MLB Previews: The League Championships
October baseball is in full swing! Let’s take a look at what’s to come in the Conference Championship round of the playoffs.
Astros vs. Rangers
The Astros will be going to their seventh consecutive conference championship, tying the AL record. The defending champs are going against their Texas rivals the Rangers. If this series is like anything that happened in the regular season, we should expect a very interesting and exciting few games between these two teams.
It is hard to choose who is the favorite for this series. You would think the Astros would be favored being such a consistent team in the playoffs. However, this Rangers team has gone undefeated throughout all of October with almost every game being a dominant showing from start to finish.
The Astros have certainly not disappointed this postseason. Their captain Jose Altuve has played to his potential this postseason and a red-hot Yordan Alvarez, is considerably the best player this postseason. He hasn’t lost a step from his great September, hitting near .500 in his series against the Twins with 4 HR in a 4-game series.
Two additional stars; Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker have played well against the Twins. A surprise star also has emerged in Jose Abreu who showed up in games 3 and 4, having a combined 3 HRs and 7 RBIs between these games.
Their pitching has come back to its mid-season form with Justin Verlander dominating game one with 0 runs allowed and 6 strikeouts. Framber Valdez had a poor performance in game two but can likely recover and play like the elite pitcher he is. Houston’s bullpen is playing amazing only giving up runs in the first game against the Twins.
They are going into the conference championship hot and baseball fans know that the Astros are a team that plays best when the brightest lights shine on them.
The Rangers are in my opinion the best-performing team this postseason and most surprising. They swept the number one-seeded Orioles without breaking a sweat. They had arguably the worst pitching entering the postseason, but now it is a strength for their team. Two very talented teams: the Rays and O’s had no chance of winning against the Rangers. Texas’ hitting was supposed to be elite and somehow it exceeded those already high expectations.
With great hitting from basically the Rangers’ entire lineup, they were able to outscore the Orioles 21-11 through three games. They will certainly be a handful for this Astros pitching staff.
I think the Astros have the upper hand, but the Rangers are a great team and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top. If the Rangers hit like they have been hitting and can keep the score low they could come away with the win.
This series will not lack hits, runs, and excitement. It will be a fight between the two best batting lineups in the league.
Phillies vs. Diamondbacks:
The Dodgers were a favorite to win the World Series in my opinion going into the postseason, and the Diamondbacks have proven that they are a team on a mission. They had been historically bad against the Dodgers and somehow they tore them apart from start to finish in this series. The 100-win Dodgers had no chance against this Diamondbacks team, winning with a 3-game sweep without a single game being close. The Diamondbacks were a wild card and given a low chance of making it far, but they have changed that opinion fast.
Going into the series I knew that there were two outcomes, they would either get extremely hot and make a deep playoff run or fall apart and get run over. They showed in the regular season that they were capable when they had that amazing June, but followed it up with the worst July of any team. They never returned to that dominant form until the biggest moment in the season.
They had great pitching from the starters and bullpen. Their ace, Zac Gallen, a Cy Young candidate, played to that CY Young level. A Dodgers batting lineup I considered the best was picked apart by the Diamondbacks.
Their hitting was unbelievable from players like rookie sensation Corbin Carroll, Ketal Marte, Alex Thomas, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. From inning one in the first game to the final inning in game three they were unstoppable.
Everything that could have gone right for the Diamondbacks did, but that won’t happen against the Phillies.
The Phillies have recreated the miracle run they had last year against the Braves. Going into the postseason, their strategy was simple: live by the homerun die by the homerun.
With power hitters like Kyle Schwarber, Nicholas Castellanos, and Bryce Harper they are a force to be reckoned with. Also Trea Turner will just add more fuel to the fire.
Castellanos became the first player ever to have consecutive multiple HR games in the postseason. Everyone is hitting in this lineup. I thought the Braves had no flaws, but now you see that it was the Phillies.
Harper is proving again why he is considered one of the greatest players to ever step to the plate. He is having back-to-back sensational postseason performances.
Wheeler has been dealing throughout the postseason. He is their ace and just played the most talented team in the league and performed at the highest level. They also have Nola who is fantastic at his best.
This series will be a good one. Hitting will be the name of the game. Whoever is the more explosive-hitting team will take this home. This would lead me to lean towards the Phillies in this series. They have way too much power in their bats and will have the two best players in Harper and Turner. Nonetheless, it will be a great one to watch.
Prediction:
I think the World Series will be Phillies vs. Rangers. The Phillies have been here before and know what it takes to beat young exciting teams. They beat the Padres last year and I think the series between the Diamondbacks will be very similar.
The Rangers have never won the World Series and I think they will get their chance this season. It will be tough but they have the right players who are playing well at the right time. As good as their Texas rival the Astros are, I think the Rangers can take them. I think it is a Game 7 series and will go down to the wire, but ultimately the Rangers will take home the AL conference championship.
