*Photo from The Daily Campus*
It's the best team in the American League against the team with the lowest payroll in baseball. The Houston Astros welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to town in the ALDS, with the Astros being clear favorites to win the series. The Rays send Tyler Glasnow to the mound against Houston's Justin Verlander in game one on Friday night.
The Rays rolled right by the Oakland A's in the wild card game. They did that with the power of homers. Yandy Diaz hit two solo shots, Avisail Garcia hit a two run bomb, and Tommy Pham added a solo shot to outslug Oakland. Charlie Morton also pitched 5 solid innings, making Morton the likely game 3 starter when the series shifts to Tampa Bay. The Rays are big underdogs, but they certainly have the potential to turn a lot of heads this postseason if they can knock off Houston. They will need big starts from Glasnow and Blake Snell to have a chance at it, and they'll have to beat 3 Cy Young pitchers in Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Zack Greinke.
The Astros come into the playoffs absolutely stacked. The lineup is dangerous no matter who is hitting, with the infielders being Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Carlos Correa, Yuli Gurriel, and Martin Maldonado and Robinson Chirinos behind the plate. The outfield has George Springer, Josh Reddick, Michael Brantley, and Jake Marisnick, with rookie of the year candidate Yordan Alvarez likely starting as the DH. The bullpen has guys like Josh James, Will Harris, Chris Devenski, Colin McHugh, Ryan Pressly, and elite closer Roberto Osuna. Their starting pitching consists of top guys Verlander, Cole, and Greinke, plus a suddenly good again Wade Miley, with Aaron Sanchez as a stopgap option, as he could start or be a long reliever. This team is stacked.
The Rays will put up a fight, and scare Houston a little bit, but I have the Astros winning in 4 games. Tampa has good starting pitching, but Glasnow and Snell are fresh off the IL and just can't outpitch Verlander, Cole, and Greinke. They also don't have as much power or lineup depth as Houston does, and that will be the difference maker.
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