2018 ALDS Preview

We now have four teams left standing in the chase for the American League Pennant. Three of the four clubs left here have won over 100 games and by the time the smoke clears in less then two weeks. The fourth team in this league's divisional round won 91 games in a pathetically weak central division. This will be a battle of epic proportions in both series. Now the question remains who will be the ones left standing to fight for an American League Pennant? We will find out in a little over a week. Lets not waste anymore time, here's how the American League Divisional Series goes down.

First up is the AL East Champion Boston Red Sox taking on the AL Wild Card Winning New York Yankees. For the Yankees, they get to the playoffs winning the Wild Card game over the A's to reach the divisional round. It's the 3rd time in 4th years that the Bombers have made the playoffs, winning 100 games during the regular season, the first time they've won 100 or more games since 2009. New York is looking to get back to the ALCS for the 2nd year in a row. New York has a record of 230 and 161 lifetime in the playoffs. Boston won the AL East for the 10th time and 3rd year in a row with 108 wins, the most in franchise history. Boston is looking to win a series for the first time since 2013. The Red Sox are 91-83 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the fourth postseason meeting between the storied rivals and their first meeting in the ALDS. The Yankees previously won the 1999 ALCS and 2003 ALCS, while the Red Sox won the 2004 ALCS. Boston won 10 of 19 games between these games this season

Here's the dates of every game in this series:
October 5 New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park
October 6 New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park
October 8 Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium
October 9† Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees Yankee Stadium
October 11† New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox Fenway Park

This will be a slugfest of a series. New York knows it can hit the long ball, wacking 265 home runs during the regular season most in baseball history. They have balance up and down the lineup with young guns like Miguel Andújar and Gleyber Torres. Still have the big boppers like Judge and Stanton blasting away in the middle of the lineup. Then you also have Andrew McCutchen and Luke Voit, both of whom have been paying major dividends since being acquired near the trade deadline. They got Gardner and Hicks as table setters for this team. New York comes in with the second most runs scored in baseball at 851. Pitching is going to have to be on point for the Yankees in this round, as Happ, Tanaka and Severino have the unenviable task of trying to shut down this Boston offense. If the starters can hold up and do their thing, then they can hand it over to a stellar bullpen. The only question I have about the pen is Chapman and how solid he's going to be. He did OK last year coming on in relief and was great two years ago for the Cubs in their World Series run, but can he again reach that form for the Yanks this year?

As for Boston, they might be able to match punch for punch with the Yanks offense. J. D. Martinez and Xander Bogaerts can match Judge and Stanton when it comes to power and being able to drive in runs Boston lead all of baseball in runs scored with 876 runs.What also helped the Red Sox, while they might not have as deep a lineup as the Yanks, they can not only get on base, but they can swipe bags too. They stole 125 during the regular season, with Mookie Betts (30 steals), Andrew Benintendi (21), and Bradley (17) leading the charge in that department. It might be interesting to see how well they fair against Gary Sanchez, who's known for his ability to throw out runners, despite the fact he has trouble blocking the ball Pitching for Boston also seems a little shaky. Chris Sale hasn't really gone deep into a game since July, dealing with the shoulder injury. If he's able to find his mojo and his arm is up to par, then Sale should look fine against the Bombers. David Price is a bit of a different story, as his struggles against the Yanks have been well documented. Boston's pen, while not as solid as the Yanks, it can still hold its own never the less.

What has me concerned for Boston is their recent lack of success in recent playoffs by Boston. They always seem to be able to have solid regular season but manage to choke when its all on the line in October. From a Yankees point of view, with coming within a game of the World Series last year, anything short of that, with what they did in the offseason, would be a major disappointment. This series is going to go the distance, and depth will win out here.

Prediction: Yankees in Five

Next up, we have the AL West Champion Houston Astros taking on the AL Central Champion Cleveland Indians. The tribe won the AL Central for the 3rd year in a row, picking up 91 wins during the regular season. That win total was the lowest for a playoff appearance for Cleveland since winning 92 games in 2013. Cleveland went to the World Series two years ago, but were bounced in the divisional round last season. Cleveland is 5767-50 lifetime in the playoffs. As for Houston, they come in as the defending World Series Champions. This marks the 3rd playoff appearance in four years and 2nd straight AL West crown for the Astros. Houston's 103 wins is the most in franchise history and the 2nd straight year they've won more than 100 games. Houston is 35-45 lifetime in the playoffs. This is the first postseason meeting between the Astros and Indians and Houston won four of the seven meetings between the teams during the regular season.

Here's the dates of every game in this series:
October 5 Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park
October 6 Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park
October 8 Houston Astros @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field
October 9† Houston Astros @ Cleveland Indians Progressive Field
October 11† Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros Minute Maid Park

Houston managed to win 103 games in one of the toughest divisions in Baseball that had two other teams, Oakland and Seattle, win more than 87 games Houston also scored 263 more runs then it gave up. Alex Bregman drove in 103 runs and cranked 31 homers. He had help in the middle of that lineup from Yuli Gurriel, George Springer and Jose Altuve. While not the most prolific offense to make the playoffs in the American League, it sure is a balanced offense and they can generate getting runs to cross the plate. Pitching for Houston is their real strength. Every one of their starters won at least 10 games, with Justin Verlander and Garrett Cole pacing the club right at the top. oh and Dallas Keuchel is no slouch, he can throw it too, despite the fact he finished a game over .500 during the regular season. The biggest strength of this Astros club is its bullpen, being carried by Collin McHugh, Roberto Osuna, and Hector Rondon, Houston is going to be a real pain to deal with once they get a lead.

Cleveland shouldn't in theory, have problems pushing runs across the plate, not with the way Jose Rameriez has been hitting the ball this year. One X factor in this series for the tribe could be Josh Donaldson, who's been known in the past as being a bigtime playoff performer, so he could be a bbig factor and help to this Indians lineup. Pitching is going to be a strong suit to start the series for the Indians, as Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Mike Clevinger are slated to take the ball in this series, which could possibly cause problems for Houston's pitching. Bullpen could be an issue for the Tribe.

Not much to really break down here. Cleveland won a week division and is the weakest team in the entire AL playoffs. Houston shouldn't have much of a problem handling them this year.

Prediction: Astros in 4!