The American League Championship Series is set, and it's a doozy.
Most combined wins, postseason series:
212
Yankees vs. Padres, 1998 World Series
211
Yankees vs. Mariners, 2001 ALCS
Red Sox vs. Astros, 2018 ALCS
210
Orioles vs. Reds, 1970 World Series
209
Cubs vs. White Sox, 1906 World Series
Yankees vs. Cardinals, 1942 World Series
Orioles vs. Mets, 1969 World Series
Just a couple of more wins here or there by the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros during the season and this would be the most high-powered postseason matchup in baseball history. It might be the most high-powered matchup, anyway, because much of the heavy lifting in that Padres-Yankees series was done by the 114-win Bombers, the club some see as the best team ever. Here we have two teams that flew past the 100-win mark.
The division-series round was almost NBA-like, with home-field advantage holding true in all four series. Thus we've got the top two seeds in each circuit vying for the right to meet in the Fall Classic. Unlike the division series, however, the favorites in both championship series matchups are the lower seeds, at least as far as Vegas is concerned. It's no surprise that the longtime power Los Angeles Dodgers would be favored to beat the nouveau riche Milwaukee Brewers. But it's also true on the AL side of things, where the defending champion Astros are favored over a Red Sox club that raced to a franchise-record 108 wins during the regular season.
Some key matchups in this clash of titans:
