Some years, there are teams that just seem destined to win it all. They go through runs where seemingly nothing can go wrong, and these runs seem to happen at the perfect time. That’s the Indians this year.
The Astros and Indians are each one win away from an epic ALCS matchup
Saturday’s Say Hey, Baseball includes a great potential ALCS matchup, the start of the NLDS, and some positives for the Tigers.
Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports
After being surprisingly mediocre for much of the season, they went on the hottest tear many of us have ever seen and that never really stopped, even if they lost here and there. They continued that on Friday, picking up a win and a 2-0 series lead over the Yankees despite losing Edwin Encarnacion early and Corey Kluber looking shaky for the first time in months. Everything went wrong in this game, and a Francisco Lindor grand slam still helped them pull off a wildly impressive comeback.
Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. Trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk just isn’t easy. It’s OK, though. Subscribe to our daily MLB newsletter and let us do the heavy lifting for you each morning to find the things you need to see.
Meanwhile, in the other ALDS, the Astros are doing things the old-fashioned way by just totally demoralizing the Red Sox. Boston is certainly helping them out, but it’s clear from watching this series — one in which the Astros are now leading 2-0 with a 16-4 run differential — that Houston is vastly superior.
After getting to Chris Sale in a huge way in Game One, the Astros knocked Drew Pomeranz out of the game after just 2.2 innings in Game 2. The Astros are simply teeing off against Boston’s biggest strength, and it’s clear that the Red Sox have little hope in beating this juggernaut.
On the one hand, the utter domination shown by the Indians and Astros is leading to something of an anticlimactic ALDS. It already seems like a foregone conclusion that these two teams will meet in the ALCS. The good news is that these two teams are both incredibly talented and their matchup would be amazing.
The American League has been largely watered down and bunched in the middle for years now, but this season sees a couple of truly elite teams both capable of all-time greatness. We don’t always get lucky enough to see teams like this advance in the postseason, but everything is pointing toward us getting that chance in 2017.
- *Extremely Arrested Development Voice* And that’s why...you always challenge.
- Lindor’s grand slam was what got the Indians back in Game 2, but Yan Gomes came through for the win.
- Over in the National League, the Nationals got a phenomenal performance from Stephen Strasburg but still managed to drop Game 1.
- Meanwhile, Kershaw allowed four home runs to the Diamondbacks, but they were all with the bases empty and the Dodgers still got a win.
- In non-playoff news, we’ll probably be waiting a little while before hearing what happens with the Braves front office controversy.
- It’s been assumed that Kansas City will lose its biggest free agents this winter, but that shouldn’t be a foregone conclusion.
- There’s no doubt Chris Archer is one of the most talented pitchers in baseball, so why has he disappointed for two years in a row?
- By all accounts, this was an awful year for the Tigers. But what would you say if I said it was...good?
- I don’t think any of us are ready for a world without Ichiro, but fortunately there’s a chance he could be back in Miami in 2018.
- The NL East is kind of a mess right now, and the rebuilding Phillies could be the beneficiaries.
See More:
