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It went down to the wire, but the Houston Astros were able to secure yet another AL West title on the last day of the regular season. Sure, it took some help from the Rangers and winning the tiebreaker to pull it off, but the Astros took care of business when they had to and were rewarded for their resolve.
Given how the 2023 season went down, it is safe to say that this Houston team isn't the same powerhouse that fans had become accustomed to seeing the last few years which made winning the division all the more important. Not only should their path to a deep postseason run be a tad easier now as a higher seed, but it also allows this team that has had some guys banged up this season get some rest and heal up before the postseason gets started.
Anyways, here is a look at the Houston Astros' upcoming playoff schedule and who they are going up against.
American League Championship Series Schedule - Astros vs. Rangers
Next up for the Astros this postseason is an in-state match-up with the Texas Rangers which is a novelty in itself. Houston dominated the regular season series with Texas with a 9-4 record, but the Rangers annihilated both the Rays and Orioles to get to this point. Houston should be favored, but don't be fooled by the regular season stuff...this is going to be a close series.
Game | Date | Time | Opponent | Where to watch (TV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Game One (Home) | Sunday, October 15 | 8:15 PM EST | Rangers | Fox |
Game Two (Home) | Monday, October 16 | 4:37 PM EST | Rangers | Fox/FS1 |
Game Three (Away) | Wednesday, October 18 | 8:03 PM EST | Rangers | FS1 |
Game Four (Away) | Thursday, October 19 | 8:03 PM EST | Rangers | FS1 |
Game Five (Away, if necessary) | Friday, October 20 | 5:07 PM EST | Rangers | FS1 |
Game Six (Home, if necessary) | Sunday, October 22 | 8:03 PM EST | Rangers | FS1 |
Game Seven (Home, if necessary) | Monday, October 23 | 8:03 PM EST | Rangers | Fox/FS1 |
American League Division Series Schedule
As the second overall seed in the American League thanks to being three games ahead of the AL Central winning Twins, Houston has a bye in the first round of the playoffs and won't have play in the chaotic mess that is the wild card round. The Astros outclassed Minnesota on both sides of the ball and dispatched them 3-1 to advance to their seventh straight ALCS.
Game | Date | Time | Opponent | Where to watch (TV) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Game One | Saturday, October 7th (home) | 4:45 PM EST | Twins | FOX/FS1 |
Game Two | Sunday, October 8th (home) | 8:03 PM EST | Twins | FOX/FS1 |
Game Three | Tuesday, October 10th (away) | 4:07 PM EST | Twins | FOX/FS1 |
Game Four (if necessary) | Wednesday, October 11th (away) | TBD | Twins | FOX/FS1 |
Game Five (if necessary) | Friday, October 13th (home) | TBD | Twins | FOX/FS1 |
With the Twins sweeping their wild card series with the Blue Jays, they are the Astros' opponents in the ALDS with Houston having home field advantage in the series. The Twins pitching was impressive against Toronto in the first round and Minnesota has given Houston some trouble this year as the Astros went just 2-4 against the Twins in 2023.
Astros Projected Starting Rotation
Given that Houston has a week of downtime before the start of the ALDS, they can set up their playoff rotation however they want to ahead of time and still get guys plenty of extra rest. Houston may want to carry four starters for the division series due to how the days off line up, but it seems safe to say that Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander, and Cristian Javier are going to be starting the first three games of the series is some order. After that, JP France has an argument to be the fourth starter given Hunter Brown's struggles in the second half, although carrying Brown as an insurance policy wouldn't be the worst idea in the world.