleveland’s lead in the Central Division is 14 1/2 games over the Minnesota Twins. The challenge for the Indians is to not lose their edge as they play out the regular season in which not much is on the line.Article continues below ...Manager Terry Francona said he will give selected players some days off. Left fielder Michael Brantley didn’t play Tuesday, and third baseman Jose Ramirez will not play Wednesday.“This doesn’t change how we play the game. We’re still trying to win,” Francona said. “But I’m going to keep an eye on the guys with a lot of at-bats.”Francona admits he’s walking a fine line during the last month of the regular season.“Once the (regular) season is over, you’ve got to re-create your momentum (for the postseason), regardless of how you played (in the last month),” he said. “Momentum can leave you in a hurry, or you can start your own momentum.”The goal for the Indians is to finish strong, and get injured players Trevor Bauer, Andrew Miller and Josh Donaldson off the disabled list.“We want to get everyone healthy,” Francona said. “The hope is in a couple of weeks we’ll have our team together and they’ll be able to play together for some games (before the start of the postseason).”One player who will be a key during the postseason will be pitching for Cleveland on Wednesday when Corey Kluber makes his 29th start.Kluber (17-7, 2.80) is in contention for his third Cy Young Award, and he has pitched well recently, going 5-1 with a 2.57 ERA in his last seven starts.Kluber leads the league in innings pitched and is tied for the lead in wins and complete games. He is fifth in ERA, and in the top 10 in strikeouts and opponents’ batting average.In his last start http://www.twinsfanproshop.com/authentic-byron-buxton-jersey , a 3-0 win over Tampa Bay on Aug. 31, Kluber pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits, with eight strikeouts and two walks.In three starts against Kansas City this year, Kluber is 2-1 with a 3.93 ERA. His last start against the Royals was a 7-1 loss on Aug. 25. In that game, he gave up five runs and nine hits, with six strikeouts and two walks. Kluber is 11-7 with a 3.09 ERA in 23 career starts against Kansas City.The Royals on Wednesday will start right-hander Brad Keller (7-5, 3.26), who in three career appearances (one start) against Cleveland is 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA.Keller’s last start was a 9-2 win over Baltimore on Aug. 31 in which he pitched eight innings, allowing two runs and five hits, with four strikeouts and two walks.In his last start against Cleveland, on Aug. 24, Keller had no decision in a 5-4 Kansas City win. He pitched five innings, allowing two runs and six hits with five strikeouts and one walk.The Royals on Tuesday recalled pitchers Glenn Sparkman and Jerry Vasto from Triple-A Omaha, catcher Meibrys Viloria from Class A Wilmington and reinstated pitcher Eric Skoglund from the disabled list.The Indians selected the contracts of outfielder Brandon Barnes and infielder Adam Rosales from Triple-A Columbus.