The awaited wild-card game between the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros will be happening tonight, 8 PM EST so both teams are prepping up for the first pitch including the Yankees who submitted their presumably All-star line-up which excluded their famous center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury.

Ellsbury is famous for his salary in the team which is reported by the New York Post to be at $153 million but that didn't stop the Yankees to place him on their bench for the upcoming wild-card game for the American League.

The Yankees instead listed Chris Young, Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran in the outfield according to a report from Yahoo Sports. Yankees Manager Joe Girardi even revealed that it was a tough decision according to the New York Post.

"It's something that I mulled over for a couple days and I think when it came down to it, in the end, it was [Gardner's] numbers against left-handers this year compared to Jacoby's," Girardi said as quoted by the New York Post. "It was a tough decision," he added.

For many, it is not surprising that Ellsbury was not included in the awaited wild-card match since he is still recovering from a knee injury back in May, reports Yahoo Sports. Not only that, compared to his teammates Gardner and Beltran, Ellsbury has a record of .253/.327/.325 slash line this season, numbers that are not very competitive according to the Publication.

Moreover, Ellsbury has only hit just .224/.269/.332 since his injury which could also be what Girardi considered. However, the star player is devastated to not have a chance to play.

"I told him I want to be out there but, yeah, I'm willing to do whatever's best for the team," Ellsbury said of the upcoming AL wild-card game as quoted by the New York Post. "I told him I wanted to play, but then I let him know I'll obviously be ready to go at any point in the game and willing to do whatever it takes for this team to win, so we left it at that and I'll be definitely ready to go," he added.

Meanwhile Yankees coach Jeff Pentland also had doubts about the injured Ellsbury saying, "For me, when he ran into the wall the other day he hasn't had the same swing," Pentland said as quoted by The New York Post. "If he's swinging like he's capable of swinging, it's a different decision."

Pentland continued to state that it might not be the right time for Ellsbury to be back in the field. "He was starting to really come around," Pentland said as quoted by the publication. "I don't think he's hurt. I just don't think he's quite right. Over weekend, he had a little trouble getting the head to the ball and that's not him. He has as good hands as anybody in the game."

The first pitch for the Yankees versus Astros game will start at 8 PM EST, Tonight and covered by ESPN.