After earning a 5-2 victory over the Texas Rangers in a rare game 163, the Tampa Bay Rays will now play the Cleveland Indians in the American League Wild Card Game on Wednesday.
Rays vs. Indians, 2013 AL Wild Card Playoff: Time, TV schedule, starting pitchers and more
Both teams will send young starters to the mound in what will be one of the most important games either will pitch.
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
The two sides will play in Cleveland’s Progressive Field with first pitch scheduled for 8:07 p.m. ET. You can catch the action live on TBS or on MLB.tv, provided you have a subscription.
Team coverage: DRays Bay Let's Go Tribe
Tampa Bay finished the regular season with a 91-71 record before their victory against the Rangers while the Indians went 92-70. Tampa Bay and Cleveland were fifth and seventh in the American League with 3.74 and 3.82 staff ERAs, respectively. The Indians finished the year fifth in the AL with 745 runs scored, 45 more than the ninth-ranked Rays. However, both squads posted a .737 OPS overall.
The Rays will send Alex Cobb to the mound after David Price pitched the play-in game against Texas. Cobb was phenomenal in what was his third major league season, posting a 2.76 ERA and 1.15 WHIP over 22 starts. He has been especially effective since coming off a two-month DL stint Aug. 15. Since that date, Cobb has made nine starts and posted a 2.41 ERA and .642 opponent OPS.
The Indians are relying on a young pitcher of their own as rookie Danny Salazar make the biggest start of his career. The Indians burned both Scott Kazmir and Ubaldo Jimenez on Saturday and Sunday to ensure that they would earn a playoff spot and Justin Masterson is not stretched out enough to start.
Salazar had a very good rookie year for Cleveland after first being called up in mid-July. He has earned a 3.12 ERA and 1.14 WHIP while starting 10 major league games. He also had a 2.73 ERA in 21 games split between Double- and Triple-A in 2013.
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