Oakland A's vs. Kansas City Royals (7:07 p.m., TBS)

Matchup: LHP Jon Lester (16-11, 2.46 ERA) vs. RHP James Shields (14-8, 3.21)

About the A's: Oakland made the playoffs for the third straight year, getting in on the final day of the season. The A's limped to the finish, losing 20 of their final 30 games. Their .433 winning percentage after the All-Star break was the lowest ever for a playoff team. Oakland finished third in the AL in runs, but averaged just 3.2 runs per game over final 29 contests. The A's finished the year with a 3.22 ERA, their lowest since 1990.

About the Royals: Kansas City is back in the postseason for the first time since 1985, when most of its roster had not even been born. The Royals rely on pitching and defense. The team had a 3.50 ERA, led by a bullpen that has been arguably baseball's best the past two seasons. Kansas City finished middle-of-the-pack in most offensive categories, including 15th in runs scored. But it had the fourth-best team batting average in the big leagues at .262.

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