Sports writer Zach Sabel reports on the results of the MLB postseason picture and what’s to come
The MLB postseason is in full swing with the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and the National League Championship Series (NLCS). The Astros currently have a 3-0 lead over the Yankees in the ALCS and the Phillies lead the Padres 3-1 as of Sunday morning. Rewind a bit to see how we got there, starting with the wildcard games. In the American League, Cleveland quickly dispatched Tampa Bay in two games. Seattle would take down Toronto in two games to win its first Playoffs appearance since 2001 in what will probably be the feel-good story of the season. On the other side in the National League, we had the Phillies upsetting the Cardinals 2-0, ruining any hope of the last dance championship for Albert Pujols who had a lights-out final season. For the final Wild Card series, we would see the Mets’ collapse come full circle. Leading their division for most of the season only to choke in the last month to the Atlanta Braves, the Mets would be the Mets and lose 2-1 to the Padres. In the next round on the ALDS side, we would see a very close series between the Yankees and the Guardians. In a best-of-five series, the Yankees would take the first game in the series only to drop the next two. They would tie the series up, but with their bullpen depth spent, Cleveland would most likely win the game and the series. The Yankees would be thrown a lifeline with the penultimate game being postponed a day, giving their bullpen much-needed rest. They would go on to win and move on to the ALCS. Seattle’s dream run would crash and burn hard, with Houston easily dealing with them in just three games. On the NLDS side, the Phillies would upset the Braves winning the series 3-1, continuing their magical run into the NLCS. Completing the theme of national league upsets the Padres would beat the Dodgers 3-1. All three teams expecting to make moves in the Playoffs on the National League side ended up vastly disappointing all expectations set for them.
Now, we are back at the Championship series. With Houston leading the Yankees 3-0 in a best-of-seven series, I don’t see much of a way back for the Yankees if they lose their next game. Only once in MLB history has a team ever come back from a 3-0 deficit, that being the 2004 Red Sox. The NLCS seems like it could be a good series as well, with the Phillies taking the lead. It feels like nothing can stop the Phillies at this point, and I think they have enough quality all around in their team to finish this series off in five games. Ultimately, I predict an Astros vs. Phillies World Series. I think that,while the Phillies have looked amazing in the National League Playoffs, the Astros are just simply too good to be beaten. I expect them to win the series fairly quickly and I doubt it will go to sevengames. With bats like Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez and pitching from Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez, I just don’t see Philadelphia being able to match them at all.
