The ALCS is set.
It’s a matchup between the two teams that got caught cheating. In other words, a rematch of the 2018 ALCS.
Boston and Houston get underway tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Eastern. The series will air on FOX and FS1, which means we’re stuck having to listen to Joe Buck, unless we mute our TV’s of course, which when you think about it, is a pretty good idea.
All jokes aside though, the series will start in Houston, by virtue of the Astros winning their division and the Red Sox being a Wild Card. Both teams are red-hot and ready to go. We’re in for an exciting series for sure.
As we’ve been doing throughout the postseason, we’ll break down each team and make a case for each one to come out on top. We’ll look at what they have going for them, and what may be some signs of trouble. So without further ado, let’s dive in, shall we?
The Case For The Astros
Like it or not, the Astros are still a great team and are a force to be reckoned with. They’ll be playing in their fifth straight ALCS. They beat the Yankees in 2017 and 2019, while losing to these Red Sox in 2018, and to the Rays last October.
Jose Altuve just knows how to hit in the postseason. He’s a career .306 hitter with 19 home runs, including his home run off Aroldis Chapman to send Houston to the Fall Classic two years back, even if he had assistance from a buzzer under his jersey.
You also can’t overlook Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, and Michael Brantley. Kyle Tucker has burst onto the scene, and Yordan Alvarez is just simply a beast.
Even without Justin Verlander, Houston has Zack Greinke, Lance McCullers, Luis Garcia, and Framber Valdez in their rotation, so the pitching is a strength too. And the bullpen also features a bunch of high-quality arms.
The Case For The Red Sox
They’ll be underdogs for sure, but you’ve gotta like their chances. They’re flying under the radar and killing teams in every facet of the game.
Kike Hernandez is coming off an amazing ALDS against the Rays, where he walked-off with a sac-fly to send Boston to the ALCS. Rafael Devers, Xander Bogaerts, and Alex Verdugo have carried this team offensively, and Kyle Schwarber is having a solid October so far as well.
The Sox may be a little thin in their rotation, but they’ll probably start off with Chris Sale in Game 1.
It just seems like whenever the Red Sox are in the postseason, they “do damage”, as they like to say. They beat Houston in five last time around, so you can bet they’ll be looking to continue that trend.
Conclusion
It should be exciting. We’ve got two great teams. One has dominated most of the year, while the other has come out of nowhere to get to this position. Something has to give. Both teams have a ton of momentum and it would be no surprise to see this series come down to a Game 7
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