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MLB Playoffs: 2018 ALDS Series Preview Houston vs. Cleveland

By Bobby Mueller

TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 26: Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros celebrates in the clubhouse with Jose Altuve #27 after the Astros clinched the American League West division title after their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 26, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - SEPTEMBER 26: Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros celebrates in the clubhouse with Jose Altuve #27 after the Astros clinched the American League West division title after their MLB game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on September 26, 2018 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – SEPTEMBER 07: Cleveland Indians Shortstop Francisco Lindor (L) talks with Cleveland Indians Third base Jose Ramirez (R) during the MLB regular season game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians on September 7, 2018, at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The last two teams to represent the AL in the World Series meet in the ALDS, starting on Friday’s MLB playoffs.

While the Yankees—Red Sox ALDS series is likely to get more media attention, the Astros and Indians series shouldn’t be neglected. No team had an easier run to their division title than Cleveland, who made the MLB playoffs by winning the AL Central by 13 games. As for the Astros, they may not have won 108 games like the Red Sox, but they had the best run differential in baseball and an “expected record” of 112-50, best in the game.

Heading into the season, the AL Central looked to have two main contenders, the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins. The Royals were attempting to compete with some of the players remaining from the core group that won the 2015 World Series, but they ended up losing over 100 games. The young White Sox also lost 100 games and the aging Tigers had 98 defeats.

The Indians got off to a slow start. They were 36-33 and just 2.5 games up in mid-June. A 13-7 streak at the end of June/early July gave them a double-digit lead in the division. Their lead dropped to nine games in early August, but that would be as close as the Twins would get in the second half as the Indians used a 19-9 August to run away with the division.

The Astros were expected to win the AL West easily, but two surprising contenders kept it close for much of the season. First it was the surging Mariners who used their one-run magic to stay close to the Astros well into July. When the Mariners went 31-34 in the second half to fall out of the race, the Oakland A’s shot right past them to put some pressure on the Astros.

The A’s were within 1.5 games as the season turned to September, but a 21-6 record in September by the Astros locked the division away. The Astros finished with the second-most wins in baseball but, as mentioned above, they have an argument for “best team in baseball” status.

The Astros and Indians faced each other seven times this season and all seven games came during a 10-day stretch in May. The Astros won two of three at home, then split two of four on the road. The last time these two teams played each other, Cleveland won on a walk-off home run by Greg Allen against Brad Peacock in the 14th inning.

As the Astros and Indians begin their five game American League Division Series, let’s see how they compare on offense, defense, in the starting rotation and the bullpen.

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