After a warm-up for the playoffs with Monday's pair of division tiebreakers, the postseason proper begins with the winner-take-all wild-card games: Colorado Rockies-Chicago Cubs on Tuesday at Wrigley Field; and Oakland Athletics-New York Yankees on Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Here are nine matchups to watch in the wild-card round:
Kyle Freeland vs. his abbreviated rest
The Rockies had the option of starting Antonio Senzatela on regular rest, but instead manager Bud Black will go with Freeland, who made his last start on Friday against the Nationals. Freeland has pitched on three days' rest once in the first two years of his big-league career -- but that was not in back-to-back starts. Rather, he pitched a third of an inning in relief on Sept. 27, 2017, and started on Oct. 1. But Freeland has earned this start with his exceptional second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, only three National League starters have a lower ERA -- Jacob deGrom, Aaron Nola and Jameson Taillon. By 2018 standards, Freeland is not a hard thrower, with an average fastball velocity that ranks 37th of 57 starters who qualified for the ERA title. He has generated exceptional production with his fastball, working with absolute precision, as detailed here.
But the question is whether any fatigue from working on a shortened schedule will affect that command. Freeland had a solid start at Wrigley Field earlier this season, allowing three runs in seven innings.