Masahiro Tanaka or J.A. Happ for Yankees in AL Wild Card Game? Sizing up the contenders

Masahiro Tanaka and J.A. Happ are making it a tough decision for manager Aaron Boone to pick a starting pitcher for the Yankees in the AL Wild Card game.

NEW YORK — It’s easy to figure out what the Yankees‘ Plan A is for their starting pitcher for their probable do-or-die postseason affair, the American League Wild Card Game.

It’s J.A. Happ.

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Happ’s next start will be Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium against the Boston Red Sox, and if the Yankees don’t change up things in the final two weeks of the season, the left-hander will be on his fifth day for a start against the Oakland Athletics in the Wild Card Game on Wednesday, Oct. 3.

Of course, the Yankees and A’s still need to clinch Wild Card spots – both probably will within a week or so – and we need to see who finishes ahead of whom in the standings to determine the site – the Yanks have a 1 1/2-game lead on Oakland with 15 to go.

And … we need to see if the best stretch of the season by Masahiro Tanaka continues to the point that manager Aaron Boone and pitching coach Larry Rothschild opt to go to Plan B for a Wild Card Game starter.

Tanaka was tremendous for a third start in a row Friday night tossing six shutout innings with eight strikeouts in the Yankees’ 11-0 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.

Now what?

The competition is on, and while 17-game winner Luis Severino still officially is in the mix, his second-half slump and meltdown in Oakland last week probably trump his fairly strong rebound outing Wednesday night in Minnesota.

Boone admitted that he’s in judging mode after Friday’s win.

“These things matter and what they’ve done has mattered and how they’re pitching in the final two weeks certainly matters,” Boone said. “Absolutely. So yeah. But we also take into account who we’re playing, where we’re playing and all those things, and you hope to have a number of people to pick from that are pitching well down the stretch. That’s our hope.”

Here is how the numbers look:

— Happ is 16-6 with a 3.75 ERA in 28 starts this season, including 5-0 with a 2.88 ERA in seven starts since he was traded by Toronto to the Yankees on July 26.

— Tanaka is 12-5 with a 3.47 ERA in 25 starts this season, including 3-2 with a 1.80 ERA in his last six starts and 3-0 with an 0.45 ERA over his last three with 24 strikeouts and three walks.

— Happ pitched well against the Athletics in his only start against them this season, allowing one run over six innings in a no-decision at Oakland last Wednesday.

— Tanaka didn’t face the Athletics this season.

— Happ is 1-1 with a 4.31 ERA in Oakland over six career starts, five as a starter.

— Tanaka is 1-1 with a 4.91 ERA in two career starts in Oakland (2016, 2017).

— Happ is 4-0 with a 3.35 ERA in five starts at Yankee Stadium this season.

— Tanaka is 5-5 with a 3.66 ERA in 11 home starts this season.

All of this will be factored in when Boone makes his decision later this month … as will how well Happ and Tanaka (and maybe even Severino) fare in their final regular-season starts.

Stay tuned.

“I think any one of us could pitch in that game,” Tanaka said. “For me, the important thing right now is to just focus on this game and the next game.”

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.