2020 American League Wild Card Series
September 29–October 1, 2020
Tampa Bay Rays 2–0Toronto Blue Jays
Oakland Athletics 2–1Chicago White Sox
Minnesota Twins 0–2Houston Astros
Cleveland Indians 0–2New York Yankees
←2019 ALWC 2021 →

The2020 American League Wild Card Series were four best-of-three series inMajor League Baseball’s (MLB)2020 postseason to determine participating teams in the2020 American League Division Series. Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, MLB expanded the postseason from 10 to 16 teams (8 for each league) with all teams starting in the wild card round instead of holding the regularWild Card Game for each league. All games for each series were played at the higher seeded team's home ballpark and were a best-of-three series.

The matchups were:

• (1)Tampa Bay Rays (East Division champions) vs. (8)Toronto Blue Jays (second Wild Card): Rays won series, 2–0
• (2)Oakland Athletics (West Division champions) vs. (7)Chicago White Sox (first Wild Card): Athletics won series, 2–1
• (3)Minnesota Twins (Central Division champions) vs. (6)Houston Astros (West Division 2nd place): Astros won series, 2–0
• (4)Cleveland Indians (Central Division 2nd place) vs. (5)New York Yankees (East Division 2nd place): Yankees won series, 2–0

On September 15, 2020, MLB announced the playoff bracket for the2020 season, which was shortened to 60 regular season games due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The postseason consisted of eight teams from each league: the top two teams from each division, plus the teams from each division with the next two best records. The Wild Card Series were best-of-three series, as opposed to theplay-in game format of theWild Card Game from previous seasons, while theDivision Series,League Championship Series, andWorld Series were their normal lengths. All Wild Card Series games were played at the home field of the higher seeded team.^[1]

Tampa Bay won the series, 2–0.

Oakland won the series, 2–1.

Houston won the series, 2–0.

New York won the series, 2–0.

This is the first postseason series between the Rays and Blue Jays.

Game 1 was a low-scoring affair as both teams were held scoreless through the first three innings byMatt Shoemaker andBlake Snell. The Rays put the first run on the board afterRandy Arozarena scored from third on a wild pitch fromRobbie Ray in the fourth. Snell would pitch into the sixth, getting lifted for relieverDiego Castillo after5+2⁄3 scoreless innings and nine strikeouts.Manuel Margot padded the Rays' lead in the seventh with a two-run homer and the bullpen limited the Blue Jays to aBo Bichette sac fly to win the game and take a 1-0 series lead.

Facing elimination, the Blue Jays taskedHyun-jin Ryu with keeping their season alive while the Rays turned toTyler Glasnow to send them to theALDS. The Rays jumped on Ryu early, starting off the game with three consecutive singles beforeManuel Margot drove in the game's first run with an RBI single. The Rays then knocked Ryu out of the game in the second after aMike Zunino two run homer and aHunter Renfroe grand slam put up a six spot in the inning. Glasnow shut down the Blue Jays offense, striking out eight over six innings.Danny Jansen would provide the only offense for the Blue Jays with two solo home runs in the third and fifth, but the Rays bullpen would keep the game well out of reach for an 8–2 win and a 2–0 series win.

2020 ALWC(2–0):Tampa Bay Rays beatToronto Blue Jays

This is the first postseason series between the Athletics and White Sox.

Lucas Giolito was tabbed as the Game 1 starter in the White Sox' first postseason game since2008 whileJesús Luzardo started for the A's. The White Sox struck first with anAdam Engel solo shot in the second inning and a two-run shot byJosé Abreu in the third. Luzardo was lifted in the fourth forJ.B. Wendelken finishing his day with three runs and five strikeouts over3+1⁄3 innings pitched.Yasmani Grandal padded the lead with a solo shot in the eighth while Giolito cruised through seven innings, striking out eight, before allowing two baserunners to lead off the bottom of the inning.Evan Marshall came on in relief and gave up one run on aRamón Laureano fielder's choice before closing out the inning.Álex Colomé pitched a perfect ninth to close out the game and give the White Sox a 1-0 series lead. This was the White Sox' first postseason win since Game 3 of the2008 ALDS.

