The Chicago White Sox separates one win after advancing to the 2020 ALDS. Chicago had the first match of its Wild Card Series over Oakland A’s on Tuesday and will attempt to finish the series on Wednesday. Team A will send Chris Bassett out to the pile on Wednesday hoping to force a Game 3 to win or come home.
Here’s a look at when you’ll be playing athletics and White Sox in the coming days:
|
Game 2 |
Wednesday 30 September |
3 PM ET |
RHB Chris Bassett v LHP Dallas Couchell |
ESPN |
to be announced later on |
|
3 * game |
Thursday, October 1 |
3 PM ET |
TBA vs TBA |
ESPN |
to be announced later on |
* If necessary
Here are three things to know about this series.
This is Oakland’s first playoff streak in a while
This is the fourth time that A-team has qualified beyond the season since 2014. It is the first time since 2013 that they have played more than one match in a tournament. Previously, Team A had lost playing in the Wild Card Game on their last three trips to the qualifiers: 2014, 2018 and 2019. The last multi-game playoff series in Oakland was a five-game loss in the Division Series versus the Detroit Tiger.
Play a “A” appropriate table
It was recognized that the MLB unbalanced schedule would favor some teams more than others. One of those teams that took advantage of the regional tendency was A’s. They have played teams with winning records in just six of the 60 competitions: those that come in series versus the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. A’s went 2-4 in those competitions. The White Sox has played, by comparison, 32 times against the winning teams; They went 12-20 in those games.
White Sox entered on the slide
If you are a believer in momentum or just a victim of modernity bias, you are probably concerned about White Sox’s chances of taking the series. Chicago have gone 2–8 in the last 10 games on their way to losing what was a three-game lead in the US Central League by 52 games. As for our money, that doesn’t mean much, but it is something that you should be aware of.
