Blake Bacas ‘27
Staff Writer
The onset of autumn is generally characterized by a series of changes: the weather starts to get colder, the leaves start to change colors, and playoff baseball starts to heat up! Over the last few weeks, the pennant races have been in full swing, and 12 teams have been reduced to 4: The Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks and Philadelphia Phillies.
First, we’ll cover the battle of Texas in the American League: The Rangers and the Astros. Both teams are part of the AL West, and they actually had the same record (90-72), but the Rangers lost first place to the Astros based on a tiebreaker. Rangers-Astros is a historic rivalry, with the teams meeting 266 times in the regular season, where the Rangers hold a slim 134-132 edge over the Astros. This year, however, Houston holds a 9-4 regular season advantage. Interestingly, this is the first time the teams have met in the postseason. The Rangers have yet to lose a game this postseason, cruising past the Rays in two games, and dispatching the Orioles in three. After their first round bye, the Astros made quick work of the Twins, defeating them 3-1. This matchup can truly be considered a battle of titans. The winding road up until this point can be characterized as a series of parallels between the two teams: notably, both teams significantly benefited from the Mets downfall and subsequent selloff at this year’s trade deadline- they both were able to acquire seasoned ace pitchers Max Scherzer (12-6, 3.77 ERA, 174K), and Justin Verlander (12-8, 3.22 ERA, 144K) to the Rangers and Astros, respectively. In addition, both teams were offensive juggernauts this year: The Rangers were 3rd in runs, 2nd in average, 3rd in OPS and 4th in home runs. The Astros are not too far behind them, finishing 5th in runs, 5th in average, 5th in OPS and 7th in home runs. The key to this series is going to be decided based on which team’s bats remain hot this series. Kyle Seager of the Rangers is hitting .429 in the postseason, and the Astros’ slugger Yordan Alvarez has already hit four bombs in the playoffs. Prediction: Seager and company win in a slugfest of a series. Rangers in 6.
Over in the NL, we have a battle between the proven behemoth Phillies and the plucky upstart Diamondbacks. Philadelphia, the defending NL champions, made a massive splash in free agency this past offseason, by adding All-Star and former World Series champion shortstop Trea Turner, signing him to a 11 year, $300 million dollar contract, adding to the already star-studded Phils lineup, including the likes of Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos, and J.T. Realmuto. This deal ballooned the already enormous payroll of the team, bringing the total to $245 million dollars, fifth in the league. Marred by untimely injuries, the Phillies found themselves second in the NL East, with a record of 90-72. The Phillies made quick work of the Marlins in the Wildcard round, beating them in two. They then emerged victorious from a hard fought series with the 1st seed Atlanta Braves, 3-1. Everything that the Phillies are, the Diamondbacks are not. Their payroll sits at just $119 million, less than half of Philadelphia’s, good for 21st in the MLB. Their success has largely been on the back of likely NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll. The exciting 23 year old powe-speed threat has hit 25 homers and stolen 54 bags, all while providing above average defense in left field. The DBacks barely squeaked into the sixth and final playoff spot with a 84-78 record. After barely being a team over .500, the DBacks have yet to lose in the playoffs, beating the Brewers in 2 and the Dodgers in 3 of the Wildcard and Divisional rounds, respectively. The key to this series is whether Arizona will be able to string together offense versus the Phillies’ impressive pitching: The impressive two headed monster of Zack Wheeler (13-6, 3.61 ERA, 212K), and Aaron Nola (12-9, 4.46 ERA, 202K), in addition to one of the most effective bullpens in the league (combined 1.53 ERA) could prove to smother Arizona’s offense. Prediction: Arizona steals one in Philadelphia, but the Phillies prove to be too much for an upstart Diamondbacks team. Phils in 5.
Featured image courtesy of Openverse
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