The Houston Astros held serve with a 7-1 win over the New York Yankees on Friday night in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series, continuing this back-and-forth series between the two teams.
Home teams are enjoying unprecedented success in the 2017 MLB playoffs
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
The ALCS is now tied at three games apiece, with Game 7 scheduled for Saturday night at Minute Maid Park in Houston. The home team has won all six games in this series, which has been typical in the 2017 MLB playoffs.
Home teams are 22-8 (.733) so far in the postseason, a substantial increase from the .540 winning percentage during the regular season.
Best home records, MLB postseason
Year | W | L | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 12 | 3 | 0.800 |
| 1987 | 15 | 4 | 0.789 |
| 1971 | 11 | 3 | 0.786 |
| 1984 | 10 | 3 | 0.769 |
| 2017 | 22 | 8 | 0.733 |
| 1999 | 20 | 11 | 0.645 |
| 2009 | 19 | 11 | 0.633 |
| 1995 | 19 | 12 | 0.613 |
Since the Wild Card era began in 1995, home teams in the postseason have a .547 winning percentage. The .733 mark this season is the best in this expanded-playoff format, ahead of both 1999 (20-11, .645) and 2009 (19-11, .633).
If we expand to include the divisional era, with two divisions in each league (1969-1993), only four years saw a better winning percentage by home teams, topping out at 12-30 (.800) in 1982.
Should the Astros win on Saturday in Game 7, this ALCS will be just the fifth seven-game series in MLB history in which the home team won every game. The others:
- 1987 World Series: Minnesota Twins over St. Louis Cardinals
- 1991 World Series: Minnesota Twins over Atlanta Braves
- 2001 World Series: Arizona Diamondbacks over New York Yankees
- 2004 NLCS: St. Louis Cardinals over Houston Astros
The three teams that are still alive in this postseason have all contributed to the home success in 2017. The Yankees are 6-0 in New York in the playoffs and the Astros are 5-0 in Houston. The winner of Saturday’s game earns a trip to the World Series, starting on Tuesday in Los Angeles, where the Dodgers are 4-0 this October and were an MLB-best 57-24 during the regular season.
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