We are now in the final stretch of the 2022 regular season. As of this moment, ten playoff teams have been decided with just two spots left to be won. We know the Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, Guardians, Blue Jays, Mets, Braves, Mariners, Rays, and Cardinals will be in the dance, but which team is their kryptonite? Below we look at the American League:
YANKEES
The Yankees have had a tough time against all baseball teams in Texas, since 1999, they’ve lost every playoff series vs teams that call the Lone Star State home! The Bombers beat the Rangers in the ALDS in the midst of their grand dynasty era. Since then? Well, they were beaten in the ALCS by the Rangers in 2010, Astros in 2017, and 2019. Oh, and don’t forget the Astros also sent the Yanks home in the single elimination Wild Card game in 2015.
Texas baseball teams since 1999 are undefeated against the powers of New York. So, that begs the question. Which team do the Yankees not want to face in the playoffs? You guessed it. The Houston Astros.
Justin Verlander has been having a season for the record books. At the age of 39, Verlander is undoubtedly going to be the ace of the Astros in the postseason and will be on the mound in any pivotal game. In 27 starts this season, and yes, the season after his Tommy John surgery, he could very well win the Cy Young Award.
To date, he has posted a 1.80 ERA, with 175 strikeouts over the course of 170 innings pitched. Over his last five starts, he’s only allowed 3 earned runs in 27 innings, along with an opponent batting average of .161.
Ever since Verlander made his first postseason start against the Yankees, when he was still with the Tigers in 2006, he has had the best of them. Eight career postseason starts, and he’s gone: 4-1, 2.76 ERA, 52.1 IP, 36 Hits, 13 Walks, and 57 strikeouts.
The main reason why they wanted Verlander? To beat the Yankees. And he has done his job, even at the age of 39.
Jose Altuve is another Astro who has been a ‘Yankee Killer’ in the postseason. Yes, you may make the argument that an asterisk belongs at the end of that sentence, but that discussion can’t be won, it’s like saying Aaron Judge has the single season HR record and not Barry Bonds.
Altuve is one of the main reasons why the Yankees have not made a World Series appearance since 2009. The Yankees were one game away from knotting things up in 2019, but then Altuve hit the walk-off home run against Aroldis Chapman. Prior to that, of course, in 2017, the Astros won it all and all of baseball will never forget, or some may say, forgive.
When Altuve faced the Yankees in the ALCS in 2019, he went .348, 2 HR’s, walked 4 times, and had an OPS of 1.097. These are not just great numbers, those are series altering numbers, and that is who Altuve is, a difference maker. He has the experience, and honestly an ‘it’ factor once October enters play.
ASTROS
Now, which team should the Astros be scared to face? How about the Dodgers. It’s the team they won the World Series against in 2017, and ever since the scandal broke, they never got their revenge in postseason flavor.
They have not faced each other since ‘21, and not in front of a sold out ballpark since the sign stealing story emerged. The Dodgers are looking for payback as many fans believe they could have won the series.
It would be a matchup many baseball fans would want to see, especially since it would add another lengthy chapter to the Astros vs. Dodgers story. It would be two juggernauts facing off, as both these teams have won more than 200 games this season, and have spent a combined 314 days in first place.
The Dodgers and Astros are split with 6 wins each in postseason history in just two matchups. The NLDS in 1981, and the World Series in 2017. Each of those two series ended in a championship for either team.
One player to be careful of, who seemingly always plays his best against the Stros’, should they meet LA in the World Series, is Mookie Betts. Versus teams that Betts has played more than 35 times in his career, his numbers rank 2nd, behind the Royals.
He has a career batting average of .349, with 6 home runs, 22 RBI, and an OPS of 1.034 against the Astros. He has hands down the most postseason experience playing this dynasty team after facing off multiple times in ALDS and ALCS with the Boston Red Sox. Lastly, the next article will be looking into the National League next, so stay tuned for that.
