The New York Yankees closed out the regular season with six losses in their last seven games. The Houston Astros won six of their last eight but that was still not enough to catch the Yankees meaning the Bronx Bombers will enjoy the home-field advantage here in the one and only AL Wild Card game. There will be extreme pressure on the batters, and runs are likely to come at premium with two elite pitchers on the mound.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Pitching - The Astros hand the ball to Dallas Keuchel (20-8, 2.48 ERA) who wrapped up the regular season with three wins while allowing only four runs on 14 hits over 20 2/3 innings of work. He's held the Yankees to four hits with 21 strikeouts over 16 innings this season. The Yankees counter with Masahiro Tanaka (12-7, 3.51 ERA) who surrendered four runs on five his in five innings against the Red Sox his last start. He had conceded only three runs on 15 hits over 21 innings in his last three starts prior though.

2. Situational - Six of the Yankees last eight playoff games have gone under the total and the under is 5-1 in their last six home games vs. a left-handed starter. Keuchel has the Yankees limited to a .206 team batting average over 97 at bats.

3. X-Factor - Only four of the last 16 head-to-head meetings have gone over the total.

Selection: This is a play on Houston@NYY to go under the total (10*)