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The Houston Astros are advancing to their sixth straight ALCS after sweeping the Seattle Mariners out of the playoffs in the ALDS. The Astros have been World Series frontrunners all season long, and they are now gearing up for a huge series against the New York Yankees. With the series kicking off tonight, we decided to unveil our Astros bold predictions for their ALCS series against the Yanks.
This series could be heated, as the Yankees and Astros squared off in the ALCS back in 2017 and 2019, with the Yankees feeling they got robbed by Houston due to their sign-stealing scandal, which took place during the 2017 ALCS series. New York wants revenge, but it's going to be tough to come by against this talented Houston team.
The Astros have been dominating all season long, and they will look to continue that in their upcoming series against the Yankees. With the action set to get underway later today, let's take a look at three bold predictions for the Astros in this series and see what could be expected of them in this one.
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3. Astros 2B Jose Altuve will record a hit in every game this series
One of the bigger surprises from the Astros series against the Mariners was that they managed to sweep them despite getting no production from Jose Altuve at all. Houston's star second baseman didn't record a hit in his 16 at-bats, and only made it one base once via a walk. It was a very surprising series for Altuve, and the hope is that he can turn things around against the Yankees.
Altuve has had some memorable postseason moments against the Yankees in the past, and he will continue to terrorize New York throughout this series. Altuve brought his batting average back up to .300 this season after seeing it drop below that mark for three straight seasons, and he will get back to his contact hitting ways in this series.
This could be a long series, but Altuve will have success in every game. After getting held hitless in each of Houston's three games against Seattle, Altuve will completely flip the script and record at least one hit in every game of the series. The Astros will need production from one of their best hitters, and Altuve delivers with a vintage playoff performance here.
2. Astros SP Luis Garcia will get moved to the starting rotation and win both of his starts
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Houston turned to Lance McCullers Jr. as their third starter against the Mariners after Justin Verlander and Framber Valdez, but against the Yankees, Luis Garcia will be the third starter. Garcia was phenomenal out of the bullpen in Game 3, and he will earn himself a spot in the starting rotation this time around. Using him in Game 3 gives Houston the ability to use him out of the bullpen later in the series if need be, which could be necessary given how good he looked against Seattle.
Garcia came out of the pen and pitched five innings in the 18-inning marathon that Game 3 of their ALDS series was, giving up just two hits while striking out six. He closed out Seattle in the process, and earned himself a bigger spot in manager Dusty Baker's plans moving forward in the playoffs. Garcia will continue to dominate against New York as he gets a bigger role in this series.
Garcia will get the ball in Game 3 and dazzle, hurling six shutout innings to help Houston get a leg up on the Yankees early on. The Astros won't end up using Garcia out of the bullpen, though, because they have to use as their starter in Game 7, and Garcia once again has a strong outing to help lead the ‘Stros back to the World Series.
1. The Astros will beat the Yankees in a tightly contested seven game series
As mentioned above, this series will go to Game 7, with Houston just sneaking out a victory over New York. The Yankees have rebounded from their second half swoon just in time, and they have the firepower to go toe-to-toe with the Astros. It ultimately won't be enough to win them this series, though.
The Astros will lose Game 1 after another rough outing from Justin Verlander, but Valdez and Garcia help lead Houston back to a 2-1 series lead. McCullers will struggle in Game 4, before Verlander bounces back in Game 5. Game 6 is a slugfest between both sides, with Aaron Judge hitting a game-winning home run in the top of the ninth.
That sets the stage for Game 7, where Garcia goes five innings but gives up two runs. Luckily the Astros will give him enough run support, and are holding a 3-2 lead when he exits. Altuve's first hit of Game 7 will be a solo home run in the eighth inning that gives the Astros a 4-2 lead they hold onto, sending them into the World Series for the second straight season.
