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Los Angeles (AFP) – The Houston Astros, World Series champions, are chasing another AHL title on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox in a sensational showdown between the two best Major League Baseball teams.
The Astros have a club record of 103 games in the regular season, but have yet to match the 108 games of the championship, won by the Red Sox.
Their astounding 211 combined wins are just a record fist for a pair of post-season fighters – the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres totaled 212 regular season wins in 1998 when They clashed for the World Series title.
The National League Series, meanwhile, features two of the most prominent baseball teams in the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers.
The ALCS marks the third time since the introduction of the second breakaway in 1995 that the two best teams of the regular season will meet in a series of league championships.
Alex Cora, the rookie coach who guided the Red Sox's march throughout the regular season, tweaked his bullish approach to Houston, where he was alongside coach AJ Astros. Hinch as bench coach last season.
The Red Sox have caught up with Cora after firing John Farrell following the loss of the Boston division series against Houston last year – an abrupt end to the campaign that the Red Sox surely want to avenge.
"They have a good team," Cora said about the current Astros after his Red Sox ousted the New York Yankees in the division series on Tuesday.
The Astros were already waiting after sweeping the Cleveland Indians three times in their division series.
"What they did to the Indians, it was impressive," said Cora. "They can throw, they play well in defense, they beat the bat well, they form a complete team.
"So now we're going – at best seven years, they know me, I know them, it should be fun."
The powerful Astros lineup includes the most valuable player of the AL 2017, Jose Altuve, as well as the MVP candidate this season, Alex Bregman, George Springer and Carlos Correa.
In the three games against Cleveland, Bregman has boasted of an amazing batting average of 556 with two home runs and four on the fly runs.
The Red Sox also bring a lot of power, with MVP candidate Mookie Betts – .346 batting with 32 homers and 80 RBIs – and J.D. Martinez giving a double lead in the lead.
– Striated breweries –
The Astros seem to have the advantage by beating ace with Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole at the top of a rotation that also includes Charlie Morton and Dallas Keuchel.
Verlander gets the ball in the first part against Chris Sale, a Red Sox.
The Dodgers and Brewers will get underway Friday in Milwaukee.
The Brewers won 11 straight wins over 11 opponents by scoring 80-34 over that period as they took the title of the central division of the LN Cubs Chicago. Their win in the Colorado Rockies marked the Brewers' first playoff victory since 2011 and fueled hope for their first World Series title. They were eliminated in seven games against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982 on their only previous trip to the Fall Classic.
Unlike the unexpected Brewers, the Dodgers are right to expect them to be, but it's not until the jostling of the regular season threatens their return to the World Series.
The Dodgers now seem to be shooting at full throttle, winning seven of their last eight.
"It's going to be great," said Manny Machado, the Dodgers' star player. "We are just going to play baseball, be ourselves, continue doing what we have done all year, and hope we will become the best."
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