Photo Credit: Bill Kostroun/NY Post

Houston started off the ALCS by winning the first two games at home in dramatic fashion before heading to the Bronx for game three and four; which the Yankees’ have won. With the series now tied at two games a piece, its crunch time for the Astros as they get ready for game five tonight on FS1.

New York is hosting its last game of the championship series, and hopefully its last of the 2017 playoffs, in game five — because the series returns to Houston for game six, and seven if needed.

It would be no fun if the Yankees were to win two more games to send them back to the World Series. The franchise already has 27 championship and (arguably) the most obnoxiously entitled fan base in baseball. If they were to win another AL pennant in a “rebuilding” season…than its hard to imagine how much the fan base’s collective ego would expand.

The Yankees beating Houston for the league championship would be unfun because the Astros have played really fun baseball this season and are led by exciting All Star caliber players that we’ve grown accustomed to over the last several seasons — George Springer and Jose Altuve. While New York’s young stars have exploded into the scene during the first half of the season before cooling down in the second half — I’m looking at you Aaron Judge. Granted, Houston also slumped in the second half of the season, but they put it together in September and secured the first overall seed for the American League; while Judge slumped all the way through the end of September.

There’s also the fact that a New York series win would ruin this three year old prediction from Sports Illustrated.

Credit: USA Today

The main reason the Astros should win this series is that they proved, throughout the regular season, that they were the best team in the American League. Houston built up a huge lead in the Western division and never relinquished it. When their pitching staff was struggling, the Astros went out and did a waiver trade for Justin Verlander to shore it up. So for Houston to lose in the playoffs, after the season they had, would be extremely disappointing. 

The good news is, that only one of the games played so far in the ALCS has been a blow out (that was game three). Other than that one game, they’ve all been filled with drama and late inning heroics on both sides. This has been an entertaining series that baseball needed, no matter which team wins it….although I’d prefer New York not win it.

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