Dallas Keuchel andChris Bassitt squared off in Game 2. The Athletics struck first in the bottom of the first whenNick Madrigal mishandled aMatt Olson grounder that allowed two runs to score in the first inning. It was the first time Keuchel had been scored on in the first inning all season.Marcus Semien launched a two run home run in the second andKhris Davis followed up with a solo shot in the fourth to bring the A's lead to 5–0. Keuchel finished with four strikeouts, six hits, and three earned runs over4+1⁄3 innings. Bassitt shut down the White Sox through seven innings striking out five on six hits beforeYasmani Grandal hit a two run homer in the eighth to chip into the lead. The White Sox threatened again in the ninth when Grandal drew a bases loaded walk to bring the game within two, butJake Diekman gotJosé Abreu to ground out to end the game and hang on for a series-tying victory.

Game 3 was the first winner-take-all elimination game in the White Sox' 119-year history. On the other side, the Athletics had lost nine straight winner-take-all elimination games up to that point. Both clubs opted for a bullpen game as it was all hands-on deck withDane Dunning starting for the White Sox andMike Fiers starting for the A's. After an eventful first inning with no runs scored,Luis Robert pummeled a 487 foot solo shot to get the scoring started. In the third, Robert would drive in another with an RBI single andNomar Mazara followed up with an RBI double to bring the score to 3–0. After getting two outs,Sean Murphy got the A's on the board with two run home run off ofCodi Heuer in the fourth.Carlos Rodón came in try to close out the inning, but he failed to record an out after loading the bases.Matt Foster relieved Rodón and walked the next two batters with the bases loaded to give the A's the lead. The White Sox tied the game in the fifth on a Mazara RBI single, but the A's responded with a two-run single fromChad Pinder in the bottom of the frame. The A's bullpen bent but did not break for the next three innings, stranding five White Sox baserunners.Liam Hendriks struck out the side in the ninth to end the game and seal a 2–1 series win for the Athletics. It was Oakland's first postseason series win since2006.^[11] This was the final MLB postseason game in Oakland before the Athletics relocated to Sacramento in2025 and Las Vegas in 2028.

2020 ALWC(2–1):Oakland Athletics beatChicago White Sox

This is the first postseason meeting between the Twins and Astros.

Game 1, the first time the two teams had faced each other in the postseason, featuredZack Greinke for the Astros againstKenta Maeda for the Twins.Nelson Cruz opened the scoring with an RBI double in the third. Greinke was lifted in the fifth and finished his day with two hits and three walks over four innings pitched. Maeda turned in a strong performance, only allowing two hits over five innings while striking out five; however,George Springer laced an RBI double off ofTyler Duffey in the seventh to tie the game. The game remained tied into the ninth inning until the Twins defense fell apart.Sergio Romo got the first two outs of the inning after giving up consecutive singles, butJorge Polanco overthrew second basemanLuis Arráez on what should have been an inning ending force out, allowing the Astros to load the bases. Romo then walkedJose Altuve with the bases loaded to drive in the go-ahead run.Caleb Thielbar came on in relief and promptly gave up a 2-run single toMichael Brantley to pad the Astros' lead at 4-1.Framber Valdez, who had taken over for Greinke in the fifth, would allow two singles in the ninth, but induced a double play to end the game and give the Astros a 1–0 lead in the series. This was the Twins’ 17th straight postseason loss, setting a team record for major professional sports in North America.^[12]

José Berríos andJosé Urquidy squared off in Game 2. Both pitchers kept the game scoreless through three beforeKyle Tucker drove in the game's first run on an RBI single in the fourth. Berríos would pitch five innings, giving up only the one run and striking out four. Urquidy threw four scoreless innings before giving up a lead off single toMarwin Gonzalez in the fifth.Nelson Cruz would tie the game on an RBI double off ofBrooks Raley and finishing Urquidy's line at4+1⁄3 innings pitched of one-run ball.who pitched4+2⁄3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit.Carlos Correa hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh off ofCody Stashak in the seventh and Tucker tacked on an insurance run in the ninth with another RBI single before the Astros' bullpen closed out the game and the series. The Astros bullpen would finish the series with9+2⁄3 scoreless innings, giving up only three hits while striking out ten across the two games. This was the Twins' 18th straight postseason loss, extending their record. This wasDusty Baker's first playoff series win since the2003 National League Division Series while he was manager of theChicago Cubs.

2020 ALWC(2–0):Houston Astros beatMinnesota Twins

This is the fifth postseason meeting between the Indians and Yankees, with both teams splitting their first four postseason meetings. The Indians previously won the1997 American League Division Series 3–2 and the2007 American League Division Series 3–1, while the Yankees previously won the1998 American League Championship Series 4–2 and the2017 American League Division Series 3–2.

