Houston Astros preview The 2022 MLB Playoffs

(CTN News) – In the 2015 American League Wild Card game, the Yankees and Houston Astros met for the first time in the postseason. In that game, the Bronx Bombers lost 3-0.

Since then, the two teams have faced each other twice more, once in the 2017 AL Championship Series, in which the Yankees lost in seven games, and the Houston Astros went on to win the World Series.

In the 2019 AL Championship Series, the Yankees lost again, but this time in six games.

Houston Astros cheating scandal brought bad blood between these teams to a whole new level. Nothing much changed in 2022. Yankee Stadium echoed with jeers toward Astros players.

If the Yankees play the Astros in the ALCS, can they overcome the obvious obstacle and beat them? Is it possible to get the monkey off their back? The first thing they have to do is figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Record: 106-56

Manager: Dusty Baker

Top hitters: José Altuve and Yordan Alvarez (6.6 fWAR)

Top pitchers: Justin Verlander (6.1 fWAR)

Astros have many strengths, as they do every year. Throughout the season, 25-year-old Yordan Alvarez crushed baseballs. His batting line was .306/.406/.613 with a 185 wRC+.

Additionally, he hit 37 home runs, which ranked second in the American League (behind Aaron Judge’s 62). In the American League and Major League Baseball, his wRC+ ranked second.

He can hit home runs, but he can also make contact. Even in the postseason, he doesn’t shy away from the spotlight.

The Houston Astros’ hitting isn’t what makes them the Astros. It’s their pitching that separates them from other top teams. In 2022, Justin Verlander won the Cy Young Award.

It’s mind-boggling how many players the Astros find and turn into top-quality starters (Jose Urquidy, Cristian Javier, Framber Valdez all come to mind).

Houston Astros 2022 season was top-to-bottom excellent. Their worst month was the first, where they went 11-10. Over the rest of the year, their lowest winning percentage in any given month was .607. Needless to say, their road to the top of the American League was one that they made look fairly easy outside of some early inconsistency.

It looks like the Yankees will win the 28th World Series that has eluded them since 2009 if they beat the Houston Astros. It may take one, two, three, or even four matches for a team to overcome a hurdle in sports.

Postseason pain for the Yankees, the Astros continue to prove they are not to be underestimated.

In 2019, are they as strong as they were in 2017? 

While they don’t always find diamonds in the rough, they continue to develop them into studs, which not many teams can say.

As a result of all this, the thorn in the Yankees’ side may grow in size. Alternatively, the demons may be exorcised. They are responsible for their fate.

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