NEW YORK — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred is hopeful the league and players’ union will agree to changes to speed pace of play.

Manfred said before Tuesday’s AL wild-card game that he’s encouraged by conversations with the union and “direct engagement with players.” He declined to address specifics of a deal, but says he thinks the league and union will have an agreement that will be “meaningful.”

The average time of a nine-inning game in the majors rose 4½ minutes this season to a record 3 hours, 5 minutes, 11 seconds. MLB’s averaged had dropped to 2:56 in 2015.

Baseball management proposed three changes last offseason the players’ association didn’t accept.