Baseball's league championship series begin with the ALCS tomorrow night in Houston. The National League series begins Monday. We went 2-2 again during the Division Series, 4-4 for the postseason. Let's get this right.
ALCS: Texas @ Houston (Fox/FS1).
As if 13 games during the regular season wasn't enough, the Lone Star rivals meet in the ALCS for the first time. Houston, the defending champions, ended Minnesota's Cinderella run, while Texas has wiped out two of the 3 AL East reps, including top seeded Baltimore, and are 5-0 in the postseason. That's the important number. These two teams are very familiar with each other. However, both are peaking at just the right time, which means Texas will finally lose a game in the playoffs. The Rangers are hungrier, and this time, they could get Max Scherzer back, which could tip the scales in their favor. Scherzer vs. Justin Verlander? That would be must-see TV all by itself, as the two, former teammates in Detroit and with the Mets, would look to out-do each other. In this seven game series, it's the hunger within that counts.
Pick: Houston in 6. The Astros in the ALCS is just inevitable.
NLCS: Arizona vs. Philadelphia (TBS).
Speaking of hungry, that brings us to the Diamondbacks, who last won the title in 2001 with an upset of the Yankees. Back then, they had Randy Johnson & Curt Schilling as co-aces. Now, you have Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. Philadelphia answers with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and a cast of thousands, including the rowdiest fans in baseball. Nick Castellanos & Bryce Harper's bats have heated up, while the Phillies are waiting for Kyle Schwarber to get his going. You would think MLB & its media partners want a rematch of last year's World Series, but it's way past time the D-backs got their due.
Pick: Arizona in 6.
Of course, I could be wrong.
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