GUARDIANS
The Cleveland Guardians are a young and inexperienced team when it comes to playing in the postseason, but they are getting hot at the right time. You have to think they could sneak past the first round of the playoffs, but if they eventually face the Yankees in the ALCS, it would not be an easy victory.
In the early years, the Guardians had the Yankees number. They beat them in the ALDS in both 1997 and 2007, but overall, the Yankees have the upper hand. The Bombers sent them home in 1998, 2017, and 2020.
This season in particular, the Guardians are 1-5 against the Yanks and have been outscored 38-13! In addition, the Guardians team batting average this year against the Yankees is .197, the third lowest outside of the Dodgers and Giants.
Remember, this is a team that plays in a division that has a record of 279-344, not including their own record. 43-27 is their record in the division, where more than half of their wins came from a division that is 65 games below .500!
At the 100 game mark, they were a near .500 team. Since then, they have gone 37-19, with a team ERA of 2.83, but the inexperience could hurt them.
RAYS
This pick may very well change over the course of the weekend however, the Astros are the team where, if I’m Tampa, I am not looking forward to facing.
While we don’t know the exact opponents yet, there is a good chance that if Tampa gets past the Wild Card round, they will be facing off against the 100+ win Astros team once again.
Yes, I understand that the Rays beat Houston in the ALDS in 2020, but this Astros team is better now. Heck, you could make the argument they are a better all around team now, then when they beat the Rays in 2019 in the ALDS.
Heading into the final weekend of the regular season, the Astros are 3-0 this season and have outscored Tampa 14-2. They have been dominated.
MARINERS
The playoff drought is over! After 20 years, the Mariners are in the postseason once again. The last time they made the postseason? 13 of the Guardians players were 4 years old or younger.
This was a tough pick. I could’ve gone multiple routes. The Yankees ended the Mariners season in back-to-back years in the ALCS in ‘00 and ‘01, and haven’t reached since. Some may say, those losses ended a dynasty that never saw its true potential with the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Edgar Martinez, and yes, you can’t forget Rickey Henderson was there in ‘00 too.
My pick for the Mariners are the Tampa Bay Rays. This season the team went 2-5 against Tampa, and had a team ERA of 4.06, giving up 30 runs over the course 62 innings. If Tampa can get the playoff Corey Kluber from 2016, it could change everything for Tampa Bay. He was a big part in how the Guardians went to the World Series and reached Game 7.
After appearing in 6 games, he showcased a 1.83 ERA, after only allowing 7 runs in 34.1 innings that year. He also had a K-W ratio of 35 to 8. Kluber’s lifetime numbers against the M’s are strikingly similar too: 6 starts, 1.93 ERA, 12 runs allowed over 46.2 innings, and a sickening 53-10 K-W ratio.
Pitching not only matters in the postseason, it is the key to the eventual victory parade. On paper, Tampa’s pitching staff can compete with any potent offense, and could very well be the reason the Mariners get sent home.
BLUE JAYS
This is the trailer to the movie? It has to be a disappointing season to some extent, as the hope was to win the AL East. Not only did they not win the division, but the Yankees celebrated clinching it in their own ballpark.
The Yankees have played the Blue Jays better than anyone in the league, which is why, if I’m a Blue Jays’ fan, that is the one team I don’t want to face.
The Yankees won the season series, going 11-8 and outscored the Blue Jays 83-63. The Jays offense has struggled against Yankee pitching all season. The Bombers have a 3.18 ERA, allowing 60 runs over the course of 169.2 innings pitched, striking 161 batters out, the 2nd most by the pitching staff against any team (Boston is in first, whiffing 187 times).
However, Vlad Jr. might love to face the Yanks. As a player who has exploded over the last 4 years, and he has already made himself a star. He has a career batting average north of .280 against this team and 13 of his 102 career home runs have come against the Bombers, 5 coming this year.
It’s a team that has not made it to the World Series since they won back-to-back in 1992 and ‘93, they reached the ALCS only to be sent home in a hurry against the Guardians in ‘16.
Do you agree with my picks? Next, we will take a look at the National League. Will the Dodgers be upset once again?
