Overview
- The Red Sox secured the AL No. 5 wild-card with a 4-3 rally on Friday, locking in a rematch with the Yankees at Yankee Stadium that begins Tuesday.
- MLB announced the series finale would be played Sunday at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, a move intended to avoid a forecast nor'easter and that forces an extra, unplanned trip before the postseason.
- After being swept in Friday's doubleheader, the Cubs fell in the NL wild-card pecking order and now depend on other results to set their final seed while traveling to Florida for the relocated Game 162.
- The Yankees have not named a Game 1 starter as they weigh Cam Schlittler on normal rest versus Max Fried on extra rest and must finalize by Tuesday morning whether injured veterans Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton will be included on the postseason roster.
- Chicago faces late pitching and bullpen decisions with Kevin Gausman listed day-to-day after a left-shoulder issue and options such as Clay Holmes and David Peterson available on short rest, choices that carry extra weight in a short, best-of-three series.