Improbable, a second chance, turnaround and a long time coming. Those four words and/or short phrases are apt descriptions for the four teams in play when the two American League Division Series begin on Thursday.
The Houston Astros have made an improbable run to the ALDS. They were 51-111 two seasons ago, 70-92 last season. Now, after an 86-76 season and a wild-card win over the New York Yankees on Tuesday, the Astros are in the ALDS for the first time ever (they were long members of the NL) and in the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
They play the Kansas City Royals, who finished with the best record in the AL and now get a second chance at a World Series after coming up short in the final round last season against San Francisco.
In the other matchup, it's the Texas Rangers, who posted four straight 90-win seasons from 2010-13, stumbled to a 67-win campaign last year and are back in the postseason mix thanks to a quick turnaround.
Their opposition is the Toronto Blue Jays. Thursday has indeed been a long time coming. After two decades of Yankees-Red Sox hegemony, the Blue Jays topped the AL East and are in the playoffs for the first time since winning the World Series in 1993.
Here is the TV schedule and live stream info for the ALDS openers.
Preview
Texas Rangers at Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto might be one of the most feared teams in the playoffs, but it would be foolish to overlook the Rangers. While the Blue Jays finished tops in home runs, on-base percentage and OPS, the Rangers weren't all that far off.
The Rangers' near-capitulation to the Los Angeles Angels—in which they came close to losing the AL Central to Houston—obscures the fact that they rolled to a 14-7 finish over the final 21 games of the season. First-year manager Jeff Banister has done an excellent job of steering this team back to the postseason after a trying 2014.
"Our teams are very similar," Toronto manager John Gibbons said, per Neil Davidson of the Canadian Press, via CBC Sports. "Good offences. Balanced. They've got some pretty good team speed over there."
Texas does have some good runners, stealing 101 bases (the Blue Jays weren't exactly slouches, swiping 88). Elvis Andrus and Delino DeShields each stole 25 bases, while Leonys Martin stole 14. Team speed can help, but it might not be enough in the face of Toronto's awesome power.
Keeping Toronto's offense tamped down is going to be a tough task for the Rangers staff. Barry Svrluga and Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post believe the long ball will be key to this series:
No major league team hit more than the Blue Jays’ 232 homers this season, with Donaldson, Bautista and Encarnacion combining for 120 by themselves. Of the teams remaining in the playoffs, only Toronto allowed more homers than the Rangers’ 171. Texas closer Shawn Tolleson gave up nine bombs alone, more than any reliever left in the postseason.
Josh Donaldson put together an MVP-worthy campaign and is liable to hit one out at any given time. He's cushioned in the lineup by all kinds of great players, like Edwin Encarnacion, Troy Tulowitzki and the home run factory that is Jose Bautista.
It's perhaps a good thing Texas is trotting out Yovani Gallardo to start Game 1. He allowed just 15 home runs in 33 starts. He also went 2-0 in two starts against Toronto this year, allowing just six hits and no runs in 13.2 innings pitched.
His counterpart on the mound is David Price, acquired by Toronto in a midseason trade with Detroit. Since joining the Blue Jays, the southpaw is 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA. However, he does sport a less-robust 4.50 career postseason ERA.
Price last pitched September 26, so while he should be extremely well rested, he could be out of rhythm. The Rangers can keep him off kilter with the speed and hope that the likes of Josh Hamilton, Prince Fielder and Adrian Beltre can provide an offensive spark.
Toronto's lineup is a killer, though, so Gallardo will need to be at his best for the Rangers to win Game 1.
While Toronto looks eminently capable of blowing the Rangers away with its stellar offense, this series has all the makings of a tense, five-game affair.
Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
The Astros are young, plucky and probably not supposed to be here. But now that they are in the ALDS after beating the Yankees, they're going to make the most of it.
“Now we get to go to Kansas City. It’s going to be some grind-it-out baseball,” left fielder Colby Rasmus said, via Howie Rumberg of the Associated Press, via the Kansas City Star. “We have to come in there the way we came in [Tuesday]. It’s going to be fun.”
Houston is certainly a motley crew. There are the hard swingers in Evan Gattis and Rasmus, who don't connect all that often but crush the ball when they do. Gattis has a great beard and doesn't wear batting gloves, while Rasmus is garnering attention for his party-hardy attitude .
Carlos Correa is a phenomenal young shortstop and one of the players to watch this postseason. Here are some eye-popping numbers from the 21-year-old, via ESPN Stats & Info:
Then there is Jose Altuve, a fantastic leadoff man with a .313 average this season and 38 stolen bases.
The Royals have again put together a great outfield, led by Lorenzo Cain, who posted a .307/.361/.477 slash line with 16 home runs, 72 RBI and 28 stolen bases. Outfielder and backup Jarrod Dyson threw in 26 steals of his own. Alex Gordon and Alex Rios are likely to man the corners in the playoffs. The pop in the lineup comes from Mike Moustakas, Kendrys Morales and Salvador Perez, who combined for 65 home runs.
It's a fine collection of talent, and many of these guys on the roster are holdovers from last year. However, the tail end of the season saw the lineup get pretty dinged up, but manager Ned Yost insists they are fine now.
"Everybody feels good and everybody is ready to go," Yost said, via ESPN.com's Doug Padilla. "Everybody is dinged up this time of the year. After [Wednesday] there will be eight teams left, everybody has little dings and nicks, and you just play through them. We're in pretty good shape. Lorenzo Cain feels much better and Morales is good."
The projected pitching matchup is Houston's Collin McHugh against Kansas City's Yordano Ventura. Here's how they stack up.
If the Royals can hold onto an advantage late, they can turn to Wade Davis to shut things down and preserve a win. The New York Times' Tyler Kepner has more on the blindingly good reliever:
The Royals’ Wade Davis, a rare late-inning reliever with three dominant pitches (fastball, cutter, curveball), took over the closer’s role in September after Greg Holland’s elbow injury. Davis had a 0.94 E.R.A. this season after posting a 1.00 mark last year. He is the only pitcher in major league history to have two seasons of at least 65 appearances and an E.R.A. no higher than 1.00.
Houston has its own stable of solid relievers, including Tony Sipp, Will Harris and closer Luke Gregerson. However, all three of them pitched against the Yankees on Tuesday and have put in a ton of work this season (60-plus appearances each). They could be vulnerable, or Houston might be forced to turn to the less-reliable Pat Neshek and Chad Qualls.
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