The first game matched the prime stars for both squads inGerrit Cole andShane Bieber, with the latter having won the pitchingTriple Crown for the 2020 season. The Yankees took an early lead whenAaron Judge hit a home run on the first pitch he saw from Bieber, who had allowed the leadoff hitter inDJ LeMahieu to get on base with a single.Luke Voit increased the lead to three in the third inning on a double. The Indians countered with a run on aJosé Ramírez double that made it 3–1, but aCarlos Santana strike out culled the chance for more with runners on the corner. The Yankees responded with aBrett Gardner RBI double and a subsequent LeMahieu RBI single to make it 5–1.Josh Naylor made it 5–2 on a home run, whileGleyber Torres responded with a home run of his own to make it 7–2. The Yankees blew the game further open with runs driven in by Urshela, Torres, and Gardner to make for four runs in the seventh before finishing with aGiancarlo Stanton home run. The Indians closed the scoring with aTyler Naquin RBI single that made the final score 12–3. Cole struck out thirteen batters in seven innings while allowing two runs on six hits. He was the second pitcher to throw thirteen strikeouts with zero walks and the first sinceTom Seaver did so in Game 1 of the1973 National League Championship Series. Bieber allowed seven runs on nine hits while striking out seven with two walks that saw him last4+2⁄3 innings.^[13]

Masahiro Tanaka was matched againstCarlos Carrasco, but neither starter would factor into the final result. Tanaka pitched four innings but allowed six runs on five hits with three strikeouts and walks, while Carrasco allowed four runs on two hits with three walks to six strikeouts on three innings. The Indians led 4–0 on RBI doubles byJosé Ramírez andJosh Naylor and aRoberto Perez RBI single in the first inning. Giancarlo Stanton made it 4–1 with a home run in the second inning. The fourth inning saw the Yankees take the lead after driving Carrasco from the game on a triple and two walks. Gio Urshela, facingJames Karinchak, hit a grand slam on a full count to take the lead.Phil Maton took over after two walks and managed to strand the runners to alleviate further damage. In the next inning, he allowed a run to score on a sacrifice fly by Stanton. Tanaka was driven out of the game in the fifth after allowing a double and a walk to be replaced byChad Green. Ramirez would tie the game on a two-run double.Triston McKenzie took over for the sixth to pitch for Cleveland. A walk followed by a home run byGary Sanchez meant an 8–6 lead for New York.Zack Britton managed to garner the first two outs of the seventh before being taken out forJonathan Loaisiga after walking two batters.Jordan Luplow would tie the game on a two-run double. Loaisiga would allow the first two batters to reach on walks in the eighth and was replaced byAroldis Chapman. On the first pitch he saw,César Hernández hit a single that would break the tie at eight and give them the lead.Brad Hand was sent out to save the ninth inning for the Indians. He allowed a walk and two singles to load the bases. This would be followed by a strikeout before a sacrifice fly by Sanchez to tie the game at nine. With two outs, LeMahieu would break the tie on an RBI single to make it 10–9. Chapman would strike out three of the four batters he saw to finish the game for the Yankees.

This extended the Indians consecutive playoff losing streak to eight games. This was the fourth time in the last five years that the Indians were eliminated from the postseason at home. At four hours and 50 minutes, this set a record as the longest nine-inning game in MLB history.^[14] This was alsoFrancisco Lindor's last game with the Cleveland Indians, as he was traded along withCarlos Carrasco to theNew York Mets in the off-season.^[15][16] This was Cleveland’s final playoff game as the Indians before they changed names to the Guardians in 2022.

2020 ALWC(2–0):New York Yankees beatCleveland Indians

The games were televised onESPN andTBS in the United States, withABC showing the first game of the Twins–Astros series andESPN2 showing the second game. TBS aired the entirety of the Rays–Blue Jays series.Sportsnet, a property of Toronto Blue Jays ownerRogers Communications, broadcast games in Canada but it was not allowed to produce its own Blue Jays telecast.^[17]

• 2020 National League Wild Card Series

• 2020 Major League Baseball season
• Major League Baseball Wild Card Series
• Tampa Bay Rays postseason
• Oakland Athletics postseason
• Minnesota Twins postseason
• Cleveland Guardians postseason
• New York Yankees postseason
• Houston Astros postseason
• Chicago White Sox postseason
• Toronto Blue Jays postseason
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on baseball
• September 2020 sports events in the United States
• October 2020 sports events in the United States
• Baseball competitions in Houston
• Baseball competitions in Oakland, California
• Baseball competitions in Cleveland
• Baseball competitions in Minneapolis

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from August 2023