With the crazy Wild Card race in the books, it is time to begin the 2021 American League Divisional Series, featuring four teams who all have the potential to make a deep run this postseason.
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CHICAGO WHITE SOX vs. HOUSTON ASTROS
When: Thursday, October 7
Time: 4:07 p.m. ET
Where: Minute Maid Park (Houston, Texas)
Channel: Fox Sports 1
Stream: FuboTV (7-day free trial), Sling, DirecTV Stream
The second and third-best teams in the AL will do battle in the opening game of the ALDS. The Astros just about led the West division wire-to-wire. They ended the season with a 95-67 record, five games clear of the second-place Seattle Mariners. They had an incredible month of June and July where Houston went 35-17 over those two months, and were able to cruise the rest of the way to their 11th division title in franchise history. They are looking to make it back to the World Series after bowing out in the ALCS to Tampa in seven games last year.
In their first playoff appearance since getting knocked out by the Rays in the 2008 ALDS (the Sox lost to Oakland in the Wild Card series last year), the White Sox are coming into the postseason coming off their first 90+ win season since 2006. They finished atop the Central with a 93-69 record, 13 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians, the largest margin of any division winner this season. While they cooled off, as a team, in the second half of the season, Chicago brings in one of the best offenses in the AL.
Things are certainly are looking in favor of the Astros, though, as Houston won five of the seven regular season meetings.
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BOSTON RED SOX vs. TAMPA BAY RAYS
When: Thursday, October 7
Time: 8:07 p.m. ET
Where: Tropicana Field (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
Channel: Fox Sports 1
Stream: FuboTV (7-day free trial), Sling, DirecTV Stream
An all-AL East battle is the other divisional series, and it certainly is shaping up to be a dandy.
Early on in the season, the Red Sox were one of the best teams in baseball, sitting far atop the division. However, they started to slow down towards the middle of the season, and after a 12-16 month of August, the BoSox fell into a heated Wild Card race with their divisional rivals in New York and Toronto. Yet, they were able to secure a spot in the Wild Card game, and beat the hated Yankees 6-2 on Tuesday to make it back to the ALDS for the first time since their World Series run in 2018.
The best team in the American League, the Rays, finished as the only team in the AL to hit 100 wins, finishing with a 100-62 record, eight games ahead of the Yankees and Red Sox, and five games clear of the Astros in the league standings. Consistent pitching and good hitting were the keys to success for the defending AL champs, whose plans are to finish the job that they missed out on last year when they lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
This could be an interesting series, especially since the Rays were only 11-9 during the regular season against Boston. Granted, three of the Red Sox wins came early in the April when they were on fire, with Tampa taking over from there.
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