The MLB Postseason is underway and it is turning out to be pretty interesting. The teams who made the playoffs are some of the most talented teams in recent baseball history. The Houston Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox, (my personal favorite team) 3-1 in the best of five American League Division Series. The Astros have one of the most potent offenses that the game has seen in awhile. Nearly every player had a .300 batting average or above, and almost all had at least 15 home runs. The Red Sox are a very young team with dominating pitching from starter Chris Sale and closer Craig Kimbrel, but they were no match for Houston's almost unstoppable hitting. In the National League Division Series, the L.A. Dodgers, led by their future Hall of Fame pitcher Clayton Kershaw, defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3 games to none.
Also in the National League, the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals are tied 2-2 in their 5 game series. The Cubs have their star pitcher, Jake Arrieta, while the Nationals have their young big-hitter, Bryce Harper. The Cubs are defending World Series champions and certainly do not want to be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Nationals have not made it to the National League Championship Series (the round after the division series) since 1981, and have never made it to the World Series. Game 5 of the series between them is undoubtedly going to be a great game to watch. The final playoff series is between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians. The Indians blew their 3-1 lead over the Cubs in the world series last year and are looking for redemption. They are one of the best, most balanced teams in the game today. The Yankees scraped by into the playoffs by winning the wildcard. They have the worst record out of all the teams in the playoffs and were definitely the underdog. However, after going down 2 games to none, they came back and won 3 games straight to defeat the extremely skilled Indians. This was definitely something no one saw coming, and a big shocker to many people in the baseball world. The Yankees are no stranger to the ALCS or the World Series as they have the most championship wins as a franchise in all of sports. And what a shame it is for the Indians to blow a big lead for the second year in a row.
This means that the Yankees and Astros will meet in the ALCS. In my opinion, the Astros are going to win that series and then go on to win the World Series. The Astros' mantra is to just swing the bat and put the ball in play- and it works. I believe that they can beat any team they face including the Dodgers who had the best record in baseball. The rest of the playoffs are sure to be thrilling so make sure to tune in.
