The Yankees and Indians haven’t played against each other since last August, and their powerful lineups face quite the challenge in Game 1 of their wild-card series.

Bieber, the ace of the Indians and the favorite for the AL Cy Young Award, versus Gerrit Cole, the $324 million right-hander for the Yankees. Bieber is making his third career start against New York, and Cole is facing for Cleveland for the sixth time, including a win for Houston in Game 2 of the 2018 ALDS.

“The object, if you’re taking the ball early, is to set the tone both for the pitching staff and the team,” Cole said. “I’ve been practicing that this year, and I’ll just keep trying to get better at it.”

San Diego is making its first playoff appearance since 2006. Up next for the Padres is St. Louis, which lost to Washington in the NLCS last year.

The series opener could put Tatis in the same game with Flaherty for only the second time. The 21-year-old Tatis singled and struck out in two at-bats against Flaherty during the Padres’ 5-3 victory at St. Louis on April 5, 2019.

St. Louis and Miami got into the playoffs despite dealing with a coronavirus outbreak during the season. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt sounded almost giddy while looking ahead to the postseason after navigating a compressed schedule down the stretch.