ANAHEIM, Calif. — The 100-win Yankees got what they wanted, the home wild-card game.
The 97-win A’s may have gotten what they needed, the road wild-card game.
On the road the A’s hit better than any team in baseball. They are first in OPS with a .797 mark, first in slugging at .464, first in home runs with 133, first in runs (439) and second in batting average (.263) and third in on-base percentage (.332).
“We just called ourselves Road Dogs early in the year, and it kind of stuck,” slugger Khris Davis told The Post Saturday night of the A’s approach to road success before hitting his major-league leading 48th home run of the year, a two-run shot to right in the first inning in the A’s 5-2 victory at Angel Stadium. “Things have been pretty contagious around here.’’
As Davis talked in the visitor’s clubhouse several teammates wore green and gold T-shirts that read: “Bat Flippin’ Season.”
That is exactly what it has been for the A’s.
Noted manager Bob Melvin of Wednesday night’s do-or-die matchup at Yankee Stadium: “Our position players have shown that on the road they are pretty good offensively for us this year. We’re a home run-hitting team and that is a home run-conducive ballpark. I know our guys are excited about going there.’’
Hitting is not the problem.
It looks more and more like the A’s will go with an “opener,” and it could be righty reliever Liam Hendriks, who started Saturday night and went one scoreless inning. Then it could be an entire bullpen game, using nothing but relievers.
Hendriks is quite the story having been designated for assignment in late June but has flourished as an opener since being recalled to the majors Sept. 1.
The A’s have a strong bullpen and started setup man Lou Trivino on Friday night. The A’s starting pitching has been ravaged by injuries. Trivino got through a 1-2-3 first on 11 pitches, ending with a Mike Trout popup.
Mike Fiers, the man who struck Giancarlo Stanton in the face with a fastball in 2014, followed Trivino on Friday and struggled. Fiers’ style is to elevate the fastball. If he leaves it thigh high, launch angle hitters like the Yankees’ Luke Voit will take full advantage.
Trivino quipped about the role of being an opener, saying, “If they want me to be a batboy I’ll do whatever it takes for this team to win.’’
The A’s are all-in under Melvin, and it will take a total team effort to beat the Yankees. Starting pitching is the challenge for the A’s, but no game is more setup for a bullpenning game than the wild-card contest, so that weakness is not as much of a problem.And the A’s have never been afraid to try something new.
How this all works out, we’ll see come Wednesday night. It is one and done so anything could happen.
The A’s have been tormented by the Yankees in past playoffs and this is another opportunity for the Evil Empire to squash Moneyball. The A’s last played in a wild-card game in 2014, and that was a nightmare. They managed to squander a 7-3 eighth-inning lead and blow an 8-7 12th-inning lead as they lost 9-8 to the Royals.
The A’s have had their share of October demons that could be exorcised with a win against the Yankees.
After Sunday’s game the A’s will fly to New York. They do not have a scheduled workout on Monday. They will work out Tuesday. Melvin is one of the best managers in the game and the Yankees wanted to interview him for their job before hiring Aaron Boone, but the A’s would not grant permission.
“The irony of it,’’ Melvin told The Post of him managing the wild-card game at Yankee Stadium.
This is about survival, 27 outs, and the A’s have shown they can survive on the road this season with their mighty bats. The A’s are 47-33 away from home. That matches the Yankees road record.
Come Wednesday night, these Bat Flippin’, bullpenning A’s should feel right at home at Yankee Stadium.