The National League Wild Card Round gets underway at noon EDT with the Reds playing at the Braves. Trevor Bauer takes on Max Fried. Bauer led the NL in ERA with a 1.73 mark in 73 innings. He recorded 100 strikeouts and just 17 walks. Fried only pitched 56 innings, so his 2.25 ERA did not qualify for the leader board. He only allowed two home runs however, one of four pitchers to allow just two home runs in at least 56 innings.

At 1 PM EDT, the Astros and Twins continue their series with Houston leading 1-0. The Astros have not named a starter:

The most obvious choices would seem to be righthanders Jose Urquidy or Cristian Javier, or perhaps the two in tandem, in the wake of Framber Valdez’s five-inning stint Tuesday that removed him from consideration.

HoustonChronicle.com

The Twins send Jose Berrios to the mound. Berrios saw his walk rate rise this season by about 1 1/2 batters per nine, giving him an ERA of 4.00. He will try to end the Twins seventeen game post-season losing streak.

At 2 PM EDT, Miami plays their first post-season game since winning the World Series in 2003. Note that the Marlins made the post-season twice, and won the World Series both times. Sandy Alcantara takes on Kyle Hendricks. Alcantara pitched well down the stretch, posting a 2.30 ERA in five September starts. Hendricks limited walks better than any ERA qualifier, just 0.89 BB per 9 IP.

At 3 PM EDT, the White Sox try to sweep the Athletics as Chicago sends Dallas Keuchel to the mound against Chris Bassitt. Keuchel is another pitcher with just two home runs allowed. The A’s are not a team that strings together hits, so they need power. Bassitt pitched 1/3 inning less than Keuchel. They walked the same number of batters, 17, but Basitt allowed four more hits and four more home runs. That led to the 0.30 run higher ERA.

At 4 PM EDT, the Blue Jays try to keep their series alive with Hyun Jin Ryu facing the Rays and Tyler Glasnow. The transition to the American League did not hurt Ryu, as he posted his third consecutive season with an ERA under 3.00. Glasnow allowed a .200 BA during the regular season, but 19 of the 43 hits against him went for extra bases.

At 5 PM EDT, Kwang Hyun Kim leads the Cardinals against the Padres and Chris Paddack. Kim posted a 1.62 ERA in 39 innings, limiting hits despite a low strikeout rate. Paddack allowed 14 home runs this year, but most of the power against him came with the bases empty. The Padres make their first playoff appearance since 2006.

At 7 PM EDT, the Yankees and Indians play game two with Masahiro Tanaka pitching against Carlos Carrasco. Tanaka survived the line drive off his head to post a 3.56 ERA. He walked just eight batters in 48 innings. Carrasco is another Indians pitcher who blows away batters, with 82 K in 68 innings. Cleveland needs to win to prevent adding another year to their World Championship drought.

Finally, the Brewers face the Dodgers at 10 PM EDT. Brent Suter starts for Milwaukee. With injuries reducing the starting staff, Suter is more of an opener. In his four starts, he pitched 13 innings, allowing a 1.38 ERA. Walker Buehler takes the hill for Los Angeles. Buehler pitched very little, lasting just 36 2/3 innings in eight starts mostly due to blisters. He allowed seven home runs in that time.