MLB Postseason 2017: Red Sox vs Astros ALDS series preview
By Sean Penney
MLB Postseason 2017: A preview of the American League Division Series between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros beginning on October 5.
The MLB postseason has arrived, as the Boston Red Sox get set to take on the Houston Astros in the American League Division Series.
The AL Central champion Astros finished the season with a record of 101-61, one game behind the Cleveland Indians for the best record in the AL. Houston was one of three teams to top 100 wins, giving MLB three 100-win teams for the first time since 2003. It’s only the sixth time in major league history that three teams have reached the century mark in the same season.
Boston won the AL East Division by finishing two games ahead of the New York Yankees with a record of 93-69. The Red Sox dropped five of their last seven games to wrap up the regular season at Fenway Park. They clinched the division with a win over the Astros on September 30, rendering the final game on the schedule meaningless.
After a four-game series at Fenway to finish the regular season, the Red Sox and Astros will meet again in the first round of the playoffs. This sets up a scenario where the teams could conceivably see each other for up to nine consecutive games.
Now the stakes are higher, the pressure rises, the lights are brighter and every pitch matters significantly more. It’s time for the MLB postseason to begin!