While the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Guardians battle it out this afternoon for the right to advance to the American League Championship Series (ACLS), the Houston Astros have been there for a few days now.
Despite a few scares and an 18-inning game on Saturday, the Astros swept their AL Division Series matchup against the Seattle Mariners and secured their ticket to the ALCS that same day.
It means they haven’t played in two days, and it will be three once Wednesday arrives.
The ALCS will begin tomorrow, and the Astros will finally learn who are they going to play against after Game 5 of the other Division Series ends tonight.
The team is surely hoping the inactivity doesn’t affect their performance in the ALCS.
“When Game 1 of the ALCS begins tomorrow, the Astros will have played 3 games in the previous 13 days,” Astros insider Brian McTaggart tweeted.
When Game 1 of the ALCS begins tomorrow, the Astros will have played 3 games in the previous 13 days.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) October 18, 2022
The Astros Have Rested A Lot Recently
The Astros secured their ticket to the playoffs (and the best record in the American League) a long while ago, so they were playing at half speed by late September.
Then they had to wait for the Wild Card round to end, and that’s when they entered play, in the ALDS against the M’s.
They quickly dispatched them and will get to the ALCS with a lot of rest: some will say perhaps a bit too much rest.
Of the teams that earned a first-round bye in the playoffs, the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers were eliminated, and the Yankees could join the list today.
The good thing is that the extended rest gave Houston a chance to line up their rotation the way they like it.
In any case, games should be played first to draw any conclusions, but the Astros may be a bit rusty for Game 1.
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